THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20929, 20 January 1930, Page 4

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By accelerator.

OTAGO MOTOR CLUB.—CYCLE SECTION. January 22.—Monthly general meeting. February B.—Dirt track racing. February 22.—Beach races. March B.—Dirt track racing. SOUTHLAND MOTOR CYCLE CLUB February I.—Bluff Hill Climb. A SOUTHERN TOUR. After a motoring tour in the south of over 1150 miles, Mr L. De La Mare, ot Christchurch,, speaks (says the Sun) in favourable terms of the roads, which were good with the exception of a bad mile between Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri. He drove from Christchurch to Inveicargill, Manapouri, Te Anau. Kingston, Queenstow-n, Cromwell, Palmerston, Wa.mate. Hakataramea. Omarama, Pukakt, To Kapo, Fairlie, Geraldine, and back to Christchurch. High up in the Otago back country he travelled through a fog. It was a weird sensation in the daytime to be creeping along and notice a car s headlights coming towards one. GIVING IT BACK. Motorists in Wisconsin (U.S.A.) will welcome a decision of the Bureau of internal Revenue. In effect, this will allow them to deduct from their income tax any amounts paid in petrol tax to the State. An earlier Ruling of the. bureau held that the tax was paid by the petrol dealers. The American Motorists’ Association held that the dealers passed it on to the motorists, and this obvious fact brought a remission of taxation on incomes. BERLIN’S BLACK LIST. Haying come to the conclusion that the majority of street accidents are caused by drivers who ignore tho regulations, the Berlin police arc adopting special measures to deal with them., A department of the police will cardindex every driver, and all warnings and penalties imposed on him will be entered. There is a limit to the number of these entries, and if it is exceeded the driver’s license will be withdrawn. LIGHTS FOR PEDESTRIANS. -i* ?- af , et y, first ” device that is really a tail light for pedestrians is being marLondon. It is simply a leather belt fitted in front and at the back with a reflector. For those who walk or cycle on dark roads at night the device is a simple and effective precaution against accident. • . - ciAj o , form of safety, reflector 'is fitted to the back of the right-hand driving glove, and is easily distinguished by tollowing drivers when hand signals are made. PARKING IN THE KITCHEN. A motor car that can be taken apart and parked in the kitchen has been invented by Engelbert Zachka, of Berlin. Although slightly under regulation size, the _ car can carry two passengers. The parts, including the.motor, are extremely fight. The body is constructed of canvas. The garaging process of this little machine resembles the parts of a jig-saw puzzle, inrst,- the body is detached and folded Vv a I ? ea * bundle; then the chassis is dismounted. Each piece that makes up the Irame is numbered and fitted. Steering wheel and post, wheels, motor, and body rods each are separate units. The vehicle has three wheels, and can be assembled in a few minutes. SYDNEY-MELBOURNE RECORD. Driving a stock model four-cylinder Austin 12 horse-power (1860 c.a) touring car, sealed in top gear. Messrs C, R. Uickason and H. D. Burkill, of Mclbourne, on Thursday last, broke the existmg record from Sydney to Melbourne for a .car driven all the way in top gear, and also created a new light-car class record fsfls t LV o^ ne ?n b i y cove ring the distance (565 miles) in 13, hours 20 minutes, at an •average speed of 42.3 miles per hour The previous record for the. journey in top gear , was created in 1926 by a powerful six-cylinder car, the time being 21 hours, which makes the present performance of the four-cylinder Austin a really outrm,nd!nß +n ne ‘ rhe drivers had a clear run all the way with no tyre troubles. tyres CaF equi PP ed Wl th Perdriau TYRE TALK, bending of the Wall” might be the title of a play or a novel, but here .it describes something that happens to tyres Bending or “flexing” goes on all the time a pneumatic tyre is working. Take a piece of cardboard, a piece of steel, or a Piece of wire; bend them slightly, and you will find that you can repeat the bending oyer and over again until the materials break. But if you bend them excessively breakage occurs more quickly. ii? re j.i Wa^s ” "will stand more bending than the cardboard or the steel or the wire, but they will break unless they arc supported by adequate air pressure. Air in a pneumatic