MOTORS AND MOTORING.

North Otago Times, Volume CIV, Issue 13662, 2 September 1916, Page 3

MOTORS AND MOTORING.

(By "Clutch,")

Legal lighting-up time: To.-day, 5.2(5 p.m.; next Sautrday, 5.33 p.m.

A remarkable 1200 miles motor e:ir journey lias' 1 , been - Successfully' carried through aornss.iNortli Africa. A motorist, M. GaTcmiej drove from Tunis soy'oVday'sfive' hours: This is tlie'fivst Jiecasjon upon: which n,'inotor car;lids negotiated this part of Africa.;'.!"., ' ',. ':■ '.'■'. '"''." '

■lt is stated thnf/somo-,4000 motor lorries we);e.'i!scd';iii the French defence of Verduii.; .tylieu.. it '.became 'apparent, that a great,, assault-, was to: be made ii|ion tliifliilporla'nt': point, the Froucli Command,;;' Realising tlifrjijjidcquhey; of the railway-communication; organiseda 'coin[)je|e';systcin' of motor transport! for the purposes,.of 'ivhieli' ; . roaiis ivere, completely cloabd to-other traffic. The', above-mentioned' •' fleet' of - motors carried out the special duties - of supplying' the Verdun armies with munitions and reserves. Those--motor; lorries, running each about .100 mill's a.day, maintained a constant and reliable (low 'of supplies for the divisions at the front, and also 'for the auxiliary services such as those of' the engineers and of the medical staff, The special British correspondent with the French annies wroto that never had the value- of-motor transport been more brilliantly demonstrated. On th'c average about 2000 lorries serving Verdun passed-each,day in either direction, One may..visualise the resultant muddle had these machines not been in a. high degree reliable.

A-vigorous protest has' been made by the General Committee of-the Royal Automobile and Associated - Clubs, representing every automobile and'autocycle organisation in every) part of Great Britain and -Ireland, against the imputations made against- motorists iii the War Savings Committee's .recent appeal, Herein it was alleged that wholesale "pleasure motoring" involving- the squandering/ of millions of money, was beiug indulged in by the great bulk of private "owners, and that it.was impossible to urge the workirig classes to. the exereise of thrift while stlch an example was being set them by the wealthier classes. Careful inquiries made by the R.A.C, in every district have proved that there is no evidence of any extensive use of motor vehicles for purely pleasure purposes, but! that the great majority of owners have done, and are doing, invaluable work in connection with tho war, by transporting the wounded and in other directions, entirely-voluntarily. The evidence collected by the clubhand which will be produced in due course,, overwhelmingly controverts the unjust statements contained in the appeal, which calculated to bring motorists into disrepute, and to create a popular feeling of antagonism towards- them.

The "Scooter," the joy of all boys and girls at the | present time, is to be motorised by an American firm, The European patents are not'.yet completed so that one is uuable to give- inside' details of the mechanism. The child's ";ska-cycle," or '"scooter," is taken as the basal idea, but is built with a wider platform (12in.) and 1 larger wheels., These .latter are built up of pressed steel discs and shod with larger rubber tyres. The rear wheel is furnished with a mudguard, thebroad'platform serving a like purpose for the front wheel, which is'the driverand carries all the mechanism. This front wheel is driven by a small air-cooled vmotor-cycle engine, the engine being mounted on-one side of the wheels .with an outside flywheel on the other, so that the weight is 'approximately balanced. The fuel tank is mounted above the wheel in front of the steering post, and'the carburettor is immediately over the base chamber. Ignition is probably by dry batterly, enclosed with the fuel, tank in the case over the.wheel.: The steering post carries two Bowden wire engine controls, mounted 1 outside and carried down the front,, and hinges so as to turn ddwn intn a horizontal position when not in use, and for stowage, when the entire machine occupies a space of only 50in by 21in by 12in, Control of tho machine is said to'be effected by the forward and backward action of the steering pillar, the arrangement "being claimed to be such that "the natural motions of the operator provide the simplest 1 possible management of the machine" Apparently you start the engine by pushing the machine along, and, when, the engine fires, step oir to tho platform/, and "there you arc," whilst tlio more nearly upright tho steering pillar is kept the faster the machine goes, and if; you lean back .and slope the -pillar the speed is checked, It is claimed to be equal to a 20 m.p.h. speed I ,'' arid to ■lie able to climb the steepest hill, whilst the fuel consumption is given at about. 120 miles, per gallon;-....,,,.'

Is the motor trade ready with a pledgo to boycott German motor goods when, on the termination of the war, the international exchange of goods is - has, iieen asked by one' of the leading English motoring journals.' It is certainly the fact that the British motor trade, like other, trades, has made no,.attempt to bond its members, but it would be wrong to predict as a sequel to this admission that tire trade will readily' as'--sniiie dealings in German cars and accessories on the restoration of peace. Assertive patriotism is not characteristic of the best British,temperament, Because of this temperamental reserve there, is. no organised' boycott, but it Is impossible to speak with members of the trade, says ithe journal in question, without realising that there is a deep-seated, if silent, resolve to continue in the wider sphere of commerce, the punishment that, will be meted out' to the enemy in the field of war. Without clamouring for bonds and agreements, individual traders have independently and unobtrusively determined to apply''that principle to'their future business operations. It.is asked if (his feeling does not provide, the 'opportunity for organising a permanent and drastic boycott. We must not deceive ourselves into believing that Germany will be extinguished as an industrial nation. After the war the most industrious race in Europe will work harder thanevnr and will offer the product of its .labour to the world. Sane opinion among leading business men holds that it will-be impossible to deny it the world's markets. As a consequence the wiser policy seems to bo to suppress those of the enemy's industries that count for so much in war, and of these the motor is an essentia! one, The design of. the Allies should be to ply .whatever economic forces are available to force-Gernfany to develop her inessential industries, of which the toy and fancy goods' may. be ■ cited as examples, Were that principle applied, Germany would be driven to cultivate her motor and other engineering interests by subsidies, and even then deprived of the world's best markets, they would lack the spur of competition which iii the end is the clued' factor of success, At least she should not develop theso key industries at other countries 1 expense. It is a subject on which a lead is badly required, and perhaps the Paris Conference will lie productive of one, It may be relied upon that the motor trndo is disposed to bar absolutely everything German, but to fortify tho weak, to save them from temptation when.,business is normal again, something more durable and more reliable than indC' pendent action is needed,