Making The Most Of It, Documentary, 1957

Pictures provided by: dsl

1955 Austin A30 Van

1956 Austin A30 Van

1956 Austin A35

1956 Austin A35 Pickup

1956 Austin A40 Cambridge

1951 Austin A40 Pickup

1956 Austin A50 Cambridge

1955 Austin A90 Westminster

1956 Austin A95 Westminster

1948 Austin K8

1950 BMMO D5 B

Bristol LS

1952 Citroën Big Fifteen

1954 Commer QX MkIII

1955 Daimler Conquest Century MkI

1955 Ford Consul MkI

1953 Hillman Minx Phase VI

1955 Hillman Minx Phase VIII

1947 Jaguar 2½ Litre [Mk.IV]

1946 Jowett Bradford Van

1951 Jowett Javelin

1956 Morris Cowley

1949 Morris Oxford

1954 Morris Oxford

1939 Morris Ten

1950 Morris ¼-Ton O-Type Van

1948 Morris-Commercial FV

1952 Reliant Regal MkI

Rolls-Royce Phantom II

1955 Volkswagen Pick-up T1 [Typ 2]

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dsl ◊ 2015-06-12 22:55	Nothing on imcdb. Taken from this DVD with the cover picture showing the main car (a nice blue A35) - see /movie.php?id=1004516488 . Can also be viewed at Link to "www.britishpathe.com" , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXv_y6HYwD4 . Straightforward account of a 2-day 524-mile economy test around central and south England (London to Lyme Regis to Lincoln to London) in December 1956. Organised for BMC by the RAC who acted as official observers, and supported by the editor of "The Motor" magazine as co-driver. Very rigorous procedures - RAC blokes turn up at Longbridge, select an A35 at random off the production line to ensure completely standard, and then supervise its final inspection and running-in period. The only modification is to change the petrol filler so that it can only be filled inside the boot As the RAC official keeps the boot key with him on the trip, it prevents any fuell being added without his knowledge. Every fill is precisely topped up to calibration mark End result - 53.7 mpg at average speed of 31.6 mph Only 12 minutes long, but more interesting than it sounds. Travelogue commentary identifies all the places en route, so great time-warp footage of olde Englandshire and its pre-motorway A-roads. And all the trivial meticulousness of the rules and regulations are so amusingly stiff and formal. Early footage at Longbridge assembly lines also fascinating - particularly the mix of old/new versions seen being assembled side by side eg A30s and A35s, ducktail A40/A50 Cambridge and longtail A95 all mixed up. Lots of 1* backgrounds - have only picked out the best. As ever with Pathe, very high quality sharp footage, but rainy December weather so poor light conditions, so grainier than most of their stuff which means some cars too murky to capture. Lots of petrol pumps eg - they used Shell Premium as the official fuel.
rjluna2 ◊ 2015-06-13 05:17	Imperial miles per gallon?
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2015-06-13 09:04	rjluna2 wrote Imperial miles per gallon? Of course. England was a very Imperial place in those days, we still have the larger gallon, but fuel now comes in litres and each litre costs about what FIVE gallons did in 1956. I recall my Dad moaning when a gallon of Super Shell reach 5 shillings, (£0.25), and I see a litre of diesel two days ago in this area at £1.265. -- Last edit: 2015-06-13 11:19:59
sixcyl ◊ 2015-06-13 09:10	But the pumps are BP in this picture
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2015-06-13 09:25	Shell and BP were closely allied in those days, and frequently the independent forecourts would have sold both brands with the pumps adjacent. There's also a National Benzole and a Power Petroleum pump in that picture, and if you look at the Daimler picture, the Shell pump is at the end next to the Power Petroleum pump. Having watched the film, I stayed in the same hotel as the Inspectors while doing a course on Enterprise Resource Planning. No complaints, and the course was quite good as well. I didn't think much of his driving, he hit a kerb parking before lunch (after lunch I could have understood), and indulged in a couple of dodgy overtakes in a car so gutless. -- Last edit: 2015-06-13 11:07:59
rjluna2 ◊ 2015-06-13 15:11	johnfromstaffs wrote Of course. England was a very Imperial place in those days, we still have the larger gallon, but fuel now comes in litres and each litre costs about what FIVE gallons did in 1956. johnfromstaffs wrote I recall my Dad moaning when a gallon of Super Shell reach 5 shillings, (£0.25), and I see a litre of diesel two days ago in this area at £1.265. Wow
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2015-06-13 15:26	The litre of diesel at £1.265 was on sale at a large filling station on the main road into Stoke on Trent, (pop. 249,000) right by the junction to the M6, so it was not a case of country prices being inflated by distance to deliver the stuff. There are 3.78541 litres per U.S. Gallon, and 1.56 USD per GBP today, so giving 7.47 USD per U.S. gallon of diesel. Now you know why we want 50 miles per gallon. -- Last edit: 2015-06-13 15:37:09
rjluna2 ◊ 2015-06-14 01:29	Yikes that is almost 2 1/2 times of cost compare to what we have to pay in our market!
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2015-06-14 08:09	The largest part of this is tax, and goes straight to the government.
rjluna2 ◊ 2015-06-15 03:49	Yes, the VAT tax. We do have similar tax system: Federal, State and local fuel tax system.
antp ◊ 2015-06-16 19:47	The VAT is a sales tax around 20% depending on the country in EU, applied to most of the goods, but for gas there is an extra tax part. -- Last edit: 2015-06-16 19:48:09
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2015-06-16 23:00	antp wrote The VAT is a sales tax around 20% depending on the country in EU, applied to most of the goods, but for gas there is an extra tax part. And in UK they add all the extra duties to the sale price of the fuel, and charge VAT on the total. A tax on a tax! Marvellous.

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