SOUTH ROAD CONDITIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19780, 29 October 1927, Page 10 (Supplement)

SOUTH ROAD CONDITIONS.

A.A.A. REPORT. The service officer of the Auckland Automobile Association covered the highway from Auckland to Hamilton this week. He reports that there are evidences of improved maintenance on the Rangiriri deviation, and that the heavy surfaces south cf Ohinewai have been improved. The Waipa County Council had undertaken the levelling of the crown of the section from Ngaruawahia to Hamilton. There was a tendency for potholes in the Ngaruawahia Town Board area to be neglected. Referring to the notoriously bad section at Huntly, Mr. Champtaloup says: " This calls for drastic action, and I am making representations to my council. Motorists have suffered the unpleasant conditions and sharp metal long enough." The service officer also criticises the neglect of the shoulders to the concrete nearer Auckland He refers to a dangerous section at Wiri. HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. The Papakura Town Board has finished the shoulders of the concrete highway within its territory tn a very creditable fashion. The rolling and tarring of these borders for three or four feet greatly reduces risk on .the highway. Instead of a mere 18ft. strip of concrete allowing no latitude for passing vehicles -there is now an available surface of about 25ft. If local bodies would all complete this work/ the danger of speeding cars hugging the concrete would be reduced. THE BRITISH CAR. A searching and impartial statement concerning the opportunities for the British car in the colonies has been made by Mr. W. E. Rootes, who has returned to London after visiting India, Australia and New Zealand. Although Mr. Rootes controls the export of several famous British cars, he has taken a broad view, and he blames some British manufacturers for relying on patriotism to sell cars in which there is perhaps some detail to which the colonial user takes objection. Mr. Rootes says: " There is no doubt at all in my ,mmd that the atmosphere in the Indian 'Empire, the Dominions and the colonies is charged with the spirit of patriotism. This definitely does exist, and the people are willing and even anxious to buy British cars; but it must be confessed that until the last two or three years they have had little encouragement to do so. In most cases the cars offered tQ them have had weaknesses in design; also, in many cases they have been wrong in price, and, as a general rule, they have been very poorly supported in the matter of service. "In Australia and New Zealand, to take two examples, there is an undeniably sentimental preference for British cars, but such preference by itself is not sufficient to overcome serious practical shortcomings in the cars. " The car buyer wants to be patriotic, but there are definite limits to which he can go in this direction. In the past he has usually stretched the point ,so far as ever he could, in spite of the fact that he was fempted to feel f that the British car industry was not sufficiently concerning itself with his particular conditions and requirements." THE OVERHAUL. It has been proved over and over again, and repeatedly drilled into drivers, that it is the height of optimism to set out on a holiday tour without at least some measure of preparation; it is not wise to overdo this preparation, of course, but neither "is it to be foregone if an enjovable tour is to be made even It may be a case of anything between two and four thousand miles of touring during that period, sometimes confined to a month. Surely the tyres should receive some consideration ? As has been advocated, a monthly overhaul of tyres, filling up cuts with stopping, and testing regularly is the recipe for longer tyre life, but nothing should be risked on a long tour, for evident reasons. Do not put a decrepit old cover and a patchwork tube on the spare wheel; this wheel may be called upoji to perform the stiffest part of the journey. Spare bulbs should not be- omitted, or put into the car in uuch a place which renders them liable to being crushed, or sat, upon. Even though some bulbs are represented as carrying an elephant, don't go and test this bv sitting on them. The brakes certainly should be looked to, and if they show signs of wear of the linings, reline them. The garages by the wayside are not generally expeditious with this kind of work. The radiator rubber tub ing joint is not often investigated, but ought to be before setting out. "It is annoying to experience leakage on the road: the water generally runs down the pipe on the underside, leading the driver to look fo> the fault where there is no leakage and this may cause too much waste of time for convenience. Among many unthought-of spares which may be needed is a length of rubber tubing which may come in useful for patch ing up a break in the petrol pipe. Electrical spares should not be left behind: a piece of fuse wire, pliers, a plug or two, some insulation tape and some twine and any odd too) which has been found to be useful should figure in the kit. A piece of mirror with which to examine- an inaccessible part of the engine is often worth its weight in gold.