Just finished a book titled The British Motor Industry 1896-1939: A social
and Economic History. It had some interesting information on the history of
British car manufacturing. Unfortunately, the author says only good of
everyone mentioned in the book except a man named Harry J. Lawson who tried
to lease or buy the early patents in order to make others pay him a royalty
if they wanted to manufacture cars. Other than Lawson, there is no real
lowdown on who did what to whom.
Joseph Lucas started out as an oil merchant, and then began manufacturing
lamps to sell with his oil. Late in the 19th century bicycles became a
popular means of transport because of what the author calls the invention of
safety bicycles. The penny farthing required some agility, and it was a
long way to fall when you had an accident. These new bicycles were easy and
safe to ride. Lucas saw the market, and began manufacturing lamps for the
new bicycles. When autos came along he enlarged the lamp to fit automobiles.
It was only a stumble from there to electric bits and pieces.
Other interesting information:
Shell Oil was so named because the founders business was making novelties
out of shells he bought from returning sailors.
For years no license or training was necessary to drive a car. The
pedestrian toll was enormous. The author tells of one woman who bought an
automobile and drove away without any instructions. When she got to her
destination she didnt know how to turn the car around in one of those three
point reverses. She had to enlist the aid of several gentlemen who picked
the car up and pointed it in the right direction.
The fist driving schools divided instruction between driving and mechanics.
An early magazine article listed all the lubricant, tools, and spares needed
when making a trip. Sounds familiar.
When it was suggested that drivers licenses should be required, the British
public thought it an invasion of their rights. Same with speed limits.
Austin and Morris were described as geniuses when it came to producing large
quantities of cars. Austin secretly designed his Austin 7, and it became a
big seller. He was knighted for his efforts.
Early on, Morris knew the value of happy employees and developed a pension
plan as well as medical benefits for his workers. There were bonuses for
ideas that made production more efficient. He also sacked anyone who made a
mistake.
It is interesting that as they grew older and richer both men grew
insufferably arrogant. Both men became anti labor, and when they took shop
management away from the stewards, their labor troubles began. There is
little resemblance between the men depicted in this early book, and the men
who were depicted in *The Decline and Fall of the British Car Industry*. *The
Decline *tells of one incident when Austin was told that a car was not ready
to be distributed. His answer was to send it out anyway and let the
customers find the problems.
A bit of a heavy read, but interesting enough to keep the pages turning.
Jack
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Healeys@autox.team.net
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