Trojan Cars

York
1926
Silent
5m

There's no need to renew your socks with the Trojan Utility Car - you simply can't afford not to have one!

The quirky Trojan Utility Car was anything but conventional. A dish-shaped tray housed the engine and gear box underneath the seats, which also doubled up as the chassis. The car's transmission utilised a chain to drive the already antiquated solid tyre wheels. To prove how economical the car was, the company championed the slogan "Can you afford to walk?" and calculated that, over 200 miles, it would cost more in shoes and socks than it would to go by Trojan!

We'd dearly love to know the locations used in this film, which covers many miles. A busy street with Tudor-style buildings and a cathedral or castle in the background, an LNER east coast express train and an Ayrshire motor dealer... Can you help?

The Open Road

Whether you're going by road, rail, air or sea, this collection of screen ads doesn’t just get you from A to B, it offers a road map to an A-Z of desirable destinations.

Throughout the 20th century, screen advertising helped transform the car from luxury conveyance for the wealthy to essential commodity, 'hand-built by robots'. It saw out the last days of steam, and made 'the age of the train'. And it presented travel - at home or abroad - as a route to a better life.