THE MOTOR WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 October 1924, Page 13

THE MOTOR WORLD

NOTES,

Tlie Automobile Association are havgreat success in their efforts to link up the whole of South Taranaki under ope governing body. Opunake and Manaia.jare going ahead well and reports are good in both places. The Waimate West County Council have promised their backing and co-opera-tion and all progresses well. Eltham are meeting- on Monday, and prospects are of the. best all round.

The ; average man makes a wild rush at ; the bulk of stiff hills in order to get iip them as far as possible on top gear, irrespective of the surface, with the. result- that- the tyres are damaged and the whole chassis receives some knocking about, while the temperature of the engine has bumped up owing to the throttle opening, without a corresponding increase of speed for satisfactory radiation purposes. But no matter how good the road, if my touriiig speed is 23 miles } along the level, so will that speed be maintained at the foot of-the long, stiff hill. The moment she shows sign's of dropping down in -speed, the clutch is slipped, the gea-i’ changed, and without any undue fuss wje carry on up the hill at tlie same. Revolutions of the engine,, with practically little increase of temperatrire iii the cooling system. The.Adassio road event of Europe, the French Grand P'rix, which was decided last, .month over the Lyons circuit, takes da tricky course that tested to the extreme drivers, cars, and tyres. Twenty cars started, handled by" the most dashing drivers of Europe, and it is;:estimated that fully 100,000 people witnessed the contest, which called for 35: circuits totalling 500 miles. 1 Lee .Guinness, one of England’s fin-esti'-racing drivers, has again carried off'tlie coveted 200 miles light car race which is annually, decided on Brooklands track (England). He negotiated the distance in lhr. 58min. 301-osec., ' a world’s record for any type or power of car. It is tlie first- occasion upon M’hijcli'over 100 miles an hour lias been maintained in a long distance race. His average speed was 102£ miles per hour,; His’ success in this event will* be some compensation for his bad luck in the recent French Grand Prix, from which he'.had to withdraw- when holding a leading position. The parson of ajiipountry church in South Ohio mapped* out-' a. - number of roads .passing the homes of present and prospective members of his congregation. At the same time he compiled a list of who owned cars. These ;car-ovyning 1 members were requested to call at 'certain houses while on their way eithgr to church or Sunday school and pick up members of the congregation.: Offers of lifts were made to those not in the habit of attending church, a promise being made to bring them back after the service. This '-progressive clergyman has since had the pleasure of always preaching to k crowded attendance. Handsome salesman: “Couldn’t I interest you in an automobile?” Pretty girl :\ .“Perhaps j\iu could. Come around in one' some day.” R.OADSIDE SIGNS. NOT WANTED IN GJ2EAT BRITAIN Working quietly, but persistently, for years past, the Scapa Society (society for'control; of abuses in public advertising) has recently achieved a great success, says the London correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor. The two largest oil distributing companies in Great; Britain, the ghell-Mex and

the Anglo-American Gil Company, r.d-ve together agreed to abolish their roadside hoardings aaid signs. In bringing about this result the Scapa Society have had the whole-hearted co-operation of the Royal Automobile Club. Both tlie above-mentioned companies have issued statements. that they intend forthwith to dismantle and remove all their road signs of an exclusively advertising character throughout the countryside. In the case of the Shell-Mex Company alone this'.-means the removal of over 6000 hoardings and signs.

! The Royal Automobile Club is invitj ing other petrol companies to follow ( the good example set by these two j companies, and the British Petroleum [■Company has already agreed to stop ' its roadside advertising in the Isle !of Wight, Kent, and the Lake Dis- ! trict. •

