Utility for Coaches a Farce
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GOVERNMENT Departments have, at times, issued some very foolish instructions and, to our mind, one of the most ridiculous of these was the circular from the Ministry of Supply sent out on March 5 to all coachbuilders, concerning so-called luxury coaches. It was a request to them to refrain from fitting sliding roofs, clocks, mirrors, de luxe seats and other refinements, such as veneer roof panelling. It was notable as not being a legal requirement, but behind it lay the threat of a withholding of essential materials to those concerns which did not come to heel.
At the time we strongly queried the lack of a definition for a luxury body, expressed the view that little saving would be effected, and remarked that the appropriate date of April 1 had been selected for the " suggestion " to be applied. We also referred to the stocks of material, some in the form of finished parts, which would be made useless. A little later the bodybuilders were notified that they could use up these stocks, and a further instruction was that luxury bodies could be supplied for tourist coaches employed in earning hard currency from visitors.
Utility Bodies " Finished " Later The indefinite character of the scheme was foolish, and, in fact, the whole demand piffling. One could apparently fit an expensive radio but not a clock or mirror, yet purchasers of the vehicles could go around the corner and buy those accessories. They could even obtain them from the coachbuilders, whilst in some cases wellfinished bodies were removed from the works, their fixed roofs cut away—thus wasting much good material—and sliding roofs inserted.
Some bodybuilders have apparently taken no notice of the Ministerial wishes. Those in a small way of business could obtain enough materials from various sources without worrying about quotas. Thus the circular constituted an encouragement to a form of black-marketing. On the other hand, those in a larger way of business could not afford to take such a risk against the threat of the suspension of their supplies, and were therefore placed at a definite disadvantage.
That this is a practical consideration is fully indicated by the fact that valuable orders have been lost because of the inability of some big bodybuilders to meet the requirements of potential customers, who demanded better • equipped bodies with the " forbidden " fittings such as sliding roofs and comfortable seats. What was more galling was that they said they could obtain these elsewhere.
It seems also that no consideration to passengers was given by the Ministry of Supply. The luxury coach is essentially the poor man's private car, and it is annoying to him to find that those in better financial circumstances can buy cars with full luxury equipment. TI2ere are, of course, many people who travel by coach even if they own or could afford to buy cars, but the utility-type vehicle is not likely to make a strong appeal to them and, consequently, those coach operators who cannot obtain the better-finished vehicles or who do not modify utility types may lose custom.
In a coach, comfortable seats constitute most important, if not essential, things, whilst expenditure in the materials employed in making them comfortable is so little as to be negligible in relation to the number of vehicles that can be made available. It is a case of saving pennies and wasting pounds.
Discomfort Imposed for Years Coaches are not expendable products designed and built to last for a few months. They will probably be in operation for several years. For all that time the utility types will be faced with public disapproval, also considerable unfair competition from existing luxury models and those new vehicles which have beaten the ban.
Our strong advice to the Minister of Supply is to issue another circular requesting coachbuilders to put their best work and fittings into these British products which have become so popular with the majority of our people. It is not good publicity for our industry to have sparsely equipped and uncomfortable vehicles running all over the country. We may not be able to eat much, dress well or travel extensively abroad, but let us at least travel in reasonable comfort at home.