Dufay Motors of Great Portland St

[tali]

In 1964, Dufay Motors of Great Portland St Birmingham began importing the Daihatsu Compagno Berlina,
does anyone have any further info on Dufay Motors or recall them and when they left the premises
They managed to sell only 6 DaihatsuCompagno Berlinas btw

 

[zagaevens]

tali, I know it was a while ago when you posted asking about DUFAY motors, but did you find anything about them, I assume they aren't trading anymore. I'm on a forum for collectors of matchbox models of yesteryear and one of our members has aquried a gift wear tray with a Daimler on it and engraved with DUFAY on the tray, it would have been produced in the mid 1960s. I'm hoping to find some providence for it. If you have any ideas if it was a promotional gift from DUFAY motors, maybe when they promoted the Daihatsu.

 

[Lloyd]

Extract from a book on Motor trade advertising in the 1960s which suggests that although the company had Birmingham in its title, it was actually based in London:

 

[Lloyd]

I wonder if they are associated with this model railway importing company? (From 1963 phone book).

 

[zagaevens]

Lloyd, thank you for your lead with this information. I will keep keep you informed of progress.

 

[zagaevens]

Lloyd , when I entered DUFAY (B'ham)Ltd Trix Models, Rlys and search, it came up in Grace's Guide to British Industrial History.
The Trix group was bought by Ewart Holdings in 1957 but with insufficient money coming in the financial position worsened and Holdings collapsed. A major creditor was DUFAY LTD who aquried the assets of Trix and Precision Models. As a company Dufay seem to keep reinventing them selves and today Dufaylite.
Maybe the Matchbox Yesteryear gift tray was promoting DUFAY as a company not an event.

 

[James Franco]

Having googled Dufay of Birmingham in search of an archive photo or any further information, I stumbled upon this forum. Please see below the information I have from classicsworld.co.uk;

DAIHATSU COMPAGNO (1963-1970)
How sad that the first Japanese marque to arrive on our shores was the first to depart! Sold in the UK from May 1965, the Daihatsu Compagno range was imported by Dufay of Birmingham, a film stock specialist more used to selling cameras than cars. It offered the Compagno passenger car line in its entirety: two and four door Berlinas, along with an estate and a Vignale-styled cabriolet Spider were made available. Compagno vans and pick-ups, alas, were not imported.
The Compagno Berlina 800’s £799 price tag in 1965 priced it out of contention with comparably sized cars; despite an impressive array of standard equipment (which included an all-important heater, tinted glass and an electrical aerial for the factory-fitted radio) when all was said and done it was a separate-chassied, small-engined saloon car from a marque with no pedigree.
Dufay managed to sell six (yes, six) Compagnos in the UK; perhaps of more interest to pedants and historians than driving enthusiasts, a restored example can be bought for under five figures – including Vignale Spiders, which fetch the highest asking prices.

The link to the website is here: https://classicsworld.co.uk/guides/market-trends-60s-japanese-cars/

 

[Robert Ensor (bob)]

Having googled Dufay of Birmingham in search of an archive photo or any further information, I stumbled upon this forum. Please see below the information I have from classicsworld.co.uk;

DAIHATSU COMPAGNO (1963-1970)
How sad that the first Japanese marque to arrive on our shores was the first to depart! Sold in the UK from May 1965, the Daihatsu Compagno range was imported by Dufay of Birmingham, a film stock specialist more used to selling cameras than cars. It offered the Compagno passenger car line in its entirety: two and four door Berlinas, along with an estate and a Vignale-styled cabriolet Spider were made available. Compagno vans and pick-ups, alas, were not imported.
The Compagno Berlina 800’s £799 price tag in 1965 priced it out of contention with comparably sized cars; despite an impressive array of standard equipment (which included an all-important heater, tinted glass and an electrical aerial for the factory-fitted radio) when all was said and done it was a separate-chassied, small-engined saloon car from a marque with no pedigree.
Dufay managed to sell six (yes, six) Compagnos in the UK; perhaps of more interest to pedants and historians than driving enthusiasts, a restored example can be bought for under five figures – including Vignale Spiders, which fetch the highest asking prices.

The link to the website is here: https://classicsworld.co.uk/guides/market-trends-60s-japanese-cars/

Well very interesting post never heard of the car company or the importers
But I am very well aware of Vignale a Turin based coach builder, and untill I read your post I had no idea of a connection with Japanese auto maker/s
That would explain how Japanese cars were offered with a Italian flair in it's name, Spyder, Berlinas
( Berlinetta) ).
Please PM me if you have a link to any Vignale designed cars.
Thank you