THE NEW CAR

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 133, 1 March 1929, Page 9

THE NEW CAR

KINDNESS REWARDED It is the great exception for anyone to treat his first car really carelessly .(writes B. E. Bruce in the “Autocar ). Only watch the face of a beginner at the wheel, and you will agree that he is as Intense as any Englishman at play; and just as serious. He is honestly doing his best to be gentle with the new engine, though, of course, in many instances he is cruel because he does not know how to be kind. A new engine demands as much care as any other young thing—for example, a pup or a baby. As with the pup, so the engine must be properly fed and looked after, especially during the first few weeks of its existence. It■ is no exaggeration to state that the health and life of a motor-car (or for that matter, a pup or a baby) depends more upon the treatment it receives when it is young than upon anything else. This point can never be over-stressed. Nearly every driver is aware of the fact that a new car must be handled very carefully for at least the first 200 miles, but the trouble is that he does not always know how to drive an engine gently. He fondly imagines that provided he never exceeds 25 or 30 tn.p.h. all will be well. But that is only half the truth.

It is not sufficient merely to drive the car slowly, though this is, of course, the first essential; in addition, the engine must not be allowed to labour in any circumstances, and this is where the beginner often makes a mistake; he is so intent on going slowly that he forgets all else. It does not take much experience to determine whether the engine is labouring; you will soon feel (perhaps sense is the better word) when it is unhappy, and with a new car that is the time to act, and to act at once.

Nowadays cars will travel at surprisingly low speeds on top gear, and it is not uncommon for manufacturers to advertise that their products will throttle down to 3 m.p.h. on top. How this speed is measured they do not state. But the fact remains that nearly every modern car is capable of travelling at a walking pace on direct gear. It is very pleasant to drive down the street as silently as cars costing, perhaps, ten times as much as yours. Outwardly it is, I admit, impressive; but that is not the way to treat a new engine. Be ordinary and use a lower gear. I do not for one moment say that your impressiveness will cause any very appreciable damage to the bearings, but it will not do them any good. And it is just this kind of care and thought which makes all the difference to the future career of an engine. New bearings, however carefully they are made, have to be run in. After 200 miles or so all the high spots are worn down, and then the engine will turn over smoothly at all speeds, and with little or no vibration. Every now and then one meets owners who say that they never worry about driving a new car carefully. It is a nuisance, according to them, to drive, at only 25 m.p.h. for the first few weeks; and they solemnly imagine that they are not doing any harm by touring in a new car at 40 m.p.h. It is almost impossible, to argue with these people, for the simple reason that until the car has covered perhaps five, perhaps ten, thousand miles no damage may be made manifest. After a year on the road, this car will probably give trouble. Possibly nothing will actually break, but the car will be constantly in and out of the repair shops. Furious letters to the works will be countered by courteous but non-committal replies, and yet another innocent manufacturer will find his name on an owner’s black list.