NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20463, 5 February 1932, Page 4

NOTES.

Sir William Letts, chairman of Willys Overland Crossley, Ltd., of Manche-ster, England, states that his company has purchased from A. J. Stevens and Company, of Wolverhampton, tho goodwill and stock in trade of their motor car business, which includes the well-known and populur A.J.S. Jiylii car. Tho silo includes all jigs and tools, which will enable Willys Overland Crossley, Ltd., to continue the manufacture of the A.J.S. at Manchester immediately, and will also ensure an adequate supply of spare parts for existing models. The area occupied by the works of Willys Overland Crossley, Ltd., at Manchester, exceeds "0 acres, and includes a covered driveway of a quarter of a mile in length. Tho fo.ir-cvlinder motor-car will never go out of fashion, although tho six-c.vlinder car may approach it very closely in respect of petrol economy. However, with a six-cylinder motor engine there are 50 per cent, more moving parts in the. engine itself than iii.a four-cylinder job—entailing higher cost of replacements, overhauls, and general running expenses. The Chevrolet Club's picnic, which was postponed from Saturday last, is to be he'd to-morrow at the Kaiapoi Domain. With most cars top gear is a direct drive, but there are several Continental cars on tho market that have a direct third gear and a geared-up top. Much greater v silence is obtained this way in third gear than bv any other method, and, moreover, tne top gear also is absolutely silent. Sir Malcolm Campbell has recently invented a new permanent type of jack to fit on the rear and the front of the car, out of sight, which raises the whole vehicle off the road, supporting the four wheels separately. The jack at present has been patented for Talbot cars, but within a short period the patent, it is declared, will be adopted by other factories. Considerations of economy have prompted the Kent County Council in England to postpone a number of schemes of road improvement until after the financial year ending March, 1933. They represent a total of £4,143,639. A giant motor works, which is expected to produce 140,000 cars per annnm, has begun work at Nijni-Nov-gorod. A motorist summoned in England on three counts in respect of lights wrote to the Court enclosing ten shillings in payment of the fine and asking the clerk to he "good enough to forward him any change that was coming." The Magistrates instructed the clei'k to inform tho defendant that the forwarding would have to be done by him to the- extent of another £2 10s, he having been fined £1 in respect of each summons.

Before taking the Enterprise on to the beach recently, Mr Wizard Smith tested the beach with his own car at a Bpced of 65 miles an hour, and then with the Rolls Royce at 85 miles an hour. An ingenious scheme for the use of liquefied gas for both refrigeration and power has been evolved by the Shell Oil Co. in San Francisco. It has been applied to vans carrying perishable goods, the liquid expanding into gaseous form in refrigerator coils, and being then fed to the engine as fuel. No carburettor is required. The twenty thousandth motor-car has now been registered in Stockholm. This means that there is one motor-car for every twenty-fifth inhabitant. Two Johannesburg youths, without other means of locomotion determined to witness the car racing at Blooklands on Dingaan's Bay, made the 88-mile journey there and back on roller skates. An ingeniously-constructed caravan, to be utilised as a trailer to a motorcar, has just been completed by, Mr H. Parker, motor-body builder, of Dunedin, and lie is now engaged in demonstrating this outfit at the various camping grounds from Christchurch to Auckland. The caravan bears a very attractive appearance, and apart from its use for motorists, it would make an ideal week-eml crib. It has four bunks —two on each side, windows, doors, a safe, receptacles for carrying clothing, a steel-lined box for holding a stove, etc. The caravan is Bft long, Bft 7in wide, and 6ft Gin high. The great advantage of the trailer is that in about five minutes by a system of keys, hinges, and winding gear, the whole structure can be taken down, folded up, and its width reduced to • 6ft. When thus handled and for trailing, the caravan is not as high a« the backwindow of a motor-car. Similarly the vehicle can be re-erected in a space of five minutes. Tt has been made of beech and specially stamped light steel, and weighs about !ocwt.