The thin end of the (standardisation) wedge

When the Rootes Group absorbed the Singer Company enthusiasts for the Singer feared that this long-established make might lose its identity through having a push-rod o.h.v. engine substituted for the classic o.h.c. Singer power unit. For a time all was well, for although Rootes announced that they wouldn’t proceed with a twin-o.h.c. engine for the Singer, the quality-equipped Singer Gazelle continued to have its valves prodded by the classical and efficient o.h. camshaft. Matters are still all right—except that the push-rod o.h.v. Sunbeam Rapier-type engine is now offered as an alternative to the o.h.c. engine in the Singer Gazelle. How much do you bet that by the next London Motor Show the o.h.c. Singer power unit will have sunk unsung into oblivion?