motors and motoring

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 139, 8 March 1929, Page 8

motors and motoring

NARROW STREETS TRAFFIC IN THE CITY the dangers of parking It is most obvious that when Wellington was originally built its designers gave little, or no, thought to modern traffic problems. Hence we are confronted with difficulties at every turn, one of the worst being the narrow ’streets, which are the “bete noir” of every motorist. The City Council, at various times, drafts all sorts of by-laws, some good,and some bad, in an endeavour to alleviate the difficulties which best the motoring community. One of these bylaws lays down that .in certain areas parking of motor vehicles shall be prohibited, cars being allowed to remain stationary only for a period reasonably necessary for* the loading or unloading of goods, or for the taking up or setting down of passengers. That is clear enough io far as the passenger part is concerned, but the by-law’s application in regard to goods appears to be rather elastic. Just how long is “reasonable” is a matter of opinion and is a most debateable matter. So far as passing traffic Is concerned, one minute’s parking in Willist Street, or in Manners or Cuba Streets is too much. Willis Street is not quite so bad, but Manners and Cuba Streets are traps and are anything but pleasant to drive in. Danger Zones. So far as moving traffic is concerned, it does not matter whether vehicles are parked in either of those two streets for one minute or for one hour;

they will always be in the way. If a car is parked alongside the kerb, there is not room for another car to pass between it and the tram rails. That, of course, is where the danger is. With the exception of the Brooklyn and Aro Street trams, and of one or two trams that run on other routes at specified times, every tram has to pass through Manners Street and Willis Street. Bear for the safety of his car fills the motorist when he is trying to thread his way along these streets in the busy hours. All is well until he comes to a car that is parked alongside the kerb. He immediately has to swerve out to the right, on to the tram rails, and then, provided no others are parked there, swerve back again into position again. There is danger in every turn of the steering wheel. In almost every case he will ,find that there is a motor car either behind him or, worse still, abreast of him. In the rush hour he may have them both behind and abreast of him. It is all right for the outside man when a parked car is met, for he can drive cheerfully ahead. Not so with the inside car. Its driver has to slow down considerably and wait until the man abreast has pushed ahead, and then the driver has to swerve out continuously and at the same time give ample warning to the car at the back to let its driver know his intentions. This one car swerving out may cause a whole line of others to slow down. The Train Menace. Then to make matters worse, along comes a tram with much clanging of bells. He has to pull up, and so does that foolish type of driver who persists in travelling on the tramline just a few feetjbehind a tram. There have been numerous accidents in Willis, Manners and Cuba Streets, all coused through motor' cars getting jammed between parked cars and moving trams. The car that is the primary cause of the trouble is the stationary one. Its position renders it liable to being smashed just the same as the motor that is trying to dodge it. The tram, being heavier, Usually comes off best, but even trams can be badly damaged in street accidents. Tram or Motor-Bus? , There seems to be only one solution to the problem. That is, take the trams out of the city and run motor buses instead. This, of course, would involve a great deal of expense, but it would make our city streets much safer. As time goes on and the motoring community increases, something will surely have to be done, and it is a fairly safe prophesy to say that if any type of vehicle has to go from the city streets it will not be the motor car. Meanwhile, the best that can! be done is to observe the by-laws to the best of one’s ability/and to exercise a little more the the usual care when driving through the congested areas.

TOUCHING-UP PAINTWORK

RUST MUST BE CLEANED AWAY.

Handy men can always do odd jobs about the car, and many of them are quite expert in touching up the paintwork on their cars when the paint has chipped away. It is not hard, and provided one gets the proper paint (their are numerous reliable brands of body paint) any one ought to be able to do the job. When it is a matter of touching up blemishes where the paint has chipped away, one must be sure to clean up thoroughly the rusted under-surface. This is most important, and if it is not done any paint applied on top will very soon peel off again. The edges of the surrounding old paint should be smoothed down, and when applying the japan or new enamel the first coats should be allowed to harden and then be rubbed down, and subsequent eoars applied until the level has been made up to that of the surrounding paint. Rust can be removed by means of very fine emery cloth, whilst of considerable assistance also are the rust-removing preparations available, these having the effect of removing rust and clean ing away all foreign matter which is likely to interfere with the new colouring It is better to do a job of this type on”a dry day, or, better stilt in a warm, dust-free garage.'

