THE MOTOR

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 4, 5 July 1922, Page 15

THE MOTOR

FIRST DAYS ON THE ROAD

(By "Autos;")

Some excellent advice to tho motorist in his novitiate on the rpad "re g>X«n by "R.C.,"*in the Manchester Gqardian, and are wov+h repeating in full. To most motorists the first real responsible charge at the wheel of a oar brings strango experiences. It is as if old fam; iliar things had got out o£ adjuetment: out o£ alignment, and for a space the newcomer feels himself floundering among them. Never did the roads seem so narrow; it ie,i incredible that, the hedges or tho pavements are so, hard to miss;.never did .other .vehicles bulk so big, bearing down on one at outrageous speed and leaving but the needle's eye of passing room. Happily this, the ncutest form of the sensation, speedily wears off. Things seem no longer tv be swooping furiously down upon you. Half an hour^s practice at the wheel serves .to' restoro things to something like the normal, and the lesson proceeds with the pupil shedding his nervousness every moment. At \pne and the same time he is learning control of the machine and acquiring a road sense. Before many days are over he will be handling the controls almost autqmati- i cally, never pausing to look for the pedals or to see that the gear lever slides into the props* gate, and will pass without tremor a vehicle bearing down upon him at multipjes of tho legal speed limit.' By the time he can cpmfortably keep his speedometer well above that same figure he will point gut fco you a scared rabbit squatting in the grass at the roadside, or a blackbird doing its characteristic swift, low swoop over the fence. I^e is getting on.* KEEPING STRAIGHT. The first step in the development of this necessary road sense is to learn to keep the car straight." The way to do it is to keep the raqiatqr cap nailed down, in one's vision, to the rpad. First impressions of a road surface, as seen from the wheel, are of a grey plane* marked with small lines sliding under the car. With his eye on some distant object,; the dnvev should yel be aware of the radiator rap ploughing'steadily through these lines. Tho process of keeping straight presently becomes a subconscious one, and at higher speed tho driver is moro at liberty to walch for signs of by-roads and crossroads. These latter nro usually distinguished by sign;posts; debouching lane 3 are moro difficult to spot, but a dip in the contour of the hedge, or variations in the colour or shade of tho road surface made by frequent wheel traffic, aie indications not to be noglcctpd. It is, of course, the duty of ii man emerging from a sido road to have regard to main road traffic, but that is no reason why you should leave, the responsibility solely to him. He may be an expert driver or he noay not, but there h no reason why you should risk die ultimate tost. Watch for sudden avising obsLructions, thon, whether in street traffic or out on the open road, and reiqembor yon are bearing down upon them at speed. Road sonse is difficult definitely to dofino, but il enables you to do just those things nocossary in tho, few seconds a] lolled you for thp doing of them. From tho h'rsl cullivatb » good driving position. Tho novice i« easily distinguished by his clenched grip upon tho wheel, tho norvoiw tension reflected in his features, a,nd by his bolt-upright attitude. | Clenched tooth and tonso muscles don't make for easy nor for safo driving. Hold i the wheel firmly but lightly, and learn to i drive with one hand. Fot general run- I ning rhe two-handed hold is bettor, but familiarity with one-hand control enables you the more quickly to gel tho other to > the brake or gear levor in an emergency. ' Much could bo written about the best Sjip. The best thing to do is to study | tlio ono that is ea«y and natural, remembering, however, that a hold on the sides is bettor than onq al tho top or the bot- | tt-ni. Tho ddo grip means more purcha&a, and instant purehaso, whon >qh have sud- , denly to swing 'round, an obstacle. In other wordi, il means economy of effort.

