THE MOTOR WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18281, 23 December 1922, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE MOTOR WORLD.

BY FOCUS.

THE MURIWAI MOTOE RACES. A programme of rnotor-car races has been prepared by the Auckland Automobile Association *° r tho s P orts to ha hcld at Mnriwai on March 3, 1923. The event* include the New Zealand Motor Cup Race of 50 miles, with five turns. There will also be an acceleration test of 200 yards, aa well aa events for light cars, touring cars, and taxis. THE MAIN ROADS. Motorists coming from Hclencsvillo, and intending to visit th> Ferndale picnic grounds in the Henderson Valley are Earned not to take the short cut that ♦ urns off to the right before Henderson i 8 reached, as the road is in bad order and some of it in newly covered with large scoria. It is recommended that the molonst should K" i" to .Henderson, nnd turn off, crossing tho railway line lhe rrounds aro very popular ones for relrfMtnunts. Thp st.itfl of the r-ad betwren Waimaukn and NfiniwaL prevented several cars from reaching the latter place last Saturday, on tho occasion of a trip there bv tho AurkUnd Automobile Association. Mar.v moionsfs wero therefore forced to ►ponrl the night at Helcnsvilio, while *>mo rotiiined to Auckland. The Groat Pouth Road helween Greenlane and IVnroso is So fall of pc,t holes at the present timei>t it is difficult to (.void them. Motorists who are not compelled to r-,e this section of tue rond. are advised to travel via Mangere, or the Pamtire Road, to Otahuhu. One mfttorcar is reported as having succeeded in crossing tho Rangiriri HIII3 during the recert rains. The driver states that it took him 12 hours to do the jonrr*y from Huntly to Mercer. The road was bad. and the holes, which have been fuled with clay, wero very soft. Tne metalling rf the road over Mount Messenger is expected to be completed in a dav or two. The Tanmatamaire Hill is at Dresent in ccwl order, though a little ron~h on the To Kuiti side- The Awaimo Valley ro.id is expected to be fmshed shout the end of March, and will, wheu mmpletod. provide a rente avoiding the infamous Taumatamaire Hill PHOPOESED ROUTE TO MIRANDA. Mr. J. A. Pond, FC.S., writes:—ln a ver/ intewsting article in your issue of the 12th irtet., headed " Pckeno to Mangatangi " you give an excellent description of the well-eraded roads between "okeno and Miranda. To reach £°kmo f rom Auckland, the steep Razor Back IJ.ll has to be crossed, bat a much shorter route to Miranda or Waitakarara is possible by the Hnnna Gorge Road to*abont a mile bevond the Paparimu school, where a proposed road will cross " Happy Valley running close to the Manngatawhin stream and junctioning with the present PokenoMiranda road, just before the Maramarua road tnrns off. This will require about four and a-half miles of new roaa\ I believe, eaaOy made, Tbia road will b*.about ten miles shorter to Miranda than via Pokeno. will escape the Razo' Back and be a fairly level road I think lam justified in saying that this new road has the approval of Mr. G. S. Murray, inspecting eneineer. Arrangeraento are now being S to metal .th! short distance between Waitokar-a and Miranda stall unmetalled.

MOTOR-CABS ON THE FARM. According to figures recently made.public by the Census Bureau, more, thani 30 ner cent, of the farms in U.S.A now Ce motor vehicles. The tola number of the farms is given at 2,146 512, ( Httle less than a quarter of the total for the country. Canadian repstrafaoo flares published recentlv show that.the fSSe of Ontario own 06.8 per cent, of jFSTwtawobfles in that P™™»n L Winnipeg there baa been fot»d Sn (am of 12,000 acres npon which not fSnglehorse a used, nor a single head of So* raised. All the work is done with teffi and tractors It was figured ££ 400 horses would be neccssarv to do all the work on the farm and -MOO acres would be required to feed them. ji MOTOBTHO OATJSBBXE. [BT OTTO BHITISH COMaSPOOTBOT.] Eoads ol all Nations. The Fourth International Road Congress meeta at Seville in May of next fear, and I have a hope to be present STtha occasion, when I shall look forward to meeting some of the Domjmon. engineers. A *ide range, of *bject* will be discussed B uch as. Snrfacing of Roads with Concrete, Tea of Bitumen and Asphali for Surfacing •• The Development of Motor Transport -aSeril Traffic Regulations," 'Traffic Roads and Streets," etc. ?L??W to iltew that this conC? and thai* can be no question that read and highway development is enSSaged by'meetings and MeaTbetween the exponenta of the ecienco in all lands. Politics and Motoring. The news of the political crisis in the Homeland, of the change of Government, of the general election will all have reached the Dominion long ere these words appear in print. In themselves, these matters are of no moment to motoriats. Actually, however, they affect us intimately. Item one: T The Transport Ministry will almost certainly be abolished and its Road Department which sees to the spending of tho motor taxes will hav* to find a new master—probably the Boaid of Trade. In sequence, changes of road administration and new statutory motor regulations nay crop np in the first session of tho new Parliament. Item two:—Big u lomploympnt schemes are foreshadowed and these will, I think, take the form of a vigorous prosecution of the trunk Highway scheme. (And, quite in passing, a word of congratulation to the New Zealand Herald for securing a- similar provision in connection with the infamous Ranfririris!) 'Item three •■—The candidates at the forthcoming election arc to be asked to pledge themselves to the A.A. on the. question of taxation reforms. On the whole, therefore, motorists are keenly interested in the political upheaval. Olympia. Every West End h. Tel bureau is a billeting department just now for the army of motorists thai will descend in London on November 3, for then the Olympia and White City and Motor Show opens. General election or no general Section the carnival of the car will be kept by lovers of the road in their tens of thousands. All the world that can get here comes annually for this show. It is mi international event; international both as regards the exhibition and also in respect of the visitors. From the four corners motorists aro arriving, and they will not be disappointed with the display awaiting them. .More truthfully than in former years may it be said that this will be a record. The cars for 1923 will be two years ahead of those of 1922. Changes in design are numerous and distinctiveness is tho keynote. Of chief is the progress made tty British engineering. Smaller engines, higher power and lower prices have all been united in .the British type The new engines coming off the last benches of Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton are really wonderful-both n power output and fuel ecoaomv-35 m.p!g. being common, But more of this anon.

