MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 February 1937, Page 9

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAD

(By

“Gearbox”)

“BASTILE COCKTAIL”

LIQUOR AND PETROL

When Judge Musmanno sentenced a man to six months in the workhouse at Pittsburgh, U.S.A., for driving an automobile while intoxicated, although jno accident had occurred, some 1 people thought that the punishment iwent beyond the crime; others agreed that it was suitable in the case. The views of the’ Judge were set forth by himself before he delivered the sentence. Addressing the prisoner, he said, in part— L “You have pleaded guilty to the I offence of driving an automobile while u'nder the influence of liquor, ilt appears from the evidence here that you were travelling on the Ohio Rivew Boulevard. at a speed of eighty miles per hour while drunk. That no serious accident resulted is good luck, that’s all. That you did not kill somelone, or did not meet your own death, is just one of those inscrutable mysteries of fate. Certainly all the elements of tragedy were there. “We would like to.say something to you, and through you to the world, about this offence. Every man who operates an automobile while under the influence of intoxicating liqutor is a potential manslaughterer. If manslaughter does not actually result, it is not because he has 1 done anything to avert'it. An engine of death is. on the highways and at the wheel is. a man with his brains floating in alcohol.

“No exoneration, excuse, or defence can be found for a drunken driver. Certainly/ he cannot plead ignorance of the law. Nothing is> more published to-day about motoring than the danger of operating a car while drunk. When a man in full possession of his faculties, and. thoroughly aware that he will soon be guiding a car over, the streets, nevertheless 1 . puts into his mouth that which he knows will distort hie vision, upset his equilibrium, paralyse his judgment, dull his reflexes, and derail his muscular control, he is deliberately preparing himself for trouble; he is open-eyedly seeking victims to crush under the wheels of his death-dealing machine.

“It is no pleasure for us, to punish, anyone; and certainly we never impose! a sentence under any theory that the law must be avenged. However, we must realise that society can only hold together with laws which govern the relationship of man and man, and if inebriated motorists are permitted to speed their cars ovei’ the highways like wild Apache Indians riding mustangs on the boundless prairie, then society is bound ; to suffer. Every, motorist knows that it is wrong—legally and morally wrong—rfor anyone to take a steeringwheel in his hands when he has been Indulging in strong drink. “There have been many new drinks, and new names for them,' concocted during the .last year or two. We will add one to ’the list and say that in Allegheny County the mixing of alcohol with gasoline will produce what we will denominate a bastile cocktail.

“The sentence of the Court is. that you pay the costs <of prosecution and be committed to the Allegheny County workhouse for a period of six months.” CAR EVERY 90 SECONDS Every minute-and-a-half of the working day a new motor-car leaves the works; of a large firm of motor manufacturers in Birmingham. This is the largest single unit motor factory in Europe, employing directly and indirectly about 120,000 workpeople. The factory has a road frontage of ovei’ a mile’, and in all covers 100 acres' of land.

From all parts: of the Midlands come people to work in this vast factory. Three thousand, use bicycjes, another thousand have motor-cycles, while hundreds come in their own cars. Five special, trains bring other workpeople, while thousands travel to and fiom work in 120 special motorcoaches.

Actually this ..vast factory costs £l2O a minute to ru!n. Wages cost £ SO,OOO a week, then the works boilers and furnaces need 1800 tons of coal and 140 tons of fuel oil weekly. Four miles of fearpet, 17 miles of leather cloth and 29 miles of rubber tubing, 17,000 gallons of paint and the hides from nearly 4000 cows are used every week in the production of car bodies.

Altogether the weight of the raw materials used exceeds 4000 tons weekly. The body press shop, with 50 power presses, some costing £lO,OOO each, uses 500 tons of sheet steel weekly, while 120 miles of steel strip for radiators are also consumed —and, by the way, the factory also uses 4,000,000 nuts and bolts a week, not to mention 100,000 tires, about 100,000 sparking plugs and 2 tons of tacks.

WATCH THE SPEEDOMETER. The novice must always remember the deceptive nature of speed. Modern cars run so quietly and sweetly that it is possible to run along at 50 m.p.h., with the driver in blissful ignorance of the fact that he is travelling so fast. Until complete, confidence is obtained, it is a wise practice to just glance at the speedometer every time a bend in the road is to be negotiated. Drivers will be surprised how often their judgment of speed is at fault.

On roads crowded with traffic, the novice must be prepared at all times for the foolishness and recklessness of other drivers, cutting in and passing with a dangerous lack of judgment. He should learn from these people, and never attempt to pass unless the road is completely free from traffic travelling in the opposite direction tor at least half a mile ahead, because two cars each travelling towards each other at 50 m.p.h. are cutting down the gap between them at the rate of 100 m.p.h., and space disappears terribly quickly at that speed. Never attempt to pass on a corner or at the crest of a hill.

In short, the motto of the new driver. or any driver for the matter of that, should be "safety first" at all times.

