From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Magazine page from 'The Motor' covering news on car taxes, parliamentary questions for motorists, and industry events.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 27\3\ Scan123 | |
| Date | 20th June 1939 | |
| June 20, 1939. 805 The Motor Contd. IN THE NEWS Horse-power Tax Affects Car Sales THE effect of the Budget proposal to increase the horse-power tax on April 25 came too late to have much effect upon the sales of new cars in April. However, instead of the figures showing an increase on those in April, 1938, as was anticipated prior to the Budget shock, there are actually four fewer (for Great Britain). Figures for May will probably show a sharp decline which, if maintained, will indicate that the increased tax may produce a smaller revenue. For the four months ended April, 115,747 new cars were registered, which is 10,731 higher than for the same period in 1938 (figures relating to Great Britain only). The Eights and the Tens are still far and away the most popular car sizes. NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS IN APRIL Private cars Great Britain. Great Britain. Increase h.p. April, 1939. April, 1938. or Total. Total. Decrease 8 . . . . 9,517 7,838 +1,679 9 . . . . 47 79 –32 10 . . . 8,000 7,660 +340 11 . . . 483 853 –370 12 . . . 2,990 3,837 –847 13 . . . 241 279 –38 14 . . . 1,925 2,182 –257 15 . . . 256 408 –152 16 . . . 275 626 –351 17 . . . 349 412 –63 20 . . . 178 210 –32 21 . . . 113 203 –90 22 . . . 109 190 –81 23 . . . --- 2 –2 24 . . . 67 91 –24 25 . . . 141 287 –146 26 . . . 129 114 +15 27 . . . 116 95 +21 28 . . . 28 47 –19 29 . . . 47 57 –10 30 . . . 258 258 -- 31 . . . 47 59 –12 32 . . . 10 12 –2 35 . . . 11 11 -- 36 . . . 21 41 –20 38 . . . 17 32 –15 39 . . . 9 41 –32 Over 40 . . . 5 8 –3 Misc. cars . . 22 26 –4 Total . . . 25,645 25,649 –4 N. Ireland . . 560 552 +8 I.A.E. Summer Visit THE Institution of Automobile Engineers' Summer Meeting takes the form of a week-end in Oxford and district. Friday afternoon, June 30, there will be a visit to Morris Radiator Works at Oxford and a full-dress dinner at the Randolph Hotel in the evening. On July 1 the party will leave Oxford by steamer for Abingdon-on-Thames for lunch, disembarking at Shillingford at tea time to participate in the Graduates' Rally, then on by motorcoach to Wallingford for dinner, followed by an informal evening, returning to Oxford at midnight. On Sunday there will be a tour of Oxford colleges. Members have the privilege of introducing as many guests as they wish, both ladies and gentlemen. The Wrong Answers to Questions in Parliament THERE are many questions asked in Parliament affecting motorists, although rarely reported in the news-papers. But the official record of Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) is often very informative. Government replies are almost invariably evasive. None more so than those from the Ministry of Transport, which has always been remarkable for its ineptitude. Here are a few examples. A question asked by Sir A.{Mr Adams} Wilson concerning the police withholding copies of statements made by witnesses of road accidents, except on subpœna{Mr Nadin}, meets with the Home Secretary's reply that there is no legal obligation to do so. Why in the name of justice should such information be withheld without the expense of issuing a subpœna{Mr Nadin}? A question by Lt.-Cmdr. Tufnell concerning level crossings gives the interesting fact that there are no fewer than 22,656 "accommodation" level crossings, and a statement that a uniform method of safeguarding their use is not practicable, although the Minister, Capt. Euan Wallace, would consider whether there were any steps that he could usefully take. Wing-Cmdr. James wanted to know what steps were being taken to check the "continuing nuisance" of vehicles with inadequate silencers. Capt. Wallace admitted that it would be impracticable to enforce the regulations without the use of a large number of delicate noise-measuring instruments (so that the much-lauded phonometer is not of much use, after all) and indicated that arrangements had been made with manufacturers not to place vehicles on the roads producing an offensive degree of noise. He also said that similar arrangements had been made with the manufacturers of motor horns with a view to the elimination of the more noisy types. A question by Mr. Kennedy hinted that the construction of the Forth Road Bridge was held up by existing transport interests, presumably the railways. The Minister of Transport was not aware of this. Mr. V.{VIENNA} Adams asked the Minister of Transport if he would take powers to include the Cambridge arterial road among the trunk roads so that he could assume direct responsibility for its widening, but he would not feel justified in asking Parliament to amend the Trunk Roads Act. So nothing will be done to hasten the much-needed widening of this road. Asked by Mr. Jenkins if there were any decision yet to construct a road from North to South Wales, Capt. Wallace said that he had no proposals before him from the highway authorities concerned. Of course, if there were any desire to improve the roads of this country the Minister would have taken up this important project. What a game! The Increased Car Tax May Affect Exports, Too EVER since the Great War the British motor industry has been fighting a terrific uphill battle in establishing the sales of British cars overseas. But it has succeeded and in the past few years efforts have met with a considerable measure of success, largely owing to the fact that, since 1935, the higher horse-powered British cars have been developed successfully on lines which made them suitable for overseas use. Now, unfortunately, the big-car trade has been dealt a bitter blow. The increased tax to be imposed in this country next year will undoubtedly react against sales of large cars and consequently against the development of that market. This in turn will be reflected in the loss of prestige overseas and a falling off, it is anticipated, in those markets where we have at last established a stronghold. It was the reduction in tax in 1935 that encouraged manufacturers to introduce larger models at lower prices, and thus they were able to break into important world markets. At present our export trade in light cars represents something like 70,000-80,000 vehicles dispatched annually to urban districts all over the world. Their use is virtually confined to the towns, due to the fact that the roads outside are not, for the most part, of a type for which light cars are entirely suitable. The rural communities prefer the higher-powered, large cars, which are necessary for the different conditions encountered. It is felt by our manufacturers that the imposition of further taxation which, when the h.p. tax is increased to 25s. represents a 66⅔ per cent. additional charge, may have such a harmful effect upon the home market in big cars as to test to a dangerous extent the ability of our industry to maintain the economy of manufacture which may lead to a loss of export trade. Such a thing we cannot afford to risk at the present time and it should be borne in mind that it is possible to lose more ground in export markets during a few short months than it is possible to regain in many years of strenuous effort—perhaps not at all. D9 | ||