AUSTIN EXTENSIONS.
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Mr. Herbert Austin,. the .governing director of the Austin Motor Co., Ltd., was happy in his choice of a day, on the fine Wednesday ot last week, when he decided to entertain, down at the works at Northfield, near Birmingham, a few of his friends in the industry, and to afford them an opportunity to see what has been done in respect of works extension. and equipment there during the last year or so. We ourselves were amongst the favoured guests, and spent an enjoyable half-day amongst the plant with. which Austio chassis are produced.
The machine-tool equipment is a particularly upto-.date one, and includes no obsolete machinery of any kind. The gear-cutting plant, the grinding installation, and the collection of milling machines, all in their way are exceptionally • good collections of their kind, and include examples of the latest machine-tool manufacturers' productions. The workshops now cover 8 acres, with over 400 machine tools installed.
There are many processes in the Austin works which are seldom if ever found in other establishments of a similar nature. Their adoption is due undoubtedly to the originality of method for which nr. Herbert Austin has always been celebrated. As was aptly said at a. luncheon which followed the works inspection, "There is individualism at the back of the Austin notion, individualism but not freakishness." A solitary example will perhaps suffice to illustrate the point. EachAustiti engine is tested in a glass-enclosed cornpaaament which is practically sound-proof, a refinement of equipment which will be particularly appreciated by those who have often wondered how engine testers were able to detect differences of tune and note as between several engines, all of which, it may be, . are being tested with accompanying noise alongside each other. The Austin engine-testing "greenhouses,' as they have been irreverently dubbed, are typical of the company's thoroughness and its individuality.
The governing director claims that the reason the Austin chassis has such an excellent name with users is not that it is a better car in design but because his staff " takes more care" than many others.
Part of the considerable extensions which are contemplated in the near future will consist of a testing track one mile round, in the course of which there will be a test hill of 1 in 5. Mr. Austin said several goad things at the luncheon, and amongst these we must content ourselves with quoting the following: "Users of many types of pleasure cars would find it cheaper if they consistently hired taxicabs." Again, in reference to the credit necessitated by foreign trade, " It is not passible successfully to combine the businesses of motor manufacturer and moneylender." The company's present and future appear bright.