THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21599, 21 March 1932, Page 11

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By ACCELERATOR.

FIXTURES OTAGO MOTOR CLUB. (Motor Cycle Section.) April 2.—Speed judging. April 16.—Club run. April 17. —Monthly meeting. April 30. —Gymkhana. May 7.—Treasure hunt. May 17.—Monthly meeting. May 21.—Club run. June 4.—Trial. June 18.—Sporting trial. June 21. —Monthly meeting. SOUTHLAND MOTOR CYCLE CLUB. June 3.—Reliability trial. NEW SPEED RECORDS. The success of Sir Malcolm Campbell at Daytona is yet another triumph for British engineering. The Blue Bird was fitted with an entirely new nose before it left England for Daytona, and it was expected that it would be able to break the record by a good margin. Sir Malcolm was able to use another three miles of beach at Daytona, giving him a stretch of 12 miles in all, and lug performance in improving upon the one mile, five mile, and 10 kilometre records speaks volumes for the stamina and speed of the car. Sir Malcolm did not attack the 10-mile record, which, subject to official confirmation, stands to the credit of Mr Norman Smith at 164 miles an hour. A GERMAN COMPLAINT. According to a new regulation for the prevention of accidents, all owners of motor cars in Germany employing chauffeurs or hiring out cars, such as taxicab companies, are obliged to carry on board a standardised type of first-aid kit in an easily accessible place, where, however. it has to be secure from dust and dirt. The German clubs are protesting against this regulation, for the authorities have appointed only 26 makers of approved outfits, which cost anything between ,13 and 18 marks. The clubs aver that in times of such business depression as the country is now suffering, such a regulation is unjustifiable, since it means that millions of marks have to be spent for the benefit of a small group of makers. German motorists are being thoroughly exploited. Taxes and fuel duties have been heaped on them in the last two years to such an extent that cars are being withdrawn from service during the winter in a measure never before known. TRADE RECIPROCATION, The Morris works in England are a group of many factories, and there are numerous canteens which cater for the requirements of the employees. Meals are served from the hatches, where New Zealand produce—lamb, butter, cheese, and honey—constitutes an important part of the menu. Moreover, the produce is on sale to the employees, and a considerable quantity is disposed of and freely advertised in various canteens. The New Zealand primary producer will no doubt appreciate the practical action of Morris Motors, Ltd., which goes beyond the mere service of advocating trade within the Empire. Actions are of more value than, words. Sir William Morris was one of the foremost pioneers of “trade within the Empire,” and Morris Motors were the originators of the slogan “ Buy British and be proud of it.” Workers in Morris factories and their dependents run into tens of thousands, so that it will be readily seen what a powerful means they are for the spreading of propaganda in favour of New Zealand produce.

NEW ZEALAND TOURIST TROPHY ’ SELECTIONS. Resentment has been expressed by certain members of the Auckland Sports Motor Cycle Club at the action of the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union in appointing a rider to represent New Zealand in the Isle of Man T.T. Races, who did not compete and qualify in the local Road Race at Waiheke. The A.C.U. must safeguard the interests of motor cycle competition riders throughout the Dominion, and if there should be a man of outstanding ability who, through financial or other reasons, cannot make the journey to Auckland to race at Waiheke, the A.C.U. must retain the right to select such a man.

Tolley visited the Isle of Man last year and rode with distinction, but, unfortunately, crashed at a corner which has been the dawufall of many famous riders. Without doubt he is the most likely motor cyclist in New Zealand to gain the honour of winning a replica in the world-famous Tourist Trophy Race. _ He has proved his worth and the experience of last year’s race will stand him in good stead next June. The official organ of the Auto Cycle Union of Great Britain, the T.T. Special, speaks very highly of Holleys performances and references to his riding both in the 1931 races and in practice indicate that he will obtain a much better mount this year than was offered to him on his last visit. CAR SALES FOR FEBRUARY. The record sales established by British cars in January of this year—-58 per cent, of the total —were, up until that month, a record since registrations were kept accurately in this Dominion. In the month of February, however, this record was again beaten, the increase being more than 10 per cent, over January. Of a total of 371 cars sold, of all makes, from all countries, no fewer than 254, or (58.464 per cent, were products of Great Britain. The first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions were all filled by cars made in Great Britain.

There can be no truer indication of the fact that Great Britain is now making cars more than equal to those of any other country in the world from the point of view of value for money, economy and comfort.

Last October the percentage of British cars sold on this market had reached 40 per cent.; in November it totalled over 45 per cent., and in December 47 ner cent. In the first two months of 1032 preference for British cars has been placed beyond doubt, and it must be a matter of pride to every true Briton to see the products of Great Britain heading the list.

