Spit and polish

Sir,

You refer, in the May issue, to the forthcoming Town and Country Motoring Festival, which, at first sight, appears to have the makings of a very nice affair and to provide the opportunity for some of we poverty-stricken enthusiasts to win a little hard cash.

However, whilst the event will doubtless attract a number of extremely clean cars, it is unlikely to attract many interesting ones, because, despite the publicity, it is not a concours de elegance but a concours de spit and polish, or concours d’etat it you prefer it.

I have the regulations before me and, out oh the possible marks of 100, 20 are awarded for originality, 20 tor cleanliness of engine, 20 for cleanliness of chassis, 20 for cleanliness of interior and 20 for cleanliness of exterior. Not a mention of “elegance”, beauty of line, or historical interest.

Thisseems to me to be a great pity as the winner will be the car which lett the paint shop the day before, whilst still probably being the ugliest, most ill-designed and commonest breadand-butter car in existence.

This is possibly not the intention of the organisers, and there may well be time to correct it because, as the regulations stand, I feel that it will provide an extremely dull collection of tinware. I am all for keeping cars clean and presentable but, much as I love my cars, I see little virtue in polishing underneath the sump and wings.

Meysey Hampton E. D. WOOLLEY