On this day in Yorkshire

March 23, 1950

Garage proprietors are beginning to experience the pre-Easter rush of repair work to make vintage models which have been laid up during the winter months serviceable again in time for the holiday season.

More cars than ever are likely be on the road this Easter. A new quarter begins on Saturday, and during the last 10 days the local taxation office in Leeds has dealt with about 400 applications for licence renewals. These are only the first trickle towards the spate expected next week.

Many of the early applications both in Leeds and the West Riding offices in Wakefield are for licences at half the usual rate. They come from motorists and motor-cyclists who will be using only the standard petrol ration.

Few motorists consider it an economic proposition to keep cars on the road for the mileage permissible with the meagre standard ration available during the winter months if they have no supplementary allowance.

Even with the extra allowance for the three summer months, the cost for each mile is heavy, but it is outweighed by the convenience of being able to use cars for holiday purposes.

An astonishing feature of motoring these days is the way which cars 15 years old or more, which in normal times would have reached the scrapheap long ago, are still giving excellent service.

Some of them have a mileage record of from 150,000 to 200,000, and are striking examples of the quality of British engineering. These big mileages, of course, have only been possible by installing a succession of new, or reconditioned engines.

I know one 13-year-old model, for instance, which cost only £100 when new, and has had five changes of engine.

Considerably more difficulty, I hear, is being experienced in obtaining spares for some of the popular post-War models, particularly replacements for panels damaged in accidents. There is also a marked shortage of accessories.

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