MODERN MOTORING

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 136, 10 June 1924, Page 11

MODERN MOTORING

X NOTES amb COMMENTS LOCAL And OENEKAL ;

■ ■■■■ • IMPORTANT OIL DISCQVERY.

* er spAßKwen. "* i

ll LIGHTING-UP TIME. * To-day 5.8 p.m. *;* Wednesday 5.8 p.m. •j. Thursday 5.8 p.m. * Friday 5.8 p.m. .j, Saturday s.B. p.m. * Sunday 5.8 p.m. *:* Monday s.B p.m. .j. ■ . ' 1> LEARN TO DRIVE WELL. .j. There is a vast difference between tlie * pleasure obtained from being able X merely to drive a car and from being .j, able to drive one really well. But a * driver who has taken pains to become the absolute master o*f his ear earns <J» not only pleasure for himself; he instills T confidence in his passengers, winning _. both their gratitude and their apprecia•J> tion. We should like every car owner 'i* to set himself the task of becoming a .;. really polished driver. Patience andT practice are both necessary before eom- || plete mastery of the controls of a ear •J> is attained, and it must not be thought J* tlmt any special qualifications other 4> than these arc needed. Every owner of * a car could be an almost perfect driver Jjt if only he would apply himself to £ achieving perfection. A sound rule to * remember is that if. one man can get •j. the best out of the make of car you <• drive, so also can you. Humour your •»* car by dexterous handling, and it will 4> repay you a thousandfold. * ' % WHERE NINE EOADS MEET. * This week the secretary of the C.'anter- - bury Automobile Association will erect — the most comprehensive signpost or ~i board yet set up in Canterbury. This will be at Charing Cross, on the Bealey Road." The corner, forming as it docs the junction of nine roads, must be unique of its kind. The places indicated on the board will be Hororata, Darfield, (■'rcendale, Kolleston, Aylesbury, Norwood, Hawkins, Kirwee, and the Main South P.oad. A FRIENDLY WARNING. A little red sticker has been finding its way witli persistent frequency lately on to the windscreens of many cars in New Ply mouth (states the "Taranaki Herald"). The colour is appropriate, for on closer inspection the motorist learns that he has committed a breach of a by-law and that it would be profitable to see the traflic inspector at once, heedless to. say, the inspector has been a much-sought-after individual since their advent, but I his novel idea is doing a great deal ! towards reminding motorists of 'bylaws and regulations to he observed. Of course, after> too frequent appearance, the red might change, to blue.

SAD FATALITY ON RECORD . ATTEMPT.

ONE RAY OF HOPE. I In Chicago the numuer of accidents per 1000 cars has steadily decreased. In 1910 there were 157 accidents in the -Ity for each 1000 motor vehicles regis- , t?r'ed in the State of Illinois; in 1020 this rate had dropped to 125 per 1000, j with a still further decrease during the last three years. This decrease has been due to improved mechanism of cars, increased skill of drivers, better systems of control and regulation, and increased alertness on the part of the walking and motoring public. DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTIES OF DUST. In this country little interest has been taken in purifying the induction air before it enters the carburetter on its way to the engine, but the matter has been the subject of much experimental work in America (says a writer in the "Light Car") The results obtained by carefully analysing the nature of the carbon deposit removed from engines have made it clear that a far greater amount of grit and dust is present than was, ever anticipated, and the destnic- | tive properties of such agents need no j emphasising. A fact that must be I recognised is that the conditions under j which a car engine runs are far from satisfactory, and it is necessary to ' make only a brief examination of the j inside of the bonnet and the outside of j any engine that has covered 100 mil<>B | on the road without being cleaned, to ' appreciate the nature of the air which 1 is being carried into the engine through | the carburetter. It is early yet to prophesy that air cleaners will become j standard on every car, but in the short i time during which the subject of their j development has been investigated, several well-known American companies I have registered various designs, and a number of different makes of American I cars now have them fitted as standard. OSCAR ASCHE'S COOKER. One day last week a number I of Melbourne motorists were the r guests of Mr. Oscar Asche at I lunch; but he not only acted as host, I but chef as well. The function was to ] demonstrate the advantages of the Chu ] Chin Chow combined cooker and ice chest, a portable affair that can easily be placed on the running board of a ear. The cooker, as used, measured 38 x 14 x 14 inches —the largest of three sizes Mr. Asche, who designed and patented it. showed that it consisted of .a galvanised range or oven in a framework of cedar. There are two compartments, one for cooking and ice. I In two cookers .Mr. Asche prepared a five-course dinner for IU persons served piping hot. j

