MOTORING WORLD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 245, 13 September 1935, Page 12

MOTORING WORLD

INTERNATIONAL SHOWS. The date of the annual New York motor show has been changed, and this year it will open on November 2. Previously tlie date had been in January, and as a result of the alteration the 1936 models will be released much earlier than would otherwise have been the case. This action is possibly due to the desire of American manufacturers to bring their latest productions into the market at the same time as those of British and Continental car factories are released. The position now is that the three major motor shows of the world will be staged within a few weeks on one another, since the Paris Salon opens on October 3, and Olympia on October 17. CAR WITH DIESEL ENGINE. An instructive example of the fuel economy procurable with Diesel engines was afforded by the driving of a large car in which a compression-ig-nition engine had been installed for experiment^ l ’-■nrposes, from Melbourne to Sydney. The model used was a standard sedan in which a 4216 c.c. four-cylin-der Borman-Rieardo compression-ig-nition engine had been substituted in place of the standard power unit. The special oil fuel used, costs 7d per gallon, and during the trip 33 m.p.h. were obtained, and it is said that the total cost of the fuel consumed was only ten shillings. The engine is designed for commercial vehicles and marine purposes, and although no alteration was made to the gear ratios of the car, it is stated that a speed of 65 m.p.h. was reached, and also that this is the first occasion on which a Diesel-engined car has been submitted to such a test in Australia. . In the course of a short run in Sydney it was noticed that the model was flexible after a fair speed had been attained, but at very low speeds its performance was not as quiet and smooth as that of a petrol car. CARE WITH’ POWERFUL CARS.

Some of the engineers responsible for the highly efficient cars of to-day are stated to be somewhat mystified by the apparent trend of motor accidents in traffic, from which not even experienced drivers appear to be exempt. They are concerned over the fact that some of those who figure in accidents have driven cars for years. It is believed that in many cases the trouble lies with those who, after purchasing the latest type of vehicle, fail to realise that they are driving a far different car from those of six or seven years ago. The latest machines represent a continuous addition to engine power and speed over that period, with braking and other safety devices provided in just proportion, but the mental hazard, over which the auto : motive engineers have no control, appears to have been overlooked by many motorists who have been involved in accidents since stepping into more powerful and faster machines. During the last seven years the power output of many makes has increased by 60 per cent., and this fact, coupled with unexpected silence and lack of vibration, has resulted in some drivers who have been used to handling older machines underestimating the speed of their new car. Lulled by the smooth operation and unaccustomed to new extremes of acceleration and quietness, even experienced drivers unless they . closely watch the speedometer, are apt to go into curves at higher rates than they realise. The wide gap between the road performance of the car of 1928 and the machine of 1935 is such that all motorists who change over to the tremendously improved and speedlier car of to-day should handle their new vehicle with restraint until they have become thoroughly acquainted with its power, its deceptive speed, its acceleration, and its braking qualities. The latest machines are unquestionably safer vehicles to drive than any previously obtainable, but the increased forces masked under the bonnet and the smooth, enticing speed of the vehicle must be realised clearly.

DRIVING THROUGH WATER. The fact that many water-splashes and creeks on country roads are frequently flooded in winter mouths should direct attention to the brakes, which are often rendered temporarily ineffiective by immersion. Unless a driver is aware of this, ail emergency requiring hard braking may place him in a very awkward p red ic ame nt. The effectiveness of the brakes should be tested immediately after a car has crossed a ford, and if efficiency has been impaired, the vehicle should be driven some distance with the brakes lightly applied so that the heat generated will dry the linings. SVhen there is a risk of the exhaust pipe outlet being submerged, the lowest gear should be engaged and the vehicle driven steadily through the water with a constant pressure on the accelerator. Sharp bursts of acceleration and deceleration might cause water to be sucked up into the engine. ROAD-TRAINS EOll RUSSIA.

The very successful tests of roadtrains sponsored by the Imperial authorities, which have been conducted in Australia and also in tropical Africa, ha\ e apparently excited the interest of other nations. The purpose of the road-train is to provide an economical means of transporting heavy freights in undeveloped country where primitive roads or unmade routes must be followed. In Australia, trials extending over about ten thousand miles were conducted with an outfit comprising a tractor and two trailers capable of handling a total pay-load of 15 tons. These experiments were very encouraging, and it is believed that they have influenced the Soviet Government to acquire two similar outfits which are to be “put through their paces” in Russia. Each train of the sort purchased by the Soviet consists of a tractor and three trailers, the gross weight being about 30 tons and the tare 15 tons. One of them is provided with a hopper-type trailer for the transport of grain, and the other has a trailer fitted with a tank of 2500 gallons capacity, which can be filled quickly by means of a pump worked from the gearbox of the tractor. Although further details are lacking, it seems probable that the latter might be used for the conveyance of fuel supplies. These two road trains are, it is said virtually duplicates of the outfit tested in Australia, save that there are three trailers instead of two. The road train imported to the Commonwealth has been bought by the Federal Government. It gave very satisfactory performances during its trials on the Adelaide-Danvin route, hauling heavy loads at good speed over rough tracks at a net cost of 3.7 d per ton mile. The tractor unit, which is driven by a 130-h.p. compressionignition engine, and the two trailers each. have eight wheels, shod with wide pneumatic tyres, lhe braking system takes effect on all the 24 wheels, and it was found that full loads could be transported quickly and without difficulfcy over deep sand and rough creek crossings.