Британдық Guy Motors компаниясының тарихы

Defunct British motor vehicle manufacturer

Guy Motors was a Wolverhampton based vehicle manufacturer that produced cars, lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company was founded by Sydney S. Guy (1885–1971) who was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Guy Motors operated out of its Fallings Park factory from 1914 to 1982, playing an important role in the development of the British motor industry.

Sydney S. Guy registered Guy Motors Limited on Saturday 30 May 1914, the same day he departed his position as works manager at the Wolverhampton company, Sunbeam. A factory was built on the site at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton. This made the vehicle able to cross difficult terrain and a 14 seat post bus built based on the design was used for crossing the Scottish Highlands. In 1915 Guy Motors came under control of the Ministry of Munitions and production was focussed on the war effort. In spite of the wartime situation, Guy brought out a revised version of their 30cwt lorry in May 1915, with the engine (made by White and Poppe) and transmission mounted on a separate subframe from the main body. A year later they revealed their new 2 ton model, this time powered by a Tylor JB4 engine (a type approved by the War Office and in use on wartime trucks by Karrier and AEC). They also produced Wasp and Dragonfly radial aircraft engines, Tylor truck engines and Maudslay gearboxes as well as being the country's largest maker of depth charge fuses. For their efforts during the war Guy received a commendation from William Weir, Secretary of State for Air. In 1917 Sydney Guy applied for two patents relating to modified valve gear, one of these outlining how it could be used in a V8 engine, and in 1919 he launched a new version of his 2 ton truck with an engine using this valve gear, and he started production of his first car, a luxury 4 litre V8, the first British V8 engine. The Guy cars were produced in a separate works and in relatively small numbers, whereas £70,000 was invested in the main factory in 1919 with the aim of increasing production to 40 to 50 2 ton trucks per week.

Guy Motors were one of the first companies to get back to commercial vehicle production after the war, and in March 1920 they were expanding the buildings and plant on their 60 acre site, and had £2.5 million in orders. However, the post war period was to prove difficult for the motor industry as military contracts were cancelled and military vehicles no longer required for service were sold onto the market at low prices. The Guy 4 litre 8 cylinder "Open Tourer" car was joined by a smaller model in 1921, the "Guy Saloon Car" with the 2465 cc four cylinder 16.9 hp. A cheaper model followed in 1924 with the 1954 cc 13/36 with an engine from Coventry Climax. There is some uncertainty regarding the number of these cars made, but it is generally agreed it was in the 100s rather than thousands. The main commercial interest of Guy Motors was production of the commercial chassis and engine ready for a variety of bodies to be fitted. This was available in different wheelbases and was used both for trucks and for buses, and still used the separate subframe to mount the engine and transmission as had been developed during WW1. At the commercial show at Olympia in October 1920 two examples were shown, one having a single decker Mulliner bus body seating 28, the other with shorter wheelbase, but otherwise identical chassis and engine, having a 2.5 ton tipper wagon body. In 1924, the company adopted the slogan 'Feathers in our Cap' which led to the addition of a Native American mascot to their vehicles. 1924 also saw Guy produce the first ever dropped frame chassis for passenger vehicles (the B type). This design allowed passengers to enter buses in a single step and became extremely popular, Guy receiving an order for 170 from Rio de Janeiro alone. Guy double decker buses and trolleybuses would prove popular, with a fleet of double deckers sold to the London Public Omnibus Company and exports supplied all around the world. Despite performing well throughout the decade, by the end of the 1920s Guy was facing an uncertain future, due to the expensive takeover of Star and the Wall Street Crash, which had seen its share prices fall from one pound to one shilling (5p). They produced a 2 axle version of the BTX trolleybus, known as the BT model, in 1930, which was available with a 26 feet (8 m) double deck body, or a 27 feet (8 m) single deck body, and also produced some 23 feet (7 m) chassis for export to Delhi. In 1933, the Arab bus chassis, designed for use with diesel engines, was launched and would prove a mainstay of Guy's success for the next twenty years. From the mid 1930s, the company became increasingly involved in the British re armament programme, developing and producing military vehicles. In 1935, Guy submitted their new four wheel Ant armoured car to military trials, where it impressed so much that 150 were ordered by the government. This new development made armoured vehicles much safer and is reported to have eventually saved the British government £100 million pounds, earning Guy a commendation from the Royal Commission. Over time, it was further developed and became widely used in allied armoured vehicles, such as later models of the Churchill and Sherman tanks. By the time World War II started, Guys had built a total of 376 trolleybus chassis, but manufacture was then suspended until 1947.

Guy armoured vehicles were used throughout the war, featuring prominently at the evacuation of Dunkirk and in the North African campaign. The company's contribution to the war effort established it as a leading supplier for the government and meant financial stability when heading into the post war years.

After the war, Guy returned to civilian production, with bus production remaining a mainstay and retaining a strong emphasis on export sales to their major markets, including South Africa, Pakistan and the Netherlands. Sunbeam trolleybuses had been built at Sunbeam's Moorfields Works, enabling Guy to concentrate on motorbuses and lorries at their Fallings Park Works, but in 1953 they completed the construction of new assembly shops next to their existing works, and Moorfields Works was closed, with trolleybus production moving to Fallings Park. Guy continued to update their old models, introducing a new version of the Otter chassis in 1950 for 30 seater vehicles and 84 were ordered by London Transport. By 1954, Guy passenger vehicles were operated by 150 companies in the UK and in 26 countries abroad. The company developed the first 30 feet (9 m) two axle double deck trolleybus chassis in 1954, the Sunbeam F4A, which could seat 68 passengers. Guy continued to develop new and very successful models of chassis, introducing updated versions of the Otter and Warrior models and the high performance Victory chassis. However, an ill advised decision to take South African sales in house, which involved leasing the vehicles, rather than outright sales, proved an extreme strain on the company's finances, as there were many defaulting contracts. This, combined with their new double decker chassis, the Wulfrunian, would prove highly damaging for Guy's future. Launched in 1958, the Wulfrunian included many innovations in its design, but, crucially, lacked the thorough testing necessary before marketing it, resulting in it failing to deliver the reliability upon which Guy had built its name.