PET AVERSIONS CARS THAT INSPIRE I DISLIKE We have all occasionally succumbed to the day-dream wherein we suddenly become wealthy, for it is amusing, if hardly profitable, to think of what we would do with a million pounds—the entertaining, the travelling, the performing of surreptitious good deeds, the working away at congenial pursuits (writes S.H. in the “Autocar”). And in the midst of these dreams comes a motor-car, somewhat vague, perhaps, but certainly glorious. It changes its nature a little bewilderingly as the successive qualities with which we endow it range uppermost in the mind. Maybe the ideal car dissolves into half a dozen not quite perfect specimens as we realise the impossibility of reconciling luxury with performance. Without this ideal car the castle in Spain and trout streams in Hampshire would not be worth the having.

Let me, however, in revulsion from this too-sweet dream, consider those other cars—the cars onq hates, the vehicles one wouldn’t accept as a gift (except, perhaps, if one were hard up to sell again), the specimens'that are too stodgy, or too skimpy, or too shoddy. First comes the overdressed car. A car is like a woman; the more beautiful she is the fewer clothes she need wear. A car should be stark and slender, and should be able to emerge triumphantly from the ordeal of being seen dirty. And that is why I cannot abide flashy saloons that look so smart when new and become so de-

crepit after a few years on the road. Their bodies are fussy with unnecessary headings and mouldings; their paintwork is a festoon of superfluous lines round the edges of windows and along the pillars that support the roof; their' mudguards are bevelled and teased into weird and repellent bulges; their radiators are half hidden with strips of nickel' and glorious badges. It may be inferred that I dislike such cars.

And then there are flowers, apd curtains, and manicure sets. Such is the state of some people's minds, they would put a vase of flowers in the cap of an express locomotive if you gave them half a chance. Such, to my mind, are not motorists; they are parcels, wrapped by their dressmakers, packed by their servants, and soullessly delivered by their chauffeurs. Their automobiles are a species of mechanised bedsteads. But in these days, when almost all cars try to look as if they were born in the air and bred at Brooklands, my chief dislike is reserved for pseudo sporty-boy cars. The type is easily recognisable. It has a fearsome two or three-colour scheme, forgetting that the true sports car is sombre and ascetic. It makes an ill-bred noise which it pretends i's a deep-chested mutter. Its “lines” are full of extraordinary “rakes” and angles calculated to impress the uninitiated with an idea of speed. It looks frightfully fast overtaking other motor-cars and it sports a grid to keep flying stones from injuring the radiator. The stories told by its owner till fishermen with impotent .envy. \ My final dislike is for those inoffensive little cars which are so cheap, reliable, economical, safe, easy, and popular. I happen, at the present time, to own one of the best of the bunch.

It htis given me excellent service. Ic is quite surprisingly fust, and it never seems to get tired. I nourish it according to the instruction book, and I am rewarded by uncomplaining ser,vicq. But it has so many, so very many, brothers and sisters on the road. And I fancy lam getting somewhat snobbish. I hope it will forgive me. I love the little fellow, but I am bored with its relations. When, and if, I can afford to do so. I shall (quite unjustifiably) discard it. And if ever I get that million pounds my ear will be distinguished but not too distinctive. It will attract but little attention. But the eye of the connoisseur will seek it out and be comforted.

NOVEL UMBRELLA STAND

A finishing touch is given to a car by installing an umbrella stand. An English firm is n can be covered with any kind of leather or skin, find which has a particularly neat detachable cu p. containing an absorbent rubber sponge at the bott o m. Everyone knows how uncomfortable it is to have to carry a wet umbrella in a motor-car. This stand can be fixed ‘slantwise on the back of the front seat, and will not take up any room. The umbrella gives an idea of the size of ■•the stand.

THE RADIATOR SCREEN Au accessory coining more ami more into employment is the radiator screen, n device to secure control of the watercooling temperature which has been in use in some few American cars for several years, having been suggested, no doubt, by the density of the winter cold in the United States, not to speak of the intensity of the summer heat (remarks a motoring correspondent>. It is made in various designs, in the form of vertical or horizontal slots, rocking like a Venetian blind, to shut out or admit to the radiator as much air as the heat meter indicates is required. The main difference in design is the adoption of thermostatic control for the more expensive kinds. It is as well to point out tint all symptoms of power declension in the engine must not be put down either to

unstated changes in the fuel or to a need for carburettor adjustment. Possibly, indeed probably, the more frequent cause will be an over-cooling of the system, although, by day, present air temperatures are not such as to compel remedies. • It Is now generally understood that the maximum efficiency and economy of the automobile engine is closely connected with the temperature of the water system, and that the nearer this is maintained to the boiling point, without actually boiling, the better will be the result.

