MOTOR NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 October 1921, Page 8

MOTOR NOTES

ITEMS OF INTEREST. A paper read before the Academy of Science describes a new method by ■which motor spirit may be manufactured from linseed and other vegetable oils. The method consists of passing the vegetable oil over special catelysers, which deprive the oil of its water and hydrogen. The. volatile product thus obtained is then passed over nickel, which gives io the vegetable oil the aromatic hydro-carbons whic.n render it in every way similar to petro 1. Door guards are a detail that can be added readily td almost any garage door Io prevent damage due to colliding with the doors. The simplest form of these are inclined slides for warding off the front or rear wheels of the entering car. These guards are readily made i f wood, bent wrought iron pipe, or more permanently of cement. 'The t rans-Cont inent al trip across the Andes mountains in South America, Argentina to Chile, Ims at last been accomplished by a motorcar. Two American cars had the honour of opening the route, the tour was organised uniter the auspices of newspapers oi Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, and of Santiago, the capital of Chile, together with the. , Automovil Club, Argentina, for the purpose of concentrating public, attention upon the matter of road construction. 'The actual start, of the tour was made from Bahia Blanoa, Argentina, about 700 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. From that point, the cars proceeded westward. '1 he Andes were crossed to the south of Chilian, and from there their route look them by way > f 'lalca to Santiago. Twelve days were required for the trip. Some difficulty was experienced in crossing the mountains, and one of the ears narrowly averted being upset whmi ascending a strep mountain grade, but quick action on the part of the driver saved the situation. A 19-year-ohl inventor, a native ol Seattle (I .S.A.), claims that he lias evoked a process for obtaining electrical energy in practically unlimited quantities from the air, or from the earth, or from some other source which is .not definitely described, and that the apparatus used consists simple of a coil of wire: How this simple arrangement operates is not made clear, but it is explained that scientists and practical men versed in electricity have examined the experimental apparatus and found that it tills tlie claims made for it in every respect. Its operation is said to be based on a. little known law of matter which has long been overlooked, and which the inventor came across by accident. The generator is simply used as a source of electrica] current, which is t ransmit te l to an ordinary elect rir motor and 1 econveried into mechanical power. 1 lie inventor is driving a boat with his experimental engine; it is said to be sufficiently light and compact to make itself laptable to automobile propulsion, a.nd patents are now being taken out. (hi Ihe subject ol judging speed, an Australian writer has the fol lowing : Time after time it has been demonstrated that an onlooker cannot eorrectlv estimate the rate of speed of a piassing motor-ear. ami still more difficult is it for him to judge whether or not the speed attained is dangirotis in the circumstatic-. s, lor the driver secs far more of firn over-changing

traffic conditions ami is, therefore, a better judge of th" relative speeds of other vehicles appmluhing or being approached, and is in touch with ami has control of a vehicle that immedi.atelv responds to the pressure on a lever. Neccssarily, if that were not so the motor would lie a dangerous vehicle, with its normal speed of thrice that of a Imrse-drawn vehicle, while its development would not have been so remarkably rapid. Its progress has been due solely to its superior speed plus the control over it. Eliminate cither and it would lie no better (han a horse ami carl, in the first place, or a runaway horse and cart in the second. At the same time motorists are well advised to ext rcise the utmost care. We are in an evo- i lutionary era as regards road traffic, j and. being an innovation, the motor vehicle or its user is compelled to I shoulder all responsibility, because, I perhaps, it is the easiest wa,\, and I satisfies e\er\bod\ —except the motor- a Ist. 'The following remits were carried at

the annual coiifereiice of the Dominion Taxidrivers’ Federation at Auckland last week Thai no person should have Ihe right Io hold a drivers keens? unless such person is inly qualified. That no person be granted a license to drive a private car under the age of eighteen or licensed to drive a- taxi, a motor-bus or 1 rade motor used for hire under the age of twenty-two. A recommendation to limit the width of load on lorries to ten feet and a deflecting mirror to extend beyond the load to show the lorry-driv-er any traffic desirous of passing (overtaking.) That taxis awaiting engagement on a taxi-stand should be exempt from having their cars lighted owing to tho great strain on their storage batteries, winch are repeatedly causing loss of time and expense, this contingent on such taxi-stand being properly lighted. That all vehicles, hand-carts, and bicycles should be compelled to carry visible lights, and that as regards stock driven after sundown that a light be carried by the driver thereof.