THE MOTORIST

Northern Advocate, 20 February 1926, Page 12

THE MOTORIST

MOTORS IN DOMINION. w •CHIEFLY AMERICAN" MAKES. A very broad hint to the British motor car industry is given by Sir William Davies, who was one of the British Press delegation which recently visited New Zealand and Australia. In an article published in the "Western Mail," of which he is editor, Sir Wil-

liam Davies says:— "No Englishman or Welshman has ever visited any British colony without boing greatly impressed by two facts which constantly stare him in the face, namely: (I) The euormous number of motor cars in daily use, and (2) the almost complete absence of English cars from among them. Practically all the motor cars used in our Dominions across the soa are of American make. "It is not easy to convince the Canadian, the New Zealander, • or the Australian that tho British car manufacturer cares for the colonial market at all. As a matter of fact, the British colonial has satisfied himself that if English manufacturers considered tho colonial trade in cars worth cultivating they would long ago have produced a car suitable for colonial roads. Personally, I am not qualified to dogmatise on the subject, but I speak of what I know when I say that the'English proportion of the motor cars in use in British colonies is negligible, and certainly not creditable to the Old Country. Here in England and Wales we have no conception of the place which the motor car has taken in tho. lives of the people in other countries. Five years ago, when I was touring Canada, I found that Ontario had a motor car for every ten of its people; that is to say, every other family had provided itself with a car. I have no doubt that by today the proportion is- even higher than this. ) "And what is true of Canada—for J the other provinces are not one whit I behind Ontario in this respect—is i equally true of New Zealand, and also t of every State in tho Commonwealth of j Australia. Practically every house has I its garage, and the wide business j streets of every town, large or small, are lined on both sides with the cars, which are parked there in echelon fashion. "When we begin to consider how it is that the United States has been allowed to capture this vastly remunerative .market we must, in my opinion, admit that the conditions of competition were" all in favour of the Americans —at first. But we must also, I think, admit that it is our own fault that England has continued to make her American competitors a .present of this very important overseas trade in an article which lias become an essentiaj feature of modern life and bur' ness. "I, am aware that in the United States the roads outside the cities are mueh tho same as the roads in Canada '■ and New Zealand and Australia, and, indeed, in South Africa also. The Americans, therefore, had only to export their own- cars to the British colonies and they were found suitable, and were eagerly bought. The early advantage thus gained has been firmly held by the Americans,' and they still continue to sell colonial Britishers practically all the cars they require. "More than once it has been represented to me that Australian suggestions ,to English manufacturers as t»

the kind of car 'that is suitable for Australia arc- either ignored or resented. This Ido not affirm, deny, or doubt, but place it on paper as part of the evidence submitted to me. "If the time comes when England can supply all the motor cars, wanted by Canada, Now Zealand, Australia and I South Africa, it will mean a great deal for the English motor car industry, and greatly increase the scope of employment in this country." OFF-SIDE RULE. During the coining months an intensive campaign is to be conducted by the Automobile Association of Great Britain to persuade motorists generally to adopt what is known as the "Off-side Rule" wlien meeting other traffic at crossroads and road junctions. This rule says—- " Watch for traffic at cross-roads and junctions approaching on your right, and, all things being equal, igivc way to it." In the opinion of tho experts, of the association, the adoption of this rule" would greatly reduce the number of motor car accidents, winch are now causing an- average of three deaths a day. The secretary of the association, Mr Stensen Cooke, says: "One convention has been promul-' gated—that traffic from slide roads should give way to that on main roads, but it is often almost impossible for a driver to know which is the main roa'd and which is the side road. That problem would not arise if all motorists adopted the proposed off-side rule." The proposal has been submitted to the chief constables of Great Britain for consideration, and to the Government authorities concerned. THE MOTOR CAR—A PARODY. Life is fleeting and the roadway Clearly shows us what we are; . "Dust thou art"—to dust all turning . Sure was spoken of the car. Passing motors all remind us ] We may make our pace sublime, , ] And departing, leave behind us Cloudy stench and dusty grime. h ] Dusty grime which perhaps may j smother T Some poor traveller on the road, { A mad, sneezing, blinded brother, r Crying loudly, "You be blowed!" (• Carts to smash ajid tires to borrow Are our destined end and way: \ Fare we wotsc or well tomorrow, c Let's go faster than today. } c Let us then be up and doing— s Ti-nns or any other fate— n Broken down, pursued, rinrsuing, a T,r>nrn to scorch and then to wait, i

tr.S. TOUEISTS.

WILL VISIT NEW ZEALAND.

i That New Zealand is going to be besieged by tourists from America in the r very near future was the opinion ex- ,. pressed by one of the party of Amcr ricans who arrived in Chiistehurch the j. other evening. "I'll tell you why," he said. ri "They've nowhere else to go. Now, n that isn't intended as a slight on New 3 Zealand, for the fellow who won't adI mit that this country is one of the most n beautiful in the world—well, there's something the matter with his eyesight. But it's true that the tourist is now beginning to look to new fields. He's done Europe and the Continent, and he's beginning to go farther afield. "Your country has great natural - charms," he said, "and you should cert tainly make the most of them. Don't t be so quiet about things. Boost New! . Zealand; let other people know what j a grand country you've got. P "And I'm going to help you do the boosting," said another member of the party. "I've travelled the %vorld I how, and I've seen all there is to see, I but I've never seen anything better than is offered by New Zealand. That Pelorous Sound—my, it's gorgeous, i And the scenery on the West Coast ; baffles description. My advice is—- ■ boost, boost, boost." MOTORISED DETROIT. Almost everyone in Detroit, it seems, I drives. Everyone with as little as five dollars for a first payment is a potential purchaser. Detroit makes more automobiles than any other city; two hundred thousand of its population are employed in automobile factories. They make motor cars, and they ride in them. So Detroit's thoroughfares are choked with machines—flivvers by the ten thousands, trucks, passenger cars of every description, jitnies and motor busos. Detroit today is hard pressed to keep pace with its motorisecl citizenry. Subways, elevated, wider streets, stringent parking regulations —all have been suggested as panaceas. In the meantime the situation beeomes more acute. Where to put a car is more of a problem to many than raising the funds to buy it. For two years past street widening has been in progress, but it has not kept up with traffic increase. Some of 'lhese streets are to be widened to 204 feet. One superhighway, connecting Detroit and Pontiac-»-cities twenty-five miles apart—provides room for four machines moving in each direction at the same time. Yet even this roadway already has experienced serious traffic tie-ups.