"CAR NO SHAKE"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 1, 1 July 1938, Page 12

"CAR NO SHAKE"

.One of. "the best automobile companies in England was horrified to receive a complaint, from a Chinese mandarin who had recently purchased one of its very expensive cars.. The mandarin previously had owned one of the machines and for ten years not a word had been heard of him. The complaint merely said that the "Car no shake." That was new to the service department,- so the company cabled its representative, in China to make personal investigation- and see what "no shake" meant. . The Far Eastern representative found that the^ new car had. been pushed fiver pony trails and open^ country by hand to its owner's home", there being no, roads - worthy of the name: Then it had been - fastened securely to the stone pavement so that it could not possibly - move. The mandarin's .method of taking a "ride" was to get in the car, race the engine, and enjoy the vibra- . tion thus- set up. The new car, being - ten years younger and of more cylinders, naturally was a much smoother-operating job. In fact, was, ". so smooth' that there was no vibration worthy of the name. The Briton was t equal to the situation, however. He disconnected a couple of spark plugs . so that the engine was running on four cylinders instead of six and there wat plenty of "shake." Now the mandarin is happy again.