In the first year after the First World War there were seventeen 3-wheeler manufacturers World wide, though in Great Britain there were only four models available to the public. These were the Premier, the M.B, the Wooler Mule and the Morgan. The first three of these were only able to go into limited production and were discontinued before the end of the year. However in the ten years after the war 3-wheelers were to enjoy.a tremendous boom as apart from being cheaper than the 4-wheeled models many people during the war had learnt to drive motorised transport and so afterwards they wanted their own vehicle. (Even my granny took her driving test in a tank!!) The choice of vehicle they chose was governed primarily by the amount of money they had, as well as the vehicle's running cost.  Whilst most single men chose a solo motorcycle, the choice for a married man was more difficult as a motorcycle combination offered weather protection for the passenger but not for the driver. lt was also anti-social as both the passenger and driver were seperated.

A 3-wheeler therefore offered in most cases a hood for protection from the weather, side by side comfortable seating, easier steering and a windscreen shielding everyone on board. Added to this the running cost were not much greater than that for a motorcycle combination and considerably less than the 4-wheelers. One of the lightest cars of post-world war one 3-wheeler era was the 1921 Economic, this was a simple two seater 3-wheeler with a single front wheel.  Contradictory to the above it had no hood, windscreen or springs; as it was claimed that the resilience of the ash frame absorbed all road shocks.  Surprisingly though its engine was a two-stroke flat twin of approx 200 cc and the final drive was by chain to the off side rear wheel. Weighing only 150lb its maximum speed was 30 m.p.h and it cost £60.  In contrast the Castle Three Motor Company in Worcestershire (UK) were trying to get away from the frail 3-wheeler image and in 1919 they produced their Castle Three.  Apart from being a serious attempt to rival Morgan, the Castle Three was described to have 'that proper car look'. It was fitted with a water cooled, four cylinder side-valve 1094 cc engine which later uprated to 1207 cc. The car had all the equipment expected on a 4-wheeler car; dynamo lighting, a spare wheel and tyre and steel artillery-type wheels instead of wire or wooden disc.  The problem was however that succeeding in producing a true car like 3-wheeler, the vehicle was extremely heavy and very expensive for a 3-wheeler and so any advantages the buyer obtained in low taxation, he lost in extra fuel consumption and purchase price.

The major cost saving, derived from buying a 3-wheeler was its low taxation. Up until 1920 taxation of motor vehicles was based roughly on a guinea per 4 horsepower, this was in addition to a petrol tax of 3d per gallon.  However on the 21st January 1921 the Motor Taxation Act which taxed private cars at £1 per horsepower was enacted. This was created by using a complicated R.A.C formula; it was worked out that one horsepower was equal to 2 square inches (12.9sq.cm) of piston area, and came to be known as the 'Treasury Rating'. 3-wheelers were taxed; providing that they weighed less than 8 hundred weight (406kg) at the flat rate of £4 per annum.(Regardless of engine size) This compared to £8 for an Austin 7 and £9 for a Rover both classed as 4-wheeler light cars.  A report was later published to show the cost of these 4-wheelers, and apart from finding the 3-wheeler less expensive to garage, it gave statistics to show how economical 3-wheelers were. Taking into account tyres, oil, petrol, insurance, grease, tax, garaging, repairs and a club subscription the following figures were published (Based on an annual mileage of 6000.(9656km)

 Morgan. £54 12s 3d    Austin 7. £65 14S Od    Rover. £68 15S 5d

This was a saving of almost £1 per month to the 3-wheeler owner and as my father often says, "A pound was a lot a money in those days, you could buy a dinner for eight and still have change". Needless to say these figures were displayed with others by many cyclecar manufacturers

It was the depression of the late 1920's and 1930's that had a devastating effect on the manufacturers of 3-wheelers and light 4-wheelers.  lt was the "less well off" who were the main purchasers of 3-wheelers and so as a result it was these people who were affected most, both socially and economically. Ironically however, mass production was on the increase with both Ford and Austin producing motor vehicles more cheaply and faster. Despite the falling prices of the 3-wheelers during the 1920's to rival mass production the decline in the market prices caused many 3-wheeler manufacturers to go bankrupt within a year of starting production. It was in 1931 that Morris produced the first £100 motorcar, closely followed by two other mass producers.  Still sensing a demand for the 3-wheeler models,a small number of businesses introduced 3-wheelers in the 1930's.

