Car Fare

Whether installing a pay phone in his 72-room Surrey mansion or waxing frugal in Playboy magazine, Oilman Jean Paul Getty has proved time and again that he is equally at home pinching a penny in his native U.S. or in his adopted Britain. Last week Getty, 74, was at it again--this time with some advice for British automobile owners anxious to get more miles for their money. "No cost-conscious motorist," said he, with his own inimitable perspective, "can ever afford to be without a chauffeur--even if he secretly plays the part himself."

In other words, wrote Getty in the first issue of Britain's Automobile Association-published magazine Drive, the same chauffeur-style gentleness that "spares back-seat passengers any sudden jolts also gives maximum miles per gallon," and parking "with a suitable air of reverence avoids costly damage to tire walls." At the same time, the kind of tender loving care that chauffeurs generally bring to servicing and polishing "ensures long life for the car and maximum secondhand value."

To dramatize the importance of auto care, Getty provided specifics. "A single faulty spark plug," he wrote, "can add -L-13 [$36.40] to the fuel bill for an average motorist's annual mileage of 7,400. Similarly, an engine filter choked with dirt can cost another -L-6 in the course of a year; defective piston rings -- -L-5; faulty thermostat---L-3; and incorrect ignition setting---L-2."

As for himself, Getty reported that he has driven nothing but Cadillacs since 1916. At present, his two chauffeurs care for a 1967 model on the Continent and a 1960 one (with 35,000 miles on the odometer) in England.

Economy? When he pulls his old Cadillac up to a parking meter, according to Billionaire Getty, "I'm parking 18 ft. 9 in. of car for my sixpence--and that's real value for money."

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