300 MILLIONS

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20997, 27 October 1933, Page 6

300 MILLIONS

REVENUE FROM MOTORVEHICLES , ANNI AL CONTRI IU'TION One o: the most remarkable facts : associated with the world-wide aecepti ance and use of the automobile lor transportation of people and produce ' is the colossal sum paid annually by .. 1 motor-vehicle owners to governmental | revenue in the leading countries in the world. If anyone, 30 years ago. when the automobile was in its svaddling- ■ clothes, had predicted that in .1932 there would be 35,000.000 motor-cars and trucks operating on the roads of i the world in the service of mankind, ! and for that privilege their owners ; would be paying yearly to the various I governments the enormous sum of 3 j £300,000,000, he would have been i thought a lit subject for a mental hill stitution. I £1,000,000 a Day. * Yet to-day the astounding fact is revealed by the official tigures that motor users throughout the world (apart from huge sums paid by the automobile and allied industries hi the form of income and other taxes'i are paying approximately £1,000,000 every working day of the year in ' special taxation because they are using ' the most, modern and efficient form of' ■ transportation that science and craftsmanship have created, says a South African paper. ( This remarkable development in ; road transport is not only amazing, but j unparalleled. The people of the i United State:; of America, with their : 21,045.000 cars, 98,000 motor-buses, and j 3,231,000 motor-trucks, pay annually iin petrol taxes and registration fees . the almost incredible sum of ; £210,000,000. This amount, actually i exceeds the wholesale value of the ' 3.430,000 new cars and trucks sold in ' that country during i.932. Great Brii lain also derives a huge revenue from : motor users, and last year collected ; £62,000.000 from similar taxation, j while France. Italy, and Germany also i obtain large contributions of national ; revenue from auto-motive activities in ; the respective countries. Australian Ratio. in Australia (he owners oi iho. ' i 000 cars and trucks in service last : ; vear paid £9,000,000 in petrol dues ' ; and registration fees. This approxi- ; j mates an average of £IG per unit per i l annum, as against the £8 per unit per i ! annum paid in the United States of : America. South. Africa's contribu- ' j lion is in excess of £3.000.000. The ■ I capital now invested in the world's I automobiles 'apart from that invested j lin the manufacturing side of the in- ! dustry) is gigantic, and even at an j all-round value of £SO apiece reaches j the colossal sum of £1.750,000,000. The yearly taxation bill of £300,000,000 : represents 17 per cent. on capital ; value, so thai it will bo realised that, ■ so far as motor-owners are concerned, • they pay handsomely for exercising their franchise to use the public roads. A SYNTHETIC BODY ; : COMBINATION OF ADVANTAGES Attempts are being made to develop ■ new systems of motor-car body con- ; slruction which shall combine the ad- ; vantages of the all-steel body with those of the composite metal and : wood body. These systems, which arc still in the earliest experimental stages, employ ! substances which can be poured into ■ moulds or can be shaped in the form , of fine powder like the synthetic resin : bakelite. It is believed that a ,-yutlietic resin ; body might be devised which would be i suitable for mass production and also ! for the execution of individual orders. Running boards of synthetic resin have > already been tried in America, and j wings of the same material are thought i to have some chance of success. ■ II.MTLTSa IY!XfiM»Y.s After considerable use the windows of a closed car will often develop rattles owing to the glasses becoming a loose fit in the felt lined channels in which they run. In some designs it Is < an easy matter to bend the edges of the channel so that the glass is again held firmly enough to silence it. In ; other cases thin strips of rubber can be: wedged at the side of the channel, • having the same effect, but if neither '•rm bo applied it is usually not an expensive matter !o have new chan-