THE MOTOR WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 7 November 1925, Page 15

THE MOTOR WORLD

Motorists have mostly liad' the experience! of finding a broken bottle on the road and know the danger occasioned thereby. The law says that anyone dropping a bottle on the road must return to pick up the piece®. It is a serious offence, but a ease in Hamilton a few days ago was dismissed with payment of costs only. Even if the offender did not know the law, lie deserved a substantial penalty for his act. It is much more serious than accidentally or even intentionally driving or leaving a car without a tail light.

Driving in the Spanish Motor Grand Prix some weeks l ago, the winner, a Frenchman, covered 708 kilos in 5 lirs 45 mins., tille average, speed being 123 kilos 460 metres an hour. His prize was 50,000 pesetas and King Alfonso’s Cup. During the meeting another competitor crashed into a tree and was killed.

Simpson was much puzzled by the statement that a coadjutor to a provincial bishop was being appointed. “What does a coadjutor do?” lie asked. Hi® friend tried to make it clear. “If you were ploughing,” he said, ‘ ‘ and someone drove 1 the team for you, he would bei your coadjutor.” “Oh yes,” said Simpson, enlightened, “I understand now. This cove is going to drive the bishop's: car.”

On a back track of Western New South Wales, still lingers- one of Cobb and Co: ’s old coaches, which has neither been run over or run. out by a motor ear. The driver is one of the old style, too, who, when they take whisky like a drink of it. Not', long ago a passenger handed the driver a very small flask with very little in it. After a glance at it the driver solemnly sprinkled) a little over his' handkerchief. ‘ ‘ Why, Bill, it’s whisky! ’ ’ said the astonished passenger. ‘‘ Is it? ’ said the driver. “I thought it was some kind of scent you was givm’ me —something just to have a smell ot.

There is some truth in the Gilbertian song referring to the unhappiness of the- man in blue. During the- last year eighty-nine members of the London Metropolitan. Police Force were- injured while regulating traffic. The previous year’s record was- fifty-six. In 1919 the total was- only seven.

A hardened motorist ran down a pedestrian. “Hey!” he .shouted, “while you’re under there, have a look at them! brake rods.” Another, whose big touring car has tossed a ' small two-seater into the ditch and: considerably it up says to the driver disentangling BL!m from the wreek-. "Hem! Come and see what you have done to mj mudguard.” DOCTORING THE CAR.

VALUE OF EARLY ADVICE

There are hardly any exceptions to the General rule that the man who owns an automobile has a car that will develop troubles of various kinds soonci or later. Although ears are being made better everv year, and troubles of ail kinds should consequently become less and less, troubles do come. Dnless the owner of the machine is an expert automobile mechanic himself, which he not li'kelv to be. he will do well to visit a reliable repair shop, with confidence in the results. This is merelv an application of common sense to a motoring experience. Even if he is a fairly competent mechanic, which most folks are not, he will often find it desirable to call on another expert automobile mechanic to got the advantage of his experience. He will do well to take the advice of the man whoso business it is to know what is the matter with a car and what ought to be done to repair it correctly. Ibis also important for the ownci <-o seek the advice of an expert at the first indication of trouble, instead or putting off this procedure until tlie machine lias gone into a decline or until it lias, m fact, reached a serious state of trouble. When such a policyeis followed, lepaii bills are not likely to bo larger in the long run.

Cost of Repairs. There is a tendency for an owner ignorantly to complain about the size of his repair bills ami to condemn the repair shop owners as pirates In spite of this feeling on the part of many, as a rule men who run repair shops do not charge excessively, nor do they try to do more work than is necessary. No business could flourish on such practice® There are owners of a car who sometimes fail to appreciate the time and material involved in making even minor repairs, or what a minor repair may lead to by way of other essential attention. There was the man who drove Ins cai into a repair shop and said that the en-o-ine occasionally ran irregularly. He thought the spark plugs needed cleanin''-. The mechanic cleaned the spark plu°'S. He cleaned and adjusted the interrupter points and drained the carburettor and vacuum tank. He also tested the compression, and m so doing found a valve leaking. Consequently it was necessary for him to remove the cylinder head and grind the valves. ' All of this seemed like a lot of work to the own or r but the mechanic operated on the basis of assuring himself that lie had-vremoved the cause of the Double. His idea was to give the owner the satisfaction the mechanic knew he really desired. This is only one illustration of many which might be given to illustrate this point. A minor trouble may result, in the necessity of entirely dissembling the engine. ■ Of course, such unexpected labour involves considerable time and expense. Vet the servicing institution would not. give the owner real service if he did not completely repair the car. The expense to the owner, doubtless, seems large at. the time, whereas in the long run, to have the complete job done, represents an actual saving in the owner’s money. Value of Service.

