MOTORING NOTES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 30 March 1938, Page 4

MOTORING NOTES

LURE OF NEW CAR PURCHASE PROTECTIVE INSTINCT THAT WANES I (By Gerald Ely. London for “The Mail") To all who possess the zest for makJI ing the most of life's pleasures there , I comes sooner or later the desire to j ’ part-exchange the old car for a new ' one. or buy a car for the first time. I ( ‘ envy those who are about to undergo l r j the latter experience, for there is an ; , extraordinary thrill about purchasing; ! ones first car. To the excitement of . | ownership of a personal form of transport into which you can step at your door and come out of again amid a l | complete change of scene, perhaps j rjmany miles away, is added the keen ; ' pleasure of the act of motoring. Although my motoring experience j - extends now over a considerable num- j f ber of years, I cannot take my seat at: ! the wheel of a car without savouring - afresh the fascination of putting it into ; • j motion by the mere pressure of a but- ; ton and the simple operation of a light j gear lever and clutch pedal. ’( There is something very flattering to 1 one’s pride to be able to work that j complex mechanism which is a car, and the more smoothly one can drive it, i the greater is the satisfaction. This seems a good moment to emphasise the fact that immense pleasure is to be de- . rived from doing a job well. WHEN TO CHANGE But as this is supposed to be an article on new car purchase. I must not j permit myself to by-pass my theme. 1 There are some lucky people who can buy a new car every year or every two years. Personally I should take the , latter course if I could afford it, because it is in the second season of ownership that a car begins to give ' really of its best in the matter of per- ! formance and comfort. In the first season there is the running-in period and • the exaggerated care one feels impelled to take of a new car. Every little scratch on the paint brings its pang and every little stain on the brand-new upholstery causes keen annoyance. But by the second year the intensely pro- ! tective feeling has abated somewhat. You begin to talk of your “old bus.” i Most of us, however, keep our cars for three and four years, while a minority do not change until they have almost entirely exhausted the useful life of their car, which can be placed at | about seven or eight years if the price is under £4OO. It is, in my view, a mistake. to keep the same car too long, for you get progressively inferior motoring. Only those who have bought ; a new model, after keeping their pre- ! vious one for several years, can appre- ! ciate the startling . difference in i driving enjoyment. You have almost ; a Rip Van Winkle feeling. The time to start thinking of a new car is when the oil consumption begins i unduly to increase and when the hoped- | for improvement in performance, after ; decarbonisation does not materialise. When, in spite of overhauls, the car refuses to take one’s favourite steep hill with the same dash, the time has come to consult catalogues and specifications, and to look tentatively at dealers’ windows. One of the standing grievances of those who contemplate a partexchange deal is the apparently small market value of the car they wish to trade for a new one. ASPECTS OF DEPRECIATION Admittedly the depreciation on a car ; is considerable when looked at in terms ;of actual cash. But I cannot see why an old car should be more favoured in the matter of depreciation than furniture or clothes. Every family man at some time or other changes the furniture of his home, and unless he is lucky enough to possess period furniture which has appreciated in value, he will not get i much for the old stuff. As likely !as not the furniture people will refuse !to accept the old pieces in partexchange. As for old clothes, perhaps the point need not be enlarged upon further. You buy clothes, furniture and cars for the pleasure and convenience they will give you during their period of use. If you get something for them after you have finished using them, that is so much to the good. The cars of 1938 happen to be specially attractive models, and prospective purchasers will find it no easy task to decide between their respective merits, for the standard of mechanical excellence is high in each case and there are cars at the same price, with almost exactly the same performance. I have in mind particularly three saloons of very popular make which cost in the United Kingdom about £250. Each of them is a good-looking, roomy family car with a performance equal in each case, the only difference being that two of them have six-cylinder engines as against the “four” of the third car. But the four-cylinder engine on the latter is so smooth that you would not know the difference unless you lifted the bonnet. CAR RADIO Car radio is becoming increasingly popular, but I notice that among my own motoring friends the tendency is to fit sets only to the bigger types of car. Owners of American saloon cars seem to have a particular fondness for

! radio. The interior of a large car gives ' radio a better chance, I suppose, but I j have had experience of a set fitted in ! a very small saloon and I cannot say I I found much amiss. The idea that car j i radio distracts the attention of the ; driver is now no longer entertained, j and in my own case I find the music ! very companionable, though more so during night driving when there is no scenery to look at. It is a particular boon to the passengers. if any. for they have not the interest which comes from actually drivj ing the car. In a moving vehicle there are longer periods of silence than of I conversation, for there is something 1 about motion which discourages talk. I have a theory that lack of conversation which is supposed to be characteristic of the Briton travelling in a train, is not a sign of aloofness but of greater susceptibility to the silencing effects of locomotion.