'Be demanding customers!
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THE highest standards of design were found where the customers demanded them, the Duke of Gloucester told transport engineers last week. And he urged them to "keep their guard up " to see that designers and engineers were allowed to override the salesmen in maintaining those design standards.
The Duke was proposing the toast of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers at the IRTE's 30th anniversary luncheon in London.
He applauded the way in which members of such institutes worked jointly for their industry—more effectively than equivalent governmentrun bodies could do—while individually many were "competing like mad" for business.
While cars were, he thought, too often designed for the showroom rather than the road, he found lorry designs much more "convincing."
IRTE president Mr G. McKay said the event celebrated the inaugural luncheon 30 years ago in the same Connaught Rooms by founderpresident Mr G. Mackenzie Junner and his colleagues (Mr Junner was present at last week's luncheon together with three other past presidents and one of the other two surviving founder-members, Mr L. B. Andrews).
Past president Lord Chesham thought the Institute was 30 years young in its active programmes and 30 years old in terms of institutional experience.