OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted."
Steel Wheels v. Wood Wheels.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
(1732) Sir,—We were interested in reading your article on this subject in your issue of May 25th.
Whilst manufacturers are rapidly being converted to the use of all steel wheels, it seems to us that the user should also have a voice in the matter.
So far as our experience goes, we find that, almost in every case where a user has had experience of steel and wooden wheels, he prefers the latter. They are more resilient and there is not so much wear and tear on the machine as where steel wheels are used.
The reason that wooden wheels have not always given satisfaction in the past is that, in a great many cases, the design and, frequently, the 'method of manufacture have not been thoroughly understood. Wooden wheels, if properly made from well-seasoned material, will not give trouble during hot weather if they are well looked after.
There is another advantage in using wooden wheels, which can hardly be claimed for the steel variety, namely, that they can be repaired at a price which shows a considerable saving on the cost of new. Steel wheels, speaking generally, do not lend themselves to repair, and there are very few firms who will undertake this classof work.
A good proportion of the heavy type machines imported from America have wooden wheels, which are of fairly light design for the loads they have to carry, and we think anyone who has had experience of American lorries will admit that very little trouble is experienced with the wheels.
When trade settles down, and the user is in a more independent position than he is at present, we are inclined to think that he will not accept a good many of the types of steel wheels now coming on to the market, which he is bound to do under present conditions.
The wooden wheel will net go out of existence if the manufacturers will see to it that they use good and suitable material, well seasoned, and the workmanship is thoroughly well done.—Yours faithfully,
SMITH, PARFREY AND CO., LTD.
The Agent and First Adjustments.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
(1733) Sir,—The article in your issue of June 1st by your contributor "Vim," entitled "The Agent and First Adjustments," criticising the one written by Mr. L. M. Seabrooke, of Messrs. John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., and appearing in your issue of May 18th, has come before me for attention, and I would like to comment upon it.
It seems to me that the perspective of both ma,nufacturers and agents is largely distorted on the question of how far an agent is called upon to make adjustments to new motor vehicles.
Looking at the matter purely from a point of. view of principle and policy, as well as the actual eonditions, the agent is called upon to make any adjustments which may be necessary for the upkeep and maintenance of the vehicle after taking delivery, unless the difficulties are such that new parts are essential.
Manufacturers, at the present day, are gradually specializing on one type of production, consequently all parts are being turned out with a standard finish.
This enables goods to be supplied at a much cheaper rate than was formerly possible, and, consequently, enlarges the market for these products. 4\ny adjustment necessary for making the vehicle do more than an average performance does not fall to the manufacturer at. all, but really to the customer, as, should this fineness of adjustment be demanded by the customer, the manufacturer would have to include it in the price of his product, which, in new methods of production, is not done.
Motor vehicles are supplied as standard vehicles according to a standard specification, and the agent knows the quality of what he is buying, and should take all these things into calculation when fixing up his contracts, and when taking delivery. If the agent finds that, after taking delivery of vehicles, the cost of adjustments which he can charge up to the customer is excessive, he has the remedy of refusing delivery of the next vehicle until he has assured himself that the manufacturer has not been consistently negligent in assembling the parts. This, of course, would not be of consequence at the present day, but in the course of the next 12 months when manufacturers will not have their products snatched out of their hands as soon as completed, the natural law of supply and demand will entail the obligation on the manufacturers to turn out their. vehicles in such a manner as to satisfy the agent without varying at all the principles of responsibility for adjustments after delivery. The line of demarcation is, assuredly, the moment of delivery, when all the obligation passes to the purchaser, modified only by the makers' guarantee, and their endeavours to maintain their goodwill, by going above their guarantee. in exceptional circumstances. If the agent is only going to act as factor and to sell goods over the counter, the discount of 15 per cent. to 20 per cent. is surely more than the service of the agent warrants. The above circumstances, taken into conjunction with the manufacturers agreeing that agents should have the handling of all general repairs of the vehicles, and their encouraging customers to patronize the agent for repairs, would enable the agent ta shoulder the whole of this responsibility and give good service on the vehicles for which he was agent. The agent would then be inclined to specialize rather more closely on a few makes of vehicle, whereas, at tlA present time, he undertakes to supply any make, which means that he is really agent for no one and that he has specialized facilities for repairs,to no particular make, but just jogs along, more or less botching up jobs in turn, which is distinctly to the detriment of the reputation of the trade as a whole.
There are, of course, notable exceptions to this last paragraph, but, as a rule, it is fairly accurate. —Yours faithfully.,, GERALD Buss, Service Manager, The Austin Motor Co., Ltd.