MYSTERY CARBURETTOR GREAT HOPES BY INVENTOR , % The fortunes of wjiat iq> known as “The Pogue mystery carburettor” are now arousing keen interest, not merely in Canada, but all ovex North America, and particularly among ! people interested in the oil, motor, and. aeroplane industries. Its inventor is a resident of Winnipeg, Mr. Charles Nelson Pogue, who is 38 years of age, and for the past 17 years he has been engaged' in experiments, which he claims, have resulted in the production of a carburettor capable of enabling a motor car to travel 200 miles on a single gallon of petrol. As far back as 1927 he- claimed to have reached 75 miles to the gallon on normal road tests, and at a later date he professed to have run a car 25.6 miles on a pint of gasoline at speeds varying from two to 70 miles per hour. Further improvements in the carburettor are said to have increased its efficiency enormously, and witnesses aver that a Winnipeg man drove a V 8 car, 1934 model, equipped with this invention, 215.8 miles on a single gallon of petrol. Mr. Pogue, who was 1 in his initial experiments, backed by another Winnipegger, Mr. W. J. Holmes, has refused numerous offers to buy an interest in his device, and has made it clear that the carburettor would be placed, in the market, by himself and his associates. He has taken out the necessary patents, which have now been registered all over thei World, and the interest of Mr. Jack Hamm ell, p well-known mining millionaire, was successfully enlisted. As a result, Mr. Pogue and his inventidn were transferred to Mr Hammell’s estate, outside Toronto, and there the inventor has. been continuing his work under the protection of armed guards, who are on duty night and day. The pi-esent stage of the enterprise Is that a skilled engineer, who was formerly connected with one of the largest motor manufacturing corporations of Canada, is now engaged in building by hand a carburettor modelled on those made by Mr. Pogue, and if, when it is finished, it makes good the- claims advanced by the inventor, then the "Pogue carburettor will have to be recognised as a commercial proposition, and itsi manufacture on a large scale will immediately be proceeded with. REVOLUTIONARY POSSIBILITIES The possibilities of a carburettor which can make a motor car run 200 miles on a gallon of petrol are nothing short v of revolutionary. The first sufferers will be the companies producing oil and petrol, as obviously the consumption of petrol will be enormously lessened. Not only will they have to curtail their production, but they will have to write down their heavy investments in filling stations, as with the Pogue carburettor living up to the claims made for it, motorists will only'have to resort to filling stations once for every eight times that they visit them at- present. Again the cost .of transportation by motor or aeroplane will be greatly cheapened, and the. railways will be faced with severer competition than ever. On the other hand, many more people will be able to afford to run a motor car, and the demand for these vehicles may be stimulated considerably, although there is no reason why they should be cheaper. For a considerable time past .the oil companies, aware of the existence of this threat to their business’ future, have been keeping a watchful eye upon the progress of the invention. Some of their officials assert that their technical staffs have long ago investigated the Pogue device, and reached the conclusion that, from their viewpoint, there was nothing of a disturbing nature in it. Since Mr. Pogue has kept the actual device closely guarded from all eyes- save those of his backers, it is hard to see how any reliable inspection could have been made by outside experts. Mr. Pogue has> at least managed to convince men of standing and proven intelligence that he has. something worth backing, as. Mr. Hammel! is one of the shrewdest mining men in Canada and the Hon. W. D. Herridge, a brother-in-law of ex-Premier Bennett, who was> lately Canadian Minister to the United. States, is a director of a company • which • was formed last May, with a Federal charter and 500,000 common no-par value shares to promote the invention.

PROTECTING MUDGUARDS Realising the vulnerability to small dents and scratches of the edges of mudguards and running boards, the suggestion has been made by a prominent British motorist that they should be lined with fairly thick but narrow strips of rubber to absorb the impact in minor collisions. A car has been fitted in this manner, and the effect is neat and unobstrusive. Black tubber against light paintwork can be used to give a pleasing contrast or the rubber can be coloured the same shade as the rest of the car. It is likely that the innovation will be incorporated in production models. "BELIEVE IT OR NOT" A story has been going around in England of which the following is one version: — “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” This motorist was approaching traffic lights which were against him. In anticipation that they would shortly tul-n to green he coasted slowly along with the clutch out. and as the lights changed proceeded at ever-di-minishing pace over the crossing, at the further end of which he- was stopped by the police. No, they had nothing against him on the lights, but it was apparent that his brakes were useless, the only reason that he had proceeded so slowly being obviously due to the fact that they had failed. A test was demanded forthwith.

For which purpose they told him to drive along at thirty miles an hour with the police car following. When lio heard their gong go twice he was to apply his brakes and stop in the

shortest possible distance. All took’place according to plan: the police gong sounded twice, the driver applied his brakes —and the police car crashed into the tail of a nice new motor-car.

WATER IN PETROL Motorists whose cars are suddenly afflicted with- spluttering, followed in many cases' by the engine stopping, should suspect immediately the presence of water in the petrol, provided, of course, there is plenty of fuel in the tank and the uncommon behaviour is not caused simply by the owner’s neglect to “fill up.” The presence of water can easily be detected by detaching the carburettor float bowl and emptying its contents on the road. The petrol will immediately spread evenly over the road surface, but water, if any, will collect in little globules. Faulty engine operation from this cause is, unfortunately, fairly frequent ,to-day, and apparently is due to the collection of water from condensation in the storage tanks of kerbside pumps. Occasional draining of the float bowl of the carburettor should be sufficient precaution to take against stoppages of this sort, as the water is rarely in sufficient quantities to affect seriously the whole fuel system.

After draining the float bowl, it can be refilled quickly by turning the engine by the starter with the ignition switched off for a few moments, this operating the petrol pump with sufficient power to draw fresh fuel from the main tank.