Observations at Olympia.
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By Henry Sturmey.
Now that the show is over and one has time to recollect it, I am just jotting down a few observations I made during the period of its existence, in the hope they may prove in teresting and even, perhaps, useful. In the first place, as I have already mentioned elsewhere, looking down upon the show from the gallery, I was struck by the dwarfing effect of the large stands and large units exhibited. The vast hall of Olympia looked quite small, it would be in teresting, as a comparison, to see the building filled with, say, a cycle show. I imagine it would look almost bewildering in size and expans.e of view, but the remarkable effect of comparison had not struck me before. And talking of looking down on the show from above, one got an insight into quite another aspect of affairs by so doing. Half an hour's observation of things below gave a bird's-eye view of the trade way of doing things, and this afforded food for reflection. It was possible to watch the happenings at the several stands, and to form some idea as to the exhibits which proved most attractive to the public, and also to note how that public was appreciated by the different exhibitors. When it is remembered that, in some cases, the expenses attendant upon occupying space at the show must have run into Lsoo or A;000, it was certainly sornewhat surprising to see the exhibits apparently left to themselves, and the public left to fnd out about them as best it could. A commissionaire looks very nice and " respectable," and even imposing; but, if the only information he is able to impart is the handing out of a price list, whether it be a commissionaire or an office boy in his Sunday clothes who does this, if he can do no more, he is of little real utility. Yet, this amount of " attendance " characterised the stand of more than one firm of light and leading. Again, it was instructive, at other stands, where an apparently better-informed attendant was installed, to watch his utter indifference to the passing crowd. Comfortably ensconced in an easy chair, and engrossed in a newspaper, dozens could pause and inspect the exhibits without any attempt being made to interest them further, and it was only when some more insistent seeker after knowledge approached and questioned him that he could be tempted to discuss business, and whilst, in several cases, the stands were left the entire day in the charge of a single individual, and were often entirely unattended, it appeared to be quite an exceptional thing for a principal to put in an appearance.
On the other hand, there were some exhibits which were particularly well looked after; there were always at least two attendants in charge, and it was a rare thing to see anyone stop to examine a vehicle without one or the other of those in charge being promptly on the spot to explain. This is as it should be, for an exhibition is not only a show room, but an educative institution, and intelligent information imparted to visitors frequently has a far-reaching effect. What .good some firms think they are doing for themselves, by arranging an elaborate and expensive exhibit, and then practically leaving it to take care of itself, is hard to understand.
Motorcab Developments.
The feature of the show was undoubtedly the number of taxicabs shown, and the remarkable sameness in nearly all of them. These exhibits, for the most part, heralded the entry of pleasure-car makers into the commercial arena, with cab bodies built up upon modifications of their regular chassis. For the most part, the successful example of the Renault and " Unic " firms was followed, and two-cylinder engines fitted, but one or two, who have evidently given but scant consideration to the real needs of the problem-and probably because they have four-cylinder engines on hand—were attempting to attract patronege by the fitting of such engines. Just why four-cylinder engines are wanted in a vehicle, in which simplicity of construction and fewness of parts are the chief desiderata, it is difficult to perceive, but T overheard one attendant, when expatiating on the points of his cab, lay particular stress upon this possesskm, Indeed, he appeared to have very little else to say about it, as he explained little to his prospective clients, but kept chipping into their conversation with " It's a forr-ceelentier engene '--he flailed from the land of Burns. While on the subject of rnotorcabs, there was undoubtedly a great deal of interest taken in them, especially by the " taxicabbies " themselves, who were keen critics, and evidently bent upon shortly becoming their own masters, for I had a lot of enquiries re small syndicates of horse and motor cabmen. Many of them were very anxious about speed, as they wanted a cab which was faster than the vehicles of the Express Cab Company, which are reckoned the fastest cabs on the streets to-day. Others were more intent on matters of power and hill-climbing capacity, for they said the Renaults were all right in the streets, but, directly they got out of London and struck a hill on a suburban trip, they were very slow, whilst a few were more intent on considerations of upkeep, as they said the existing cab companies were beginning to find both gears and tires much more expensive to maintain than these newcomers cared to contemplate. I fancy these latter were working on sounder lines than their fellows, though I am inclined to think that, when all the cabs that are on order, or are about to be ordered, come on the streets, someone is going to" feel the draught," as the average takings must fall far below the present figures, and then those companies with expensive organisations must suffer first.
The Light Van.
