MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2581, 1 October 1915, Page 11

MOTORS & MOTORING

[By. CiiUTOH.] Renting Cars. A new idea- for* motor-car users in the United States is put forward, chiefly in the interests of people using commercial motor vehicles, particularly those operating in a small way. ! , It lias been stated lately that unsound conditions, to a certain extent, militate against the growth'of the car and wagon manufacturing industry, and liave proved a disturbing factor in the.trade generally.It has been repeatedly said that only the large user of motor vehicles of the commercial class can really make'the cars pay. This view is evidently gaining ground in the United. States, and now it is reported that the commercial motor is not a paying proposition to they term the small man. ; Tho small man referred to doubtless means.the business.that finds it necessary to run only one or two cars for t'rado necessities. ;.. . , To support this view it is urged that this owner must employ _. a drivermechanic to care for liis machine and also own or rMit proper garage facilities, or he'must pay some garage for repairs, storage, and maintenance.. ( In- either case, the report continues, his expenses are likely to considerably out-balance the services gained, as equipment and skilled , labour is paid lor that Would have afforded attention to a much larger number of vehicles on the one hand, or he pays under profits to the repairing garage on the other hand. The object' of these arguments, of course, is to discourage the small user wishing to own a car, and rent one as the occasion arises; He could have it regularly, according to . contract ; price, or he could secure his transport services only when required at so much per trip. Would money not be saved? asks the originators of the scheme. Consider tho avoidance of worry and trouble in trying to maintain one's own 'transportation equipment. 111. furtherance of the proposal it is declared'.that; not'only, users' 111 a small way, but- manufacturers themselves are coming' to believe in tlio idea. Possibly this latter notion is the result- of having to maintain a free, repair service for purchasers, of commercial vehicles, sucli as is the case in some cities-of the United States. < : • r Jlie Sydney '"Sun"- says that what-, ever the actual reason is' for the tendency to rent instead of owning aiid maintaining a commercial car, the subject is iiot; received by the trade, in Sydney as worth on ' a big scale. .

American Competition. The-British motor-car industry (says"The Tunes") is concerned at the unchecked' ' importation •_. ot American pleasure vehicles while its hands are tied during the war. ' The peculiarity of the situation' is that the trade .is prevented from replying to this: attack by its patriotism in responding. to the appeal of the Government for aid in the making of materials for the purposes bf the war. ■ ' Seeing- the British market thus made free of' home, competition, American competitors are sending over cars in thousands. - The invasion commenced four or five years ago, but, as is shown by the following figures, taken''from tho-Board of Trade annual retransmit has been greatly .1 accelerated since the outbreak of tho war: — Completed' cars ■ importedl9lo, 1011; 1911, 3734; 1912, "4377; 1913, 3619; 1914, 6225. ; Value of the cars:—l9lo, £215,297; 1911, £592,2i>4; 1912, £762,907; 1913, £744,392; 1914, £1,311,932. ' In addition-to the injurious effect. on the future of the British motor-car trade, these imports may be expected to have three immediate- consequences of a harmfulkind. They will lea-d'to:— - (1) Money 'being wasted on luxuries. _ (2) Art: increai»;of;.oiii{,already.'greatindebtedness to foreign countries. - - (3) The diminution of our reserves of gold required by the Government for the prosecution of tho war. ' , Mr... Arthur Fell, M.P., has , drawn, the'attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer -to the matter,'- arid in a letter to. "The Times" , lie' suggested several ways in which the Government might meet the-situation.. They might stop the import and .purchase of. such foreign, cars by prohibition under the Defence of the Realm Act, or by the imposition of a heavy duty on them,, or by a heavy license duty oil their users. The makers of motor-cars are hopeful that the' Chancellor of the Exchequer will-at once check the imports and raiso revenue by proposals in: his Budget.

