HIGHWAY DEADLOCK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20264, 25 May 1929, Page 12 (Supplement)

HIGHWAY DEADLOCK.

ROUTE TO HELENSVILLE.

'A very regrettable position has arisen through the rejection of tho £20,000 loan for road works by ratepayers of the iWaitakere riding of ' the Waitemata County. The proposal, which was the subject of a pool three weeks ago, included £IO,OOO for reformation and bitumen surfacing of tho riding's 62, mile section of the highway to Heler.sville. '.Hie work was expected to cost over £40.000, tho bulk of tho mouey being Highway Board subsidy. ' Through tho refusal of the ratepayers to sanction a quota this improvement scheme is now indefinitely held up Ihero is no doubt that the attitude of the ratepayers is a challenge to the Highways Hoard and a test of the rumours concerning the nationalising of all highways. The terms offered to the riding were the most favourable ten,tiered to any authority in tho province. They approach very closely to £4 for £l, although the general policy of the Highways Board is to limit subsidies to £3 for £l. In anticipation of a successful poll the Highways Board authorised work months ago on this road and much formation work was done out, of motor taxation. The ratepayers did mot justify the optimism of the Highways Board and now the future of tho mile section is in the air. On each side of this portion of the highway arrangements have been completed for modernising tho route and this gap will remain as a reproach.- The adjoining Waiparoira riding on the Homier son side lias carried a loan for the reconstruction and bitumen surfacing of 1? miles from the. end of the concret up to Lincoln Bridge. At the. other end of the gap in the Kumeu riding the ratepayers have agreed to raise sufficient inonov from rating to earn tho Highways Board's subsidy for a two mile section. Tho Waitakero ridinir is left with its road in a stale of chaos and the county can be compelled to put this in order although the maintenance will be soon swallowed up and there will probably bo many regrets that, it was not invested in the liberal .programme for permanent work proposed. l.»v the Highways Board. The Highways Board mav alternatively proceed with the scheme, which it started and assess the counlv for its share, .inother alternative is fiir the bcaifl to yield io (lie hopes of (lie ratepayers and complete the section entirely with motor tax revenue. This would establish a precedent which would cause many local bodies lo abandon their responsibility in ronding. . There is'something to be said for nationalising of the highways, 1m t there will lie great-'dissatisfaction and many claims for retrospective grants if the system is alio ved to creep in through deadlocks of this description. Two of the authorities interested in sections of the Great South Road in the Waikato. have been holding off in anticipation of still more liberal treatment from the Highways Board, and if this test of the attitude of the board in respect to the highway to Tlelensville succeeds, it will undermine many excellent features of the Main Highways' Act. Highway administration has been developing along very sound lines and road engineers, both in the Public Works "Department and in local bodies, have arrived at a smooth working system after years of organisation. THE SPORTS CAR. In view of the increasing vogue of the type of car known as tho " sports model." somei particulars of its evolution may be of interest, to those who follow the development; of the automobile. There is a prevalent impression that the real sporting car is something in tho nature of a disguised racing machine. Speed is certainly ono of tho principal attractions of the sports model, but whereas a racing car ihas speed as its main characteristic, tho genuine sports car must possess many other equally important qualifications. Of recent years 'various British and French manufacturers have been devoting attention to the development of the sporting type. At the present time nearly every manufacturer of - note includes a. sports model in his range. Looking back to the year 1912 we saw 'the advent of the Prince Henry type of four-cylinder Vauxhall car. which put up some remarkable road performances for its power. This car probably marked the- introduction, of the sports type, and later on the Bueatti enjoyed a considerable vogue, and-shortly afterwards the Aston Martin made its appearance. .' : There has always been the question of expense where the private motorist is concerned. As far as external appearance goes, a sporting model may reveal very

few modifications in chassis design from normal types, and one perhaps naturally enquires as to the reasons for the additional cost of manufacture. * Much, of course, enn bo explained by the adoption of extra high-grade materials : but the most notable increase in production costs is due to the individual care in. producing and assembling every component of the super-car. In the manufacturer's testing-house a .'very high standard of efficiency is insisted upon,, and before an engine finally passes a test, it may be necessary to dismantle it entirely once or twice to give extra refinements. J In" the case of the ordinary production model, 1 a road test will show whether the chassis is up to the normal standard, "but not so with the genuine sports model, which hris to- undergo very exhaustive trials to rnnke sura that its performance is in accordance with requirements! The evolution of the sporting car. even to-day. is bv no means finished, and every mouth appears to bring forth somo new development for improving performance. Speed alone will not bring success to the modern snorting car. For road work it is essential, however, that the sports car should bo capable of maintaining a high average speed, ultra-rapid acceleration, first-class road-holding qualities and most efficient, braking. A well-designed' snorts car with a- maximum speed of. sav, 75 rn.p.h.. can more than hold its own with a faster vehicle, which may be difficult to hold on cornets or hard to slow down when travelling all out. The vogue of the sports car has certainly come to stay.