COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

This is my favourite Alvis product for no particular reason:



In regular Army service it was almost always a sandy yellow colour and had a machine gun in the turret. it was a regular sight on the Kenpass Highway travelling to and from the factory.

Just inside and above the entrance to Morrisons the Alvis figurehead has been carved into the ceiling which was a nice gesture by Fine Fare when it was first built. There are also pictures of the old factory on the supermarket walls.

Up until the end of car production it was not unusual to see a line of new Alvis cars parked in the side road between the Spon End railway arches and Plaza cinema.

I owned a Graber Convertible for a very short time, and years ago, had a 1937 Speed 25 Charlesworth saloon. The Graber was a sublime car, and beautifully made. I suspect it was really the big cats from Brown's Lane that finally killed Alvis, as equivalent jaguars were about half the price, more muscular, and winning races. Alvis and Armstrong-Siddeley were both highly respectable products. It's a terrible shame they are no more.