tyre is a free insurance policy. It is a vital element which alone makes possible the pneumatic principle. Ihe air doses” for the varying tyre sections are-given in an interesting bookie entitled “ Tyre Mileage—How to Avoid Waste ayailable at any of the Dunlop Perdriau depots or branches. KEEPING THE CAR GOING. What you get out of your car depends on what you put into it (writes “ Chassis ” m the Christchurch Sun). And what you put into it depends on where you are. In America, for instance, array motor vehicles are being, run on moonshine liquor, seized from bootleggers. A report has been issued by the officer commanding the military transport camp near Baltimore that a New Zealander, Mr Ernest Godward, discovered a way of using the spirit seized from bootleggers no that gas may be generated equal to ordinary benzine. Motor spirit firms' say there is little chance of any of the moonshine being imported here. But from the outback oi Western Australia recently came a re port that beer was used in a radiator instead of, water. The car was being driven from Wiluna along a level waterless plain when the radiator became dry and those aboard were put to the test of being stranded miles from civilisation or emptying bottles of beer into the radiator. It was a hot and dusty day and they suffered the thirst. The ear got them home, but the driver says that when he took off the radiator cap he discovered that boiled beer in s car gives off a more objectionable odour than beer and garlic. NOT ALL CL6sED CARS. Strange as it may appear to the -majority of motorists, a decided tendency is now apparent on the Continent in favour of the open touring, car, according to a writer in The Motor, England. This is evidenced, he states, by the increasing number of beautiful and luxurious streamline bodies that have recently been seen at the fashionable Continental summer holiday resorts, principally at Deauville and Biarritz, and on the Riviera. It is said that this is not accounted for by the abnormally hot summer, which, nevertheless, should add to the popularity of this type of coach work, but from sheer practical experience. , The •scats are deep and comfortable, I well ’upholstered in the best cloth material, while the doors arc wide and high. Tiio rear scats are provided with a safety-glass wind shield of the folding type, with plated fittings, thus making the open car ideal for the rear passengers. The hood and all the movable parts oj these luxurious open cars, so lately conspicuous, have been considerably modified. all the glass windows winding up oi down as required on the system now used in closed cars of the most up-to-date and refined quality. One can imagine a car on these lines for those who wish to enjoy the scenery or in mountainous parts of the country, and especially motorists who prefer plenty of fresh air and a speedy car. HEAVY ROAD TRANSPORT. The present era in heavy road transport which commenced about seven years ago is one for which pneumatic tyre

Iltwns of new* short description*, of tours, the. state of the roads. 0 tW " oom “i»nt. « inquiries wiU bo welcomed bj " Acoekrstor. J

nianufueturers have largely been responsible, according to a recent statement bv an eminent English authority. The English registrations for motor trucks indicate the position clearly, and show how rapidly pneumatic tyres are displacing solid tyres for heavy automobile'transport uoik. Of the 1272 hackney registrations in one month (including motor buses up to a seating capacity of 04 passengers), only six vehicles were not equipped with pneumatic tjTes. _ During the same month 4J/o goods-earrying vehicles were reins°V iU opacities up to and exceednve tons unladen weight, and of these “R f „ than 9°. per cent, were equipped J\ eri “ matlc ?; dlhe 811116 tendency is m evidence in the CommonAw"i- cj i pcr , lcilce having proved that Australian-made pneumatic truck tk-res aie admirably serving their purpose, and users" 1 " " pajablc proposition to their

