SPEED RECORD

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 56, 15 September 1928, Page 26

SPEED RECORD

NEXT v BRITISH - ATTEMPT Vs^lM' IiESERT CHOSEN ' Gaptaiir ■ -Malcolm ■Campbell has ■ ohoscu' the Syridu desert for his pro"posed"attempt." to regain for England the: world's land speed record. He seaiciifed'-the''English and Danish coast without finding a stretch of sand he regarded as suitable, and coastal sands at their best .have always the disadvantage of limited width,_ with the ; risks iof-the sea on one side and the spectators on the other. , The Syrian deseft is a vast stretch 'ofWn-b'aked waste 'in the summer season, perfectly smooth and hard iv some places, and rough, rutted, and overgrown with camel thorn in others. In the days of the Persian and Greek Empires it was a highway linking the Mesopolamian and Mediterranean civilisations.. ■ Ifor-two- thousand years, howeVir/i't has ■'not suffered the tread ;of man and beast to any extent until : the Great War, aud since then, in ; 1923, the Nairn brothers—Norman and i Gerald —who -were officers in the Near Eastern campaign, have established their remarkable mail service between Bagdad and Damascus, practically a : non-stop dash across six hundred miles of waste, with one reliable oasis— Rutba Wells^rhalf-way across. The Nairns, •by the. way, have introduced six-wheeler saloon cars on the ruii, and the crossing is made in about twentysix hours. The eastern half of the track, from Bagdad via Ifcllujab and the R.A.F. aerodrome of Eamadi to Rutba is not suitable for great speeds. There' are several wadis to be crossed which- in winter are streams emptying into the Euphrates. The track is rather badly '. rutted as a rule and strewn with small boulders. '■'■■:•';':;!'<■ NO WANT OF ROOM. West of Rutba, however, there is a • JSpWßaiaSstrei;eh.of nearly three bun'afed ■miles'-"of : smooth, 'hard ground, where speed is possible with safety. The mail coaches, carrying fifteen passengers and two British drivers, a ton of luggage on the roof; .in'd ICO ' gallons of petrol, besides water, ice, and food supplies, exceed -forty miles an hour for long stretches. Travelling westward .they,, arc met 150 miles east- ' .warfl ;.pf Damascus by an armed car '": yftj^fill escorts.! them through the more U&»tfgt*'ous-.part"^>f the.stronghold of ths V&rabj?;(;rib'es,Mall bowling along together'at from' forty to fifty miles an hour. Captain-.Canij?ljc!l''hasy however, con-, ■iderablo,, .dinieultiesv to : .face. The

the motor-cars.sold in Europe last year were sold on. the instalment system, which is only" 3 per cent, less than the figure for the United States. The oiheial return referred to states:— "In llu! percentage of motor vehicles sold on :time, Finland, Poland, and Roumanin lead, each .with an estimated 00 per cent. Next in order eomo Turkey, with 80 to 90 per cent.; Greece, with h0 per cent, of cars, 95 per cent, of trucks, and 100 per cent, of buses and taxis; Denmark, with 80 to 85 per cent, of all types; Gdrinauy,' with 75 per cent, of cars and 100 per cent, of commercial vehicles. "Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, S/wedQii, andCzccho-Slovakia all have oO'?.to'7J) per cent, of cars, and evcn-lar'gei-"''peVcentages of commercial vehicles, sold,!:6n theI;'instalment plan. The percentage' for the United Kingdom is'6o'per cent. foV ears, 75 per cent, for taxis, 50 per cent; for trucks, and 40 per. cent., for. buses;, for Belgium, 30 •per- cent., for -cars, '00 per cent, for trucks, bases, and taxis. Spain is the only country that has-not to any great extent taken advantage of the instal-ment-purchase method; only 13 per cent, of its vehicles are'solil'on rime. "The credit period usually extends from twelve to eighteen months. Terms are particularly, liberal iv the United Kingdom, Germany, Holland, Spain, and Switzerland, where an initial payment of 25 per cent. :is generally required. In Australia, Belgium, Czeeho-Slovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, and Italy the down payment varies from 25 per cent, to 33 per cent.; in Turkey from 10 per cent, to 50 per cent.; in Finlaud and Sweden, 33 1-3 per cent.; in Poland, 40 per cent;.and in Rumania, >r'O per'- cent. f : v;■ : FINANCING CHARGES. "The financing charge for the privilege""of iifsfalment buying varies very greatly in *he different countries. In Austria, Italy, and' Rumania it consists of a monthly interest charge running for the period of the instalment; in Rumania this varies from 18 per cent, to 24 "per' centjr in Austria from 12 per cent;, to 2.4 per cent., and in Italy from 7 per' eeift. to''B per cent. In nine countries there is a flat charge based on a percentage of the total amount outstanding after the down payment. Purchasers' in ; , 'the i United Kingdom and the Netherlands pay probably the lowest flat rates—approximately 5 to 7 per cent.; in Switzerland, Denmark, and Sweden the charge varies from C to 8 per cent.; Belgium reports a usual charge of S per cent., and Germany 9 per cent. The Czecho-Slovak rates, varying from 7$ to II per cent;, are among the highest charge in all Europe. "A-combination Hat rate.and interest are customary•'-in-Finland, Poland, aud Spain. In the last-named country both the flat rate, and the interest are usually ittc'ludeii^iw;the,:{dpOTV;;l);iymeiit. instead i of' bcingfc^readVjoyeLr.' the:,.,instalment, period. $jftilanttfsj: "interest' charge, con-■sjsts'of--a*out.;Ssj o'i:-ll per cent., to-| ge'ther with a Hat rate of 2 per cent, for the first year. Poland's customary charge, is about 12 per cent, interest plus.a flat charge of 5 per cent. The: number. <o£. motor-vehicles : taken back'.:by .itiite^yejtdors as the result at failure of the purchasers to complete payment of the instalments amounts.to less thift 1 percent. Both in Europe and ia.'-'America; ?■•'■'■: . ■