Britain's Entries

In Manhattan's flag-and flower-decked Grand Central Palace, British automakers opened their first U.S. show last week. On the first day, 15,000 car-curious New Yorkers crowded in and admired the sleek, rakish models, as different from each other as they are from the standardized design of U.S. cars.

The models in the show ranged in price (delivered in New York) from $149 for Austin Motor Co.'s pedal-power racer for moppets to $14,780 for a Rolls-Royce town car. Most eye-catching entries were Daimler's linden green five-passenger convertible ($13,025) and a six-passenger black sedan ($7,150) which has collapsible tables for the rear-seat passengers, a cosmetic shelf behind the rear side-window, and a dashboard pushbutton to draw shades across the rear window. Runners-up were the Javelin Jupiter ($2,548) of Jowett Cars, Ltd., a dashing convertible that would do 95 m.p.h., and the rakish Jaguar two-seater convertible ($3,945) with a maximum speed of 130 m.p.h.

For Slim Purses. There were plenty of other cars at prices more in line with the U.S. family budget. The Rootes group, one of the "big six" British manufacturers and a big exporter to the U.S. and Canada, sent a slick five-passenger Hillman Minx convertible ($1,745), and a four-cylinder Humber Hawk sedan ($1,997) that came close to looking like a U.S. car.

Thanks to devaluation of the pound, some of the smallest of the British cars were priced well under U.S. cars. Nuffield's two-passenger MG Midget was down to $1,850 delivered in New York, Austin's five-passenger sedan was tagged at $1,480 (its "hardtop" is higher), and Ford Motor Co. Ltd.'s small, four-passenger Anglia was cut to $998.

For Students. Despite the low prices and sporty lines of the cars, show shoppers had some complaints. Long-legged Americans used to roomy motor cars found it hard to get in & out of the smaller cars, thought they would be uncomfortable on long drives. Moreover, the trade-in value of British autos was low. By & large, the British product was likely to appeal chiefly to sportsmen, racing-car buffs, college students with indulgent parents, and families that could afford two cars--one from Detroit.

The British hoped to sell their cars in that kind of specialty market, rather than to try to compete with Detroit. In 1948, when U.S. cars were hard to get, the British sold some 16,000 autos in the U.S. Last year, as waiting lists disappeared, British sales dropped to 14,000. This year, with demand for cars still high, the British hope to do better. Some of the British automakers, perhaps overoptimistically, think they can sell 50,000 cars in the U.S. next year. Even if they do, Detroit need hardly be concerned. The total would amount to less than 1% of U.S. output.

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