The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-01
Fortune Made in London
 From Old Automobiles
ny NJ. HERNAIz BECERA

London, May 1.-CSpecial. .)-Opportunity
 which the sages say knocks but once at
 mans door, is pounding hard and in- sistently on the Englishman's portals
 these days, and not few are answering | the call. This is an age of opportunity, and London is the mart where 1t can | best be met Of course, easy money | is made at the other fellows expense
 Eut that's his lookout.
 | Right now there is a dearth of every thing in London, and prices soar accord ] ingly. Motor cars. in the proportion of things absent, perhaps take the lead. The war absorbed nearly everything that | ran on wheels and before the signing of the armistice a privately owned car, with conspicuous exceptions, was rara avis The taxicab driver was, and still re- ] mains, a potential factor in the lives of those who have to locomote through the streets of London when tubes and buses are not available, and though he has a scale regulated by law, he is vulnerable only to the man or woman With the stoutest purse.
 The demand for motor cars since the restrictions on petrol were lifted is SC entirely out of proportion to the supply or hand and the meagre output of the factories that small size fortunes are being made daily in secondhand cars A machine worth $l500 two years ago will bring anything between 5000 and s2500. The more popular cars of the 19i4-1915 type are now bringing, if in fair condi- tion, practically any price asked.
 Some very few cars mostly of the lighter type, are now trickling through 1 from the factories, but these are going to agents or customers whose orders have been on the waiting list for long periods. Small quantities of bigger cars are also being completed, but in a mar ket that is ready to absorb 500,000 motors of all types 30 or 90 per week are hardly noticeable.
 Hardly more than three months ago there were not half dozen people with ! motor cars to advertise, but in the adver- tisement columns of the daily papers
 now two and three columns of second hand motor car advertisements appear. A short time ago one dealer bought from an advertiser really good two-seated 1913 French built car for s65o, selling it two days later for s1750 Rolls Royce ma chimes are bringing the highest figures. Some of these cars are changing hands at between $15,000 and s20.0 Naturally, both chassis and coach are in excellent condition, while the makers reputation has, of course, great influence on sell ing prices. The rule now is that the more popular the make the higher the price of secondhand cars, and SIP, 300 for a late 1914 Royce touring car is a moderate price at present. In contrast
 to these figures there were 12 cars of
 this same make offered four years ago
 at $5000.
 A 15 horse power Renault limousine is
 now priced al $750o; the most that was
 asked for the same car in 1915 was $1550.
 A "A horse power Wolseley of the 1913
 type is selling today for s4500; yet $2150
 was highwater level for Wolseleys four
 years ago. A 25 horse power touring
 type, 1914 vauxhall, is now $45Oo, a little
 less than 5000 being the Vauxhall mark
 before Obviously. the cars do not cor
 respond in every case-that is. one for