There is increasing in the motor industry- an appreciation of the need of giving motorists complete and efficient servicing facilities at the most reasonable prices possible. After a car has been properly designed, manufactured, in quantity and economically distributed to the - ' buyer, the next essential to the industry’s prosperity and to the owner’s satisfaction is effective .servicing. Take a prospective owner of a car, who realises lie can get expert service in all parts of the country on a particular make of machine. This fact is bound to have a bearing on _ his decision to purchase it-. His logical conclusion is that a mechanic who devotes ali of his time to one kind of car will be more efficient on tbat particular make than a general mechanic who works on all kinds of machines. The natural outcome of various improvements which manufacturers havfe urged in servicing is seen in the flat rate system of charging for service. This system is growing in popularity because it lets the customer know before the work is done just how much it will cost.

While service stations are constantly improving their services and consequently their chances of securing and holding the goodwill of the motoring public, it should be said that the motorists’ lack of faith, in the servicing ability of some stations has not been without considerable reason. Numerous managers in this repair business have failed to appreciate, the value of having trained experts in their employ. They can Tianllv expect, car owners to have supreme confidence in their prescriptions unless they insist on employing only those technicians who, by their experience and training, are. worthy of the respect of the automobilist.' NAPOLEON’s" ROADS. All through France: you will find the routes n;it‘iorioles, generally called, I think, the Pave; they are paved and are like granite, and almost invariably tree-lined as far as one could judge; they are a relic of Napoleon. We had quite given: up hope of ever getting to Paris when towards evening we began 'to skirt: the suburbs. At Montargis I saw plentv of flowers, and heaps of vegetables of all sorts. Finally we got to Melun, near where, the Germans actually arrived during the great war.

I must tell you of one lovely spot I saw on a. branch of the Loire, and here I have forgotten to tell you that during our travels it seemed as if the Loire ran lazily along all through our route like a great silver ribbon, although I will never be quite able to tell you where we went to. It was a most beautiful home, simply ablaze with bowers—with lovely two-storied garden pavilions, arched 1 balconies and creepers! It was hard to get any grasp of the suburbs of Paris; they looked much like those'of other great cities, and certainly were not particularly beautiful. One thing I did notice in France, and that was the allotments, which apparently are divided out to working people for cultivation. Near Paris one sees hundreds of tiny little houses on these highly cultivated portions of land, which we should consider about the size of a large handkerchief. Of Paris, considering the few hours I had there, I think we saw quite as much as most people would have done in that time. We dined at some wellknown little cafe K at Montmartre, where the music was exceedingly good, and the food rather ordinary, and the company certainly curious. After that we drove: in the Bois de Boulogne, and / right out to Chantilly, a drive I shall never forget. It was slightly showery, but, the moon was out most of the time, and the trees and the whole aspect were so beautiful that it has to be seen to be realised.

MOTOR SPEED IN SYDNEY.

NO DEFINITE LIMIT FIXED.

The City Council, by resolution, asked the Acting-Inspector-General of Police to approve a speed limit for motor cars in the city area. He has replied declining to do so. In a letter read at the works cojnmittee recently the Acting-Inspector-General said ther© was sufficient power under section 4, part 3 of the Motor Traffic Act to deal with undue speeding in the metropolitan area. It was an offence for anyone to drive a motor vehicle in any street at a speed dangerous to the public. That gave_ the police ample power to deal effectively with speeding without- declaring any speed limit. WOMAN AT THE WHEEL. One of the very earliest .of motorists, and always an ardent enthusiast, is Dame Nellie Melba. In her day the prima donna has owned a score of cars, and among these have been some of tlie, finest specimens of the motor engineer’s art. Just at present Dame Nellie: has a grievance, and this she has voiced in. a letter to- the newspapers. She is alarmed at tlie increase of reckless women motorists, and a journey made from Brighton to London! is described as a nightmare because of the way in which women motorists swept along at breakneck speed. On one occasion her ear almost collided xvith a ear coming straight out of a side street without blowing a horn. The offending ear was in charge of a pretty girl with a cigarette between her lips, who laughed merrily as though it were a joke. Dame Nellie suggests that the average woman is not ffitted to drive a car at the pace which is fashionable. MAIN ROAD TRAFFIC. The accepted rule for traffic at road intersections is “Give way to the man on tlie right.” In other words, if two vehicles proceeding at right angles to one another nearly meet at a street corner, the vehicle which is on the left hand of the other one has the right of precedence. This rale, though generally accepted, it is an almost impossible one where one rbadi is a by-,road arid the other a main street carrying heavy traffic. The, validity of this rule has never com© before any Australian or English court for consideration. In a Scotch case Lord Dunedin said: “If there is one mle more than another that it is necessary to lay down for the practical conduct of traffic, it is that it is th© business of those who are in the cross road and going to cross the main road to look out when they enter the main road and to give way to all traffic which is coming along the main road.” This decision is founded on common sense, and its observance would add materially to safety. In fact, consideration has been given to a proposal that all) main roads should be plainly branded as such, and it would then'be the duty of traffic from byroads to take all precautions in entering a main road.