ROMANCE OF THE MOTOR CAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 173, 24 July 1928, Page 16

ROMANCE OF THE MOTOR CAR.

INTERESTING TALK BY MR. BEY

AX OTAHL'HU FIRM'S ENTERPRISE

In .-.jute of the inclement weather, nearly 400 residents of Otahulni ;md surrounding districts gathered at Messrs. Faine Bros.' fine new garage in Avenue Road on Saturday evening at the housewarming of their new premises. A musical programme was contributed by Messrs. Duncan Black, A. Simpson and Rex Yates, and much appreciated. The Mayor of Otahuhu, Mr. J. Todd, thanked their hosts and wished them continued success. He also introduced Mr. D. W. Bey, sales manager for New Zealand of General Motors, Ltd., who had promised, at short notice, to give a little taVk on the romance of the motor car, an industry with which he was so familiar.

Mr. Bey prefaced liis remarks by stating that he was more used to the hard facts of selling motor cars, about which he found very little romance; but they must all admit that the advent of the

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motor car had greatly enlarged tlie possibilities for movement of the human racc. In the very early days of civilisation, man was only able to walk or run 40 or 50 miles in a day. There was* no necessity then to travel, alt they wanted was food and shelter and a Tew clothes.

Next he pictured the stage where man harnessed the wind and sailed the seven seas, and used the horse and other animals ashore. It was at this period that the first serious attempt was made to build roads. The Romans, over 2000 years ago, built roads in England which were still in use. They first put down blocks of stone three feet deep, then smaller stones and gravel cemented and sealed.

Napoleon was one of the first to employ mechanical means of traction, and he used what was the first steam tractor to draw his guns. Steam wagons were used in England about 1730 to 1700 to carry passengers. Later came the railroad and then the internal combustion engine. The Red Flag Act was in force in England less than 50 years ago. This Act prohibited and self-propelled vehicle from going over four miles per hour on the roads, while a man carrying a red flag had to go in advance. This law so seriously hampered progress that other nations started to develop tlie internal combustion engine and got right ahead.

The real romance of the motor car commenced between 1890 and 1900. The question who built the first car was much debated, but he thought the Oldsmobile Co. were the first to build and market a motor car, about 1897, and he was greatly interested in one Mr. Paine had shown him which was dated that year. It was one of the first four cars built by the Oldsmobile Co., which had been in continuous existence since. Cadillac started shortly after, but some of the other companies were of quite recent date. Mr. Bey gave some facts and figures showing to what extent Uie motor car industry, which now ranked second only to agriculture, had grown. The huge factories of General Motors were described and Mr. Bey stated that the engineering department had been able to cut down the number of parts in a car from 14,000 to 3000 by standardisation. His company had now adopted a policy of establishing assemply plants in different parts of the world, using local labour and material as far as possible. Their works at Petone employed 350 hands. Here a car was completely assembled. The chassis started on the line with only two side members. It went through all processes and came off ready to deliver.

Mr. Bey planned to supplement his talk with a series of cinematograph views, but a fault developed in the machine, which, he assured the audience, was not a product of General Motors, and this part of the programme had to be postponed.

KEEPING WARM.

Care should be taken to maintain proper ventilation in closed ears. The driver should see that a current of air passes throuffh, as otherwise exhaust fumes coming through the floorinfrboards may cause headaches or drowsiness. In open touring cars comfort can be enhanced by each passenger having a separate rug and wrapping it around him. Small, soft cushions that can be used to stop draughts of cold air from reaching the backs of passengers will add to the comfort of winter motoring. Rear seat passengers (and with some windscreen designs the front seat passengers as well) will feel the cold air on their backs more than 011 their chests, because of the partial vacuum caused by the motion of the car. On a long run in winter straw placed on the floor will keep the feet warm. This is a makeshift, but a woollen "pullover" which can be slipped over the shoes and stockings while in the car will be best for women passengers. Many people enjoy the ineffect of driving in an open car in cold weatiw.