"Oh Dear" Department

A BONANZA, regrettably, for this column, last month. In “Matters Of Moment” there was the delightful statement that this year’s Veteran Car Run was sponsored by the Comte Albert de Dion and his partner Mon. Georges Bouton. As both these gentlemen died many years ago and had probably never heard of the revived “Emancipation Run”, that was a notable clanger; we had intended to say that the RAC organised the 1982 Run. Better still, and something any kid could have spotted, I was made to say that the oldest car entered for the Run was a 1982 Benz, when I had written correctly 1892 . . . That one should live long in the annals of motoring howlers! Especially as lower down the page it was said that the AA was entering its 1964 Renault, in an event for pre-1905 cars; their well-known Renault motor-carriage is of 1904 dating, of course.

Then on page 1524 the price of the Jappic was given correctly as £150 in the text but as £180 in the picture-caption. On page 1487 the Francis-Barnett motorcycle had fused piston-rings, not pistol-rings, although I concede that this has a nice technical ring to it, and the machine did 55 m.p.h., not 55 r.p.m., which would be slow even for a tiny two-stroke! Also, on that page, the Chevrolet van I referred to was an early model, not a “dearly” model. Page 1490— it was Reginald, not Reginal, Straker who campaigned special Rileys in 1926, and the Mathis Six featured in the “Fragments On Forgotten Makes” article last month had dual magneto ignition, not magnetic ignition, although again I sense some kind of technical breakthrough. It was driven at Brooklands by Homsted, not by Hornstead. The Bugatti shown on page 1522 was intended to be seen in the entire context of Malcolm Campbell’s contemporary advertisement, in which he claimed that it would do approx. 100 m.p.h. and had a speed range of 8 to 100 m.p.h. in top gear (it was a Type 37), cost £550 with dynamo lighting and spare wheel and that trial runs could be arranged from Sussex Place, close to South Ken Tube station. Apart from literals and disjointed sentences here and there, that’s about it, for last month. Except that in my footnote to a letter, I was made to say that the Issigonis Mini-Minor has little round wheels, which, having driven these cars, I am actually aware of— little road wheels was intended. Also, a classic clanger by me, the Fiat / Napier Match Race at Brooklands, and L48’s 119.34 m.p.h. record, took place in 1908, not in 1907. Our apologies, from a contrite office-staff. — Ed.