PARKING TOWER SCHEME. Parking towers are being seriously considered as the remedy for traffic congestion in large cities. One solution of the problem qf ample garage or parking space on a limited ground area lias been attempted in Sandusky, Ohio, where a tower lunch accommodates 10 machines on the ground space of a two-car garage has been Greeted. The tower ig of reinforced concrete and is five storeys high. The system on which it operates is comparable to a self-operating elevator. 'The machinery on the interior consists of 10 piattorms, suspended one above the other and controlled by a steel chain. Two °t these platforms always stop at the giound floor level. An electric motor supplies the power. When a car is placed on the platform an electric push button, installed in a panel board at the entrance, ns touched and the car and platforms move up one position to make room for, -he next one. There is no limit to the heights the towers can bo erected. Demonstrations show that a 60-car tower, •JO storeys high, can be erected and equipped as easily as one five storeys high, Ihe only change required is a larger motor. A ..two-horse power motor is needed for each>' C ar; therefore, in a 60enr tower a 120 h.n. motor would be most cnoctive. An operator can discharge 60 machines in a short space level in loss than three minutes. MOTOR CYCLE NOTES. Query: Where do dirt-track fans go m the winter-time? * * ♦ y Royal Enfields are following the latest practice with sloping engines and drysump lubrication. * ♦ ♦ I Defendant at North London; What is your definition of a motor cycle? Constable: A petrol engine on two wheels. * * * For the first nine months of last year (1929) motor cycles to the value of £3.410,193 were exported from Great Britain. * * » A good plan to prevent dimming by raindrops is to treat the goggles by nibbing on_ the glasses a solution consisting of a pmch of common table salt dissolved in glycerine. ♦ * * . Mrs T. Meeten. an English lady rider, in an officiary observed test, rode a 172 c.e, Francis-Barnett over a 1000-mile course and averaged tho extraordinary consumption of 196.5 miles per gallon, while ml equalled 4738 m.p.g, * * * The monthly, general meeting of the members of the cvelo section of the Otago Motor Club will be held in the'club rooms on Wednesday next, at 8 p.m. The committee will meet at 7 p.m. * * * The following are the New Zealand registrations of new motor cycles for the month of December, 1029:—8.5.A. 100, Ariel 53. Harley D. 48, A.J.S. 45, Triumph 42, Indian 34, other makes 156:—total 478. SPARKS. _A motion picture entitled “Civilisation Rides Forward,” based on the published writing of J. D. Mooney, president of General Motors Export Division, has been produced. * * * It_ is a wise policy to keep the fan hearing well lubricated. Wear at this point will give rise to a very irritating knock or rattle which may prove very hard to locate. ■ * * * The thing he thought worth-while , . . • going fast. And ninety with a smile . . . going fast. Then there came the crash, i( The inevitable smash. Must be mad,” he cried, *and echo replied “ Going fast.” * * * Apart from the requirements of the law there is a moral obligation on picnickers, campers, and others to refrain from lighting fires at points where there is the danger of the flames spreading. * * * With the small car craze (says a British paper) we may expect advertisements on these lines:— “BABY CAR OWNERS! We can reduce you sufficiently to enter with case the following makes: Pigmy ‘ 1 ’ Lilliputian '*/ Tom Thumb Juniors. Mite Minors, Shrimp Saloons Atom-* VVeazens. and Nutshells.- Write now to The Reductio Ad Absurdum Co. (1933) ,U nu . t . lae House, Little Slyin street, W.l. ’ THE YEAR*S RACING. BRITISH SUCCESSES. The past racing year in Great Britain nas one of the best ever known, and the races were of a type which coufd hardly be equalled and never excelled (writes 111 English motor journal). The year opened successfully with an experiment by the Junior Car Club, which ’ unable to run a 24-hou r race organised at Brooklands, an event which ran for two periods of 12 hours, tho cars heinlocked up between the periods. On the m-st morning no fewer than 51 cars oi tI,L. an d representing between E 1 ®" 1 , of the sports car world, faced the starter. At the beeinning of the first day the big six-cylinder Bentley was leading followed by the 44-litle Bentleys and the U-litrc Alfa Romeo, ihe big Bentley retired with a broken dynamo drive-shaft before tho day was out, and all along the lino other cars were T? Ut ‘ Wbenthe first 12 hours ended Rampom’s Alfa Romeo led, a 4.V Ri-e Bentley and Ivanovsky’s Alfa Romeo & SCC n nd Vn and a B J ont !°y 4J-litre was third. On the second day :oinpetition was even keener. For a time the 1100 c.c. Kiley was in the front and the frontwheel drive Alvis was also going weli The supercharged Salmson then came up TWW Jrd ? la f?r a s d iIH tllc the Bentlejt, and Alfa Romeos were lighting together at the front. The Alfa Romeo driven single-handed throughout the race oy Kamponi, won at an average of 76 ni.p.h., by an extraordinarily small margin from the Bentley, which had averaged oi.