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).
Page from 'The Autocar' magazine dated 1919, discussing garages, motor fuel and featuring a Talbot car.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 40\4\ Scan002 | |
| Date | 5th July 1919 | |
| THE AUTOCAR, July 5th, 1919. On the Road. 3 It affords an example of what some people can be, and—well, it’s still rather a sore subject. “I know,” I said, “don’t worry.” Presently we came to Reading, or, rather, to where the Bath Road made a detour around it. “It seems to me,” I said, mentally, “that the garage people of Reading have a grievance against the new road. I can see no garage signs here.” “We have done away with all roadside advertisements outside towns. Inside, some of them are so artistic that they improve the view, but in the country we have no use for them. The A.U.—that’s the supreme motor body, you know—issued a ukase for-bidding its members to patronise any establishment advertised in a garish manner outside towns, and published a list. That very quickly put an end to the beastly things. They ruined the view and obstructed vision; therefore, they went unregretted by everybody but the cows that used them as rubbing posts. The Reformed Garage. “Garages are perhaps the biggest development of all for motorists. As soon as most motorists became members of the A.U., it occurred to them—as every class of the community was seeking, quite rightly, its own ends—that they might share in benefits that hitherto lack of organisation and cohesion had not put in their way. They got tired of paying huge sums for tiny repairs and replacements, and the revolt was led by an article in The Autocar by a writer—one never satisfied and always hyper-critical—who complained that he was charged half-a-crown for merely putting a new cover on a spare rim and blowing it up: a job that he could have done himself in ten minutes. That was the spark that kindled the fire, and the result was that the leading motoring organisation cast about to ascertain if its members would appreciate the idea of having in some places their own garages, taking a lead from the co-operative system that some people had found so marvellously effective and economical during the war. The result was extraordinary: the motoring world jumped at the notion, and within a couple of years there were about fifty A.U. garages in full swing, giving all member-motorists full value for their money, and even present-ing them with a bonus at Christmas according to the amount of their purchases. Except for the fact that the big motor manufacturers were always invent-ing new things and generally keeping British motor-dom to the front, I verily believe the A.U. would be building new cars for its members. As it is, its own runabout has met and completely knocked out the very-cheap American invasion, although we must allow that, if it had not been for the flood of one certain Yankee car over here, there would not have been half as many motorists in existence as there are. “The A.U. employs thousands of people, men who have a call on their country to be helped, and its ever-growing business enables it never to refuse a man who is entitled to aid. Not that any unemployment exists, the time has long gone by when the idea that too big an output of production would result in a general lowering of wages. To-day we can turn out things by the aid of new inventions and our skilled labour as cheaply and as well as can any other part of the world. Wages were never higher or better earned. Motor Fuel in the New State. “Just after the war was ended the chief drawback to a more universal development of the automobile was the high price of petrol, owing both to its having to be imported and to the fact that its sale was almost the monopoly of a couple of private companies. Relief, however, was at hand. Oil, first sought for in England in war-time, was discovered, and Parliament at once realised its importance. In spite of very natural protests, it became the absolute property of the State, although adequate compensation was paid to the owners of the land for disturbance of occupation and destruction of amenities. In other ways they gained also, but the main blessing of this new treasure arose from the fact that its sale helped to pay for the cost of the war, its quantity cut down the cost of all transport by more than a half, and the absurd prices ruling in 1919 for all kinds of motor fuel vanished, leaving plenty of profit for all shareholders because, in the huge consequent increase in all internal combustion engines, there was always a ready sale for fuel from whatever source it might come. Benzole, alcohol, gas under compression, producer gas and steam all got going, and all the world has realised that the world is progressing beyond the stage it had reached when Armageddon burst upon it.” If this was a dream—well, I am willing to bet that it will not be very long before most of it becomes fact. There is nothing impossible in any of it—and it does not depend on anything but commonsense to bring it all to pass. We motorists can help towards the ideal even now; for we can combine to show dissatisfaction with the state of affairs which still continues to keep us from having one huge, all-powerful, proper, joint organisation to look after all our interests. We want commonsense—not salutes. Some of us have had too much saluting of late. [Image Caption] A NOTABLE HILL-CLIMBER. Many a hard fought hill-climb in the past has been won on Talbot cars. The 1919 model has been greatly improved in details, notably the higher and rounded radiator. The four-cylinder engine is 80 mm. by 120 mm. bore and stroke (2,412 c.c.), and an electric starting motor and electric lighting are provided. The car was described in “The Autocar” of May 10th. 827 | ||