Sales In Cape Town

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Sir, Having just hitch-hiked from the Zambian Copper-belt to Cape Town (about 3,000 miles) I thought you might be interested in the makes and types of vehicles I travelled in, so I compiled the following list.

Zambia
Rover: 2000. Land Rover.
Toyota: Truck (5-ton). truck (5-ton), pick-up (2-ton) pick-up (2-ton), saloon.
Peugeot : Pick-up (1-ton), saloon.
Mercedes: Truck (5-ton).
Fiat : 850 saloon.
Mazda: Pick-up (1-ton), pick-up (1-ton).

Rhodesia
Ford: Falcon pick-up, Falcon pick-up, Cortina saloon. Cortina estate. Fairlane.
Mercedes: Saloon (1956-180 ?).
Austin: Cambridge (1962), Mini (1962), Westminster (1964).
Renault: 12 saloon.
Diahatsu: Pick-up (1-ton).
Chevrolet: Pick-up (2¼-ton).
Toyota: Saloon,
BMW: Saloon.

South Africa
Citroen: DS19.
Chevrolet: Saloon, pick-up, saloon, pick-up, station-wagon.
Ford: Capri, Zodiac. Cortina, Cortina pick-up. Falcon pick-up.
Peugeot : Saloon, saloon, pick-up.
Toyota: Pick-up, saloon. saloon, saloon.
VW: 1500 saloon. 1500 saloon, Beetle.

Fiat: Saloon.
Opel: Saloon, saloon.
Mazda: Pick-up, pick-up, pick-up.
Land Rover.
Mercedes: Saloon, saloon, saloon.

As you cats see, of the 67 only 14 are possibly of British manufacture; perhaps British Leyland and Ford may draw their own conclusions!

I’d like to take this opportunity too to register my admiration for the Datsun SSS, in which I covered 267 miles at an average speed of over 70 m.p.h., including mountain passes and a stretch of dirt road and stops for petrol and to collect a cabbage! Also to express my horror of the petrol tank fixing on the Chevrolet Chevelle. It consists simply of two steel straps, one end being hooked in a slot, the other bolted its a downward facing slot under the rear bumper. Needless to say, should these bolts work loose the weight of the tank pulls them down the slot and – away tank. This occurrence is somewhat unnerving when in “rural” Zambia 150 miles from the nearest garage and 40 from the nearest petrol! However, a 5-gall. jerrycan on the back seat with a plastic pipe to the fuel line works wonders, and to my knowledge for the next few weeks that car did at least 1.300 miles with that arrangement. Motoring in Africa has its moments.

My compliments on your excellent magazine.

Newlands, Cape Town. C. SCOTT.