G'day all
It's funny that the
Lightweights were a known niche market in the day.
These were the 'terrace' mowers for the emerging smaller gardens
in the 1970s. They were, literally, half a Twin!
Wasn't the sticker changed to 'Compact' in the last year or so of manufacture?
Introduced in late 1977 for the 1978 Victa Range, they were named 'Compact'!
Tyler has asked a great question here. It's not clear cut at all.
The earliest ads I have (from late 1977) clearly named the mower as
a Compact, with lightweight being an adjectival descriptor.
By about the third season, the mower was re-labelled and know as the
Victa Lightweight. The last models were named '
Lightweight Compact'
returning the name to its first use.
Folks may find what I have to say now
interesting, amusing or
disturbing....
but consider Victa's great models and advertising campaigns of the '70s and '80s.
Yes ...
sport ... but, specifically,
auto industry references. I mean
Mustang,
Cortina, Corvette, Utility, Charger, Commodore, Lancer, GTS (Guaranteed to Start)...
Here's the
joke and an
insight into the Victa marketing influences at this time.
Of course North American advertising was the best in the day and the great
AUS advertising companies all looked to the USA for inspiration.
'Compact' had a specific auto meaning - at least in North America.
Consider the blurb about the Lightweight in the 1980 range brochure (see gallery).
I like the Lightweight. The 85cc worked in a way that its
twin brother never did.
Cheers and thanks for provoking thoughts.
Jack.
