THE POPULAR CLOSED CAR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 28 April 1928, Page 15

THE POPULAR CLOSED CAR.

RAPID IMPROVEMENT - IN ALL DIRECTIONS; The increased popularity of the closed car has resulted, in a tremendous amount of attention being given to it by the coachbuilders. Body design has progressed. by leaps and bounds during the last two or three years, and the saloon has had devoted to it some of the best brains in the automobile body business The vogue of the fabric saloon, and the tendency towards the all-metal body by mass-production firms, has given a fillip to everything connected with closed coach-work. Indeed, it may be said that the touringcar body has been almost neglected, because *of the great interest which was centred in the closed car, and similarly we have not had so many new examples lately of all-weather productions. The saloon for the moment would seem to hold the attention of the designers. And in the development of the saloon there is a decided tendency towards giving much more light than has'been given in conventional designs hitherto. Long side windows reaching well to the roox and with the narrowest pillars which can lie contrived, seem to be the order of the day. The rear quarters, which, in some of the previous designs, were without lights, are now window fitted, and the rear quarter windows are extended right to the edge of the rear seat squab. Also, we have increased the area of the rear light very considerably. Instead of what we might call the small inspection window at the rear, we now have long and fairly wide glasses This is a decided step in the right direction, and it enables the driver, provided lie is equipped with a gcod inside roof mirror, to have a wide angle view of the road when reversing or when turning, and this adds enormously to the safety of road usage, both for the individual and the many. Inside lighting also has been improved, and saloons are now ‘so well lighted artificially that the business man can conventionally read his papers or his correspondence in his car at any time of day or night. But inside lighting must be arranged to give no glare, such as will affect the driver’s view of the road, and the lamps, roof or corner, should be so shaded that the light is thrown back and none of it can be thrown on to the screen. Similarly with the increased size of the rear window comes the danger of glare of the headlamps of the following car being sent hack by the screen, and in all cases it is necessary that the driver should have the means of quickly closing the blind of the rear window to prevent this glare interfering with his driving vision. These things are being carefully considered by the designers and users of closed cars, and rapid improvement is being made in all directions connected with the day of artificial lighting of saloons, so that we have in the most modern of these vehicles all the security and all the comfort as regai ds lighting which these comfortable vehicles and their users undoubtedly deserve.