ALTHOUGH mass-production methods of manufacture have become the law everywhere in Europe since 1935, it takes three times as many man-hours to build a car in France as in the United States, Mr. Brull points out.
French output has remained stationary at around 200,000 cars for three or four years, he explains, partly because of the fiscal pressure of increasing taxation. As an example he shows that French gasoline taxes are 164% of the cost price of gasoline compared with 66% for England, and 37% for the United States. Not only has motor traffic been slowed down by this pressure, he shows, but so also has the income brought in by such taxes. After portraying further some of the elements of the light-car problem in Europe, and particularly in France, Mr. Brull divides the European light-car market into three overlapping types, corresponding to distinct public requirements, and gives details of various European examples of each type:
- 1.
The 2 to 4-seater, 5 to 6 hp, 2 to 4 cyl, weighing 800 to 1000 lb.
- 2.
The 4 to 5-seater, 8 to 11 hp, 4 cyl, weighing 1500 to 1800 lb.
- 3.
The 4 to 6-seater, 11 to 15 hp, 4 to 6 cyl, weighing 1800 to 2600 lb.
Among the more striking present types of European light cars reviewed in detail by Mr. Brull are the 7, 11, and 15-hp Citroëns, the Peugeot 202 and 402, the Renault “Javaquatre,” and the Simca 5 and 8 hp.