The first was the B.S.A, which was produced by the motorcycle division of the Birmingham Small Arms Company, B.S.A. Cycles limited. The car was displayed at the 1929 Motorcycle show, ready for the 1930 season. This 3-wheeler was available as a 'two seater' or family model, and had a electric starter, car type controls, all round weather protection and independent front suspension. With a production figure of nearly two thousand a year and a new water cooled 1100 cc engined version in 1933 the B.S.A 'Beeza' became a popular sight on British roads. By its success, the company had proved that the public were ready to buy the right type of vehicle, especially when it was proven to be a good reliable all round vehicle.

In the same year another cycle company, Raleigh,  also started to produce 3-wheeled vehicles, though this was not their first attempt. In 1904 they had produced the Raleighette, a motorised tricycle powered by a 3.5 hp water cooled engine and then in 1906 a 6.5 hp twin version. Unfortunately the company was soon making a loss and were nearly broke, when in 1908 Frank Bowden brought up all the shares and ran the company with his own capital, stating they were to produce bicycles only. In 1930 the 'Karryall parcel van' was introduced with a 500 cc motorcycle engine, reverse gear and a differential chain drive axle, enclosed in a 5 cwt van body.  A number of van versions were offered until finally in 1934 a Raleigh car was produced; The Raleigh Safety Seven. This 3-wheeler ,powered by a 742 cc vee-twin engine had a full four seater body.  The car was designed by T.L.Williams who subsequently brought the manufacturing rights from Raleigh to form the Reliant Motor Company.

For a 3-wheeler the Raleigh Safety Seven was extremely spacious (being wider than some light 4-wheelers), but after only two and a half years of production, and having earned a name in competition the Raleigh was one of many of who were to succumb to the mass production cars. It is said that the Austin 7 did more to abolish the 3-wheeler car than any other vehicle. Raleigh however,are still in business today as one of the worlds largest bicycle companies.

As Britain began to recover from the depression the major motor manufacturers were taking up a large percentage of the lower end of the market with the introduction of cars like the Austin 7, Ford 8, Hillman Minx and Morris 8; the public were offered 4-wheeler motoring at cost of only £3 - £5 a year more in taxation than a 3-wheeler. It is evident also at this time that unlike earlier years the public were not choosing vehicles for speed, due to the ever increasing volume of traffic and the poor condition of roads. When the Road Tax fund was introduced in 1910, the government had promised that the revenue raised would go to build new roads whilst upgrading others.  However Britain was falling a long way behind Europe and the United States in their road building and maintenance.  Performance therefore was no longer a selling point and many manufacturers changed their advertising accordingly, now advertising comfort as apposed to competition results. Interestingly though most light 4-wheelers of this period were only sedate in performance whilst their 3-wheeler rivals were very sporty vehicles.

To try and capture the public 3-wheeler companies offered numerous family, economy and sports models to try and corner each market. This was shown in 1932 as now B.S.A. now offered six versions of its earlier Beeza. Also in 1932,Morgan offered five different models. Every model now had electric lighting (replacing the Acetylene lamps), electric starting, a hood and a suction windscreen wiper.  A year later Coventry-Victor also introduced six models, but the mass production of the 4-wheelers was slowly killing the 3-wheeler and by 1935 at the Motorcycle show at Olympia only five manufacturers exhibited their cars compared to eleven in 1929.  The final blow came in 1936 when in his budget Nevill Chamberlain announced that the road fund tax was to be abolished. The effect of this was shown in 1936 when only Morgan and B.S.A exhibited a 3-wheeler. Morgan and B.S.A had however introduced 4-wheeler models before the budget and so only managed to stay in production by producing these. The worst was not over yet though as three years later in September 1939 World War Two broke out, completely crippling the motor industry.

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