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Motoring In The 30s.

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Stitcher

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The number of road accidents grew with the advent of motoring. This led to the introduction of 'The Highway Code' in 1931, and it was updated four years later. In 1934, driving tests became compulsory for anyone who wanted a license, the test cost 7/6d. Pedestrian crossings were standardised and Belisha Beacons were introduced, they were so called after the Minister of Transport whose name was Leslie Hore-Belisha, and all urban areas had a 30mph limit imposed. By this time there were almost one and a half million cars on the roads and to help road safety cats eyes were bought into use in 1935. An extensive range of cars was on offer with a large powerful Lagonda for £595 at one end of the range, and a much more compact Austin 7 at £120 at the other end.
 
Car manufacturers advertised their latest models with countryside images and sunlit picnics away from the hurly burly of city life and traffic jams. Women were more often portrayed at the wheel, but motor-cycles were for men with a woman on the pillion or in the sidecar. A motorcycle could cost from £18 for a Wolf 147cc. up to £46 for a Triumph 2.49 h.p.
 
What was the average salary back then...about 2pound 10s a week. Way beyond the aspirations of most. I think the ratio is more favourable today...still there are other considerations now. Great thread this.
 
Hello Rupert, I suppose when we see a price of a few pennies for what we now pay a few pounds for we imagine owning everything. As you point out, it was not like thatat all and many people worked and still struggled for normal neccesaties. I was hoping someone could/would post a conversion chart sort of thing giving us the equivalent value of the £ between the thirties and today.
 
Well...I don't have a table but will bear it in mind. For the time being from my knowledge, and thinking about equivalent vehicles in Canada...an average car in Canada would be about $22,000 in 1989 not considering taxes and delivery, whatever that is. Today at the same position in the market...well...about $22,000. Hmmm. Oh...but the average income of ordinary skilled workers outside of large unionised institutions has not increased in 20 years very much, if at all. 'That's in actual dollars' not adjusted for inflation...zilch increase. So the average anual salary for the last 20 years would be approx twice the price of a car.in the 1930s average annual salary would be a half of the price of an average car.

Imported vehicles from far east have kept the prices down which is important for those living on a fixed income and needing transportation. What the ratio would have been with domestic production only is not known.

This is only one aspect of living standard but a decent guide perhaps. Apart from this the cost of living index for other things has risen a bit every year.

Back in 1970 the average sallery approx was about 1.75 x the price of an average car. So the ratio has been reasonably stable for quite some time.
 
Chris I am most intrieged what was a brummie car doing in pre natzi germany,? and why do the blokes look like americans out of a gangster movi??
paul
 
Hi Stitch.,You know it must have been great pleasure to drive around in those days despite the increase of any accidents
now you certainly need eyes in the back of your head and there was not any speed cameras then aye
now what about the guy last week got nicked for signaling other drivers on the rd of the speed camera operating
in days gone bye the a a drivers would salute you in time to warn you of the speed camera they never got nicked did they
how can they say the driver was flashing other drivers to warn them it could have been a family member he was flashing
it will be intresting to see how the case penns out
any way stitch keep them coming astonion
 
Astonian, I have to agree with you about the pleasure of the old models and the open roads. My friend who died recently was three years older than me, and served an apprenticeship at the Rover in Clay Lane. His National Service was deferred until he was 21 and he was married before he was called up. He was an army driver and when he was de-mobbed his dad would lend him the family car, an old Ford Pop. Three adults and two children with a picnic was the load for a day out at Skegness. It was a trouble-free pleasant journey in both directions with about six hours on the beach whenever we did the trip which was about three times a year for a couple of years by which time the children were a little too big for the five of us to fit into four seats. Happy days.
I personally have owned an old Humber Super Snipe ex army staff car with the long bonnet and running boards, a Humber Sceptre and an American Ford v8 Pilot and several other models.
The problem now is a very low standard of driving and too many vehicles overall with official figures stating that up to about 4,000,000 of them being on the road illegally.
 
