MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 266, 5 August 1932, Page 18

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By

“SPARE WHEEL.").

MOTOR IMPORTS Substantial Decrease TOTAL FOR SIX MONTHS British Preference A decrease of over £120,000 in the dutiable value of motor-cars, chassis and commercial vehicles imported into New Zealand in the first six months of this year, compared with the value of imports for the corresponding period last year, is recorded in an official return. In the six months ended June 30 this year, the dutiable value of motor imports was £267,143, against £388,032 for the first six months of 1931. The total is the lowest in the past 11 years, being below even that in 1922, when motors valued at £276,123 were imported. Numericaly, also, the importations are considerably below those of last year. In the January-June period this year, 1883 motors were imported, against 2629 in 1931. In 1922, there were 1078 vehicles brought into the country in the first six months. Figures for Recent Years. In the following tables the figures quoted represent the current domestic values in the countries of export, plus 10 per cent. In order to arrive at the actual expenditure on motor-vehicles in the period, consideration must be given to customs duty, profits, rates of exchange, freight and carriage charges. Following are details of the dutiable values of all types of cars, car chassis and commercial vehicles imported from all countries in the first six months of every year since 1922; —

As was the case last year, by far the largest number of vehicles imported came from the United Kingdom. Of the £267,143 sent out of the Dominion in the period, £247,575 went to the United Kingdom for cars and commercial vehicles. The preference for British goods is even more marked than last year, when £257,275 out of a total of £388,032 was for United Kingdom products.. The small British car which has gained immensely in popularity of late has been, imported in large numbers, although there has been comparatively little business - in the larger models, whether British or foreign. The striking fall in the value of Canadian imports, from £63,229 in the first half of last year to £143 in the period just ended, is due to a great extent to the fact that Dominion agents laid‘in large stocks of a popular Canadian car last year, as a change of model was anticipated, and have been drawing from stock ever since, instead of importing. There has also been a marked seduction in imports from the United States, while Continental imports, never very large, are -even smaller this year. Drop in Canadian Cars. Following are details of the values, for each half-year:—

The total of 1883 vehicles imported in the first six months of this year comprised 1550 cars and chassis and 333 commercial types. Last year, in the January-June period, 2629 vehicles were imported, there being 2259 cars and 370 commercial models. Over the same period in 1930 there were 7576 cars and 1407 cqmmercial models imported, while the figures in 1929 were 11,247 cars and 3825 commercial types. The British quota of 1415 cars for the first half of this year compares very favourably, with last year’s total of. 1457. In the first six months of 1929 there were 1510 British cars brought into the country. The drop in Canadian cars is most marked, there being only two imported in the first half of this year, against 472 in the corresponding months last year and 3752 in 1930. United States products fell from 327 to 130, while only three Continental cars were brought into New Zealand in the period. Following is an analysis of the halfyearly car imports:—

Commercial Vehicles Steady. There has been a comparatively small decrease in the imports of commercial types, although it is notable that there were no complete commercial models imported between January and June this year, all being bare chassis. The total for the period was 333. which compares fairly favourably with 370 in the first half of 1931. Once again Canadian imports suffered most heavily. being reduced from 150 to nil. United Kingdom commercial vehicles landed in New Zealand were more than double the number brought in during the first half of last year. - There were 288 this year, against 10S last year. The United States total fell from 111 to 45, while there were no Continental imports between January and June this year. Following are details of the imports of commercial types in the first six months of 1930, 1931 and 1932:—

CAMPBELL’S HOPES Despite the success of his efforts at Daytona early this year, Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of the world’s , land speed record, is apparently not. yet satisfied, and is having a Rolls-Royce Schneider Trophy engine fitted to his car ‘‘Blue Bird.” He hopes to attain 300 miles an hour in his next attempts, which will probably take place at- Daytona next February,

ST. CHRISTOPHER Motorists’ Patron Saint It is a strange comment on the faith of Christian peoples in the past that the legendary saints have ever , been of greater interest to men than the more authentic figures, writes Gerald W. Rushton in "The Morris Owner.” St. Edward the Confessor was a fact to whom we owe Westminster Abbey, yet we displaced him and St. Thomas a’Becket in favour of a saint, George, who is almost as legendary as his dragon. St. Veronica simply never existed at all, yet one finds her cult all over Europe; the name Veronica being merely a pun on “Vera Ikon”—the True Image. But that we of the twentieth century are little better than our forbears of the tenth may be gauged from the fact that with a whole bevy of perfectly respectable and authentic saints from which to choose a patron for motorists we have chosen St. Christopher, who is as near a legend as can be. As regards any degree of actuality, he comes, one must suppose, like St George, under the classification of Pope Gelasins as one of those “whose names are justly reverenced among men'but whose acts are known only to God.” Of the race of Cynocepjialic,' he is said to have had a dog’s head, and to have eaten men; but that was before bis miraculous conversion by a voice from heaven, like St. Paul. Those were the days when he lived in the land of Canaan as Offerus the Giant, a mighty man so proud of his strength that he vowed only to serve power greater than his own. Changing Masters. And so, thinking no one could be greater than the emperor, he entered the imperial service. One day the emperor crossed himself for fear of the Devil. “Oho!” thought Offerus, “he is afraid of. the Devil, then the Devil is greater than he.” So he sought out Satan and entered his service—only to find the Devil afraid of the Cross. That set the seal of all power on Christianity, and Offerus became a .Christian; but, because he had neither the gift of fasting nor of prayer, he must needs do something to prove his faith; and who shall deny him both virtue and brains for that? So he took up practical charity and set himself to carry wayfarers.over a bridgeless river. And, as Jacopus de Voraigne tells us in “The Golden Legend,” there came one day to the banks of the river a little child who asked to be .taken across. With a laugh Offerus caught up the puny youngster—he could have carried, he said, a dozen such—and the child smiled acquiescence. But, marvellous to relate, when but half-way across the stream he staggered under what seemed to him a crushing weight. With great difficulty, he reached the other side, and, setting down the child, said: “Had I. borne the whale world on my back it could not have weighed heavier than thou.”

