TOPICAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 36, 12 February 1924, Page 12

TOPICAL NOTES.

In Auckland there are hundreds of squeaky cars, and the fact is not to the credit of the drivers. To carry a couple of canaries about would be much more musical than the metallic canary like tweets and twists one' hears. Eternal squeaking becomes monotonous. Auckland's chief traffic inspector. Mr. G. Hogan is to leave shortly on a visit to Australia, where instructed by the City Council, he will study among a variety of other things, the control of traffic" in Sydney, Melbourne, and •Adelaide. "Chassis" of the Christchurch "Sun." states that enclosed cars are being put to a novel use there. They are being used as dressing compartments on the beaches. This idea has a big vogue in America, and indeed in Auckland too. Crowds of motorists who own limoti-incs and coupes are to be seen in the oarly morning speeding out to St. Hcliers Bay for the morning dip. A covering coat, and who's to know ? A well-known motorist who has travelled extensively over the North Island, speaking in connection with road surfaces, says: "The more I see of these roads the" more I am convinced that the clay side road is the solution of the good surface motor road for summer. Even the best laid down road (always excepting the tar-sealed and concrete) gets ruffled up in a long dry spell and loose stones work their way to the surface. Wherever these side roads appear the metal is avoided by motorists. What a boon to travellers it would have been had the Waitemata County Council cleaned up a side track between Avondale and New Lynn. They could then have gone on with the repair of the metalled part at their leisure." No route for holiday motorists is more used than that 'to Pacroa. and Tc Aroha via, Pokeno and the Hauraki plains. About eight miles beyond the latter the road forks, one branch going through Maramarua, the other through Miranda. Each route has its drawbacks. On the former these are about 10 miles of more or less loose new metal. The last part of the Miranda road is close to the sea and is flooded at spring tides, when progress is impossible. The settlers in the meantime are raising the crown of the road about two feet, hoping to get above high-tide mark.

The latest activity of Henry Ford is the planning of a model city at Dearborn. About 5000 acres of *Ford property will be devoted to a site for 30.000 houses, to be constructed of concrete and wood to designs devised by Edison. Only six houses will be built to the acre, and the development is to be open to the general public. A Danish motor dealer has 'brought out a device calculated to prevent damage to a car or injury to passengers when the front axle or either front wheels are broken while driving. This device consists of a pair of trailing shoes, made of spring steel of various widths to fit the different sizes of cars. These shoes are so fitted to the front axle that if this or a wheel breaks the car will drop only until the shoe, instead of the axle, rests on the ground.-. Tests have been made that prove to be highly satisfactory. During these a wheel was run off the axle without throwing the car out of its course. These shoes cost' from _2 to £4 a pair, and can be attached in a few moments. Ihre is the latest Ftory going the mint's in circle.:—A motorist pulled up his heavy six cylinder limousine at the door of <> ways'ul? garage, and asked the distance to the next tortn. He was 101-' i that lie iwd 00 nn. s to go. wh-=T:u!!i>-i lie instrnetted tin- parage man to "nil her up,' villi prtr.il and oil. A Lourhis car came ai--ig next and -when, informed that ht sull had CO _v.c* to go. the owner .rdeieti a tin of !i«'-rol tin-.l a gallon of Oil. The next arrival w.-.-s n light en" '■! ;i make that .••• !;u-»i all over the wor.d When aslccti by the parage pro-pr'c-ior what were his•-retjuwemenis f"r til' text 60 !li; owner ii-piit'il: "V:'i!- up her ra i ator and hold h(?r di >mi t.ll I get in." The Director of the Australian Institute of Science and Industry draws attention to the important fact that American research has recently-developed a new material destined to be of considerable importance to the motor mii dustry. One of the chief disadvantages of ordinary petrol is that it cannot be used without "knocking" in engines having an initial compression of greater than about 1001b per square inch. Consequently the efficiency of a petrol engine is low. The (ieneral Motors Research Corporation, however, has developed certain chemicals containing the "ethyl" group, which when added in very small amounts to ordinary petrol enables t~e mixture to be used inI engines of much higher compressions than 100 lb per square inch. These chemicals thus enable petrol to be used much more efficiently than has formerly been the case, and as a result the mileage per gallon of an ordinary car can be very i considerably increased. The chemicals used are not yet on the Australian mar- ! ket. but in America the above corporaI tion has just commenced marketing them on a large scale. The new fuel has j already met with an enthusiastic reception from motorists in Dayton- and Cincinnati.

73.857 legal matters were attended to. ; During the last four years the theft i bureau restored .'WSI stolen cars to | members. ; And so on. Then the letter finishes on this note: "We thank you most heartily for the courtesies extended to | our member. There is a cordial mviii tation to you or any of the members iof your organisation to visit the club i here at any time you or they may be visiting Southern California, and a personal invitation to you to have luncheon with mc at the club cafe at ;any time you may be travelling to Los I Angeles." j -Such is the ""biggest ever" in motor | clubs, and the camaraderie of the j motorist. After all it is a world-wide brother and sisterhood.