George Johnston, who in 1895 owned one of the first cars imported into Scotland, was responsible for the first Scottish-built motor vehicle, made in the same year. Johnston, Sir William Arrol, T. Blackwood-Murray, and Norman Osborne Fulton formed the Mo-Car Syndicate and began to make cars under the name Arrol-Johnston. In 1899 Murray and Fulton broke away to make experimental cars of their own, and then to found the Albion Motor Car Company in Fin-nieston, Glasgow. Their first, the model A1 Albion of 1901, had an 8-h.p. engine turning at 700 r.p.m., two for-ward speeds, and a close resemblance to the Arrol-Johnston; with which it shared Murray:) low-tension chain-driven magneto ignition. This feature was seen in all two-cylinder Albions until 1914. The Albion was, however, an even simpler and much lighter design than the Arrol-johnston. Twenty-one of these cars were built in 1901. The model A2, as illustrated, with three forward speeds, was made with die Ai until 1903. One hundred and fifty-nine of both types were built. Solidity and simplicity were the charac-teristics of the Albion; it was designed to last for ever on Scottish roads. Weight was l8| cwt. Modernity, at first, was a secondary consideration. Late in 1902, wheel steering was intro¬duced with a bigger engine of to h.p., but the former was merely an optional extra at first. The A3 Albion of 1903, with a vertical engine of 12 h.p., of the same crudity but at the front, driving now by a separate chain to each rear wheel, was (outwardly at least) more up to date, and was current for eieven years. It was supplemented by the 16 h.p. (once again the same design, with enlarged bores). The two-cylinder en¬gine was also used on the company's famous commercial vehicles, the first of which was offered in 1902 on the A2 chassis. A four-cylinder, 24-h.p. engine was introduced in 1906 for a luxury passenger car.
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