Alldays & Onions

This Birmingham-based manufacturer traced its roots back further than any other British car maker, having descended from two established engineering firms: Onions, founded in 1650, and Alldays, founded in 1720. By the 1880s, the combined operation occupied more than eight acres and served as a major supplier to blacksmiths, foundries, and railway companies before venturing into motor vehicle production.

The company's first motor vehicle, the Alldays Traveller, appeared in 1898. This quadricycle used a 4hp De Dion Bouton engine, seated two passengers in tandem, and was notable for featuring wheel steering rather than the tiller controls typical of such vehicles at the time. A proper motor car followed in 1903, a single-cylinder two-seater with shaft drive, but it was the 1905 10/12hp model that established the marque's reputation. This side-valve vertical-twin remained in production until 1913 and was offered in two- and four-seater configurations, as well as a commercial traveller variant.

A four-cylinder 16hp car joined the range in 1906. Two years later, the company acquired the Enfield Autocar Co., another Birmingham firm, for £10,000, gaining a factory, machinery, and a small stock of finished and partly completed vehicles. This acquisition led to a rationalization of the two model ranges, with the Enfield name generally applied to more expensive cars. Several models were effectively shared between the two marques with only minor differences, such as the 1914 Alldays Midget, a badge-engineered version of the Enfield Nimble Nine, and the Alldays 16/20, equivalent to an 18.4hp Enfield model but priced lower.

By 1914, the Alldays range spanned several configurations, including an 8/10hp twin and a series of pair-cast side-valve four-cylinder models ranging from 10 to 25/30hp, each with a corresponding Enfield variant. The largest model, a 30/35hp six-cylinder car of 4786cc, was produced from 1911 to 1914 and had no direct Enfield counterpart.

In November 1918, the motor vehicle operations of the two firms were formally merged as Enfield Alldays Motors Ltd. The original Alldays & Onions company continued in general engineering and also produced motorcycles under the Allon name between 1915 and 1924. Hyam Marks, who chaired the company, also served as a director of Austin. The firm was reorganized in 1925 as New Alldays & Onions but ceased operations in 1927.