MOTORING

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 December 1927, Page 14

MOTORING

By “MAGNETO.’'

BRITISH MOTOR SHOW.

THE MOTOR MARKET BUZZES. ALL RECORDS SURPASSED. Tiie next twelve months, we are led to believe, may reveal catastrophic developments in the motor trade, say« a J.oiuion correspondent. Competent authority here sees some possibility or intensive competition, whieii will be triangular, in that- in the States Henry Cord will he compel ing with the combine of liis rivals and both with the British manufacturer in the world market What ran be assured is the fact that the British motor trade is booming, that the 1926 record i.s to be outdone by anything from 16 per cent, upwards on 1926. £)/0,(j00,b(K> is the usual estimate and on© of the first orders of the day was one of UIOU,OUO from an overseas firm for a new 'bight-six” model. in design., nothing is startlingly neV, for the nee wheel idea cannot be termed such. There is a. general tuning up in every direction, more flexible and more noiseless engines, more comfort in springing and upholstering, further steps to attract the owner-driver, simpler control in driving and maintenance, and lower prices. - There have been no cuts in prices, rather stabilisation on the basis announced some time before the show opened, and the record business done points to the fact that the .British public is not anticipating any sensational prices. We may get nearer the figure of Now Zealand with one car to every 11 persons, when the British producers adopt American methods of sales stimulation that now is the one and only part of their business inferior to the American. A New Zealand agent over here, writes our correspondent, .said that if he did not go out and get customers he might as well go out of -business. He considered that some, at least, ol the trade in British ears in New Zealand was due to their New Zealand agents who adopted the more intensive methods of their United States’ competitors. And. this brings us to the main concern of the Dominion with Olympia. To what extent, apart from salesmanship. is the British manufacturer meeting the demands of the Dominion’s markets. America, lias heretofore met the needs first because the type of motor suited to America is the precise type the Dominions want, high power and good clearance. Paradoxically, it is just at the moment when the British manufacturers are making an effort to produce such colonial models for overseas markets that America is coming round to the European design! As it will take a long time for the Dominions and manyj parts of the States to get roads likei the English the prospect immediately in front of us on both sides of the line i.s that types will still he wanted for all sorts of roads —the kind of super-road of concrete described so graphically by Upton Sinclair in his novel, "Oil,” or a bush track.

Olympia is am international show and all nations, Germany for the J'irsi t ifrit* since the war, arc. showing;. Home attempts have recently been made to decry the British produce -as not- fit to stand the gruelling roads of the Continent. This has aroused considerable wrath and one expert asserts that lie drove a cheap British car without having to make one adjustment over one of the Continental roads alleged to be fatal to a British car. The Paris show . had some marvellous designs. but, says an expert, “the British maker may not throw on the market brilliant designs in steering, springing and so forth, but it does not say that lie is not advancing. People are apt to forget that Britain, more than any other nation, was responsible for the motor-car ever coming into the field of transport.” f it bad not been for British engineers keeping the idea alive in 189(3, there might never have been a motor car. And after France and Germany had revived interest in it, the brains of British engineers were responsible for most -of the things which made the modern car possible. in llie near future there will he in existence British cars with proved systems of independent springing for each wheel, the new steering, central lubrication to all parts of tlie chassis, steam-cooled engines and chromium steel rustless plate in place of nickel plate for every bright part, In other words, in conjunction with fabric and oclhiloiso bodies, we shall see British labour-saving cans whose springing will level up all road holes, and which, with free-wheel clutches, will need no expert driving and little garage attention.

•e fact remains that the British manufacturer is paying attention to the overseas market, and n large number of ‘English firms now have models which definitely meet their wants.

MORRIS SIX. • LATEST IN THE FIELD. SOME OF THE FEAT IP ES The. latest light-six hears the brand Jof \V. It. Morris. The design consists basically of a six-cylinder water-cooled engine built up in conjunction with enclosed clutch and three-speed gear-box, mounted on a very sturdy frame to which axles giving a. wheel-base of 9ft. Gin. and a track of 4ft. are attached by long and supple semi-elliptic springs lore and aft. The treasury rating at Home is 17.7 b.p. The engine has a bore ol GO m.in., and a stroke of 110 m.m., giving a cubic capacity of 2168 c. 0., or approximately 2) litres. Some of the features claimed for the '.Morris iightisix are a no-trouble engine free from vibration, power with silence and simple service, light ve-ciproc-ative parts, even bring and clean acceleration, automatic lubrication, adequate cooling for all conditions, ideal electrical installation, easy change and quiet transmission, fourwheel brakes, steel dash, and an eleven-gallon tank. Tlieie are three models. saloon, three-quarter coupe, and tourer.

At Home and Abroad

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. ELDERLY PEOPLE THE GREATEST SUFFERERS. The Royal Automobile Club of Australia lias been gathering iniormaiion bearing on the prevalence of traffic accidents in all parts oi the world. The most complete data secured is from Condon, where a special Traffic Advisory Committee lias dratted a detailed report on recent accidents in Greater l.ondon. This report was submitted to the Ministry of Transport in March last, and showed that the total number killed and injured in street accidents in the metropolitan district of London in 1926 was 1006, of whom 4.9.06 per cent, were between iiity and sixty jears of age, and 23.26 per cent, under 15. Most of the accidents to pedestrians by vehicles during the years 1922 to 1926 were attributable to pedestrians running across , the streets without due cure, to hesitating and jumping hack when crossing the road, and to passing between or behind stationary venicles. The -action of the London County Council and other education authorities in the area, and the National haiety hirst Association in educating children as to the risks of the streets, and what they should do or not do to ensure their safety is commended', while the police have also contributed very materially to the cause of safety by providing officers to assist school children when entering or leaving school in busy thoroughfares to cross the streets with safety.