ADJUSTED COMFORT AND CON- '"■•'■ TROL. Drive oasily; that is, drive and ho easy. YU(;1» that Jig-lit, firm, grip sit, well back; that is tho normal position, from whioh all that is happening on the road has to be seen and allowed fov. Grot the right adjustment at the very 6tart of your position in tho seat and the pedals. Not all. cars havo adjustable seats. Some makers persist in the belief that the height and log-length of the human race is a. fixed quantity, whereas tho truth is that, although Nature goes in for mass production, $he is strikingly individualistic Other makeuss compromise by making'-tho pedals adjustable over a short raflius. Pedal control is a feature of the modern car, so see to it that you are so disposed, and comfortably tlispos&d, in tho seat that the sole of your Bboe will pass easily from tl>o accelerator to clutoh pedal, and that without movement of the whole body tho foot brake can bo «3xiven right home. If tlie seats are adjustable take care after the proper iudjustment has been made that they are securely damped down into position. A little thing, but the neglect of it has been the cause of curious things happening, especially when sharp corn,ers! were boing taken. ' ■" All the while in these early daya ou tho road'thel «y« and ear ehowld be trained; Habite formed now will be of servioe in tLn future whei. for all practical purposes the new motorist can qoiHit himself an expert. The oya should be constantly judging speeds and distances, for motoring; is the cpnsfcaut adjustment of a tnqvr ing object with the route and speed of oth^r moving objects, aiid the lines of motion have to run together, in opposition and to overlap, without tho objects coming into contact. Motoring is much more than that, of course,'but that is the ground work of it. The ear speaks to the mechanical sense, for as well as a road ;sense an appreciation of what the workjng parts of the car are doing has to be cultivated. The ear discovers, qv«n before sluggishness ii apparent to the eye in loss of speed, when the engine, is getting out of tuna, when one of the cylinders is not firing properly, and[when c|ihor parts go wi-ong. " ■'■'.' RUNNING IN THP MACHINE. In this connection it should be emphasised not only that orer-drivingr is folly, but that for the initial period a brandnew' cax jirust 'be carefully under-driven. Don't try fromttho first to got the maker's sjatod speed put of ti;e, car, nor anything like it. I/ikp every new machine, tho car has to havo ail its working parts Tun in before the maximum of efficiency and tho fcightst degree of eooaomy can bo obtain: e(3, and this process must be done gently. i^U these" paria havo to make good working- surfaces for themselves, and they Won't be hurried. Don't complain then, if tho car.doesn't coma wjthinsmiles per gallon of what tbo makers say it will do. \'our trouble, is due in p*rt to inexperience, but also to the fact that the car is not run in. A few hundred miles, 600 or 600 at tho outside, ought to see the end of this process, and as all the while your proficiency has been increasing, the improvement -in results and in pleasure should be rra'Vkod.

An announcement made by W. C. Durant, tho . former head of General Motors, U.S.A., is causing much discussion in American motor circles. Durant states bhat ho will produgo and deliver by Ist June a new four-cylinder car of conventional, design throughout to sell at 348 dollars the same prico as the' present li'ord. The "Star," as his oar is called, is equipped with an auto-like-, ._ generator, electric lamps of t-lio usual design, a storage battery, ono-maii hood, Stewart vacu-um-fuel feed, etc. . Prices aro announce/.! as follow:—Fiyo-p^ssonger touring with generator, and lamps, battery, otc, but without starter.-find demountable rims, 340 dollars; chassis without starter and dainoiintiibles, 285 dollars; completely Equipped touring, 443 dollars; roadster with partial ' equipment, 319 dollars; completely . equipped roadster, 414 dollars. Coupe completely equipped 580 dollars; Sedan 'complete, 645 dollars. The Star chassis is composed of standard units, including a Continental Red Seal, engine. 3i by 4J, a dry-plate clutch, thvocrspecd I riiuemissiuii, and -a drive rearward1 through a shaft fitted with two Spicer univer«ii». Li'ront and iroav uxlcs are Tirakcn litteil with Timken Wringe., Spiiugs are »Bini-

elliptic front and rear. Ihe brakes have tho usual location, and are operated by pedal and lever tie is customary. The frame design is similar to that used in the. Duraut four. In this » special tubnlaT member acts *» a torsion member and alao 3jocsc9 tho muffler. The car owner shonld1 lemsmber tfcat when <ho ctatch is fierce in taking hold | and doee not have a slight slip, the meohanisin Uiat transmits tho power from tho engine to ihe drive wheels, particularly aa regards pinions, univereals, and gear teeth, receives dostruottwo strains.

Still motors run wrest. Home is whore the car is. A soft tire turneth away cash. While thereto gas, there's hops. Fools pa#s on'bills, and curves. A wise driver maketh a glad auto. It is better to be slow fhan sorry. Declines make the wheels go faster. Dry springs squeak louder than "birds." To speed is human; to get caught a fine. , , , ; As the wheel is bent ao the oar wiU go. Where there's a nail there's a puncture. A body's as old as ite p»int; a motor's. aa old as it pulls. Spin and the world apins with you; stall and ycu stall alone.