Subsequently a complete embargo was placed on the entry of American
pleasure cars and the business practically came to a standstill. What is
the result? Let the agent of a well-known popular-priced American car
tell his story.
"Before the war and up to the time of the embargo," he said, "I was
selling a good many American automobiles. With the embargo on cars also
came a prohibition of spare parts. It was absolutely impossible to get
any into the country. Many of my customers wanted replacements, and,
when I could not furnish them, they abandoned the cars I sold them and
bought English-made machines whose parts could be replaced."
All through the motor business in England I found a strong disposition
on the part of the British manufacturer and dealer to create a market
for his own car as soon as the war is over. Some even talked of a large
output of low-priced machines to meet the competition of the familiar
car that put the automobile joke on the map. The only American comeback
to this growing prejudice is to build factories or assembling plants
within the British Isles. This will save excessive freight rates, keep
down the costly-tariff "overhead," and get the benefit of all the
goodwill accruing from the employment of British labour.
A by-product of British exclusion is the inauguration of a
Made-in-England campaign. Buy a hat in Regent Street or Oxford Street
and you see stamped on the inside band the words, "British Manufacture.
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