In the light-van trade, several new models were shown, chiefly by pleasure-car firms, and I noticed that one firm in particular was making a feature of interchangeable bodies, a seductive, but possibly dangerous, proposal. In using the word dangerous, I do not mean personally dangerous, but dangerous where manufacturers' reputations and customers' satisfaction are concerned. I have never yet known a combination tool of any kind to be any good, and a combination motorcar will be no exception to the rule. I noticed that, in all these cases, the cars offered were fitted with pneumatic tires, thus indicating their pleasure-ear nature, and, indeed, one maker, when arguing the question of suitability of his chassis for conunercial work, candidly admitted it was not a commercial car chassis at all! I was very sorry to see so many of these pneumatic-tired vans on show, for I feel very strongly that they must, in time, do much to check and keep back the commercial-car movement, owing to their getting into the hands of people who will use them for unsuitable purposes, and then find fault with inotorvans, as such, when they prove unsatisfactory, a happening which has frequently occurred in the past, and which has put many intending buyers of motor business vehicles " off " the idea.
Bonnets and Gears.
So far as regards the true commercial vehicles, and especially the medium class—one to three tons—some very fine constructions were shown, and I was particularly interested to observe how steadily the idea of putting the engine under the footboards, and thereby picking up the wasted length taken up by the bonnet, is gaining ground. I have, from the first, advocated this principle, seeing that, in the commercial-vehicle market, we have not to consider the fads and fancies of, in mechanical matters, a partially-educated public; but, to solve the problem of motor transport in the most practical manner, from all points of view, and where commercial work is considered, the bonnet is an anachronism which, in time, will disappear.
Friction drive found an exponent on view at the show, but only one. This system makes but little headway with us, though there are several cars in America worked on the principle. It certainly is both simple and inexpensive, and is an attractive feature where low cost of construction and low upkeep are considerations—which they are, of course, in commercial work. We may yet see its adoption for light work, though it has an immense amount of prejudice to overcome before it can be at all generally accepted. It is much the same with epicyclic gear, of which the " Lotis make was, I believe, the only example ; yet there were several firms making a special feature of gear systems which, in one way or another, removed some of the drawbacks of the sliding gear, which latter, although in reality far from ideal for commercial work—as has been well instanced by motor omnibus experience—is still the only general 'system. Absentees.
There were a few vacant spaces in the building, which would have been, I think, filled, had the Society interpreted its bond differently. This most certainly keeps some steam wagons and tractors away, and, unless I mistake not, will ultimately keep others away, if no alteration is made. Of course, with vacant places in the show, the signing of the bond, or otherwise, doesn't so very much matter, so far as regards getting space is concerned, but, all the same, it gives some firms a preference in space selection, and old engineering firms would rather stay away altogether than appear in any way to play second fiddle to others. In connection with steam, there was certainly one novel introduction which should make its mark, and that was the new Critchley-Norris system : I shall watch its progress with much interest.
Hope Chiefly.
To sum up the exhibition as a whole, I think it was a success. It was certainly a good show, and enquiries were fairly plentiful, though I do not think either these or orders quite came up to expectations. Last year's show was the first, and somewhat experimental, and a great deal of business was not expected, but I know that in most quarters "god business" was looked for this year, as the commercial community are being daily educated to the employment of motor vehicles. The process, however, is a slow one, and in some cases the experience is unconvincing, to say the least of it, as instance a case in point, where a firm installed
three vans on pleasure-car chassis, and, after a year's use, abandoned them, and went back to horses, because, as they put it, "The constant stopping and starting ruined the machinery "—in other words, the lightly-built sliding gear proved unequal to the task. This story was related to me by a man who had been contemplating the purchase of a motor vehicle, but he decided against it by reason of the unfortunate experience named. It must also be remembered that trade throughout the country just now is very bad, owing to many causes, governmental and otherwise, and that this, too, is causing many to hesitate and to await better times before buying. One thing, however, is plain, as one well-known manufacturer put it to me during the show, and that is that commercial-car building is not only a trade by itself, but that it is only a trade as yet, and not an industry. The big pleasure-car firms, who have overorganised their producing powers, will find little or no relief by entering this branch of the business, in which, as yet, there is not business enough to be done, even with suitable vehicles, to keep huge organisations occupied. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast," and we all hope for better times, and for results from the show which may yet materialise, but although, personally, J have no reason to be dissatisfied with the results of the exhibition, I know that there will be many who will agree with the psalmist that " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick," and will be disappointed that the long foretold " boom " in commercial vehicles has not yet arrived, and that there is no immediate prospect (thank goodness) of its doing so.