Tiis Care of Brakes. In the .selection of .a Wr, attention should be paid to the size of the brakes when thore are four of' them on the rear axle: and if there.is a ; propeller shaft brake, the trial run, should ;be Utilised to discover whether its application results in a clattering noise, and makes the car stagger.' The convenience of the adjustments should be examined, and the presence or absence of' a compensating device noted in regard to the rear wheel brakes, _thougli its absence is of -no special moment if the owner is ready to take pains in making adjustment.. U does not really* matter whether the/ rear hub drums are encasqd, on the inner side or Wti It is vory difficult to provide a genuinely dust-proof casing, and the majority, of these inner covers merely servo to make it difficult to wash out grit after a wet drive, whereas a naked drum can usually be cleansed by -, putting' the brake in the "off" uosition, : and squirting in. copioiisdoiiclies of paraffin, - ' Some brake drums have Jioles drilled through them, intended for lubrication purposes. .Siioh holes chiefly serve to admit dirt. If brakes . t ; 6n<T to become inoperative by dint of oil and grease leaking' along the back axlo. from the difforefitial gear, a cure-oan bp effected by drilling small holes in the axle casing under each rear; spring' pad, or thereabouts, through which any surplus oil can .escape; but grcasiness of the brakes rather implies that tho axle has been, over-oiled.

Petrol in England. Though in some American cities petrol is only 4J to sd.j>er gallon, the price of the fluid in England has kept at high figures. Lafe'y, however,- there have been rumours of an impending reduction. According to the latest statistics 'the quantity of petrol imported into Eitgland is' now greater than at' any previous period; and less lis being used. Military requirements certainly absorb large" quantities, aiid the naval service also needs considerable stores' oi this fuel; Oil the ®ther 'hand the normal consumption by tile public has fallen to a 1 great oxtent, and the number of motor-cars and motor-boats Used, and now out of . commission, ys enormous.' Everybody is of opinion that the price of petrol iiv England' is top high,' and that if it wore: lowered it would aid considerably in the development of sevoral branches of industry. For instan'co, the ; manufacture of internalcombustion engines, _ using this fuel, would increase if the prico of tlio allimportant liquid came within more reaeonablo _ bounds. It is claimed that somo distributing concerns in that country are making fabulous profits from'the sale of petrol. Now with the supply on the English market, being in excess of the demand thoro appears to be every likelihood of a' reduction in price very shortly.

Here and There. - Legal lighting up time for motorcars and motor-cycles: To-day, 6.5 p.m. Next Friday, 6.13 p.m. J. Fabey, who some weeks back left Port .Darwin for Adelaide on a bicycle with the intention of endeavouring to reduce F.' Beichenbach's transcontin-

ental record of 28 days 7min., and subsequently had to abandon his attempt on tlio record owing to a broken chain wheel crank, has reached Adelaide safely. Fahey has now enlisted -with, the Australian Forces. • A very fine motor-car drive was recently recorded oyer the mountainous route between Brisbane and Toowoomba, the 95 miles being negotiated by 'Messrs. Adam and Elvery on a Dunlop shod "Studebaker" in 2 hours 3-5 minutes. This performance beat the previous official Tecord by 42n!in. The merit of the drive can- be judged from the fact that the motor-cycle record for this journey, which includes a great climb over the main range, is 2 hours 68 minutes.

North Island Road Culde. Motorists will be interested to learn that a now and revised edition of the North Island volume of Messrs. Andrews, Baty, and Co.'s motorists' road guides has made its appearance. The first edition of this handy little book was published in 1913, and the second edition now issued is increased in bulk' by twenty pages, and in .addition tho matter is more compressed and- more handily arranged. The revision appears_ to have, been thorough, 'and in addition several now routes are described and road conditions on the various West Coast routes to the Waikato and Auokland are much more fully' and. usefully described for those who contemplate using these summer routes to the north. A useful innovation is the description of the main routes in both directions; thus, one finds a Wel-lington-Palmerston North ininerary and a Palmerston North-Wetlingion itinerary'. The book marks a great improvement over the preceding edition, but there is still much information of value to motorists in New Zealand not obtainable in handy form, such as !*o key to identificaion letters on cars, the law as it affects motorists, and-bo on; and no doubt such "extras" as thc-se will be gradually incluifel in future editions..