THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MOTOR SHOW.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVI, Issue 937, 20 February 1908, Page 12

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MOTOR SHOW.

Comparing the Olympic, England’s largest motor show, with that of the Paris Salon, the largest automobile show in the world, it only shows what the industry is in France. At the Olympia there were 313 stands on the ground floor, covering 35,000 square feet, and those in the gallery 25,000 more feet of exhibits. Over 600 vehicles were displayed. The prices ranged from £2,200 to £lOO. The total value of all exhibits amounted to about £300,000. The value of the exhibits at the Paris Salon, which opened on November 13th, was estimated at £1,000,000. The show was supposed to have been visited by 500,000 people, and the amount of

business done reached six million sterling. The exhibition gave a bird’&|eye view of the evolution of the motorcar for 138 years. The most curious exhibit was the o dest car, built by Cuguot in 1769. The wheels of this ancient car were studded with iron rivets in much the same way as the modern non-skid tyre, while the car was steered by a wheel and the brake applied by a pedal, as in the most up-to-date cars. The exhibits showed a marked increase in moderate priced cars for £lBO to £3O. Cars of from 35 to 60 h.p. showed a diminished demand.. Nearly 600 cars werefitted with Michelin square tread and Semelle or non-skid Michelin.