BRUSSELS MOTOR SHOW AMERICAN PRODUCTIONS PREDOMINANT Paris, London and Berlin having in succession shown the world's mechanical progress in automobile design. Brussels closed the salon season with an exceptionally brilliant display of coachwork. ' The Belgian bodybuilder, whose work often seems to strike the medium between the robust but heavy constructional methods of British craftsmen and the lightness of French, has distinctly original ideas of his own (states an English writer). For this reason the. Salon de Brussels is.always interesting, and." while novelties :in chassis design are' hardly to be expected, as nearly all chassis have already been exhibited at one or other of the preceding shows, novelties in body design are invariably to be found.

The last salon was a record one from every point of view and, incidentally, it w-as the last combined touring and industrial vehicle salon to be held in the Palais de la Cinquentenaire, as demands for stand space have become so heavy that two separate shows are to be held in future. Counting the-cabs, commercial vehicles, motor-cycles and accessories section, there M'ere ho fewer than 1225 exhibitors' and' 08 makes of cars were shown, not including the industrial section, all but 16 of which were French or American. One significant fact emerges from an analysis of the cars shown and that Is that the salon marked yet another stage in the Americanisation of the European automobile' market. The American contingent, which has been growing steadily at recent salons, equalled the. French for the first time on record; .The various countries exhibiting were represented in the following proportions; France,'26 makes; United'.States,, 26 Belgium, 7; Italy and Germany, 3; Aiistria, 2;

■ Coachbiiildefs,! as ‘ is. usual atßi-d§ ; seis, were almost :as numbi-qus'': -its,, chassis manufacturers, oYer 50 firmsbeing represented. There wei-e ; several marked features about this gigantic , Concours d'Elegaiice,; one. being, the great predominance ■ of perhiauently closed bodies. ’ The'open car died in Belgium some years ago and Although three open cars did appear, by accident, in this salon, they were regarded as curiosities. The demise of the allweatherbody appears now to be rapidly following upon that of the open tourer. Even the cabriolet, last in the field, is giving -way before the fauxcabriolet, which refuses to open in spite of its hood-lrons. The all-weather body, even at’ its best, has always been something of a makeshift and the practical Belgian mind appears at length to have revolted against it,- In view of this, It seems rather-curious that the “sunshine” body, with sliding or rolling roof, should not apparently, have appealed to the public fancy in Belgium, but although many examples were seen at Brussels previously, only two or three were shown in this salon. “OFF-SIDE” RULE ALTERNATIVE ENGLISH PRO-?" POSAL. . In Vievt of. the varied opinion held by many motorists on the subject of “dff side” road preference at cross roads, it is interesting to note that recently the English Ministry of Transport had this matter under discussion, and the question as to whether traffic coming from the right should be given the right of way at cross roads, was decided in the negative. In other words, it was not approved, and it was recommended that the existing rule thtft main-road traffic has preference shall stand. It was proposed that a sign be erected at points where two important roads cross each other and that it shall bear the word “Halt” to warn. the driver on the secondary road; also that a white line be drawn across the by-road. It is essential in the interests of all road users that motorists should realise that it' is absolutely necessary for safe driving, for the person at the wheel to look both to the right:arid to the left, before crossing a main road or any. other road, irrespective of regulations. WHEN TO DECARBONIZE The exact mileage after which an engine should be decarbonised varies with different types of engine; but a good indication when this is necessary is obtained from the fact that the engine begins to knock and so show signs of sluggishness, the former being particularly noticeable when pulling hard. Do not neglect this job. z An engine fouled with carbon 'consumes much more petrol than a comparatively clean one, besides greatly falling away in its liveliness. The job is not a long one, and could be completed by a competent amateur, including grindirig-ln the valves, in a matter of a’ few hours. KEEPING THE WINDSCREEN CLEAR , A member of the staff of an English motor firm has recently invented an inexpensive chemically treated pad for keeping the windscreen clear in wet weather. It takes the form of a folded sheet of material measuring about 3in. by 2in. in its folded form. All one has to do is to draw the pad lightly downward over the screen when a little wet, after which it will be found th at the vision is good, the surface of the glass being free from small globules of rain. One is claimed to be sullicient for use during driving in one thousand miles of rainy weather.