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THE PARIS SHOW FROM EVERY ASPECT.

28th October 1924
Page 16
Page 16, 28th October 1924 — THE PARIS SHOW FROM EVERY ASPECT.
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A Wonderful Display of France's Finest Industrial Vehicles. Bids to Capture World Trade. Making the Most of Opportunity. Points in Chassis Design. Passenger Vehicles and Coachwork, All-wheel Braking. Municipal Motors. Tipping Gears and Loading Devices. Goods Vehicles. Miscellaneous Exhibits.

LAST WEDNESDAY saw the opening of what is certainly the finest show of commercial vehicles which has ever taken place in France, and it is of particular importance, not only from the point of view of the great progress which has been made in many directions, but also because this may be the last opportunity of studying and comparing French design for a period of two years, for there .is a strong feeling in the French industry against the holding of the Show next year. There is no doubt that France is making every effort to produce commercial vehicles second to none. There is no hampering of design ; if a thing be considered good it is adopted forthwith, and this is where we feel that we must issue a note of warning to the ultra-careful amongst our manufacturers. Take all-wheei brakes, for instance. To our mind, there is ample proof that these give a stopping efficiency incomparably greater than does the two-wheel type, and yet how many of our new commercial vehicle chassis are so equipped? And this while France is showing the world what she can do ! Unquestionably, there is need for the greatest care in design of front-wheel brakes and of the parts affected by their employment. But not many British manufacturers have even reached the stage of considering the need for studying design. What has happened in the case of this one feature is happening with many others. We ought to be the first in the field of new development instead of second, for our products are probably every bit as good and, in some cases, vastly better, than those of our world competitors, but we seemingly allow others to step in front of us and obtain the credit for that freshness in design which is the outward sign of a valuable inner energy., In the field of cross-country transport there is ample scope for development, but here again the lead has been taken, and we have leeway to make up.

c32 France has been quick to see that, in the creeper track, there is available an appliance which renders a vehicle entirely independent of roads and made tracka. With a much smaller area of undeveloped country in its colonies than we possess in the British. Dominions, it has made a strong and definite move to open unimportant districts which are being held hack merely through the want of transport facilities. We are glad, however, that there are at least half a dozen British makers paying attention to the subject. Of equal importance with creeper tracks and multiwheel support for opening up undeveloped country is the gas-producer plant, which enables internalcombustion engines to be run on gas produced from charcoal—a material producible almost anywhere in the world. The French are developing this apparatus for use in their own agricultural districts, and must benefit largely by the cheapness of fuel that will result.

The virulence of French design and the enterprise in construction evidenced at the Commercial Motor Show in Paris must inevitably make a good impression upon visitors, of whom many will come from overseas. We are confirmed believers in the usefulness of shows, being convinced that the good they do continues long after their doors have closed. It will therefore be very curious if French makers leave the field open to British makers next year as the British makers have left it open this year to their foreign rivals.

We consider it essential that the progress of design in other countries should be followed very closely in order to prevent any possibility of our home products developing along lines which may bar them from the export trade. We have, therefore, gone to considerable trouble to classify the information contained in the following pages, and collected on the spot by our representatives in such a manner as to make comparisons far _easier.

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Locations: PARIS

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