MOTOR WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 5 February 1927, Page 15

MOTOR WORLD

MOTORS IN NEW ZEALAND.

YEAR-END TOTAL.

RECORD INCREASE

The latest motor registration returns shows that on December 31, 1926, there were 155,3-25 motor vehicles m the Dominion, or an average of one vehicle to every nine persons. If trucks, buses and motor-cycles are excepted there was a ratio of one car to fourteen persons. On January 1, 1926, there were 123,396 motor vehicles registered, so that there have been 31,929 new cars, commercial vehicles and motor-cycles launched on the roads in twelve months. The increase is a record for the Dominion, and a per capita record for any country in the world with the exception of the United States and Canada. The following table shows increases in the. three classes of vehicles by a comparison of the total registrations on December 31, 1925. with the aggregate twelve months later:— Dec., Dec., In-

FOUR YEARS’ CHANGES.

WONDEEFUL DEVELOPMENTS.

IMPROVEMENTS REVIEWED.

The 1927 range of motors offered by American manufacturers was recently reviewed by Mr G. W. Sutton in an interesting article in the American Motorist who finds them vastly superior to anything that the United States has turned out before. “Before commenting on the new cars ” says Mr Sutton, “I should like to point out the really marvellous changes which have come over our cars in the past three years that not one in a hundred of us ever takes the time to realise or appreciate. This is a partial list of those things which have come into wide use since 1923, ana which have produced important . improvements in the average motorist s car. with especial reference to comfort, smooth operation, flexibility, convenience, safety, and speed.'"' Here is the IlSt GREAT CHANGE SINCE 1923. Four-wheel brakes. Balloon tyres. Duco and other durable finishes. Oil filters. Fuel filters. Air cleaners. The elimination of blind spots. Lower closed car bodies and lower centre of gravity. The great improvement in roadside crankcase and lubrication service, largely through the fact that over 90 per cent, of our cars are equipped with new lubrication systems. Automatic windshield cleaners. Onc-piecc, self-ventilating windshields, which can be opened for better vision in sleet, fog, and snow. Two-filament headlamps. Light controls on steering wheels or steering column. Illuminated instrument boards, mostIv indirectly lighted. Wonderful improvement in motor-car colours. All-steel bodies. Varied radiator cap ornaments.

Transmission locks. Transmission brakes. Greater harmony of colours and fittings. Dashboard gasoline gauges. Dashboard engine thermometers.

Windshield wings. Tonneau windshields. Thermostatic water control. Great popularity of sport roadsters started by reaction from the war. Lower prices. “I cannot resist taking time here,” adds Mr Sutton, “to give a short list of predictions. The following are things which I am quite postive will come, in universal use within the next two or three years”: — DEVELOPMENTS EXPECTED. Chromium or other bright plating which needs no polishing. Universal adoption of glass which will not split and shatter. Harmonic or other balancer to cure vibration. Crankcase ventilation to evaporate gas and water and prevent dilution. Dashboard gasoline gauges for all cars. Two-filament headlights or other safety lighting. More light, fast, economical cars. Four-wheel brakes on cheap ears. Better and more attractive colour schemes. Automatic chassis lubrication. Moderate use of brass instead of nickel for trimming. Removal of appearances of standardisation by offering options of upholstery, colours, fittings, and body types. Dashboard motometers and thermometers. Great increase in fuel mileage. Adoption of air cushion valves for greater seating comfort. Use of rubber to insulate shocks. Piano hinges for doors. (Why wasn’t this thought'of fifteen years ago? Probably because they didn’t have steel bodies in those days). Greater use of thermostatic water control. Headlamp controls cn steering wheel or column. Rubber shackles, engine mountings, and shock insulators.

LIFE OF TYRES.

ENSURING MORE MILES. SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS. Regardless of the reams of advice and instructions passed on to car-owners with regard to the proper care of tyres, and the many injunctions and “don’ts” fioured out to tyre users, the proper care of tyres after all is but a very simple question, and the car-owner who is anxious to get the full mileage from his tyres should not become confused and consider the tyio equipment a delicate proposition. It is unnecessary for car-owners to qualify as tyre experts, nor is it desirable that users be constantly running into their tyre dealers *for inspections and advice. Here are a few suggestions that will enable you to get the full measure of mileage that the manufacturer has built into your tyres. First and foremost, watch inflation. Make it a point to check each tyre with a tyre gauge at least once a week. This is particularly true with balloon tyres. Second, see that your car is properly checked for front wheel alignment. Third, avoid bumps and rubbing against curbs, turning corners at high speed, and sudden stops when not necessary.

Fourth, make it a point to exa-mine your tyres regularly for cuts and

bruises, and apply corrective remedies immediately. Fifth, don’t, park your car in oily puddles. Oil is death, to rubber. Sixth, it is a good plan to change tvre.s around occasionally. You will note that the left front and left rear tyre arc subjected to greatest wear, particularly the left rear tyre. It is a good point to remember that tyres should be always operated in the same direction. In case you are compelled to make a change-over, be sure and note the direction in which the tyre runs, and when you put that tyre back on the wheel, check to sec that it is placed so as to operate in the same direction as when taken off.

1925 1926 crease Cars • 81,662 101,462 19,800 Trucks, buses 16,395 21,762 5,367 Motor-cycles . 25.339 32,101 6,762 123,396 155,325 31,929