The LAD was a British cyclecar made between 1913 and 1926.
A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car.
The car was originally made by the Oakleigh Motor Company of West Dulwich, London and was usually fitted with a single seater body although a few two seaters were made. Power came from a single cylinder Stag engine and drive was to the rear wheels by chain. There was only a single forward speed and no reverse so a gearbox was not used. Production stopped on the outbreak of war.
Dulwich is an area of south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich and the Southwark half of Herne Hill. Dulwich lies in a valley between the neighbouring districts of Camberwell, Crystal Palace, Denmark Hill, Forest Hill, Peckham, Sydenham Hill and Tulse Hill and was in Surrey until 1889, when the County of London was created.
The car was revived in 1923 by LAD Productions of Farnham, Surrey in 1923 and the original was joined by a 350 cc twin cylinder engined model but the launch of the Austin 7 took away the market for such cars and the company closed in 1926.
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is 34.5 miles (55.5 km) southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. By road, Guildford is 11 miles (17 km) to the east and Winchester a further 28 miles (45 km) along the same axis as London. Farnham is the second largest town in Waverley, and one of the five largest conurbations in Surrey. It is of historic interest, with many old buildings, including a number of Georgian houses. Farnham Castle overlooks the town. A short distance southeast of the town centre are the ruins of Waverley Abbey, Moor Park House and Mother Ludlam's Cave. Farnham is twinned with Andernach in Germany. It is drained by the River Wey which is navigable only to canoes at this point.
The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1922 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad. Its effect on the British market was similar to that of the Model T Ford in the US, replacing most other British economy cars and cyclecars of the early 1920s. It was also licensed and copied by companies all over the world. The very first BMW car, the BMW Dixi, was a licensed Austin 7, as were the original American Austins. In France they were made and sold as Rosengarts. In Japan, Nissan also used the 7 design as the basis for their first cars, although not under licence. This eventually led to a 1952 agreement for Nissan to build and sell Austins in Japan under the Austin name.