I The traffic occurrence last \veeK, say« lan Australian Exchange, when Oapt. Andrew Lang, a well known and greatly respected , figure in the motor world, lost his life, caused widespread regrei. 'tAiidy" Lang, as lie was familiarly called, was also an intrepid airman, and had served in the Great War as a [teacher and tester to the British War [Office, and had made history with the ! aeroplane, reaching the record altitude of 30,500 feet, Uut nearly lost his life. The oxygen failing, both he and his companion lapsed into insensibility, and the machine fell for some hundreds oJ feet, but, partly recovering Mr. Lan™ managed to right the machine and brought it safely to earth,- his companion still being insensible. His com-, paratively Short life—he was 30' years old—was a varied one, for in addition to motoring and aviation, he followed motor boating for a while, and again nearly lost his life while flying a hydroplane over Sydney Harbour, for the machine dived, struck the water, land went to the bottom -with him I strapped to the machine. Then came a terrible struggle to free himself. He was not so fortunate last week while, attempting- to lower the 24 hours' motor car record of' Australasia. In the western district of Victoria, on a selected and unfrequented course, lie was enveloped in heavy fog, when he crashed into a fence, the car overturning and" pinning him to earth, when apparently he succumbed to suffocation. | His mechanic, Mr. Bert Cooke, was thrown out and seriously injured, but | was able to summon help, and . both were conveyed to the hospital. Mr Lang was using the same machine he drove in the Alpine trial conducted by the Royal Auto. Club of Victoria last March, in which his Amilear filled third place-; 'but lie missed winning £he big •event owing to mistaking the road, and lost points , thereby. Before finally retirins: from sporting events he desired to break the above Tecord, although he liad nothing to gain from it, but met his dea-th in the .attempt. VICTORIAN CLUBS AGAINST ROAD RACING. Although the route selected by the late Capt*. Lang for his. record-breaking 'attempt* was perhaps the safest in Australia from a traffic -point of view, it serves to illustrate the inherent danger of using the roads for such purposes.S The Royal Auto. Club of Victoria was well advised when a few weeks .ago it dissociated itself from all attempts at records on the public highways, oh "the ground. • that it is dangerous, and now serves no good purpose. , The Victorian 'Motor-cycle Club, however, still- countenances fhe practice, and recently drafted a set of rules that aspirants to record honours must 'observe. Whether the rules will be adopted is not certain, but if the club does not discourage the practice the authorities arc likely to step iv and prohibit it. altogether. ..,;.... r .^ : T«..,.v

A London motoring journal states that Mi-. J. Parker, managing partner in a Shipley oil concern, has refused an offer of £45,000 for an invention which, it is said, will cheapen by 25 per cent the cost of lubrication of the internal combustion and other engines. It is sairl that the process will revolutionise the oil industry. A NEW ECONOMICAL FUEL. Several tests have been made in England during the last, few months with Pynol, termed a new economy fuel, wluch have proved ■ satisfactory; in a test made by the- "JMotor" (London), the consumption was 24 per cent better than with petrol at an average speed of 25.5 m.p.h. The fuel is manufactured in Germany, and is known' as benzol, because the Germans used banzol to blend the gas-oil, fuel-oil, or other hydrocarbons, whereas in the fuel as used in England petrol is blended. The British lights of this fuel have been acquired by the Oil Supply Corporation, Ltd., London. Analyses made with oils taken from identical motor engines running on pynol petrol for a period of two. months proved that, in relation to its effect on lubricating oil, there is less dilution than -with petrol. In the change over of fuel from petrol or a fifty-fifty mixture to pynol p it was marked by a noticeable increase of acceleration, easier starting, and the ■ capacity of the engine (without alteration) to take a greater ignition advance without knocking. TO OVERCOME THE DAZZLE PROBLEM. The manufacturers of the famous C.A.V. electrical specialities for motor cars, have recently produced a most ■ ingenious and interesting headlight bulb especially designed to overcome the dazzle problem. The bulb contains two filaments in line with one another. Under ordinary circumstances the filamen: nearest the socket only is used and gives the usual penetrating beam of light. When it is desired to reduce the dazzle effect on approaching another vehicle the rear filament is cut out by the operation of a switch on the dashboard, and the forward one is lighted. There is a small metal cup beneath this filament which shields the lower half of the lamp reflector from the rays of the bulb, and thus only the rays reaching the top half of the reflector are permitted to emerge-from the lamp. These Yays, of course, have a tendency to strike downwards on to the road, and thus do not cause dazzle. At the same time, owing to the position of the flla-,'' ment, it is slightly out of focus, and f| produces a more diffused beam than the '' rear filament. It is obvious, also, that the non-dazzling light produced by these lamps would be practically ideal for driving in foggy weather. The bulbs can be fitted to any make of headlamp, and the only work entailed bein<r careful focussing and the alteration of the wiring* for which a diagram ja supplied.