THE CONTROLS

NZ Truth, Issue 1063, 8 April 1926, Page 17

THE CONTROLS

UNUSUAL' DESIGNS

Can They ; Be- Improved?

The position of the controls of the car has been lately receiving a good deal of attention from designers, and some unusual designs are likely to be seen m the near future. , The, central gear lever versus that at the'side provided food for controversy for along time. ; There was .no doubt that these r two positions had been used In each ..caseto' bring the lever to the? right'hand, because the driver sits on the. right hand seat m England, and used-a ;side change, arid/in the 'left-hand'seatMn. America where central change was the rule. " y * . ~ * ■ When American cars began to , be imported into England, m quantities, the central change was looked upon as a disadvantage from which they suffered, but experience proved that the car could 'be operated quite well with the controls m this position and worked with the left hand. Another argument against the, central position—arid, m the writer's opinion, it is a very good one —is the difficulty of getting an extra passenger into the front seat. The Central Position ■ ■ s •■ In spite of all the arguments, however, the central position was used more and more, and when such cars as the 2.0 -h.p. Rolls, at one'end of the price list, and:the Morris Cowley ac the other end, appeared with this type of control, it seemed as if • the designers had found the advantages to outweigh the objections. At,the present time there is a tendency to put the gear lever m the centre, and the hand-brake at the side or even on the dashboard; whether this will prove to be popular we shall, be able to see by next year's models. Another point where different opinions may be found ds m the position of the accelerator. . It is strange that although the positions of the brake and clutch pedals have become absolutely universal, the accelerator position has never been fixed. In connection , with accelerator pedals, we saw a good idea on a* car the other day which is easy to fit and very useful as a safeguard. This is the provision of a spring under the pedal top and resting on the floorboards. On many cars the pedal head may be screwed off easily and the spring slipped over, the operating rod. This spring should be just strong enough to hold up , the accelerator m case the maker's spring, which is usually fitted near to the carburetor, should break. : Nothing is more startling than to take one's foot from the pedal ,- and. find the engine continuing to • race. The car may, of course, be stopped by declutching and braking, b"ut it is realy important ■ that every control should respond instantly to driver's movement. Future Comfort The medical profession have recently rioted,a number of cases of leg trouble, brought about, they state, by badly-fitting pedals, m two ways. First, by the fact that the pedals were awkward to reach,- causing a minor form of distortion of the foot, and, secondly, by the action of draughts coming- m through the slots m the floorboards. . The first trouble, is one beyond the owner to correct m any simple manner, but the second may be t overcome by the fitting of felt m the pedal slots or by the use of a closely-fitting mat. Altogether, we think that the position of the controls is a matter which -needs the attention of all designers, arid m the meantime it is really important, from the point of view .of future'comfort, to see that the controls of the car which you buy arj satisfactory and suitable for your particular build and stature.-