THE £l00 CAR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 115, 17 May 1930, Page 13

THE £l00 CAR

MADE IN GERMANY? FIGHT FOR SUPREMACY. (By Gerald Ely.) Little attention seems to have been paid to the report that General Motors, Ltd., are about to engage in mass production on a large scale of the German Opel car; yet this circumstance has a definite interest to motorists outside of Germany, for the new Opel car is to cost £99 in its simplest form, and once the £lOO car materialises in Germany it is safe to hazard that it will soon be seen in almost every other country. The Opel car in its present form is to Germany what the Citroen is to France, the Morris Cowley to Great Britain and the Ford to America. In the United States, General Motors have done exceedingly well with the Chevrolet as their reply to the Ford, but so far they have been unable to obtain in European countries the same übiquity for the Chevrolet as Mr Henry Ford has secured for the car bearing his name. Bearing in mind the struggle for supremacy that has been waged in recent years between Mr Ford on the one hand and General Motors on the other, the inference becomes almost irresistible that the latter organisation intend at some time or other to try to fight the Ford with an even lower-priced car, the Ope], General Motors will probably devote themselves at first to consolidating their position on 11 e Continent of Europe and will then proceed to manufacture the Opel in other countries, much in the same way as the Ford organisation is spreading its factories from Turkey to Dagenham on the Thames.

Challenge and The Reply. Already General Motors possess extensive factories at Hendon and Luton and it would be easy for them to extend their activities at any rate in this country. American mass-producers have al ways been attracted by the idea of a cai that woo d be suitable for European requirements, but since the Erskine cir was introduced by Studebaker some years ago as a -vehicle designed specially for the European market and it did not sweep everything before it as its designers imag m d it might, such projects have hung fire and the American

Hianufaclurers have devoted themselves instead to marketing cars wlf >.l> approximated at any rate in bodvworic much more to English practice." The new Ford car with its mediumpowered engine bol Is the field so far m thj sphere of low pixced America i cars and it will be interesting to see whether General Motors can challenge this popularity with the German-de-signed Opel. It is fairly clear that they cannot now hope to do so with their six-cylin-der Chevrolet which, despite the "fact that it is a wonderfully good car for the money, is in a different class by reason of its much more powerful engine, lhe growing vogue of the six-cylinder car is a distinct point In favour of the Chevrolet, but against that must be placed the much heavier h.p. tax which it involves. lhere ought to be some interesting developments in the Ford-General Motors contest in the near future. Will British Makers Follow? Assuming that tho Opel is successfully launched in Europe as the longawaited £10(1 car, it must follow almost inevitably that British makers of massproduced cars will not remain content to let foreigners scoop the £lOO car ' inn - ■ 1 l ,c of such men as Sir Herbert Austin, Mr W. E. Bullock (who controls the destinies of Singer) and ‘,’ r William Morris, has always been that what foreign makers can do in the way °f cheap cars, they also can do. The British £lOO car will therefore not tarry Jong after the foreign £lOO ear makes its appearance on tho British market. Personally I shall not view the advent of any make of £lOO car With much enthusiasm. My opinion has always been that in such a commodity as a motor-car there is a limit of price beyond which it is not safe to work. W e all know how c.s’ts of labour and material have gone up in recent years and we also know that few firms of motor-car manufacturers are making really substantial profits Tho general opinion among British manufacturers is that tho £l2O-£l3O car represents such a limit in price and that it is impossibe to sell a car that can be called a car at much less than that price unless, of course, it is produced ’n such huge quantities that even a few shillings profit on each car will make production worth while

Mr Henry Ford and 'General Motors with their vast resources and worldwide markets may conceivably find it worth while to manufacture ears on so slender a margin of profit but mil British mass producers have neither the iesources nor the marketing organisation to emulate them.

It is too early yet to be dogmat. c about these things, but for what it is worth I express the opinion that our British mass producer would do well to ignore the challenge of the foreign-de-signed £lOO car when it materialises and to continue to devote themselves instead to cars that are built up to a standard instead of down to a price. Rally Reflections. The Monte Carlo Rally was won by tho Licorne, a make of car of which the majority of British motorists hav« never heard and the name of which, if it suggests anything at all, suggests armorial bearings rather than automobiles. This result shows that the failure of other and better known cars is not due to any defects in the cars themselves but i»> the nature of the rules and regulations governing the rally.

For instance, it is absurd to say that the Rolls Royce, which was 77th. in the list is an inferior car to the Licorne. It follows therefore that the poorish show made by British cars in the contest need not be looked upon in any tragic light. The best British performance was that of the Triumph Super Seven driven by Donald Healy, who made Tallinn, formerly known as Reval, his starting point. He finished seventh, which is certainly very creditable considering the fact that he drove so small a car. “Hard Luck” strikes relating to the contest arc as varied as they are numerous, and curiously enough some of the worst accidents happened on the way to the starting points. Discouraging Experience.

Mr Healey on his way from Riga to Tallinn was unfortunate enough to “ditch.” his car and barely managed to have it repaired before he was due

to set off for Monte Carlo. He therefore had no time to overhaul his car which luckily for him behaved admirably after that.

Mrs Victor Bruce had an even worse experience. When about 25 miles from Sundsvall the car got out of control on a steep hill covered with ice. Gathering speed it dashed down tho hill bounding against rocks from one side to the other, finally leaping the side of the road and falling on to rocks and trees below. Two wheels were broken, the axle shaft and the steering were bent, the front springs, petrol tank, running boards and wings were broken and the chassis cross-member was bent. But the crew and the engine remained intact, and it was found possible on towing the car into Sundsvall, to repair it within the brief space of 24 hours available before the scheduled starting time. British cars made a much better show in the Comfort Competition following the rally at Monte Carlo. Car comfort is a thing not governed by rules and regulations. Either a car is comfortable or it is not, and it says much for the excellence of British coach-building that so many places should have gone to British cars, headed by the 25 h.p. Sunbeam which won the Grand Prix for comfort.