MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 250, 16 July 1920, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

Motorists Should Unite, .' P °. ne onres, to cousider carefully and impartially ilia present indifferent conditioa of juotordom in this country, 0110 is forced to the conclusion that it i# very largely inotordom's o\y,n fault, and tlu6 is 60 because ot two very important factore—want •of energy mid want of unity," l-emarka tlio annual report of the Now Zealand Automobile Union. "Let us consider the- 'want of. onergy' factor first; Tho average motorist who does/not belong to any of tho ■ existing associations, takes far too much for Brantedj .ho assumes that,-without , personal effort on his own part. Association# will .bo formed and' maintained-without money (or very little) to look after his interests, that re need neither advise nor subscribe to tho associations in' any way, that roads will bo improved, made, or maintained because he believes them to •be a national necessity, that the petrol difficulty mil straighten itself out and ■that, lottii 1 . bodies will mako fair wl reasonable by-laws jr.st to suit him, without 1 his asking fo; them; and per*, haps ■ there ia another feeling also veryprovailent; namely, that Parliament will niaka wiso and temperate laws for the benefit of motordom, with no other'advice to guide it but that of inotordom's adversaries, or—in tho alternative—that defective legislation can be easily'amended.' Regarding want of unity, of the two fauitß here mentioned tins is tlie One has no need to dilate upon tho necessity for, unity in evory walk of life, or ■to,recite its benefits' to the monibera- of any union, suffice it to say that nothing can- bo accomplished without it, ana 'Until unatta'ohed motorists join up and put their backs into the work on hand the full weight of the associations will not be felt. It is no wonder that the 'huge, wealthy, but unorganised movement that autoiuobilism is at present is made tho victim of every local authority anxious' by any. means to increase its Incomo and influcnco; that taxes art) proposed and urged--upon the Government which are inequitablo in their incidence and not to be nppiied either to the' benefit,'or Subject-'to'the'Vote of those who find the money. It is vital to the in•terests of' every individual who owns or uses a. motor that he actively' associates 'himself with'' an association 'organised ! for the protection of bis interests, and that his activities take the'line of scoing that hia association lacks not the ineana to carry -on its work, and,' having the means, does that work well. He must a:lso sec that any federation or'associations which he forms (such as the present union, federation designed to carry out certain legislative and Bcinntific.work common to and for tho benefit of all) 'is' blbo, furnished witli what i 3 ,' necessary'. to carry .on ' the agreed-upon propaganda'-and docs it thorough?.?.Tlh> commercial side of motordom. is ,now be-: coming well organised, and, associations have;now b9en.established to carry on its propaganda. , It is the 'private' side of motordom which by reason, of inadequate support on tho part of individuals lacks complete organisation. The privflto associations, should be better supported by the individual motor owners than .they are at present, and this would result in the greater ; influence of the pinion or federation of associations. There is a certain ..community of interest I between tjie''trade' and 'private* motoring interests. The 'trade' is fast awakening to this;. -will not the 'private* interests tolcg up also,, and after strengthening and more fuV.y, Uniting their,'own forces, join with the other in nil mattersmutually silitable to impress their jpint needs upon Parliament? Th'is is net a matter of .self-interest, .but is.,ono which affects : tlio whole dovelnoment. of the Dominion. It is the cry for better roads' and more of them, the linking up of'town to tow'n x throughout . the .length and breadtli of ,the land, the improvement in. national transoirt,;. the reduction of the cost' of goods by the reduction of handling, speed, and certainty cf deliveries, tlie health of tho people ;by. -fncjilitics not only for travel and recreation, but for. quick.and'.easy suburban and urban transport, and. lastly, by, so ilie means of •.-transport. that .an .•ipdustri.nl or.other /disturbance in one.section will not inflict • loss; and. suffering, on-a large'.number of .innocent, peoplp ...eiitircTy,', unconnected with, the,-cause,of tlie trouble."

"Safety First" Campaign. The "safety first campaign of' th» Wellington Automobilo .Club, was inaugurated a few days ago, :uid it is hoped that- tKe " results ' will. bo beneficial to motorists and pedestrians alike. ' All members of the club are exhibiting ou their wind-screens a-notice drawing, tho attention of pedestrians to the necessity of looking to the right and left befova crossing tho road., it. rests entirely with motorists to inako the campaign a success, and, should, it bo. found, necessary, further notices .will' be provided each month for .members" to. paste f ou their wind-screens. ■

"The Benzine Shortage. Reference to the shortage of benzine was'contained in the annual report, of tho Auckland Automobile Association. It was stated.that conflicting reports and opinions had been received from tba United States regarding future supplies. While local agents were optimistic, tho oil.combines in' the' States had, publicly advertised asking users to exercise tho greatest economy. At' present conditions were much improved, but. it. seemed certain, that the worlds demand was_ increasing so rapidly that a. substitute would have to be found within the next fo\v years,. .The possibility of local production of motor spirit had been closely imiestigated by the committee, and the ventures. wliich seemed most likely to mebt with early results were those operated by compahios in the peat swaiups of North Auckland, Crude oil had already been produced, and renorts received indicated that a refined motor 'spirit would be available in commercial quantities as soon as the necessary machinery for its production had been installed, 'With regard" to the'use of benzine, the committee had decided that it would bo a good thing, to hold a petrol consumption contest, with a'view to:properly testing the mileage of different caw;' the efficiency of different brands of petrol, and of various economises 011 tho Inftrket.' Tho contest would tnko ulac# next Labour Day.

British Taxation proposals. So far as the incidence of. the new taxation on- British motorists is concerned, tho arguments brought forward by tho Government (says the "Autocar ) are,singularly unconvincing.. A great deal is said about the impossibility , of retaining • tho motor spirit duty, particularly.in respect to its collection, but no facts are vouchsafed. Sir Erie Geddes (Minister of Transport) seems qui* propar edto play to the gallery, and to impress upon the gullible that it is tho "luxury car-owner who will be nit. Sir Erie's definition of a luxury carowner appears to be the man who works hard all through. the week, aud can drivo only on Saturday and Sunday.. In tho debate on tho Budget resolutions, tho Minister, of Transport, ..tho ntoro a man uses his ear tlie less will •the tax hit him. Briefly, the car-owner who uses his ear only for week-ends, aud who keeps it as a luxury .and does not use it regularly like/ doctor, is tho man who is worst hit. On the face of it' tho statement is a remarkable ono to' come from a Minister.who is proposing new taxation for tho maintenance of roa<l fiurfaces. -It would indeed bv diflicult to imagine anything more farcical than.tho serious advocacy of a system of taxnUon tliat .makes the hard->\ovkinff week-end motorist pay for .the road wear caused bv his more forlunato neighbour who can use his car freely all tho week, If .a man had not.-tho car. ho would probably take up some other form of .recreation or. pastime, of less general benefit to tho community, 111 that ho might not give employment in tho inany industries connected with tho. construction repair, operation, and equipment of the car,. t<j say nothing of the catering, as in touring, etc. Lighting-up time i-To-ddy, 4.41 .p.m. Next- Friday, 4,47 p.m.