Heritage Cert

[nottsman]

Hi all,

Anyone know the difference between distributor and dealer referred to on the heritage certs.

I thought they would have been the same but not on mine. Distributor was S H Newsome and dealer was Parkgate Garage, both of Coventry.

Interestingly, S H Newsome was also a dealer with a showroom.

Nick

[JeremySnowden]

Hi,
As an ex Distributor, I can answer your question.
Jaguar operated a two tier sales distribution system. In your case the Main Dealer or Distributor was Newsomes and the Dealer or Retail Dealer was Parkgates. Parkgate would not have direct access to Jaguar for the supply of cars or parts - these would have to be ordered through their Distributor Newsomes who held the Coventry territory. Im not sure how many Retail Dealers Newsome had but probably 2 or 3.
The Distribution system was not particularly agreeable to Retail Dealers who often complained that their Distributor withheld supply of cars, where there was a shortage and the system for Jaguar changed to that of direct supply, I believe, in the 1970s.

[christopher storey]

If I recall correctly, one of the Newsome family was a great friend of William Lyons, and along with Henly's I believe that Newsome was one of the first sales organisations appointed after the move to Coventry

[nottsman]

Christopher,

I managed to track down and speak to Sammy Newsome's son Paul who worked for his father.

Unfortunately he could not help with my quest but he did fill me in on Newsomes and their relationship with Jaguar and Parkgate.

We also found a mutual interest in BRM as his father went to school with Raymond Mays and he spent a summer at Bourne working for RM and Tony Rudd as a PA during the championship year. My Dad worked at BRM as a race engineer for 13 years so their paths probably crossed.

My Dad died in 2007, so too late to see my E type and help with my bloody engine! Very inconvenient as I could do with his help right now.

[christopher storey]

Ah, that's all a very interesting bit of history . I had forgotten, but I think it was Sammy Newsome who rallied an SS100 at the same time that Tommy Wisdom also was doing great things with them . As for BRM was it the "smokestack" BRM then that your Father worked on? - a car that I thought looked and sounded sensational in Graham Hill's hands, ( and then of course there were the 2 sensational for different reasons 16 cylinder cars ! )

Incidentally, have you seen my warning post on your engine thread ? ( I hope I'm not teaching my grandmother to suck eggs )

[nottsman]

He worked for them from 1950 to 1963 and worked on all the cars. He did a lot on the V16 and the front engine cars that followed. He also was involved with the gas turbine engine Rover BRM and spent a summer in Italy working at the Maserati factory.

As for sucking eggs, I didn't follow his footsteps and become an engineer but became an accountant instead. So apart from inheriting his love of engines, cars and interest in all things mechanical, I know very little.

And yes I did pick up your last post.

Thanks.