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HI STITCH
Yes i remember the humber snipes and the other cars you mentioned they was terrif cars on the subject of illegal cars on the rd
i do beleive you are quite right we are becoming like in ireland where a couple of years ago there report was that 90 percent of the population was not insured nor did they held a full licncence and driving around the irelands
i watched the highway cops the other night youmay have seen it or not on the m 5 6 our police pulled a big transport lorry from irelandand the young chap was from ireland and he drove over from ireland and he did not hold any such licence from ireland or english one so they inpounded his lorryand they contacted the gaurda over there to tell his boss to send another driver to continue its delivery as you know years ago it was a pleasure to drive but no more i have beleive it or not been considering myself to stop but its the mrs i have to take around because where we live in worcestershire itsbleak for transport the local shop is four miles walk
by the way its been a pleasurefollowing your threads on the forum
i hope you and bren have a nice day best wishes astonion
 
Stitcher said:
View attachment 63174 .View attachment 63173 .View attachment 63172 .View attachment 63171
As previously, stated all these images are taken from a museum of advertisements so the pictures will not be a perfect immage of the real thing. I find a certain facination when looking closely at these images and they always strengthen my belief that pre-war life was not as bad as I was always led to believe.
Click to expand...
Very good thread, Stitcher. Great!
How well you fared in pre-war life, though, depended on your class, I suppose. Life was rosy if you came from the upper echelons of society; not so pretty if you were at the bottom! My parents could never afford a car..........
 
I don't know about the standard...it seems to me that you need all of your witts about you to handle the driving and complete personal life on the phone at one time. Throw in an on screen direction finder and it's a pretty busy place to be. Seeing the old adverts and instruction books it is obvious that merely driving a car was considered a complete occupation back then requiring all of your attention. Then someone snook in a radio and it's been all down hill since. Anyway, remembering the old cars in England and unlimited highways (most could not break 80 mph) and mostly more open roads...it was better back then. When a ride in a car of any kind was a very infrequent occurance; well... it was more coveted.
I think that it was Oisin on here who said that 'the old cars had more charachter' and he was right I believe. I don't have experience with major machines but remember the Wolsley 1500 and Morris Minors and such. They did not have neck snapping acceleration but they got the job done in some style and the aroma of the leather can still be remembered as I write. Today we have contraptions that will leave long strips of rubber on the tarmac with a terminal speed that can only be imagined...all to drive at...60 MPH. 'or else'. Perhaps, with all of the toys inside, even that is too high.
 
Astonian, I am glad you find a bit of pleaseure in this thread, There will be some more from the war era and the following decade later.
 
Rupert said:
There is a fascinating storey that goes with the Riley in Berlin....
Click to expand...

Thanks for inserting that link, Rupert. There was a Forum thread devoted to this subject some time ago. If anyone wants to discuss the picture further, could we do it there, please, so that we do not divert from Stitcher's excellent thread here.

Chris
 
My 1938 Morris 8 was a pleasure to drive. It had a blind you could pull up at the back, so you weren't dazzled by the following car's lights! Plus a sidevalve engine, spoked wheels, oil pressure and amperage gauges, and leather seats. Wished I had it now! ACO 161..A Plymouth number, I think....Scrapped in 1965.
 
Smethwick Striver, my Ford Pilot had four buttons and if had a flat or needed to work on a wheel, I pressed the appropriate button and a built in jack would extend from the chassis and lift that wheel from the floor.
I also had a standard 8 amongst various British cars. Another nice one, although a little more modern was a 3 litre Austin Vandem Plas in the late 60s. I used that on Private Hire for Supreme Cars in Handsworth, the office was where the Indian Temple is now situated.
 
Had forgotten about the rear window blinds which some cars had. Our family's 1940 Ford Prefect had one, I think. AND, even more useful, a starting handle! (As well as an immobiliser - obligatory at that time).

