MOTOR IMPORTATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20490, 15 February 1930, Page 12 (Supplement)

MOTOR IMPORTATIONS.

ITHE FIGURES FOR AUCKLAND

.'ENGLISH CAES MORE FAVOURED.

Nearly a million pounds was spent on Hie importation of motor-vehicles, both passenger-cars and commercial lorries and buses, in tho Auckland province in 1929, according to a return specially compiled for the Herald by tho Comptroller of Customs. Tho Auckland inports, formed a quarter of the total for tho Dominion, both in number and va.ue. Of the '£4,278,000 which was sent out of New Zealand in tho purchase of cars, trucks, buses and chassis, £1,100,478 was spent on vehicles landed at Auckland, the number being 7020, out of the Dominion total of 29,156 vehicles. Following is an analysis of the dutiable lvalue of the Auckland imports during 1929: 4 . Great U S.A. Canada. Britain. Others '££ £ £ Cars .. 303,916 354,887 182.105 13120 chassis 6,G99 4,227 9,QOG GOG Com'cinl .... vehicles 436 10,213 1,517 • Com'cinl chassis 130,807 55.499 36,735 —- £t-10,918 £427,531 £229,713 £2OIO Origin of Cars, Of the total number of vehicles and chassis landed in Auckland, 5676 were cars and 1344 commercial motors. Of the cars, 1129 were of English origin, 2754 were Canadian, and 1780 were manufactured in the United States. There were only sovon Continental productions included in tho returns. Tho relative percentages of the imports-are as follows:—Canada, 48 per cent,; United States, 31 per cent.; England, 20 per cent; others, less than 1 per cent. These percentages are much the same as those for tho importations into the whole Dominion, the most notable difference being tho greater popularity of English cars in Auckland. The percentage for the whole country was only 17 per cent., so that it seems that Auckland leads tho way in its preference for the British product. In this connection, it is interesting to note that of the 172 car chassis imported, ® 78 were of British origin, tho value of „ these behicles being £9296, out of a total of £19,918. spent on chassis.. Tho average value of the cars imported into Auckland in the past year was £152, or fivo pounds moro than tho average for New Zealand. The average price of English cars was £l6l, compared with the Dominion figuro of £172. Commercial Vehicles.

Buses, trucks, vans and commercial Chassis imported last year numbered 1344, •wliich docs not bear so high a ratio to the Dominion total, 5795,«cs does tho number of cars. Of the Auckland commercial ,vehicle imports, 645 were Canadian, 568 yicvo from the United States, and 131 -were of British manufacture. There were no imports of this typo of motor from Continental countries. On a percentage basis the imports stand as follows: Canada, 48 per cent.; United States, 42 per cent.; Britain, 10 per cent. The ficures show the same tendency, a marked preference for American and Canadian vehicles, which is exhibited in the. figures for New Zealand, which are as follows: United States, 52 per cent.; Canada, 39 per cent:; Britain, 9 per cent. Very few of those commercial vehicles •Were landed in Auckland equipped with bodies, only 91 complete trucks and buses being purchased. Of these only two were of British make and one of American origin, although 129 British and 507 American chassis were imported. It would seem that the local body-building industry is in a position to supply bodies as well suited to local requirements as those built in overseas countries, while the customs tariff has also influenced tho trend of importation considerably.

NORMAIT SMITH'S TYRES. During its appearances on the Ninety jftlile Beach, the 500 h.p. Rolls-Royce-Cad-iliac car in which Mr. Norman " Wizard " Smith established a new world's record for 10 miles, and raised tho Australian and New Zealand milo record, attracted a great deal of attention, and much of this ,was centred on the tyres. The most striking feature was the total absence of any tread, the tyre being absolutely t smooth, without any pattern. Tho result j was that when tho car was travelling at - F Vts highest speed, it left tracks no wider than those of' a racing motor-cycle, the whole weight of the car being carried, on a strip in the centre of tho tyre not two inches wide. The smooth surface of tho rubber and the absence of any protuberances prevented any drag on the wet sand, and it was estimated at the time that there was Jess than 1 per cent, loss of efficiency from this or any other cause. Another striking feature of tho tyros, which were specially made in an American factory for the car, was tho extreme thinness bf tho outer layer of rubbqr, which did not exceed an eighth of an inch. In one or Uvo places on one of tho tyres, .which was changed before the second record was set up, cuts from shells less than an eighth of an inch deep exposed the fabric. There were ten plies of rubber and fabric, which instead of being ,woven from cotton fibre, was of twisted silk to withstand tho heavy strain which ■was placed on it. The tyres were designed to bo ran with pressures of from 85 to 1101b. to the square inch. When the records wero made, tho tyrqs were inflated at a pressure nearer the lower end of the lange of pressures under which they would fun satisfactorily.

OIL AND HEAT. To bo correct, for any engine tlie oil employed must bo of such character that when brought <o the extreme temperature encountered in the engine it will Btill possess sufficient body to maintain mi unbroken protective oil film between Crictional surfaces.