Filling Station Decline

Sir,

I fear that your reporter has got his figures wrong in his story “Motoring to a Crisis?” in your December issue.

I retailed the forecast made to me by the marketing director of a major oil company that there might only be 17,000 filling stations in Britain by 1985. This is a drop of 11,000 from the present total of 28,000, not a drop of 20,000 as reported in Motor Sport. It is, of course, still a very serious matter if the prediction is true.

And the drive of several of the major oil companies not to renew the contracts of the smaller filling stations in the rural areas is certainly going to head us in that direction.

London W1, Philip Stein – Director of Public Relations, Motor Agents Association