Motors & Motoring

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 147, 17 March 1933, Page 15

Motors & Motoring

(By

“SPARE WHEEL.’)

In future only 16-cylinder cars are to be produced by a leading maker in the United States.

In New Mexico it is unlawful to use on a vehicle a horn or whistle which has .a discordant note.

It is stated that 10,000 ears from all parts of Czechoslovakia took part in a huge traffic block in Prague as a protest against new taxes on motor vehicles.

There are in France -10,000 level crossings. Some 20,000 of these are on main lines, 16,200 on local lines, and 3800 on goods lines. Thirty were removed during 1918-31, and efforts are to be made to abolish others. ♦ ♦ • The burning out of a lamp bulb, particularly if it is new, may indicate something wrong with the electrical system. A faulty connection in the battery circuit will cause bulbs to burn out prematurely. • » * Detectives in England are being encouraged to become expert drivers. In the future it is hoped that all important police stations will have cars which will be at the disposal of detectives to expedite their work. According to the figures published by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, in the United States and Canada last year there were produced 1,000,000 fewer cars than in-1931, and 4,200,000 fewer than in 1929, the boom year. » ♦ * Of the 20,000,000 cars in use in the United States it is calculated that 20 per cent, have outlived their average of seven years’ usefulness. In spite of the increased petrol tax manufacturers were optimistic at the opening of the New York Show recently. They anticipate anTinprovement in sales figures. OVERHEATING PROBLEMS Motorists do not always realise that there are two very simple adjustments in the engine which profoundly influence its normal, running temperature. When overheating occurs, it is usual to examine the radiator, the water pump, or the fan, b.ut when these' components have been found to be in normal order many drivers find it necessary to seek the assistance of a mechanic in tracing the trouble. Overheating is very frequently caused either by faults in the ignition timing or in the operation of the carburettor. If the timing is too far retarded the fuel in the cylinders tends to burn more . slowly than it should, and the cylinder walls are exposed for an excessive time to the incandescent gas. The remedy is to advance the timing. Actually, highest efficiency is obtained when the spark is as far advanced as possible without inducing “pinking.” A mixture which is too weak also burns slowly, and gives rise to overheating in the same way. An even more serious danger Of an excessively weak mixture is that the valve heads and seats may be burned by the escaping gases. The remedy is to adjust the carburettor to provide a slightly richer mixture. A TEMPORARY REPAIR Although it does not often fall, possibly one of the most vulnerable parts of the ignition system is the Spring in the make and break, either on a magneto or in the primary circuit of the high-tension -coil. Should this spring break, of course, it is impossible to make the engine run, and its failure in the country places the driver in a serious predieament. In the event of a failure of the spring a temporary repair, -which will give service until the car can be driven to a place where a new spring can be obtained, can almost invariably be made by substituting the spring with a resilient slip of rubber. A suitable wedge-shaped rubber block can be cut from the tread of one of the tires, and, if carefully removed, no damage is likely to be done to theitire. Its method of'insertion in the make and break will depend largely oh tlje detailed construction of this unit, but it is seldom that the expedient cannot be used. It will be found wise not to drive too fast, as the power of the rubber “spring” will generally be less than that of a steel unit, and its temporary use may lead to misfiring if the engine is run a( very high speeds. POISON GAS FROM CARS Dr. H. A. des Voeux, president of the British National Smoke Abatement Society, at Newcastle-on-Tyne drew attention recently to some dangers caused by carbon monoxide from the exhausts of motor-cars. “It is not generally known,” he said, “that an ordinary car running at about 30 miles an hour emits one cubic foot of this deadly gas per minute. Every motor-car owner knows how unsafe it is to allow the engine of a car to be running with the door of a garage closed; but what is unknown is what danger there is in large garages where many cars are started within a short time of one another. Systematic examination should be made of the blood of those whose occupation confines them to garages. “Another question which urgently needs answering is: Is there such a thing as chronic earbon-monoxide poisoning? What is the effect on still days of this gas on occupants of cars when in a long line of traffic? I have a strong suspicion that cases as one I .will, quote are not so uncommon as is generally supposed.” Dr. des Voeux then told of a man of his acquaintance who collapsed after driving on a cold day in a closed car with all windows but one closed, behind a truck which was emitting excessive exhaust fumes in a narrow lane. He became nearly unconscious. His blood showed the usual signs of earbon-monoxide poisoning, but had not the man’s chauffeur suffered the same evening from violent headache the driver’s Illness would have been considered an ordinary attack of syncope or faintness, for which he was actually treated.

STOP THE CAR Excellent American Practice MALCOLM CAMPBELL’S APPROVAL \ (Reuter—Special to “The Dominion.”) Sir Malcolm Campbell, according to a report from London, advocates the adoption all over the world of an American practice which insists upon a motor-car, when approaching a main thoroughfare, coming to a standstill before entering the main road. “Stop” is painted in large letters on all side roads in America some -0 yards before reaching the junction, and at the cross-ways a post Rearing a stop sign is prominently placed. In America all drivers carefully obey this instruction. When the practice was first begun it was regarded as an intolerable nuisance. But before long it became apparent to the side-road user that it was suicidal to ignore the Instruction. A few five-dollar fines completed the good work, and now it is possible to drove at 70 m.p.h. or more along the main arterial roadways without the unpleasant feelings that some "Swede’ is coming out from nowhere to spill you all over the landscape. Most of the accidents which happen at road junctions are due to the habit of the side-road user taking a chance with the main road traffic, Sir Malcolm declares. ROAD SENSE Drivers of vehicles and pedestrians in Cologne (Germany) are to be subjected to a six weeks’ course of instruction in traffic regulations. The police have mobilised a special force of instructors, who will be stationed at suitable points or move about in the busiest streets. Their duty will be to approach all persons offending against the regulations. But, instead of taking their names and addresses in the usual way, they will courteously explain to them the regulation which they have broken. The instructors will concentrate on a particular section of the traffic regulations during each week.

