BRITISH CARS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 75, 21 December 1928, Page 17

BRITISH CARS

CRITICISMS REFUTED The reasons why a large number of persons prefer foreign to British cars are being sifted by the Australian Association of British Manufacturers, which has summarised objections to British cars as follows:— The foreign car will climb all hills on top gear. The British car will not. Most foreign cars have six cylinders. Most British- cars have only four. British cars are not suitable for the roads, and will not stand up to Australian conditions. British cars are too expensive. ■These, the association believes, are the principal objections raised, and it states that they “fall down badly” under simple examination. In the first place, it is said, horsepower has little or nothing to do with gearing, which is a matter of the ratios of the teeth on the gear wheels. The very fact that every car has a gearbox indicates the need for some device to prevent undue strain on the engine and transmission units. Although he may 1 never have driven a British car in his

life, the intelligent owner-driver will change down when ascending a steep hill, rather than subject his engine to the strain which his common sense tells him is harmful. Perhaps, he could fly over on top; if he tried hard enough he could start up hill in top, and do all sorts of harmful things to his clutch, universal joints, and car generally.

Avoidance of this undue strain ensures long car life and economical maintenance. The British machine — whose long life is unquestioned even by its strongest detractors —makes even the careless driver unable to subject it to undue strain. It “gets there” with no more effort than a change of gear on a particularly steep hill, and without the harmful results of the “top gear” type. The latter, after all, proves merely that its top gear ratio is too low, and that the car is wasteful in wear and tear and petrol. Four-cylinder cars, it is contended, are more economical than six-cylinder cars, but there are plenty of good English six-cylinder cars, and these can be used to take hills on top gear if the drivers insist on doing so in spite of the risk of shortening the life of their machines. The statement that British cars are not suited to Australian roads has been falsified by many trials. On the question of price, the British makers claim quality for their product, but it is said that there are a good many British makes selling at from £2OO to £5OO.