TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
ON SEVERAL occasions emphasis has been laid in these notes on the desirability of getting the full advertising value out of a Motor van. Without in . any way going back on the views previously expressed, it is, however, necessary to give a word of warning.
The Van as an Advertising Medium.
Some users have recently tried to produce something too startling in the way of a moving advertise-. ment and have, consequently, got into trouble with the police and have had their vehicles ordered off the road. The point is, of course, that an advertising " stunt " may be so ingenious as to defeat its own ends, since we must remember all the time that the safety of the public must be the first consideration in the public thoroughfares. There was, for example, no lack of ingenuity in the idea of fitting up of a vehicle to look as if it were travelling backwards when really travelling forwards. A certain amount of useful goods-carrying space had to be sacrificed so as to provide at the back of the vehicle a dummy radiator and driver's seat. Moreover, a man had to be employed, apparently as a driver at the wrong enfi, while the actual driver at the other end was kept out of sight so far as possible. Nobody could help looking twice at a vehicle apparently careering at full speed backwardS down the road with the driver completely out of sight of approaching traffic.
Why Matters May Not be Overdone.
However, the presence of such a vehicle is very disturbing to other drivers and, consequently, liable to lead to accidents. People near it are naturally confused as to the direction in which it is going to move and, when it is moving, other drivers are attracted by the monstrosity to divert their attention from their own jobs. Consequently, what was unquestionably a very clever piece of advertising, had it been permitted, must, in fact, have proved an expensive piece of publicity because only a very little time elapsed before the vehicle was compulsorily withdrawn. Other less astonishing examples that have also got themselves disliked by the police have been vans equipped with very brilliant electrical illuminations, giving rapidly changing effects on the same principle as electric sky signs. One imagines that the idea may be used, provided that it is done with care. the changing lights being placed well above the ordinary traffic level and not being too brilliant. It is evident enough that care ie needed, as a kind of firework display under the nose of a horse must be very liable to lead to accident and the dazzling effect of changing lights may equally cause serious consequences by temporarily blinding the drivers of other motor vehicles.
The Use of the Freak Motor Vehicle.
When one comes to machines intended erimariiv for advertising and only to a very lesser extent for conveying goods, something in the nature of a freak may perhaps be justified. For these freaks, I should be inclined to advise my readers to inquire in France as there were plenty of them to be seen at the last Paris motor salon. A freak is not necessarily a mechanical absurdity. It may be a reasonably practical vehicle, and, while it may fail because the ordinary individual does not care to be seen in it, this very fact, leading to its scarcity, may make it a good advertisement.. cannot say to what extent French motorists are taking up the somewhat weird system of drawing a car forward by a large aerial propeller in front. Certainly such machines are sufficiently rare in this country to attract any amount of attention, and the selection of one .of them for very light duty and mainly as an advertisement may, therefore, be justified, but the limitations upon the design and use of. such a vehicle would be very-great.
Deviations from Standard Chassis.
The purchaser of a motor van who possesses, perhaps,. quite amateur knowledge of motor vehicles should be warned against falling into the error of emphasizing his own prejudices and preferences, which, while they may reasonably affect. his selection of a private car, should be discounted when purchasing commercial vehicles. Up to a point, of course, one's judgment may be properly influenced by one's personal experiences. It must, howevereq be remembered that a trade vehicle is a different proposition from a private car, and what might be a reasonable gratification of personal taste in the one case might equally be a wilful extravagance in the other case. These remarks apply less to the choice of vehicles as between the products of various firms than to the not uncommon practice of insisting that some particular firm shall supply something which is not ih accordance with its standard practice. If the business of the manufacturer is properly organized, every deviation from standard, however slight it may appear to the outsider, is almost certain to mean a big increase in the cost of production. As often as not the suggested alteration can only be arranged by making also' a number of other alterations not specifically suggested. The work of the factory is planned to produce every part in the correct corresponding numbers, and if, in some cases, special parts must be produced, then the balance of the output of the factory is disturbed and, at. the end of a little time, instead of the full number of complete -vehicles having been turned out, the output of complete vehicles has been reduced and excessive numbers of certain parts are in stock. Thus the overhead charges are pushed up and the user who has brought this about must naturally be asked to pay the cost, which is almost certainly far in excess of any advantages that he would derive froth the incorporation in his vehicle of the special features that he has indicated.
Special Design of Bodies.
When we consider the design for a trade vehicle body as distinct from the chassis, the remarks made above do not by any means always hold good. A van body produced in quantity to -a standard design may be more or less fitted to the needs of all trades, but cannot be specially fitted to the needs of :any one trade. In most instances, the desirable modifications do not amount to alterations in the design, but rather to additions, such as the fitting up of the-interior with shelves or drawers. In some cases, -however, it may be worth while to have the body specially designed from first to last, the object generally being to provide that the contents shall be so arranged that they can be very promptly dealt with at stopping places. A body intelligently designed to the needs of a special trade may mean quite a big saving in terminal and intermediate delays during the day, and, consequently, its higher cost as compared with the standard body may be justified many times over.