Here's a pic of my father's 1936 Ford V8 after an encounter at the junction of Queslett Road and Chester Road in 1937. Then at Cutler's Garage, Streetly but later returned, restored to pristine condition. The other bloke came off worse in his Vauxhall and was I think later convicted. Happily no one was hurt which is a bit of a miracle for those pre-seatbelt/airbag days. Wish I had a decent picture of it in undamaged condition.

Chris
 
Hello Stitcher! What great motoring days, eh? My mate had a V8 Pilot - wild acceleration but the brakes department was non-existent! Great thumb-breakers, starting handles, Chris!
 
Chris, although there is a lot to be said for modern technology, the fun has gone from motoring. On reflection, how good is technology anyway? Lap speeds have not increased that dramatically over years on race circuits or for M/cycles in the TT races. When you consider the speeds a few dacades ago when they raced hard tyres and dreadful road surfaces, They must have been far better drivers/riders.
 
I think in the older days drivers were expected to be operators and in the same way as steam loco engineers they had a decent or at least a knowledge of how things worked. Although the current cars are more 'user friendly' so to speak and more reliable...drivers now are not as capable on the whole I think.
 
As you say Rupert, no knowledge of mechanical workings, how many of these young men and women who drive too fast and too close know what is going on when they depress the clutch pedal?
 
The older cars were less reliable Rupert but they were also simpler to maintain and most lads had a working knowledge to do roadside repairs now my Renault Laguna whose whole mechanical, and electrical systems are all computorised needs to get dianostics at the cost of £65ph plus vat just to tell you whats wrong????
paul stacey
 
Sheesh Stitch....have'nt had my foot on one of those things in years. manual operated clutches here have a problem on the highway. You wear out too many clutch master cylinder seals on main highways; in Toronto anyway. Too many stop starts and low gear changes. Makes your left leg ache too.

Cashier...."do you have air miles"

Customer..."no I don't fly...it makes my arms ache"
 
Hello Rupert, sorry about the delay with the reply but I am always doing several things at once so I get behind with one or two of them.
I prefer a manual because I had an automatic black taxi once and it caused me so much grief with lost earnings because of breakdowns that I declared I would never again have an auto.
My son on the other hand has a new Mercedes Sprinter van every year for his Locksmith Company and would not entertain a manual.
 
Well Stitch, Maybe years ago in the UK might be different but for many years nowadays automatics have been very reliable on American cars and, with more speed ranges now, they have become better and more economical on gas. We have had a small Accent runabout (Hyundai) for 5 years now and, although I was a bit dubious about buying a small foreign product with auto at first, it has proven to be a great buy. Runs great and no concerns whatsoever. Everything works and have not had to spend a penny on it. Free oil changes were part of the deal. OK. being retired we don't put as many miles on the clock as we used to, but still we had long distances to drive, in the first years, every second week or so to visit my wifes mom. It's ouside now sitting under a blanket of snow in 10 degrees below 0 fahrenheight. Hmmm. have to go out to the store in a bit for milk. We don't travel about much in the winter but will have to buy gas next month for sure.
 
I too have a Hyundai but mine is a tuscan which was chosen for the ease of getting in and out with replaced hip and knee joints. Mine too has never cost a penny for any repair other than services. It is manual but I could be persuaded to go for a smaller model with auto if and when I renew. In England the driving license is suspeneded on your 70th birthday until you have passed some medical questions and in my case an eye test, then a new license every three years. My license now is valid for two more years from this month so I may not bother renew my vehicle again depending on how I fair with the next set of questions.
I do appreciate that when I had my auto taxi it was quite a new thing in the trade and it failed because of all the hard driving in regard to stopping and starting in constant traffic and I suppose vast improvements have been made in recent years.
 
Yeah, I like a little higher car for more elegant entry end exiting, but not at the expense of having to drive a significantly larger vehicle. The smaller ones are so easy to negotiate parking lots and find places to park in and I like a vehicle that is more lively to handle on the road....but side winds in the open country here is also a factor that has to be considered in buying a small light car. Suprisingly the little Accent is not affected by sidewinds much at all...maybe they have a larger castor angle or something. Everything that is designed in is a tradeoff though.
 
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