SUNDAY IN CALIFORNIA

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 120, 25 May 1927, Page 22

SUNDAY IN CALIFORNIA

. The. problem of Sunday traffic has been exercising the authorities in the State of California, and separation of through traffic from local traffic is recommended as "imperative" towards the reduction of danger and delay.; Prohibition of parking on the'highways in the evening is also considered advisable. :;.;::••■;■; />:."' ■■ "^ ' "■'-.■' / -'• ■? 'The separation of through from local traffic would entail an enormous eiponditore, as it would involve the construction of roads to carry the, traffic round municipalities where the wont congestion occurs. It is stated that in two years there has been a traffic increase of 68 per cent., and since 1921 of two and haft times. : Intersecting highways, tram lines, i and drawbridges are "orious obstructions to this flow of traffic, and impose * great element of danger. Theoretically * higlMriiy without obstrneUona should carry 1800 vehicles an hour per traffic lane, but the capacity drops to lflOO vehicles where there are erosg•treets, even with the most up-to-date methods of traffic regulation.

._,_ An mgewoDS valve cap incorporating a visible pressure gauge has been introduced in England. The caps are simply fitted to the valves in place of the usual caps and a glance at them suffices to show whether pumping is required. ■

.The Auckland Automobile Association has decided to continue its policy of issuing danger signs to school committees free of charge. These signs cost'the association £1 8s a pair. In resolving not to' impose any charge at present, the.' association assumes that the signs will only be applied for in cases where it V apparent that they will be a definite safeguard.

; ; The United, ,States o« Amcrie* will always probably lead the world in the number of'motor vehicles owned by citizens, its immense and prosperous industry ■in the manufacture of ears and'motor lorries making it possible to distribute vehicles of good quality at prices "wKlcKvVfew other countries can hope to equal under present conditions. The number of motor vehicles—can and trucks—registered ia the United

Btstes at'present is 22,000,000, or about on» for every five inhabitants, and although last year of the 3,338,000 new cars sold more than 63 per cent, were to replsee old vehicles which had been scrapped by their owners, there is still a heavy demand for ears from first buyers. •■ . -. ' ' -. ■-.

Tubes are bo much cheaper than covers that it is a false economy to risk: a good tire coupled with a leaky tube. A fall of five pounds in the pressure required for a balloon tire may reduce the. mileage by thousands of miles. The average motorist will not spare the time to test tire pressure daily, and a weekly test may diselosi that the pressure lias been destructive]} low. Unless one is prepared for daily inspection, it is cheapest to reject tuber which are open to suspicion.

There are probably 200,000 motor vehicles of all kinds in New South Wales now, and the number is being increased at the rate of about 1000 a .week. At the end of last year- there were 174,121 registered in the State, made up of 116,648 cars, 26,554 motor lorries and trucks, and 30,919 motor cycles. Last year 48,919 new vehicles were registered, including 33,215 cars, 804,4 lorries, and 6660 motor-cycles.

Noises and rattles in cars are frequently very hard to eliminate, as the cause cannot be traced. One such which caused considerable trouble in a ear Of good quality, ;and which really only made itself clearly apparent at a speed of about 35 miles an hour, but became deafening'at 30, took several days to locate. -First the .bonnet was suspected, but packing with strips of rubber proved ineffective. The clutch was closely examined, and the fan and generator drives all tested, but the discordant noise remained, until it was found that a cowl ventilator was loose.

A car in England had a mysterious stoppage, the symptoms-pointing to lack of, petrol.,.; Investigation, however, showed that the fuel was feeding in normal fashion, and that the carburettor and its jets were not causes of. the failure, but although the engine 'would start,'it refused to accelerate. The/magneto also seemed to be in good orderj but when the inspection lamp was accidentally switched' off with the engine running, a short circuit was detected from the high tension collector brush to earth. A crack as fine as a hair was found in the insulation, and this was stopped with pitch scraped off the top of the accumulator and heated.

Canada, gives a considerable preference to motor vehicles of British manufacture in respect of import duties. The tariff rate on passenger cars, valued at retail, with standard equipment complete, at not more than 1200 dollars each, and on commercial trucks is 12J per cent, ad valorem under the British preference scheme, and 20 per cent, under the general tariff. The excise tax of's per cent, on cars of this'class is remitted in the case of motor-cars of British manufacture, but still applies on ears from the United States. Other motor vehicles of all kinds are dutiable at 15 per cent under the British preferential tariff and 27} per cent, under the general tariff.: This preference, while of some advantage, is offset largely by the _ high packing cost which is entailed in the shipping of cars from Great Britain.

Of the 825,000 motor vehicles in Canada the number supplied from Great Britain probably does not exceed 1500. The obstacles are'much the same as in Australia and No* Zealand; chiefly narrowness of track, but iii' Canada there .is 1.-the- added difficulty of -the absence of the left-hand drive; The merits of English ears from the engineering point of view; are recognised and acknowledged*; but no large volume of business can be developed in Canada by the manufacturers at Home unless they offer cars with the left-hand drive.