Opinions from Others.
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the pater only, and type-written by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for the views expressed is accepted. In the case of experiences, names of towns or localities may be withheld.
Speed Charts.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,182] Sir,—I note your reference, in your issue of 7th July, to the Wolseley speed-calculating card. I enclose you another small card, which I had reproduced from a speed list, that was being used, at one time, by the policemen who were working a police-trap. I had this copied for the benefit of a few friends. Should you care to reproduce for your readers, you are quite at liberty to do so.—Yours faithfully, J.O.E.
A Large Export Order.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,183] Sir,—I few weeks since, we had the pleasure of informing you of our receipt of the largest order for motor vehicles yet placed in this country. When such large contracts are placed, it is not usual that the recipients of the eoneract are informed of the reasons which led to their selection for the work, but, in our case, it has been otherwise, for we have just received a letter from the managing director of the Companha Anglo Brazil de Auto Transportes, Rio de Janeiro, which we think will be both interesting and valuable, and we have pleasure in enclosing you herewith copy of same.—Yours faithfully. Coventry. STURMEY MOTORS, LTD.
[COPY.]
" Since the closing of the contract for the fleet of taxicabs, express delivery vans, freight lorries and chars-iebanca with Sturmey Motors, Ltd., by the Anglo-Brazilian Motor Transport Co., Ltd., has been made, I think a statement as to what led up to this contract might be of interest to yon and your friends. After having organized a public service of motorcars in Buenos Ayres, and the experience gained there, and before attempting a similar service in Rio de Janeiro, I determined to make a thorough investigation of the principal makes of vehicles, with a view of finding out for myself the good and had qualities of each, for I had learned by dear experience that at least some of them were not adapted at all to the severe and exacting conditions of such a service in a country where roads and streets were bad, and the material from which the personnel was drawn, was not of the best.
" To this end. I have devoted eight months in England and the Continent, giving up practically all of this time visiting the different factories, using the cars, questioning the employees and users, and thoroughly investigating the details of the different systems, including also materials and workmanship. gradually eliminating those I considered impossible, and narrowing the list clown to a few, Of these few, I found they all had some unique and good qualities, but most of them had finally to he abandoned—generally on the ground that the bad features overbalanced the good.
" The details of this process of elimination would be too many to give here, for I not only had to consider the point of view of cost of upkeep, but the possibilities of their con
tinued service in the hands of a chauffeur whose only aim was the mileage he could get out of his car per day, without regard to what became of the car afterwards, or the cost, of repairs. Badly-paved streets were to he considered; mountain roads were to be iun on; exacting municipal regulations had to be considered ; and extremely fastidious customers had to be satisfied, both as to the luxury of the car and its silence. " A breakdown of a car, 6,000 miles away from the market where the car was made, meant a hundredfold more-serious disaster than at home, in the cost of repair as well as the loss of revenue, so that my investigations finally narrowed down to a very small number.
'Finally I made up my mind that, considering all the conditions of service, the Lotis was considerably ahead of them all, and the combination of the three principal features of that make, viz., the gear, drive, and water circulation, made me decide to use these cars for the entire mixed fleet to be installed in Rio de Janeiro. One feature out of many that attracted my attention was the perfection and absolute certainty with which the Lotis vehicle could be handled in heavy traffic and in narrow streets. The ease and promptness of stopping and backing, the sureness of manipulation in emergency cases, together with its simplicity and silence under all degrees of speed and in making changes, gives the driver a confidence and power in handling his car that is of enormous value to the owner, and, when known to the customers, creates a confidence bound to increase their patronage,
" I wish to add that in my investigations I came across several makes of cars using the same type of gear as the Lotis, but, with the exception of the Dais, the gears all had features of construction that were not satisfactory and might lead to trouble later on, but with the Lotis a verycareful study, and many careful demonstrations, coupled with interviews as to results under working conditions with people using them (and, finally, as a check on my own judgment, taking unbiased expert advice), I made up my mind that this car was nearer the ideal for a public-service car abroad than
any I knew of. (Signed) Wet. W Coee."
London Motorbus Extensions.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,184] Sir,--In the issue of Tun CoMMERCIAL Moeott dated 6th February, 1908, a letter appeared in the correspondence columns, the writer of which advocated the use of London Bridge station-yard as a terminus for motorbus services. On 21st July, 1910, the L.G.O.C. put its Service No. 12 (motor) to work between Turnham Green and London Bridge Station, this being the first motor service to ply directly from the forecourt of this great terminus.
Although there may be no connection between the two facts above mentioned, it is to be noted that a demand existing in 1908 was supplied two-and-a--half years later. I. therefore, beg permission to suggest, through your columns, that North London generally—and more particularly a certain district therein known as Stoke Newington —would benefit immensely if served by a, line of motorbuses from that point to the West End. There is, perhaps, a possibility that a demand existing at the present time may be supplied somewhere about Christmas, 1912, and the first step is to put the demand on record. The present supply is represented hea service (sic) of antiquated horse-drawn vehicles, which the local Press describes as being " beneath contempt." These relies of the past are decorated with the word " Favorite" and the route number "57 "—the latter, possibly, referring to the year in the last century in which the flattering description might have applied!
Companies operating motorbuses in London might find it to their advantage to serve districts where motors are wanted (especially when situated within so narrow an area as the four-mile radius), in preference to points in the outer suburbs—Wanstead for instance, where up-to-date methods of transit are wasted on unappreciative residents.
—Yours faithfully, " NORTH SUBURBAN."