Auto Gossip

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30924, 3 December 1965, Page 15

Auto Gossip

by

A.J.P.

Warrants Drivers who are going away for the Christmas holidays: now is the time to check your warrant of fitness, and have it renewed if it is going to expire about the Christmas period. Before Christmas there are always motorists who suddenly realise the warrant for their car or caravan has expired, so avoid the rush. Stop Thief A British man has Invented a new anti-theft device for cars. It is a sign below the rear number plate, normally invisible, and activated by a hidden switch inside the car. If anyone drives away without switching off the device, the word “stolen” in blue letters flashes below the number plate. The cost of the device would be about £lO. Personally, I find the thought of a knave driving away with the sign furiously advertising his misdeed rather droll. But it could be embarrassing if you forgot to switch the device off in your own car. Steering Lock Car thief-proofing is a live subject overseas, and in Germany all cars must now be fitted with steering locks, which are said to be almost impossible for a thief to foil. Car thefts in Germany have dropped considerably as a result, but the disadvantage is the locks have to be fitted when the car is made. Cheap Device

The prudent New Zealander will consider some means of car protection, too, for there are many cars converted in this country. Any motorist with a little mechanical knowledge can fit a foiler in a few minutes for no more than 10s, Check the electrical diagram for your car in the maker’s handbook, and then decide where you can insert a switch

in the wiring to cause a break in the system. Then hide the switch somewhere under the dash, in the glovebox (if it is lockable), or even in the boot. Usually, if an intending thief finds he cannot start the car almost immediately he will give up and go elsewhere. Obvious You should, of course, always lock your car when you leave it If it has a column change, you can discourage persons from bothering to break in by buying a 7s 6d bicycle lock —one of those with the big, looped hasp. The hasp will then fit around a steering-wheel spoke and the gearlever, and any lightfingered person looking in will see the vehicle is obviously immovable. Other Devices

There are other, and more expensive thief-proofing devices on the market. One, which costs about 30s, sounds the horn if any unauthorised attempts are made to move the car. Another, costing about £5, locks the brakes. A third does double duty, cutting the engine should oil pressure fall to a dangerous level and, by a secret switch, rendering the vehicle thiefresistant. I had one of the latter devices on my car, but after about two months it disgraced itself. Very late on a very dark and cold night it decided, without any justification. that either the engine had run out of oil or I had dishonest intentions, and switched everything off. It now occupies a position of shame in the garage. The car is still thief-proofed, however. Never you mind how!

Quote of the Week

“A team of United States plastic surgeons reported that nearly all major facial injuries they found in a four-year period could have been pre- < vented by the use of seat belts. Seventy per cent were caused by hitting the laminated screens compulsory in the United States.”—From an item in the “Motor.”