MODERN MOTOR-CAR.

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 May 1935, Page 9

MODERN MOTOR-CAR.

MORE. THAN MACHINERY. In the early days of the motor industry the automobile was nothing more than a piece of machinery and all too frequently it Was not . a particularly satisfactory machine at that'. The manufacturer had his hands full in improving the mechanical structure of the device. There were so many ! things, and such obvious things that I needed to be done, that there . .would ' have been no point in going out of ■ one’s .way hunting opportunities foi' infprovement. During the 30 years I following, as a result of scientific research, inventive genius, experimentation and developments in production! technique, the self-propelled' vehicle has been transformed from an expensive novelty into an economic utility cf widespread public acceptance. The discriminating demands and fastidious tastes of the motorist have kept well abreast of the industry’s offerings and the approach to mechanical perfection, as reflected in the motor car of to-day,- has Served to bring into focus the fact that the automobile is far more than just a piece of machinery. In contrast to most mechanical products (or at least to a greater degree than other mechanical products), the modern motor car is what we might call a social instrument as well as a mechanical utility transportation machine. Thus, the instinctive human desire to move about more rapidly and more conveniently is complicated by the social desire for style, appearance, comfort, appointments and other factors which, beyond a certain point, do not lend themselves to laboratory analysis. And so it is with these thoughts in mind that General Motors invites motorists to give it the benefit of their ideas, to pool their practical driving experience 'with the engineering and manufacturing skill .of its factory organisations. You have your home designed by an architect, but you don’t hesitate to tell him the various points that you want taken care of in the plans. It may be (and usually is) impossible for him to meet all of your desires because of the technical aspects, but the pooling of your ideas with his highly-specialised training and experience enables you to get substantially what you want, with the assurance that his skill as an architectural

designer will protect'you against anything that might be unsound from a standpoint of construction, out of keeping with the artistic ensemble or else beyond bounds from a standpoint of cost. Of course, if the motor-car were to be considered purely as a piece of machinery and without relation to the “human machine” that is going to run it, then there/ would be little need for consulting the buyer. The»designing of a car is not merely a matter of co-ordinating the mechanical components. Of even greater importance is the co-ordination of the machine to the tastes, desires, temperaments, nerves and physique of the driver and his passengers. But the motor car is. not just a piece of machinery, and it can never be because it plays such an intimate role in our lives. It bears too close a relation to the humaji factor for it to be considered in an impersonal way. Progress in future design will come, not alone out of the research laboratories arid engineering textbooks, but through a better understanding of the human factor. The automobile engineer must take into account, more than ever before, the co-ordination between the mechanical problems, and the human aspects. As one engineer recently expressed it: “The motor-car does not become a complete median ism until the driver is back of the steering wheel. The ( steering apparatus} doesn’t end at the steering-wheel —any more than does a good braking system end with the foot pedal or the hand lever —bones, muscle, sinews, nerves, human temperaments, instincts, and habits must all be taken into account by the true engine?r. ” The design of a restful seat must reckon with anatomy and posture.. The operation of the controls must conform to the most natural movements of the feet, legs, and arms. The design of a little thing like a foot throttle must not only take into account the strength of materials and the laws governing mechanical links and levers. The physiology cf the leg muscles and the possibility of nerve strain in longrdistance travel must, also be considered. Thus it is necessary for the designer to look beyond the engineering handbooks and interest himself in such things as physiology, psychology and neurology.