THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19761, 12 April 1926, Page 4

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By ACCELERATOR.

Motorists desiring information with regard to mechanical or other car troubles, or on an; matter coming within the scope of the eport, pastime, or business of motoring are invited to send inquiries to " Accelerator.” special efforts will be made to give the most reliable sdvioe on all topio» of interest INSURANCE SCHEME. A mutual insurance scheme has been arranged by Mr C. R. C. Robieson for the South Island (New Zealand) Motor Union (to which '1 the associations in the South Island are affiliated) for the purpose of insuring members’ motor cars against fire, loss, and accident. Mr Robieson is visiting Dunedin, and has arranged to meet members of the club to-morrow evening at 8 o’clock at the club rooms, Moray place, and will explain what it is proposed to carry out. A mutual insurance scheme successfully run has nroved to be of much advantage to those insuring a;.d has been found to be the means of increasing an association’s membership list. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS’ RECORD. A new Australian 24 hours’ track record has been established on the Olym.pi. Speedway, Maroubra, New South Wales. Last month F. O. Withers and F. Crouch, dnvin a Cleveland car, covered 1408 1-3 miles in 24 hours thus bettering tlie previous Australian 24 hours’ track record bv 13 1-8 miles, established by C. R. Dickason and C. V. Whitta on the Aspendalc track, a few miles from Melbourne, in January last Withers and Crouch drove continuously for 24 hours, while the Melbourne record was established in two separate driving sections of 12 hours each. The average speed throughout the 44 hours’ drive by the record breakers was 58 2-3 miles per hour—a fine performance. A WOMAN’S FEAT. A wonderful motor record was achieved last month by Miss Violet Cordery (231 an Englishwoman, on the great Monza track, Milan, Italy. Driving in three hour spells, a four-seater, six-cylinder Invicta car. Miss Cordery assisted in breaking 33 world s records. The car covered a distance of 25.000 kilometres (about 15.533 tmM.'n 1U days at an average speed of 55 5-8 miles per hour, establishing a world s record. After the first 5000 miles had been run, one of her relief drivers fell asleep at the wheel, necessitating a restart. Then troubles with the water PT™P and radiator cause a two hours’ delay. Ine relief drivers took spells of three hours at the wheel, whereas Miss Cordery took six hour spells. This long distance was an amazing feat of endurance. WOMAN WINS ENDURANCE TEST. Competing against 19 men riders, Mrs Edith Watkins, on an Indian Scout, won the Tasmanian 1926 Motor Cycle C hampionship over 200 miles this month. Mrs Watkins's average speed was 24 miles an hour. The route covers some of the roughest roads i.i the State. This is Mrs Watkins’s second big motor cycling win. Her first was an outright win, also on Scout, in the 1924 Reliability Trial from Hobart to the Great Lakes and back. Inis ride she accomplished without loss of points. CONCRETE ROADS. Vistors to Auckland comment on the short section of the Great South road under the jurdisdiction of the One iree -Hill Road Board, where the continuity of concrete is broken by a stretch of indifferent metal. It .seems a pity that the One Iree Hill Road Board did not tail into line with the policy of the Ot.ahuhn Borough Council and the Mount Wellington Road Board, and push this work through six mouths reveal that the concrete road ensures the most economy in petrol consumption. Tests with a number of lorries in America showed that they achieved 11.8 miles to the gallon on concrete and only 9.5 miles on bituminous macadam. On an earth road the figure fell to 5.9 miles. Records r r roads carrying over 2000 vehicles dailv, showed that the maintenance costs of concrete roads were only 27.4 per cent, of those of macadam surfaces. The skm risk is also less on cement concrete. English custom is to cover concrete surfaces with' a bitumen carpet. In wet weather it assumes a glaze which is conducive to violent skidding. There are only 300 miles of concrete roads in Britain. America has 44.CC3 miles. SPARK PLUG ENTERPRISE. Plans for the erection of a six-storey 1 building adjacent to its present main