SHE SAYS...

Press, Issue 32535, 19 February 1971, Page 7

SHE SAYS...

A discussion on smells in cars developed one day recently when we were visiting friends, and I said I thought there was a musty smell in our car, and asked my husband what he had been leaving in the boot or door-pockets. Nearly everyone present had some story to tell about spillages in cars leading to terrible smells which defy all efforts at removal. The trouble seems most commonly caused by milk being spilled: a bottle has been propped up on the floor or on a seat, and has toppled off when the car has been braked or driven round a sharp comer. Milk soaks rapidly into the carpet, and in spite of washing enough remains to create a fearful stench in the confines of a closed car.

If the carpets can be removed from the car easily, the problem doesn’t seem to be so bad, but what usually happens is that milk is splashed o.n to one of these gummed-down areas of carpet which can’t be removed, or soaks through the carpet itself into the felt padding which is stuck to the metal of the floor.

One couple told me that after this happened to them they made up their minds to sell the car, for no matter what they did, the smell re-

mained. The only answer seems to be lots and lots of water, as soon as possible after the spill. Even this does not always work, so you can see the importance of making sure that milk cannot possibly spill in the car when you are driving back from the dairy. The worst “smell story” came from a couple who suffered at the hands of a rather idiotic practical joker- When they were married, the humorist placed a dead fish under the carpet of their car. By the time they found it, the smell was appalling and the fish was literally on the move.

Although they ripped the underfelt right out of the car and bought new carpets they never got rid of the smell, they said. It was still noticeable when they sold the car a year or so later. Others have told me of smells caused by children leaving shellfish or fruit in the boot or glovebox of the family car after an outing, and some of these folks, too, say they never really succeeded in getting rid of the odour.

One of the things the discussion suggested to me was that when you are buying a used car, it would be a good idea to leave it parked in the sun for a while, then open the door and have a good sniff around inside.

Rolls record Rolls-Royce built and delivered more than 2000 cars in 1970, the largest number of Silver Shadows and Bentley T Series produced in any year. The value of cars delivered in 1970 reached a record s3om. More than 50 per cent of production was exported. Deliveries to export markets in 1970 increased by 40 per cent compared with 1969, Rolls-Royce’s previous best year. Production at the company’s Crewe factory may be stepped up to reach 2500 units annually by 1973. VW success The Volkswagen “Beetle" is now the tenth best-sell-ing car in Britain, and has displaced the Vauxhali Victor from tenth position.