MOTORS AT OLYMPIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19765, 12 October 1927, Page 13

MOTORS AT OLYMPIA.

annual exhibition. IMPROVEMENTS TO BE SHOWN. (British Official Wireless.) (Received October 11, 6.38 p.m.) A. and N.Z. RUGBY. Oct. 10. The motor show .at Olympia, which will be opened on Thursday for nine days, will enable the latest products of every motor manufacturing nation of importance, including Germany, to be compared under one roof. Its international and comprehensive character annually draws representatives from all parts of the world, and this year it is expected that 300,000 people will visit Olympia. It is estimated that there are already 28,000,000 motor vehicles in the world, but that the saturation point is a long W ay off. Keen competition among nitinufacturers has brought about reductions in prices and innumerable improvements in engine and body design. These are aimed particularly at meeting the needs of potential owner-drivers. Economy in petrol and in oil consumption has been further developed. One interesting innovation is a "singleshot greasing system," by means of which all moving and wearing parts are lubricated by pressing. v a plunger pump. Several manufacturers arc maintaining close secrecy about their 1928 models until tho opening of the exhibition.

FRENCH INVENTIONS. WONDERFUL NEW CARS. ABSORBING ROAD SHOCKS* PARIS. Oct. 5. A new form of suspension without an axle and with each wheel individually sprung, enabling a car literally to " iron out " pot-holes, is a technical surprise of the Paris motor show. It is claimed that the car remains on an even keel on the roughest road, while it is practically " skid-proof." Several types have been exhibited, indicating that French makers seriously believe that the new idea will make wheels absorb most road shocks without transferring them to the remainder of the car, lengthening the life of the chassis and coachwork. Another innovation is found in tho front wheels of several new cars. The 'wheels are individually steered from the steering box instead of one steering the o'ther by means of a tie rod. The design is intended to eliminate wheel wobble and to ease steering at high speed and to minimise the risks of dangerous front-wheel skids.

The salon car marks the grave of the open tourer as far as Europe is concerned. Makers have eliminated the clumsy iuggago grid and replaced it with neat trunks incorporated in the coach work and painted to harmonise with the car's colour scheme. It is fitted where it will obtain the benefit of the rear springs. Many closed bodies resemble glass rooms on wheels, so near are they to the ground. Makers have dispensed with running boards, because oho is able to step into tho car from the pavement without raising the feet. The majority of closed cars have low, rakish outlines, covered with a variety of fabrics.

Among the novelties of the show is the system of locking the entire car with a turn-key to the door of the dickey, resulting in the spare wheels, engine, toolbox and even the radiator cap and mascot being safe from pilfering.