manufacturing building in Toledo, and which will duplicate that structure, have been announced by Mr R. A. Stranahan, president of the Champion Spark Plug Co. Completion of this unit, which will en- : large the company’s productive capacity to 50,000,000 spark plugs in 1326, will place Champion’s expenditure for 1925 and 1926 for additional plant and manufacturing facilities in excess of 500,000 dollars. The company is the largest of its kind in the world, supplying more than two-thirds of all spark plugs used in automobile engines, stationary gasoline power plants, motor boats, and aeroplanes. It has more than 100 000 sales outlets throughout the world. Coincident with the completion of this newest unit, changes will be made by the Champion Porcelain Co., in Detroit, which makes all Champion cores, sufficient to permit an output in excess of 1,000,000 cores a week. Because of its enlarged business throughout 1925, when more than 40,000,000 spark plugs will be produced, night work in several divisions of its loledo plants was compulsory a considerable part of the yeai. The new building is part of the company s general plan to increase its capacity up to 75,000,000 spark plugs annually as quickly as the market for motor cars and other types of internal combustion engines becomes sufficient to justify it, Mr Stranahan announced. THE CONQUERING BUS. According to the figures for 1924—the latest available—motor buses in California carried more than 30,000,000 of passengers The growth of the motor bus industry is attributed to the iack of adequate or efficient railway transportation and the exist once of good roads. No fewer than 786 towns in that E-tate have an exclusive motor bus service, not local, but connecting with other centres. In California there are now 1700 motor services devoted to passenger transport and operating with success. The indications are that, rather than injuring steam and electric railroads, the; development of the bus lines is a distinct advantage to them. No steam line has been forced out of existence through motor bus competition. On the contrary, because buses and motor coaches Wave opened the county to extensive settlement and operate as feeders to railway services, both freight and passenger traffic of these fixed lines of traffic have been considerably increased. In the Australian States it will be found that to make the railway systems lucrative will be to encourage the use of the motor in its various forms so that there will be an increased decentralisation of population, interest, and capital, which will combat the' centralising tendency of railways. t THE STORY OF BALLOONING. Free ballooning is a most interesting sport, but a free balloon race is a severe lest of a pilot’s endurance, his knowledge of ballooning and of meterology (states the Goodyear News), Jhore are two tin ills in any balloon trip, the departure and the landing. There may be others en route, but given good weather conditions, free ballooning is one of the most serene and rest-: ful sensations imaginable. There is ro humming of engines no vibration, no feeling of movement, even. You don’t experience the rush of air past your face, as you do in an automobile or aeroplane. You are travelling with Ihe wind, just as fast as it goes, and no faster. Yon anresting motionless in flic air while the world is slowly turning around underneath. In getting away, the pilot wants to crowd as much sand ballast on as he can, this being loaded in 321 b bags and hung on the side, of the basket or banked on the floor. Ills power to remain in the air for a long period depends largely on his ballast rs-' 6 ’weighing off, the sand bangs, which anchor the balloon before the pilots climb in are removed one or two at a time until the bag with its crew is in a state of equilibrium Then the attendants let go, and the balloon slowly rises in the air while the pilots, looking over the edge of (lie basket, see the earth slipping away from them, the people growing smaller and smaller and the surrounding country unfolding a great checker-board picture of roads and pastures and woods and ploughed fields. The balloon finds its equilibrium, let us say, at 1000 feet, and starts away with the prevailing winds. 'Goodyear balloons in recent yeqrs have carried pontoons, so that if they alighted on water the basket would float.

