MOTORING.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17632, 8 December 1922, Page 4

MOTORING.

(By "SOADSTEfc.")

NOTES

Two new members were elected to • i the executive of the S.I. Motor Union 1 at the last meeting. Mr H. Macartney was chosen to represent the Southland district, and Mr H. (.': Harley was appointed to represent Blenheim. Mr J. S. H.iwkes said that Mr Harley was ft keen worker, and had a' good knowledge of the Blenheim district. Mr Macartney's efforts in the Interest of motoring in Canterbury -were -well known. The fact that the Now Zetland Automobile Union, by reason of its ttll- | embracing title, is often wrongly ! thought to be an organisation represeu- ' ! t.-Uive of all the motoring Interests in | the Dominion, was mentioned at the iast meeting of the executive of the South island Motor Union. "YVe should point out to the Automobile Union that Ave think it right that they should change their name to the North Island Motor Union," said Mr J. S. Hawkcs. '-'We should call ourselves the iSew Zcuiand Motor Union. We Ikivo equal if not greater control in j matters relating to motoring," said Mr F. W. Johnston. It was agreed to write to ths Kew Zealand Automobile Union, urging the desirability of a change of name. "All things which affect motorists should be a Government affair," said Mr F. W. Johnston at the meeting of the South Island Motor Union. The executive was discussing the proposal that County Councils should make a uniform by-law, making it cdmpills'drj' for all motor vehicles to catif mirrors. A letter M - as received from the 1 Now Zealand Counties Association Oh the subject, stating that while it wftiild recommend all counties to adept the by-law, it had no power to enidrCe I sich a measure. 'Phi? motor cycle industry pdes&sses a double importance, inasmuch. ias y in addition to the natural Utility of its products to their purchasers, it has served and continues to serve- as & training ground for amateur ttiqtor iriechanicsT and an experiments! field for automobile engineers. Jn many ways, direct and.indirect, it lias eiferted considerable influence on the mtftot-Caf industry. Particularly it has stimtiiatett uar manufacturers to produce" light atid reasonably speedy vehicles at prices. The motor cycle is, of course, in. certain of its foniis the cheapen kind.of motoring. No car call compare with the lightweight motor cycle a'S an ificxpensive conveyance, for one person. if high speeds are desired, the powerful motor-cycle will run at a- cost which compares favourably with the expenss , of operating the 'simplest' and least j speedy types of light car. After a run of some.2o yearSj the supremacy of the diamond tubular frame -for motor-cycles shows signs of being I tf>ri6tfiS,ly challenged. When motorI cycles wore first designed; the diamond i frame which has proved such a- long- ' standing success in the bicycle was : adopted by makers of rnotor-cycleSy to a (more or Jess degree, and LaS been re-

HOME AND ABROAD.

tained ever sine*. B^S'fJ as ss» in thttS/oS S'ne tibt di S .« an important item, and the more.the*eght is centred between the axles the betItt AnXr important gam obtainabU. from some of the new types £ ™°/»7 Jrcle frames is the getting of tne weight lower tetho around wHsertrt encroath- £ too much" on the necessary cleara«6e A -lance at many of .the motorcvc?ea now on c,ir rfada ducloees the tool bigs, etc., are earned in a Jngn position, all tend.nK.to nuke I*e machin* ton heavv, which all affects tiie in design now is to bring; all the weigh, as now the ground ts po-iMa, w.ith. mcrossed room and eomtort r :.» movement that irtil greatly add to th« popularity of thisjbranch of motoring. MUSt nearly 20 years of search, refe«nrch ,«nd exnenmen£ t<™, the famous Emile Berliner, ot Washington,-'alia his son, A JJt-iv.iisr, have perfected, says the "Scientific American," the first successful hehc.otfler whidi will rise pefpendieularij from the eround. and when it. has raachea the desired elevation will fly ahead at whatever speed the operator wishes. The flying- helicopter rise* straight from the ground in its aerial ascent toward the clouds. After it arrives at the desired altitude, the aviator can direct its course whichever way lie desires by tilting it f™™ l f,° that it will fiV hotizontaily. Thistilting iB accomplished by a, small horizortal propeller which is 3* feet m dm-j meter and -located at the tail end of the j machine. % manipulating: this propcllor;the necessarv tilt of the helicopter is obtained, "Under circumstance, where the tilting propeflof is inclined at an angle of 15 degrees a l6ss in thai lifting power of but 8 per cent, ocours. This results in the production of a horizontal push which is equivalent to over 25 per cent, of the lifting potter. Returns compiled by the- Canadian Department of Customs a .*oi> per cent, increase of motor traffic into Canada. Automobiles entering Canada for touring purposes during the last calendar year totalled 617,385, compared with 93,300 for the previous calendar year. Of the total number of ears registered in Canada, in the last- calendar 1 year 615,074 remained in the Dominion for less than one month and 2211 for more than one but less than six months. The 1 Park branch of the .Department of the Interior has.calculated that this motor traffic represents an extfeflditwe in Canada, of more than 103j000,000 dollars, &nd it is estimated by the same authority that on a basis of 5 per cent, "improved roads are ■worth over two billion dollars without tftfcifig into account the service they render Canadians themselves.' 1 The Paths Branch estimate of expenditure in Cansida by motor tourists is based on a stay of seven days for the larger nttmbef of caf§ and thirty