->u m.p.h. ° . Then followed the historic 24-honr race a Le Mans. From the very first round “Tim” x ' a >: lludcl ’ Eentley, handled bv 11111 Eerkin and Barnato in turn magnificently led the field. Far behind the mam field struggled along, dropping casualties by the roadside, llw Chrvslers maintaining their team order, but the qther cars welt to the rear. When mornmg broke, the Bentley team had lost but a single car, and were holding the first four Places. I- mally, it was the six-cvlin-aer that won at an average of 73 6° m.p h a record for the course; and " U was the six-cylinder which, for the first RuiWWhr for England the much-coveted Rudge-Whitworth cup. Kidston and Dnn"er,e , S .|. Co . nd wiu ! . a 4’-litre, Boujateld and d Erlanger third, while Clement and Chassagne were fourth with the same type ot car, many miles ahead of tho fifth man. Tho British Lea-Francis driven by Peacock and Newsome, achieved" eighth place with the excellent average ot 0i,52 m.p.h. The scene then changed to Brooklands. tins time for the Six-hour Race with artificial sandbanked turns down the finish-

ins straight. Once again the big six- i minder Bentley, driven then by" Jack ; Dilutee and Barnato, showed its immense power and speed by coming Lome a winon handicap. Once more Bentley and Alfa Romeo fought together, the Italian marque being represented by De-ullanr's two-htrc car, the 14-litre falling behind m the earlier part of the lace in spite of a great effort by Eyston and Ramooni. ibis time it was Headlam’s two-litre Alfa Romeo which came in astern of the big Mx-cyhnder Bentley with an leverage of ~-oo m> P-h. against the British car's <O.BB m.p.h., Cook’s 44-litrc Bentley being third with an average of 72.94 m.p.h;. an e-j “enjaficld s Alfa Romeo fourth at 69.57 m.p.h. Some extremely high speeds were rcgistored, in the Royal Irish Automobile Club s Grand Pnx. Actually there were two races. In the first the Alfa Romeo team had the run of their lives against a new antagonist in the shape of Leax raucis, a battle as unexpected, probably, ll "’as exciting. And, for the first time aIM, there appeared a new team of Austin Sevens which immediately created , history by travelling at an almost nnbehevable pace for their size. One of ' tne three Lea-Francis forming the official team slowed a little with minor trouble; Ramponi, skidding wildly, crashed off the road and went out of the race, and, finally, Ivanovsky got home a Motor at <0.02 m.p.h. by an extremely narrow margin from Davis and Green oil the Lea-Franeis, Eyston’s Riley being a good fourth, with an average of CS.4O m.p.h. Austins failed to figure high in the results simply because the fastest car L 3 *! 113 hie.ry enough to run short of fuel at the most awkward moment. Next day the bigger cars took up the contest ami this time Thistlethwayt’s Mercedes. Kidston on the big Bentley six, “ Tim ” BiiKin with the supercharged Bcntlov, and Ivanovsky on the two-litre Alfa Romeo, enjoyed one of the most epic struggles there lias ever been. Ivanovsky crossed the line victorious at an average if <0.4 m.p.h.. only by the briefest margin aliena of Kulaton’a big six-cylinder Bent- ' ley. In third place came Birkin with | the supercharged “44 " which had more ; , fulfilled its mission by pressing ; ihistletlnvnyte’s big white’ Mercedes. The Tourist Trophy race in Northern Ireland attracted 05 starters and proved one of the most thrilling events of the season. Carncciola finally won on a Mercedes, at 72.82 m.p.h. At the very last, also, Campari managed to snatch second place for the Italian team, with an average of 67.54 m.p.h., from Frazer Nash’s Austin, which averaged 59.00 m.p.h, Hoi brook being fourth on another Austin with an average of 59.49 m.p.h.. which was magnificent in the circumstances. The racing season closed with a 500nnlc race on Brooklands. Once again it was a Bentley victory, the “ 44 ” handled by Clement and Barclay averaging the extraordinary speed of 107.32 m.p.h,, the six-cylindev_ being second at 109.40 m.p.h.. which is within a decimal point or so of being the record speed for any race of this length, while, by sheer persistence, Cobb and Paul brought the badly-crippled four-litre Sunbeam home in third nlaco at an average of 102.48 m.p.h., though its last few rounds were naturally extremely slow.