Uterne of news—short descriptions of tours, the state of the' ate., comment, or inquiries will be welcomed by Acceleratoe.”J

CAR OWNERSHIP. There are certain out-of-date ideas and phrases in connection with motoring which apparently die very hal'd saJ , s th ® Motor). These ideas developed almost imperceptibly in the days when the popular motoring movement had only just be: gun to make real progress, and no chance could then be missed to prove that a cai was relatively a reliable ■aachine-henco the origin of reliability Such awkward questions as repairs am breakdowns wore even then becoming of less and less importance. Nevertheless, there are sections of the public, and a class who are likely car buyers, who still associate the phrases “repairs or keeping it in repair” with the present-day cai. One occasionally hears, for example, in a conversation .some such remark as J should like to have a car. but you know I never was any good at maclnueij, and I should be hopeless when it came to repairing it.” The observation has just as much relation to the facts of the matter as if one were to say “I should like to have a wireless set, but 1 am hopeless when it comes to handling anything concerned with electrical engineering.” What is really wanted by those who have a fixed idea that a car is a complicated machine requiring frequent repair and adjustment is a sense of proportion. ihe car obviously could never have reached the present stage of universal use if it had not been developed to a point at least equal to that of any other technical invention in general use. There has been vastly greater skill and inventive capacity devoted during the past 25 years to bringing the car to its present stage of simplicity and reliability than has been devoted to any other invention in ever j day use, and it is precisely the non-mechamca type of user who to-day gets the real benefit of the great skill, experience, and capital that have been expended on developing the car in the past. Wnen one recalls the problems, difficulties, and uncertainties once associated with tyres, ignition, carburetters, clutches, and gears, all practical non-existent to-day, it can readily be understood that the prospective buyer of a car has not to consider questions of repairs and want of reliability in the sense implied. CAR SURVIVAL. Approximately 500 makes of automobiles which have come to the American market with promises of great value, dependability, and long service are now all but forgotten. Twenty-five yeais ago, practically all “manufacturers of automobiles were nothing more than assemblers. They purchased motors, bodies, tops', axles, etc., from parts makers who were the manufacturers in reality, borne few makers maintained shops in which they machined castings nad forgings purchased outside. On this basis it was easy to become an automobile “ manufacturer,” and more than five hundred makes of automobiles have had their day in the American market and disappeared. They are to-day represented by more than 600,000 “orphan cars” with practically no resale value in the hands of the public. In 1922 the New York national automobile show displayed 86 makes of cars. During the following year this was reduced to 66. In 1924 a further reduction to 57 makes was noted. At the recent New York show this number had shi unk to 50. From the standpoint of the public this decreasing number of automobile makers prompts more careful consideration of not only what is in a maker’s car, but also what is behind the product. Makers who cannot manufacture economically because of inadequate facilities, who are forced to buy many or most parts from parts makers, necessarily are confronted with obstacles which make it difficult for them to compete with manufacturers equipped to produce cars on a oneprofit basis, such as Ford and Studebaker. With several cars selling at about the same price, obviously that manufacturer can give most quality of materials and workmanship who includes in his costs the least amount of profits paid out to parts makers, who can use that profit instead to buy better materials, better workmanship. Approximately 90 per cent, of cars sold last year were made by the - 12 largest makers. Many of the others were custom-built cars of limited production at high prices, and do not enter into the picture as viewed by the great bulk of buyers. SPARKS. The world’s greatest salesman is none other than your good old friend, “Quality.” Proficiency comes only from practice. Practise safe driving, therefore, upon every occasion so that when the test comes you will not be found wanting. More motorists than ever are using “Big Tree” Motor Spirit. More miles. More power.—Advt. In wet weather givt g >od warning of your intention to pull up; the man behind you may not be able to stop so easily as you. Use your horn with discretion; a wavering pedestrian who could be passed safely without its use may become panicstricken if you toot at him repeatedly. Garages everywhere report that motorists prefer “Big Tree”—the most popular spirit.—Advt. Paradoxically, a stray hen on the road is best avoided by running into it; you will never hit it. This hint is for emergency use; normally, you should be able to slow up sufficiently. Coroner ,to the witness: “What was your next action after you heard the c-iash?” Witness: "I went up to the driver and, when I see what lie had done, I says. • Good lor,” says I, ‘ What have you done?” More "Big Tree” Motor Spirit is consumed to-day than any other brand. Quality tells,—Advt. Officials of Kansas City believe they have found a “ sure cure ” for reckless and drunken drivers. Guilty motorists work out sentences in a muddy-flooded rock quarry. Thev swing sledges and picks, wield shovels, and trundle rock for eight long hours.

By ACCELERATOR.

SAFEU \ND THE HORSESHOE 0\ ER THE GARAGE. “Now, there was a man who builded an house for his automobile, and he tain would place above the door a symbol ot good luck. And he found the shoe of an horse, and lie nailed it above the door of that temple dedicated to the worship of speed. . T , j “And it came to pass that i and Kctu; ah we went that way. “And I said, Rehold that horseshoe above the door of the parage. “And when Keturah beheld it she smiled. “And she said. That man may have the right idea of what will bring him ( I luck. “And I said, It is even so. He may jet have to call for the aid of some faiinei s horse to bring his motor car back to the "And Keturah said. An "horse may be a vain .hing for safety, even as the 1 salmist declared, but it is a good reliance when the moto. breaketh down. “And I said unto her, Mon do not easily rid .hemselves of bondage to the past. When they no longer drive n horse they still will not choose their emblem of good luck from the iron thing they drive, but from the shoe of the beast they have turned out to grass. Even so did ul, the first King of Israel, despise amuel while he was alive, and seek to call up his ghost after he was dead. For ideas that once have ruled the minds < - men give way but slowly to new thoughts and ideals, and then leave vestiges of their continuity, and the dead hands of institutions that have given way to other things better or worse still exercise their influence on human conduct, and the great men of the past, and some others as well, still rule from their urns. “And Keturah said, Thou and I, my lord, are very nearly free from superstition, and we put not our trust in horseshoes and such like. Neither do we fear things numbered thirteen nor remember not to do things on Friday. “And I said, It is even so, and I do not take too seriously other people’s fondness for old wives’ fables and the symbols thereof. If any man careth for at. horseshoe over the barn door. I see no objegr tion to it. But for a garage, I think thii| 1 should prefer something at least as up to date s the automobile. “And Keturah said, What symbol wouldest thou prefer for good luck above the door of the garage? “And I said. As I own no garage 1 will select no symbol for it. But this I would desire, that my good luck sign be as nearly up to date as my means of transportation. “And Keturah said, Yea, and they may have the motor cars. But I enjoy the rides they give to us. “And so do I. “But if I sought a symbol, it would he the wings of an airplane or the motor of a blimp. For I would choose my ideals from things that belong to the future.”