days for the smaller number, while'the da ly exp.nditure for the former is pjJt at 25 dollars and 20 dollars ior the latter. The registrations in the different provinoes were as follows: Nova Scotia 223; Prince Edward island 22; New Brunswick l»2b'; Quebec 43,204; Ontario 537.'283; Manitoba 30S0; Saskatchewan 427; Alberta i?ii; British Columb.a 25,1)57. Ponca City, Oklahoma, dainis that it leads all other cities in tile ratio ot cars to population, according to the "Oklahoman." It has over i:500 cars, or on the average more than one car for each family. Many motorists, especially those who change their cars at fairly frequent intervals, says the "Autocar," must have been struck by the apparently inexplicable difference in the oil consumption" of two engines of similar cubic capacity and each carrying the same load. "One, perhaps, will consume a gallon of lubricating oil every 300 miles—bv no means an extreme example—while another may require such infrequent replenishment of the sump thai a gallon will last for at least 1000 miles' running. As good lubricating, oil is by no means cheap, an extravagant engine may well cause quite a formidable entry on "the debit side of the owner's yearly running costs. It is rather strange that so many motorists, actual and perspective, take great pain 3 to ascertain the exact mileage obtainable from a gallon of petrol; with some drivers it abiost is an obsession; yet they invariably neglect to ask for an accurate and guaranteed performance as regards the quantity of oil consumed. It is not merely a question of money, but, again, economy can be overdone, and there are engines- so constructed that the oil in them seems never to rim dry. In such cases as this, it is well to dram the engine base every 1000 miles, refill, and then merely check the oil level from time to time, to satisfy oneself that no leakage lias developed, until the next 1000 miles have been covered. Engines of this t> pe, and there are not a few, are the owner-driver's delight. The radiator on the average car is a most sadly neglected item. Scarcely one driver iii a hundred ever dreams of paving any attention to it. Admittedly frequent attention is not necessary in modern times. A periodical examination should, however, be made by every conscientious driver. Even the host of rubber joints will leak after a certain age. Though proof against the rust fiend, the copper will develop a species of fur and scale which is anything but helpful to it. Unless occasionally flushed out. the sump has a most disconcerting habit of accumulating a weird assortment of flotsam. A quarterly scavenging with a solution of washing soda and boiling water will do wonderful work in keeping the radiator free of these unpleasant characteristics. The clear-seeing motorist will not begrudge the email amount of time expended on this simplo operation. * One of the leading motor-car contests heT3 in England is tho 200 miles race on Brooklarids Track, for small-powered cars. This year's event was divided into two classes, one for cars with an engine capacity of under 1100 c.c, and the other for engines up to 1500 c.c. (1J litres). A good field started in each section. The small car division was won by a Samson, driven by Benoist; the average speed for the full distance was 81 4-5 miles per hour, 10 miles an hour faster than recorded in last year's race. The 500 c.c. class attracted the crack Talbot-Darraeq team, which swept the boards in this race*lasfc,sßar,; also representatives :6f many of'the fastest light cars in. England. Tho Talbots early established a lead, in fact Segrave lapped .the field, but subsequently dropped back owing to a broken valve. K. Lee Guinness (Talbot) then took the lead and ran in a comfortable winner with-a speed average of 88 m.p.h.- G. Stead (Aston-Martin) tvaa Becond, 86.3 m.p.h., and H. Segrave (Talbot) third, 85.5 m.p.h. The winner's fastest lap was covered at a speed of 95$ m.p.h. His time for the 200 miles was 2hr 17niin 37sec, whilst the little Samson negotiated the distance in 2hr 29min 39sec. Tho projoct of the Mayor of Chicago to spend three million dollars for the purchase of municipal motor-omnibuses has been shelved by the City CounciK The proposition was the result of a strike on the trrmways and elevated lines, when motor-'buses were requisitioned by the Council with excellent re<"»ts. With the ending of the strike the Council evidently declined to go on with the proposal. However, owing to thet efficiency of the 'buses, the Chicago 'Bus Company has been bought up by the Yellow Cab. Manufacturing Company, which is planning, with a capital of three million dollars, a vast extension of the motor-'bus system to include all of the city boulevards. New 'buses embodying the most modern features for the comfort and convenience of passengers will be installed, and it is stated that soon "Chicago will have the finest motor-'bus service in the world."