Click on the 5 links above for further information in this section - HISTORICAL

I found reference to some of the early fire engines in Canada being supplied by The Darwen Motor Truck Company. Here is a very early ad advertising Commer trucks. The language used in the ad is simply delightful. From talking about some of the trucks being 7 years sicne they left the factory, I would guess at this being around 1914.

It reads

“Efficiency is the Big Noise these days. It’s not what you know, but what you can do that puts you on Easy Street. If you’re inefficient, it’s the Chute the Chutes for yours. The machine that’s inefficient is relegated to the scrap-heap - that Sargasso Sea of dead hulks that have outlived their usefulness. Big business houses are finding the Motor-Truck indispensable in the successful conduct of their affairs. Commer Motor-Trucks are in use in England, Canada and the United States - also in India, Australia, Central Africa, Brazil, Rangoon, Turkey and Siberia. The Commer has established a reputation for efficient service that stamps it as the King of Motor- Trucks. Most of these Commer Trucks have been handling heavy hauls for large concerns ever since they left the shops, seven years ago. Some of them have done more than two hundred thousand miles - or the equivalent of eight times around the globe. Not one Commer has ever worn out or collapsed, after the manner of the One. No one has lived long enough to know the exact limit of ensurance of a Commer Truck - if it has any. Commer Trucks are money-savers. They eat up less gasoline and oil than any other truck on the market, and are easy to operate. Your teamster will feel at home in a Commer the first morning out. Commer Trucks will handle loads weighing from one to seven tons with the ease of a gentle giant taking Spearmint from . Look up the Commer pedigree and be convinced.

Another early ad - again around 1914 from the New York Times. It is amazing that Commer were giving a 7 year guarantee with their trucks, in such early times of their construction, when the roads were so tough.

It reads;

‘Technical names of steels and parts may mean but little to you as a buyer, hence we offer this guarantee on every W C P Commer Truck sold:

We warrant Commer Truck for SEVEN YEARS for day of delivery. This warranty is unlimited regarding defective material and workmanship. Our positive belief in the W C P Commer is this proved by the first motor-truck guarantee that really means something.

Scarcely any broader or fairer warranty could be given any motor truck buyer. Yet we cannot pose as altruistic: the warranty adds no risks to our business. For not one Commer Truck has ever worn out though thousands are in service on the six continents, many of which are seven years old.

Our seven year warranty is commercially sound for it is based on proved service done by a COMMERCIALLY SOUND PRODUCT - The Commer Truck’

Another Wcykoff, Church and Partridge Inc of Broadway at 56th St, New York.

The ad reads;

‘During the negotiations for the American rights to the Commer Truck, we were shown photograps and testimonials graphcially illustrating service performed during the past seven years by different Commer Trucks under every conceivable conditions of road and load - over the rutted roads of Africa, India, Siberia and South America as well as over the smooth streets of big cities. In this advertisement, we show two Commer Trucks which work under unusual conditions. We show them because the final value of a motor truck rests upon the actual work done. The trucks illustrated here have  delivered the sturdiest sort of service under most trying conditions. Many other Commer Trucks have seen seven years of service and over two hundred thousand miles of duty.

But we do not expect you to buy a Commer Truck solely because of our statements. Before selling you, we prefer that you test it in actual service for our mutual protection. If you buy, the truck will be guaranteed as follows:

If in the opinion of the purchaser, after ninety days trial any Commer Truck does not deliver the services as requested by the purchaser and accepted by our expert, we will agree to take back said Commer Truck and refund the purchase price of same minus a reasonable charge per miles. We will back our (unsure - agents?) in making the guarantee.

We can make this commercially sound selling agreement because the Commer Truck is commercially sound. Its worth has been so positively proved through the past seven years that every possible element of risk in its constructions has been eliminated. The Commer is the world’s best high duty motor truck.

The facts given under the (unsure- guarantee?) here form a commercial story decidedly more fascinating than the average novle, and we cna show a good number of pictures and (unsure - records?) of other Commer Trucks just as interesting and just as full of meaning as these.

How significatn is the fact that the Commer Truck not only makes good on city streets but under the trying conditions confronting it in such places as singapore and Uganda.

The Commer Truck has made good in the six continents. Not one of the seven year old Commers is out of successful service today. Not one Commer Truck has ever worn out. A common performance for a 4 1/2 ton Commer is six miles on a gallon of gasoline where the run is straight ahead. We guarantee one quart of oil will suffice for one hundred miles. Our gear box is fool-proof and is guaranteed for two years’.

I just find this quite amazing for the times. Do truck manufacturers give SEVEN year guarantees today?