POWER SAVED Value of Streamlining While most motorists are aware that some power is consumed by the passage of an automobile through the air, few realise the great consumption of power that takes place when a car travels at even a fast touring speed. Experts, according to an overseas paper, claim that when the speed is doubled the resistance becomes four times as great. Tests have shown that the saving in fuel between a streamlined car and one with an orthodox type of body is in the region of 40 per cent., while the saving of power ranges from 14 to 31 per cent, at 25 m.p.h., from 25 to 45 per cent, at 37 J m.p.h.. and from 34 to 53 per cent, at 50 m.p.h. These figures indicate the., colossal losses that the world's 30.000,000 carowners are faced with annually, just because the motor-car body builders, in the early days of the motor, followed the lines of the coach builder, instead of launching out with a scientificallydesigned body.

Ideal streamlined forms have their largest diameter about one-third their length from the forward end, and taper gradually in both forward and rearward directions. Some of the latest model cars now appearing on Australian roads show marked improvement in . body design, but in Europe the streamlining trend is more pronounced. It Is being demonstrated by Continental body designers that efficient streamlining can be applied without any great departure from conventional practice, and not too radical a change for public acceptance. TOO MANY TAXI-DRIVERS London taxicab-drivers who do not own their own'cabs are trying to limit the number of new drivers entering the trade. In a manifesto they state that there are 8013 cabs and 11,304 ’ licensed drivers. The big excess of drivers over cabs will mean, they say, heavy unemployment among old drivers, many of whom have held horse and motor-cab licenses for more than 30 years. They also demand a revision of the law relating to bilking.

RED REFLECTORS

No Longer Compulsory

Red rear reflectors or "cat’s eyes” are no longer a compulsory fitting for motor vehicles. Few motorists ever favoured these fittings, but the regulations left no option, and during the. last few years at least £BOOO has been spent in the aggregate on these accessories. When rear reflectors first became compulsory, motor traders and automobile associations agreed . that they were rather useless. The official idea was that they, might prevent accidents in the event of taillight failure. The automobile associa-tions-argued that if reflectors had any great value in this respect there would be no necessity to prosecute for taillight failures. In spite of protests, the regulation regarding reflectors . remained, and the departmental officers responsible for the innovation spent some time in trying to convert sceptics.

The reflectors were fitted haphazard in many cases, and everybody has seen instances of reflectors installed at an angle which rendered them useless. Many motorists bought reflectors which consisted of a flat piece of red glass. These usually had very poor reflecting qualities. The amended regulations which were gazetted at the end of last month revoke, the provision concerning rear reflectors, and motorists will only regret that so much time has been wasted in deciding to abandon this equipment.

The New Zealand Motor Trade Association has issued the following statement on the position:—“Many thousands of pounds have been spent by motor owners in equipping their cars with these reflectors to satisfy the whims of officials, and’ after years of experience, the reflector has been found useless, and is now scrapped. An additional loss must be made by motor traders who have these reflectors in stock. The transport department has a good deal to answer for both to motor owners and the trade for its persistence in trying to enforce a worthless regulation against the advice of practical men.” Any motorist who wishes to do a good turn to both his fellow drivers and to the cycling fraternity can present his now obsolete reflector to some dilatory cyclist. There is not much bulk about a man crouched on a cycle, and if there is any virtue in a rear reflector it is when it is correctly in-’ stalled on the back mudguard of a bicycle.

CROWDS AT RACES

Sir H. Birkin’s Views Reuter.— Special to “The Dominion.” London, Jan. 20. “Have crowds who attend the great motor-car races a lurking desire at the back of their minds to see someone killed?” This somewhat sensational suggestion. is made by Sir Henry (“Tim”) Bitkin, the noted English motorist, who gives the following impression of a motor-racing crowd: — “They are swept by wave upon wave of varying moods that often become quite contradictory. At the back of their hearts is a gnawing desire for a fatal accident, and yet, when it comes, they are thoroughly upset; they enter wildly into the enjoyment of thrills which they would hate to provide, and are alternately remarkable for great sportsmanship and entire lack of consideration. "When Sir Malcolm Campbell was unlucky in starting they gave him round upon round of encouraging cheers; yet when his beloved car was burned out in a few minutes they had stripped it, under his eyes, for anything they could get for a souvenir.” (This happened in the Ulster T.T., and the account of the souvenir hunting is accurate.) “After an accident they are only too anxious to assist, yet they do their utmost to cause one by throwing flowers, even cabbages, at their favourite as he passes.” Here is the modest description he gives of himself for his schoolboy admirers :— “I have very seldom spoken in public; it bores me as much as my audience. I cannot remember what I was going to say, and when I can, forget how to say it; nor is my confusion aided by a stammer. If this information disappoints my younger readers, if they had pictured ine as tall and broad and clear-cut, barking out instructions in a voice like a knife, I am heartily sorry. I am quite small, and I do stammer. But once !■ am in a car. when there is no need to concentrate on anything but the race, all my awkwardness disappears—l feel at home, I feel as happy as a king.”

It is revealed that there are eight hansom cabs and 100 four-wheelers still in London. There are over 8000 taxi-cabs and 6000 motor-buses.