NOTES. Twenty cars will be taking part in the Northern tour. J

TTie kauri tree at Ness Valley, which refused to fall after it had been sawn through on tho occasion of the visit to the valley by members of the Auckland Automobile Association, has since como down. Some interesting photographs or tho troo have been forwarded to the secretary of the association.

Always use rain water for motor-car cooling syatems because most drinking water supplies have minerals in suspension, and in tho case of lime or chalk the eventful result is either to silt up tne radiator or to encrust tho combustion chamber outer vail with a lime or chalk deposit destructive of cooling ofhciency.

One of the latest novelties helping to make motoring safer is a glovo in the back of which is a small red electric lamp, which can bo lighted by pressing a button under the thumb. When a car is going to stop or turn a corner the driver puts put his hand as a warning to any car that may be behind him. This is by no means easy to see in the dark, but the httje red lamp is visible for a long distance."

A bulletin issnod by the Society of Automotive Engineers 08 the U.S.A. draws attention 'to the fact that the indiscriminate use of the words " motor and " engine " applied to the power unit of a motor vehicle is apt to be somewhat confusing. The bulletin points out that tho term " engine " should be used to describe the propelling unit of modern cars, while the electric starter is termed 1 the " motor."

Work on the concrete portions of the new De-rbv, England, race track, is now in progress, and it is hoped to have it ready for use next season. The circuit is approximately three laps to the mile, and although primarily intended for motorcycle racing, it is expected that it wiu be reasonablv safe for cars at high speeds. The" banking has been designed progressively 60 that a car entering the curve will not tend to skid or leave the ground. The centre of the track will be used as a football ground, and the immediate outside as a track for foot race'. There will be terraced accommodation for thousands of spectators on the outer rim of tho saucer.

During tho past year tlio Transvaal Automobile Club has been in correspondence with tho Automobile Club of America on the question of the utility or otherwise of," humps " for tho purpose of checking the speed of motor cars when approaching railway crossings. This scheme of rojd construction was put forward by the S.A.R. authorities as a " natural protection at dangerous crossings." The United States have tried somo fantastic innovations, amongst others these road bumps. But as the gecretarv of the Automobile Club of America says: " These humps have been so long outlawed in the U.S. that it is a matter of searching ancient history to get some literature on the subject." MOTOR-OYOLIN&. A flat twin of only 175 c.c. is being manufactured in France. H. W. Hassall on an O.H.V. Norton, won the Ulster Grand Prix at an averago speed of 60.7 m.p.h. Mr. H. S. White and Mr. M. Abel, have been elected vice-presidents of the Sports Motor-Cycle Cluh. Muriwai Beach is not in good condition for speed work at the present time, the sand being rather heavy, with frequent holes. Lincoln Road, en route to Muriwai I will bo rather soft for week-end traffic I and riders will uhd the Tonne? Bill j route over Swanson much more pleasant. I Only iwo members of the Touring Club I turned out for the start of the Muriwai I run last Sunday, two more arriving ai I the beach. No doubl. the threatening I weather frightened the newer riders. About a year ago the Yard Flying Squad was instituted, ana" it is now being reorganised under one of London's best detectives. It. consists of trained men from eacl' division who have fast side-car outfits, and aro ready to go out at once. The following records for a one mile dirt track have been reduced by Ralph Hepburn riding an Indian powcrplu» motor. 1 mile. Om 42.39 to Qm 39.6 a 6 " 3m 38s to 8m 265. 10 " 7ra 23s to 6m 68s. !>o " 19m 17s to 18m 2a. Leaving Auckland at 2.30 a.m. Sunday, December 24, Mr. Nash intends to proceed to Mokau the first day, and will make Wellington the second. On tour he carries a full equipment and spares, with tent and poles, cooking gear, food, and benzine and oil f° r entire trip to Wellington. This will give some idea of the capabilities of the motor-cycle and side-car. In addition to this load, Mr. Nash will carry two passengers: Right to Te Kuiti the road is metal,-with the exception of the Rangiriri Hill on a short stretch near Otorohanga. The Taumatamairi Hill, encountered after leaving Piopdo comprises an ascent of 7 miles, with an equal descent. Should, there be any rains chains would be essential. Ihe (Trade is not very stiff, but some of the cornera need careful negotiation. The Mokau River has to bo crossed by punt, and after another 15 miles comes W Messenger, which presents a rather -..a surface on the north side, but fortunately the other slope is now metalled. From Urenui, a# the foot of the mountain, mod roads are encountered, gradually improving as the Taranaii distnc is approached.