! A Bill was introduced into the last Parliament and was on the verge of -becoming law, known as the Advertise- ' ments Regulation Bill. This Bill will j shortly be reintroduced in the House of Lords. Recently, too, th© Ministry ! of Transport circularised all local authi orities with ■ regard to the disfigurement of the roads by advertisers, and - drawing attention to their powers - under the Admertisement Regula- j tion Act of 1907. There is little doubt that the wise decision of the great | oil companies will lead the way to the removal of the unsightly advertisement hoardings which at present disfigure the country adjoining the roads and railways. INSURE AT ONCE. Insure your car before you drive it away from the makers. A friend of mine (says a writer) drove his brand new ear out of the garage, and, turning the corner, met a- motor-cycle coming full-tilt towards him —on his nearside was a taxi-cab. To . save the motor-cyclist’s life my friend had .to crash the taxi-cab. The result was that both the driver of the car and the driver of the taxi-cab were injured, two vehicles smashed up, and, to crown it all, my friend liad “put off till to-morrow” the. completion of his insurance policy. 1 ENGLISH EXPERIENCES. AN ENJOYABLE HOLIDAY.' Two factors have contributed to the popularity of light-weight- camping with a light car. The pioneers of light-weight camping are now experiencing tlie “burden of the years,” and many no longer feel the zest of youth calling them out with ,rucksack or cycle loaded with impedimenta for themselves and a growing family. The light car is a solution to their problem, states an English writer. 1 The light car -owner, iieoling the burden of taxation and othe responsibilities, finds in light-weight camping an opportunity of increasing the enjoyment of bis hobby at no increased expense —the initial cost of the outfit being more than counterbalanced by the saving in hotel expenses. The development- is obscured by reason of tlie fact that tlie modern camping equipment is so compact that its presence on a.car is unnoticed by other road users, and that seeking seclusion the camper : is neither seen nor heard by the motorist pasing along the high road. THE WORLD WELL LOST.

In two camps in which th© writer has taken part recently, both situated within half a mile of a very busy road, the campers were . completely out of-

sight, and—except lor a faint hum c-ii the breeze —out of hearing of the Highway ; while to the thousands who passed up and down the road daily, their encampments might not have existed. • They swam and paddled in. the streams, they slung their aerials between the trees arid picked up the latest wireless programmes, they spread their meals at the tent doors, or gathered round the crackling fires in the dusk, all unknown to the noilcamping road users so near at hand.. The further development of this alliance is retaided by the failure of many, who would otherwise enjoy the life, to realise how numerous are . the available and desirable sites even near populous centres, and how practical and efficient the modern light-weight camp equipment lias become. THE CAMPING TEMPERAMENT. There are folk who are temperamentally incapable of adapting themselves to tlie life of a camp. The question has nothing to do with our normal habits of life; there are duchesses who are expert campers and struggling wage-earners who would sleep m a t-ent only under stern compulsion. The majority, however, especially tlie young, would take to the life almost at once if they could be convinced that There are cosy little corners in the woodland, by forest streams, or seashore, where* they could pitch a tent, and that tlie tiny light-weight c-utfits would provide them with real comfort and security. Old hands at the game, doubtless, will confirm my impression. You may talk and write about camping endlessly and the scoffer remains a scoffer; but let him happen upon you when the tent is pitched by a sunlit lake in the mountains, when the’ stc-ve is singing a merry tune at the tea. hour, and he changes at once into a most humble inquirer into ways and means. He has seen at work the things at which he scoffed. It was neither his reasoning nor his experience which was at fault, but imagination. Farmers are beginning to learn that campers are not the careless vandals they once supposed them to he, and that the provision of good camping grounds is a profitable business. • Tlie writer knows of more than 'one camping ground which will accommodate anything from. 500 to 1000’ or more campers this summer and many others less popular, but- not less desirable. In cu© or two cases water has been laid on to the ground to save that daily tramp -to the farm. Frequently bathhic?, boating, golf; tennis, and freak hills in abundance form added attractions. For the lovers of seclusion there are charming corners in unfre-: ' quented coves or in glades deep buried in the forest for campers who know how to avoid the risk of fire and damage. It cannot too frequently he emphasised that the continuance of the privilege of using these sites is dependentupon the conduct of individuals, every cannier being the guardian of the goodwill that must prevail between the landowner and h/A temporary tenant if camping is to continue- its present rapid growth. SELECTING THE OUTFIT. Equally important with the possibility of good camping grounds is the careful selection of r. suitable outfit. There is not space in a brief article to discuss the details of the various forms of tents and equipment available, but the prospective camper needs to be on his guard against wasteful expenditure on equipment which, if experienced, lie will discard. There is a tendency, where petrol power'is available as a means of trail sDbrfc, to he careless of weight and i bulk. -Other tilings being equal,, the lightest and most compact outfit would still have its claims even with a fiveton lorry to transport it. Generally the lighter forms of tent provide wea--1 ther-resisting qualities equal, and in

the ilia parity of eases superior, to heavyweights.. They pieseiiL less surface to the wind, are easier to handle, and leave. sufficient room on the- grid for a reasonable amount of personal luggage.