And the child smiled again. “Marvel not,” He said, “for thou hast borne upon thy back the world and Him who created it. Henceforth thou shalt be called ‘Christo-Phoros,’ the Bearer of Christ,” and with these words the child vanished. •

Death of St. Christopher.

Three days after this incident St. Christopher died —at least so runs the tale, while another tells of his martyrdom in the»Decian persecution. His heavenly duties include the Welfare of motorists, travellers, pilgrims, sailors, ferrymen, and the guarding of buried treasure. The latter suggests the dog-headed genii that in ancient Egypt protected the treasure chests, while the great dog star, Sirius, whose “helical rising” (or rising at the same time as the sun) was thought to cause the dog days, coincides with his feast on July 25. He may be a classical survival, for in a play of Sophocles we find the great giant Orion represented with a dwarf on his shoulder.

Whatever his spiritual descent, “Merrie England” loved him and put his fresco just Inside the church doorsi to remind church-goers on leaving to say a prayer to St. Christopher to guard them that day.

“The controlling power of the driver was finely Hiustrated in a demonstration on the way, for, while going at a little over twelve miles an hour, he brought the car to a standstill within a yard.”—“The Autocar,” November 27, 1897.

page 12 of this issue there appears a ruling by Mr. W. H. Woodward, S.M., relating to the law in regard to prosecutions of motorists who, being in possession of a driver’s license, fail to produce it when requested to do so by-a traffic inspector. The ■ruling is one of considerable importance.

A most interesting booklet which should prove invaluable to owner-driv-ers is “Inside Information," which has just been issued by the Vacuum Oil Company, Pty., Ltd., and which explains in non-technical language the functions of the various parts of a motor-car engine and chassis. The purpose of the booklet is to provide car owners with a better understanding of their cars.

In Germany it is being found that the scheme for the compulsory introduction of a uniform motor spirit is not proving feasible.

Ten bullet-like streamlined trams, with a top speed of 100 miles per hour, are at present running on a 13-mile suburban line at Philadelphia. They are said to have a cruising speeed of 83 m.p.h., but are being held down for tK time being to 70 m.p.h. They are stated to have cost £BOOO each, and to have 100 h.p. motors.

Many motorists find that gas-filled headlight bulbs give a better light than the ordinary vacuum type. The reason for this is that in a gas-filled bulb the filament is raised to a much higher temperature when tho current is switched on than is obtainable with an ordinary vacuum-filled type. The gasfilled bulb is-first completely exhausted of air and then filled with nitrogen or argon gas. Therefore, the filament is surrounded by an inert gas, so that it glows brighter, without fear of fusing the metal, than it would in the normal type.- ’ • • » Careful laboratory examination of certain motor-car parts, such as gears which run consistently in an oil bath, shows a form of pitting on the metal surface which has been traced to an electro-chemical action on the metalWith the object of preventing this action a new lubricating oil has been produced and tested at the National Physical Laboratory of Great Britain. This oil contains certain salts of zinc. In use the zinc is deposited from the oil in the form of an exceedingly fine skin over the metal. parts exposed to the oil. The result is that these parts become galvanised and are protected just as galvanised iron, which is ordinary sheet iron coated with zine, is protected from rust. DEALERS’ CONFERENCE A conference of the Standard Motor Company’s New Zealand distributors was held in Wellington at the Hotel St. George on Wednesday. Mr. H. H. Robinson, factory representative for the the firm, entertained the dealers at dinner. The chief guests were Mr. T. A. Low, Auckland; Mr. L. Treleaven, Christchurch; Mr. J. Epps, Christchurch; Mr. H. Ashton, New Plymouth; Mr. T. R. Taylor, Dunedin; and Messrs. H. L. Rogers, F. Sinclair, W. Ingle, G. Magnus, Sinclair Carruthers, and H. H. MeLean, of Wellington.

Value. Half-year. £ ' Number. 1922 .. 276,123 1,078 1923 .. 1,007,828 .. 5,587 1924 .. 1,705,511 9,332 1925 2,264,650 11,924 1926 .. 2,155,598 13,198 1927 .. 1,071,519 6,856 1928 984,000 6,313 1929 .. 2,055,517 15,072 1930 .. 1,375,158 S,983 1931 .. 388,032 2,629 1932 .. 267,143 1,883.

United Kingdom .. 1931 1932 . £257,275 £247,575 United States 66,132 ' 19,206 Canada 63,229 143 Belgium ......... 591 ■ — .Franca _ •, — 159 Italy • 530 60 Germany 272 J- .— Totals ....... . £388,032 £267,143

United States 1930 No. .. 2415 1931 1 No.' 327 1932 No. 130 Canada , .. 3752 472 is United Kingdom... .. 1401 1457 1415 Belgium 2 1 —— France .......... 4 . — Q Italy ** 2 1. ... - — '.-HI Totals .. 7576 2259 1550

United States ... 1030 No. 1931 No. ,1932 . No. lit 45 Canada ... 82+ 150 United Kingdom «.. 15S 108 288 Belgium France 1- .. Germany 1 Totals ..... ... 1+07 370 333