SPARKS The man who drives this year’s car with last year’s license on next year’s income is asking for trouble. ¥ ' (i The sum retained by the Treasury in England from the Road Fund during the year 1930-31 w»as £4,926,306. # # * At the end of 1930 there were 1,239,883 motor vehicles registered in Canada, or one in every eight persons. * f. * Signs of an improvement in the motor industry are reported from the United States, and workers are being re-engaged at several factories in Detroit.

People in Paris are rushing to pledge their cars in such numbers that the garage at the official pawnshop cannot accommodate them. A larger garage to hold 2000 ears is to be built.

Imports of motor spirit into England for 10 months last year were 67.104,728 gallons less than in 1930. In addition, 316,678,415 gallons of crude petroleum for refining in the country were imported.

Frequent lubrication of the steering connections with good grease or even gear oil (which will last longer) will keep the steering of the car light and free and obviate any tendency for the car to “wander.” *¥*

The A.A.A. has appointed one of its uniformed patrols as inspector of hotels and motor camps throughout the whole of the North Island. This official will visit each camping ground in turn and will make suggestions to the controlling authority for improvements. He will gain many ideas of value to motorists and his advice in this respect for the control of camps should do much to increase their popularity and to improve facilities.

One may wonder why eight-cylinder motors are either of the eight cycliuders in line (straight eight) type or the Vtype with two blocks of four cylinders mounted at an angle of 60 or 90 degrees.

[ltem* of news—short descriptions, of tours, the state of the roads, «tc., comment, oi inquiries will he welcomed by " Accelerator.’’’

WHO HAS IT?

Naturally the eight in line motor is longer and requires more room besides being much simpler to manufacture. The V-type eight-cylinder motor is no longer than a four-cylinder motor, but because of its loyout it is probably a little heavier than a straight-eight of similar capacity, and costs more to manufacture.

MOTOR NOTES FROM GREAT BRITAIN THE OUTLOOK FOR 1932. In spite of the trade depression, the British motor industry had a surprisingly good year in 1931, and the optimism of prominent manufacturers at the prospects for the current year is an encouraging sign. Mr A. F. Sidgreaves, managing directot of Rolls-Royce, Ltd., has referred to 1931 as an outstanding year, not only for his company, but in the history _of motoring, for the achievements of Sir Malcolm Campbell, Kaye Don, and Stainforth were landmarks. “ These records,” Mr Sidgreaves said, “ will reflect in increased orders from abroad for the whole of the British motor industry. There is a growing demand for British motor cars all over the world, and 1932 is to be a better year for sales than 1931.” SOME NOTABLE ORDERS. Kaye Don, by the way, has just taken delivery of his new Rolls-Royce Continental touring saloon. This has a streamline body by Mulliner and incorporates various ideas of its owner. This type of body was introduced over a year ago, and is suitable for high speeds over indifferent roads. Special care has been taken in the distribution of weight; the car has a low centre of gravity, and the two spare wheels, together with the tool kit, are carried at the rear, while a large rear container gives ample space for luggage. The Humber Snipe, of which the Prince of Wales has recently taken delivery, is a four-light saloon, finished in black with thin red lining, red cloth upholstery, and red wheels. Several ingenious body fittings were incorporated to the special order of his Royal Highness, and the car is equally suitable either for town work or touring. Another particularly interstnig car from this Coventry factory is the Pullman limousine, which H.H. the Sultan of Zanzibar ordered from Rootes, Ltd. This is to be finished in special grey, with smoke blue upholstery and carpets to match, and the royal anus will be emblazoned on the panels. 1905 AND STILL RUNNING! Remarkable testimony to the quality and strength of construction of a body is to be found in the case of a car belonging to the Earl of Derby. The coach work in question is a Hooper limousine body, which was originally supplied to Lord Derby in 1905, and was then fitted to a Napier chassis. Since then it has been transferred twice, and although over 26 years old, is still in use on a 30 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley chassis. Apart from its wearing qualities, the comfort of this body must be something out of the ordinary for it to have been retained in service for so long.

The Monte Carlo Rally, the most strenuous rally in the world, has this year drawn nearly 30 British entries, including a large number of Rileys. Points are, of course, awarded according to distance covered, and competitors must maintain a strict schedule day and night, whatever the road conditions, from starting points in almost every country in Europe. Mr V. Leverett, who won the light car class with his Riley last year, has chosen Umea, in Sweden, to start from, 2500 miles from Monte Carlo, while Palermo, in Sicily, is the starting point of the three Australian ladies and their “ Ninos, with which they have already covered 15,000 miles since they left home, though, ot course, partly by sea.