There has been a tendency of late .Tears to endeavour to cut out the flysheet cn the larger light-weight- f tents either by fitting closer and stronge:' material m the roof or by waterproofing the material. None of the various waterproofing processes which have come -under the writer's observations have given permanent astisfactlon, and the other expedients are satisfactory onl\’ in the smaller tents where a steep slope, in the roof is possible. For general use, and especially for family m uug. the fly-sheet renders tlie tent h:-th safe and comfortable under all rendition:-;, providing shelter from the sun oi ;-aii) beyond tlie normal are-', of the tent proper. With due care in the selection of tlie various items of equipment, there is no reason why the carrying of a complete camping outfit for "two. with a resonable quantity of personal holiday luggage, should deaden the running or disfigure the general appearance of the smallest of light cars. CHICAGO SAFETY MAN OFFERS DRIVERS’ RULES. ‘BE CAREFUL AND CONSIDERATE’ Some excellent recommendations to automobile and truck drivers are made by the Safety Committee of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association. These rules have been given wide publicity by the Firestone News Service and are in part as follows: “A careful driver maintains a safe and moderate speed when operating his car. He does not poke along at ten miles per hour; neither does he drive at neck-breaking speed. “Slow down to ten miles per hour at all street car lines. Make a complete stop at the boulevards—not a ‘near’ -stop, but a complete stop. Whenever you see a pedestrian crossing the . street 100 feet in front of you prepare yourself to make a quick stop. You cannot tell what the pedestrian will do. He may become nesvous and run right in front of your car. “Drive at the slowest possible safe speed on streets in which any large number of children are playing. It is a known fact that youngsters become so engrossed in their play that they ofttimes forget to stop, look, and listen. And when -you least expect it one may run right in front of your car and get pinned underneath the • wheels. “Don’t take any chances. Always put yourself on the safe side. It is much easier t-o avoid accidents than it is to become exonerated.” CYCLISTS IN LONDON STREETS. PROTEST AGAINST HINT TO KEEP ’ OUT. Following the statement by the London Commissioner of Police that seventeen cyclists were killed in London dui'ing April, and suggesting that when the roads are greasy through rain and mud crowded thoroughfares should he avoided by users of cycles, the Rights and Privileges Committee of the Cyclists Touring Club have written to the Commissioner asking what proportion of the accidents occurred through skidding and what proportion through other causes. The letter adds.: The committee consider . that the safety of the streets would be better assured for all those who are entitled to use them by the rigid enforcement of the stipulated penalties fo r infringements'of the law on the part of drivers of other vehicles, rather 'than by any suggestion for the avoidance of "those streets by any one class of traffic.” The reply sent on behalf of the Commissioner states that eleven of the accidents were due to collision with other vehicles, five wer© due to skidding, and one through, the cyclist falling off his machine. Commenting on this reply Mr. C. H. Stancer, for the committee, writes: “It is surely the duty of the traffic authorities to make our streets safe for all legitimate road users, rather than to- hint, at the exclusion of one particular class. Cyclists who ride in London are not pleasure-seekers. To ask them to keep away simply because the traffic problem has grown too big for those who are attempting to grapple with it is simply a counsel of despair.” THE DESERT MAIL. CAMELS VERSUS MOTORS. For centuries since the dawn of life the oldest city in the world has stood on its little oasis, sheltered from the ocean winds by the height of Lebanon, guarded from encroachment of tlie eastern desert by its ever-running streams of living water. For as many centuries have the long caravans of camels left on the long trail to some Mesopotamian city, first Kish, then Ur, then later Babylon, still later Seleucia, Ctesinhon, Bagdad. And still to-day the caravans leave Damascus, hut their composition is not as of old. A new ship of the desert lia s appeared, declares a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, stronger than the strongest camel, fleeter than the fastest steed, noisier and uglier than the mostMearsonie monsters that ever Sin,bad met upon the sea. It has no legs, but four round wheels instead, and a hard, glossy surface ,that shines in the sun, and at night two great electric eyes that pierce the desert air as far as a man can see; and when annoyed it utters a loud, piercing sound, like an animal in pain, which causes the Bedouin shepherd lad to look up in amazement and his charge to scatter in all directions. It is not the work of Cod. hut of man, some say even of the devil: in Iraq they call it a “trombeel,” but in Syria, more plainly (for are they not more civilised in Syria?) an “automobile.” Work of man or jinn, it does its own job in tlie desert amazingly well- The old camel caravans took 18, 25, anything up to 36 days to cover the 530 odd miles of desert that divides Damascus from Bagdad; the new ship of the desert does the same journey regularly in 24 hours, sometimes even in. 18. The desert is losing its terrors and its loneliness and becoming what it used to be of old —the highway of the world.