Topic: Solved - MJW #301 - Canadian promotional truck built by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Co. of Windsor, Ontario

[woodinsight]

Obscure? - possibly....
The question is what vehicle is this man controlling and what country does it originate from?
I might add another point for the full story behind this - let's see if anyone knows
(ps - the driver is unknown and not important to solving the puzzle)

[Otto Puzzell]

The square beneath the drive reads "Cattle Thrive and Fatten on the Nutritious Wild Grasses of Western Canada" It looks to be a vehicle that was built to promote the settlement of Canada's still sparsely-populated prairies.

The Canadian Government Colonisation Company goes in for some boosterism to attract the right kind of settler, back in 1905....."Canada welcomes British settlers in her vast prairie lands"...."Faithful labour is well rewarded in the cultivation of the soil".

The icing on the cake, as it were...this fine example of Canadian manhood in the driving seat, fresh from taming those wide-open spaces

Built by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Co. of Windsor, Ontario, was sent to England with the intention that it should visit "every town and village in the country".

[woodinsight]

That's it Otto.
I'll give you two points for that.

[woodinsight]

I'll add just a bit more to wind up this puzzle.

It was a gas-electric four-wheel drive truck that had an electric motor on each wheel.
However it was so underpowered (the four cylinder only produced 20 hp) that it never made it out of London.
It was presumably left in London after its abortive "round Britain" trip.

[Otto Puzzell]

That's it Otto.
I'll give you two points for that.

Thank you.