THE MAUDES TROPHY AWARDED. For 1931 the Maudes Trophy has been awarded to Ariel Works in connection with a series of severe tests which were carried out last autumn. The Maudes is, of course, the most coveted trophy ot the motor cycling year, and is offered annually for the most meritorious test conducted under A.C.U. observation. The performance for which it has been awarded to Ariels consisted of a number of different tests of 1932 models, known as the “Seven Sevens” trial, since the figure “7” appeared in each. Thus, one machine ran for 7 hours at Brooklands, another covered 70 miles in an hour, a third ran for 70 minutes in each of its four gears, and so on. At the conclusion 1 of the trial a squarefour ” model, of which all the engine components had been selected at ran( L'l! bv A.C.U. officials, set out to cover 700 miles in 700 minutes at Brooklands. this it did comfortably, and then, without alteration, covered a lap of the track at a speed of 87.1 m.p.h.

An arresting announcement has just been made by Leyland Motors, who are offering an award of 100 guineas to the owner of the oldest petrol-driven Leyland goods vehicle in regular service in l-W-Long life is an accepted characteristic of their vehicles, but in view of some exceptionally interesting cases of longevity ■which have recently come to their notice, they wish definitely to establish the age of the oldest Leyland still in regular service. *. « Talking of old vehicles, an extract from the order book of Comraer Cars of Luton, about 1907, i s .worth quoting for its romantic description. With straked wheels for Patagonia, with power-hauling gear for New Zealand, and with steel tyres for Siberia,” it reads!

EXPORT ORDERS FOR BRITAIN. The Luton factory is busy, with both home and export orders, especially for the new Raider and Centaur. On the export side, recent shipments include Avengers to South Africa; Raiders, especially equipped for kinema work, to India; and Centaurs and Raiders for goods and passenger work to Holland, Portugal, Denmark, Australia, and so forth. Incidentally, the Carlsberg Breweries of Copenhagen, with an output of 2,000,000 bottles a day, have ordered a 40-50 cwt model. Copenhagen evidently has a liking for British vehicles, for, when practical tests of three now types of buses were carried out recently before drivers and members of the Tramways Department, one of these secured the highest vote. In the unofficial ballot as to the comparative merits of the vehicles, of the 81 persons voting. 75 favoured the Englisti vehicle, 3 the Danish, and 3 the German. The winning bus in this instance was an A.E.C. 120 h.p. six-wheel Renown, fitted with a Danish-built body. FOR CROSS COUNTRY WORK.

The manner in which motor vehicles are being employed in the commercial development of new countries is well exemplified in the case of the Rhodesias. During the 1930 harvest season, for instance, 23,315 tons of maize were transported to market, British-built lorries being exclusively employed for the purpose by the G vernment. who established these motor transport services with Thornycroft six-wheelers. These vehicles have, of course, thoroughly their suitability for pioneer transport in undeveloped districts, being able to haul their loads over rough ground and to tackle heavier gradients under any but the very heaviest wet weather conditions.

The performance of a vehicle on varying road surfaces is, of course, governed by tractive effort and adhesion. Within limits, tractive effort can be increased by increasing the gear ratio between engine and wheel, but without sufficient adhesion this cannot be taken advantage of. The only way, therefore, to get more adhesion without overloading the driving axle is to drive on more than one axle. Thus, in the case of Hardy vehicles, a two-speed auxiliary gearbox is fitted, which almost doubles the original ratio, but having direct drive on high ratio does not reduce the speed on hard roads. To give the necessary adhesion, the front wheels are driven as well as the rear, and to avoid the complication of a differential between the axles, the auxiliary box is so designed that the front wffieel drive only comes into operation when the low ratio is engaged. In this way, on hard roads, the vehicle is a high-speed rear-wheel-drive chassis, while for cross-country work it becomes a

powerful low-speed all-wheel-drive chassis, with the help to steering that front wheel drive gives.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LUBRIpATION.

More and more attention is being paid by commercial vehicle users to the all-im-portant subject of lubrication, and this is reflected in the wide range of marketed by leading firms in the indus-’ try. In the case of the new Mornsol commercial lubricants, these oils have been produced by Alexander Duckhara and Co., in collaboration with Morris-Commercial engineers, and are the only oils now recommended by the latter concern for use in their vehicles. _ Then, again, there is New Process Oil, another well-known Duckham product. Ease of starting, freedom from carbon deposits, and economy in running are some of the outstanding advantages possessed by this oil, while the fact that one grade serves for both summer and winter is another useful point.