ESTIMATED SPEED.

DEGREE OF ACCURACY. Nothing is more deceptive than speed. From the policeman, who honestly believes that one traversed the cross-roads in the 15-mile limit at over 30, to the owner of a super-sports model, who confidently asserts that his bus exceeded 70 m.p.h. on a certain road, there 's an infinite range of individuals who are all more or less unable to estimate speed with any degree of accuracy. The deception may be one of two kinds. Thus, in some cases, the actual speed may far exceed what one would estimate it to be, while in other cases a vehicle will be travelling at a much slower rate than one would really suppose (says the Sydney Daily Telegraph). It all depends upon the standard by which the mind makes its comparisons, and this, in all probability, is set by the vehicle to which the individual is most accustomed. As regards the independent observer on the highway who sees a car approaching, psychology no doubt plays an important part in the speed estimate. If the vehicle under observation is a rakish-looking sports model, with flared wings and speedy lines, the occupants of which are muffled in flying helmets, leather coats, and goggles, our pedestrian friend will be prepared to credit it with any speed which he thinks high enough to meet the occasion. Alterna tively a steady-looking touring car, occupied by a family man in a bowler hat, will be allowed to pass at 40 m.p.h. or so without adverse comment. We are more concerned, however, ’with those who occupy the vehicle, and here it is that a number of small points play an important part in our estimate of the speed The degree of protection afforded by the body is no doubt of great importance, likewise the efficiency of the suspension system. Thus one may travel in a luxurious saloon body mounted upon a Rolls-Royce chassis at really dangerous speeds without knowing it, owing to the lack of sensation produced. The same velocity in an open sports car, with very inadequate windscreen, bucket seats, and low-body sides, would appeal to one as a highly riskv proceeding. Take, for example, an* English express train which is so steady on the rails and well sprung that the completely-enclosed passenger in a dining car can be carried along at 60 m.p.h. or more with very little sensation of speed and no feeling of danger. In an tirplane the importance of the proximity of stationarv objects is still more emphasised. At 5000 ft the fields underneath hardly appear to move at all, and this, coupled with the fact that the passenger is usually completely enclosed, makes it, extremely difficult to estimate the sneed at which one is travelling. It is, in fact, possible to move at 120 m.p h. in the air at this height with very much less sensa tion than is produced by descending a hill on the despised 'bicycle at a moderate 20. However, there are two wavs of obtain ing a real sensation of speed in the air The first consists of the practice known as hedge-hopping, which means flying at the very low altitude of 100 ft or so. Here the ground is so close that it can be seen rushing past the machine, and one doe? really get the effect of high sneer! The other method consists of stalling the machine in the air. whereunon the nose will drop, followed by a practically vertical descent of several hundred feet. It is quite possible to attain over 200 m.p.h. in this wav on a small machine, but. it is not only the actual speed which gives one the impression of high velocity. Insecurity is. perhaps, the dominant sensation. The proximity of stationary objects has. perhaos, after all, the greatest influence In other words it is relative movement, and not absolute velocity, which has the more important effect on speed impressions Einstein emphasises the point in one of his books, where it shows that if a. man were completely enclosed in a projectile moving at a steady speed then, no matter how great that speed might he, he would not be conscious of it in any way, simply because there would be no relatively stationary object from whiGi he rould gauge his velocity.. Although he would not be conscious of any movement «o long as the speed was steady, any acceleration or retardation would, of course, at once be made apparent by the inertia of the man s weight. Returning to mundane matters, there i« no doubt that on the road acceleration plays a prominent part in sneed estimates Thus, if a man is used to a steadv-going. overloaded touring car. and then takes a run in a snorts model can.-ddc of accelerating to 40 m.p.h. in a matte' of seconds, on attaining this speed he will he apt to imagine that a fer highe- veloeitv has been reached. In other words, pop enn slowly attain to a h ; "h sneed without much sensation and without envthioe- 'l'-o the exhilarating effort, of the sudden leap forward from a crawl.