There are many public reasons for the result these figures show. To a large extent the fact that nearly half the victims are elderly people is due to their having grown up with the slower moving traffic of yesterday. A large proportion of the elderly victims are probably struck down in the great thoroughfares, broadways and squares, places thronged with busy preoccupied adults, but little frequented by children. It is all very well to say that we should keep our wits about us. The lawyer proceeds to court deep in his brief : he cannot help turning his case over in his jnind. There is the man who is on liis way to the banker, an-j other with a big business deal, and 1 many, alas, full of domestic concern, | perhaps a bereavement. Merc educa- j tion of the public will never solve diffi-j culties like these where safety is concerned. it is claimed that the London figures are proof that young people today are growing up alive and active to their danger, and that education is proving effective. Admittedly so, but we cannot rest on this. Nor can we rest on regulations and control of drivers. The greatest amount of safety will be achieved by making the streets themselves safe, as far us i.s in our power, and in providing spaces for children to play. This last i.s a matter of serious concern, for it is in the heavily congested residential areas that children most abound. There should be a minimum of opportunity for the mad rusher across the road after balls and other play things, and there should he a minimum of playing on the st root —preferably none.

EXHAUST GASES. A CT.OSYjD oar banger. A danger in connection with the use of. the closed car arises from the possibility—rarely occurring—of the escape of exhaust gases into the interior of the car. There have been a few accidents and some narrow escapes from this cause, and dt is well that users of the closed vehicle should be aware of the possibilities. The exhaust gas may be almost odourless and yet very dangerous; in this characteristic lies the peril. If the exhaust -pipe is not properly fitted there may be some escape of the gas from the flange joint, or the union which connects it to the engine exhaust manifold. But this i.s seldom at fault. It it commences to leak here the leakage is quickly made known by the blowing of the exhaust through the leak with considerable force and detonation.

The gravest danger arises from the (silencer and its fittings—especially when the ear is travelling comparatively is lowly, with a following wind, a.s on hills. Under these conditions the exhaust is blown forward under the body of the car, and may rise through the floorboards if these are not well fitted. The things to look to in order to ensure immunity from this trouble are the proper fitting of the floorboards and the carrying of the exhaust tail pipe (from the silencer) well back of the car. The joints at the engine and at both ends of the silencer should be examined and proper asbestos packing inserted. The danger may be diagnosed by a tendency to sleepiness when riding in the car. Smell from the exhaust- is not a good guide to the detection of the trouble, since a practically odourless exhaust can be as deadly as one of the more pungent variety. Thorough void Nation by means of ventilators in the scuttle and fairly low down, and ventilators alcove the screen and a. rear outlet —perhaps in the head —should Ice provided. Headache is a sign of something wrong and denotes need of thorough ventilation. No one need be afraid of trouble if plenty ol‘ ventilation is provided. With the closed ear of to-day this can be provided without, incurring disagreeable draughts or subjecting the occupants to the inclemency of the went her.

AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION. NEW MEMBERS. The following new members have ioined the South. Taranaki Automobile Association : Haweia.—Messrs T. McMaster, J. Deacon. F. H. O.'Jernshaw. F- Bone, .Mr Jackson, Mrs A. (). B. Hicks, GGould. J. Bnilev. D. W. Spencp. Mannia.—B. E. Old, T. J. Ross, H. Mohr tens. Kapongn.—R. A .Law. O'punakc.— W. A. Liml, J. Flavin. Rate a.—Rev. 0. Gib-son. T. Foreman. F T. Foreman, W .A. Allen, ,7. \V. Buike. Str'.tfo;cl.—A David. H. Kirkwood, J. Edmondson. Wm. Power, A. Goxhci.id. Mrs Jack Brown. Ft. L. Boyd, Messrs Win skill and Green, S- Huston, T. Rorry S. A. Mann, C. Mumbv, C. linylcy. G. A. Mareliant. G. F. Chapman. R Morrissey, E. W. Hancock, W. Ostley.

ILLNESS DEFENCE. LAW PROBLEM FOR MOTORISTS. Motorists are confronted, under the law as it stands at present, with a serious problem, according to the English “Local Government Journal,” which states that “a person who chooses to drive a car in such a condition of health that he is liable to be overcome commits an offence if be is in fact 'overcome when driving and dangerous driving thereby results.” “It is no defence for the motorist j to say, ‘I could not help it ; I was ill, or even unconscious, at the time/ if ho

, ought to have prevented it by refraining from driving.” Motor-car drivers who are susceptible to physical conditions over which they have no control may, according to Mr. J. Wellesley Orr, the Manchester magistrate, be held guilty oi offences such l,us dangerous driving, for which they may be unwittingly lesponsible, when suffering from mental and physical disturbances. The case whi h produced this ruling is one where Dr. William D. Lawton, of Manchester, was summoned for driving his motor-car in a manner dangerous to the public. He had pre-

viously been acquitted on a charge of being drunk when driving a motor-car, it having been proved that he was in a low physical state following a dental operation. The theory was then propounded by the police that a person driving a motor-car must be responsible for any physical infirmity which might cause an accident or danger to other people which was not apparent when lie begun tlie journev The far-reaching effect of the derision of the Manchester magistrate I has provoked the question in the minds of many motorists: “Is it s'afe to drive?”