THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21919, 3 April 1933, Page 2

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By ACCELERATOR.

BETTER TIMES. _ In the last few months there had been an increased feeling of optimism among business men in various parts of the world, according to Mr S. W. Caywood, who arrived in Wellington from Sydney by the Marama. Mr Caywood, who is travelling on the business of the British Goodrich Rubber Company, Ltd., is well qualified to speak on the subject, as he has had during his long tour an opportunity of feeling the national pulse of most countries of the world. _ " Almost everywhere business people seem agreed that the worst is behind us," he said. The coming World Economic Conference would do something to improve trade relations between primary and secondary producing countries, and it was generally expected that some more favourable reciprocal trade agreements would be possible between the greater nations. "If we cannot buy we cannot sell," Mr Caywood said. In Australia business men seemed quite certain that conditions had improved in the past six months. Mr Caywood was very impressed with the success of the conversion loan in New Zealand.

BRITISH COME-BACK.

How the British motor industry has built up its home market, and now has a world market assured to it, is pointed out by the Australian Association of British Manufacturers. In the first eight months of this year the gross imports of motor vehicles into Britain amounted to £2346 (value £423,620), as compared with 3439 (value £595,494) for the 6ame period in 1931 a decrease of 1093 vehicles, of value £171,874. Gross exports, on the other hand, amounted to 22,940 (value £3,269,617), as compared with 15,175 (£3,010,106)—an increase of 7765, value £259,511. The excess of exports over imports has, therefore, increased from 11,736 (value £2,414,612) in 1931, to 20,594 (value I £2,845,997)—an increase of 8858 (value I £431,385). REVISITING NEW ZEALAND. A man who likes New Zealand and New Zealanders, Mr Hugh Hamilton, has returned to Christchurch after an absence of seven years (says the Press). He considers that New Zealand will emerge from the depression with less difficulty than Australia has' done, although there is still an uphill battle to be fought. Mr Hamilton has risen from a humble beginning to a high executive position. In 1900 he landed in Australia from Lanarkshire, and two years later he was a junior clerk with the Vacuum Oil Company in Brisbane. A year later he was sent to New Zealand, and from then till 1913 he was general manager, the first of the company, in the Dominion. There were few motor cars, and bitumen roads were unheard of when Mr Hamilton began to organise the foundation work of the huge interests of the company of which he was to become one of the principals for Australia and New Zealand. There were no tractors either, at that time, and Mr Hamilton has watched the motor business and the oil industry steadily develop in New Zealand. In 1915 he was made a director of the company, and subsequently he became deputy-chairmin. From its first steps in New Zealand the company has made great strides, and now, in Australia and New Zealand. £5,000,000 is invested in plant alone, and the capital is £7,500,000. There are 3000 direct employees, to say nothing of those who find work in subsidiary industries such as the making of tins and cases. Ac least £400,000 is invested in the company by Australian and New Zealand employees. There is a pension scheme which benefits employees, and there is also a sick fund scheme. "We have large investments in New Zealand," said Mr Hamilton, " and we are continuing to spend our money here. For example, we are searching for oil in the Gisborne district at a cost of thousands of pounds. We are working in conjunction with the Taranaki Oil Company in tho Gisborne district, where we have had four geologists working for six months. They will be there for two years.. "All these years the company has invested its money fearlessly in New Zealand," he added. "New Zealand will pull through the depression with less trouble than Australia, which has'already turned the corner." . • His one hobby is that of gardening, and he made a stop at Timaru on the way from Dunedin, to see the begonias in the Timaru Gardens. t He will New Zealand on April 14 for Melbourne, his headquarters. A GOOD TEST. The paving of Cambridge Terrace (Wellington) in bituminous concrete was completed just 10 years ago. This fact is worth recalling as Cambridge Terrace was the first city street in Wellington to be completely paved by the hot-mix process; also, the job was so skilfully and carefully done under the direction of the then city engineer, the late Mr W. H. Morton, that, although it has become an increasingly busy thoroughfare, not a penny has so far been spent in maintenance. Before the terrace was payed it was considered the roughest and dirtiest road in Wellington. In its crude macadam form the surface was fair game for every wind that blew, and water-bound maintenance was an extremely costly business. Its companion thoroughfare, Kent terrace, was woodblocked 27 years ago, when the electric tramway system was introduced, but though the example of what a permanent pavement meant was continually under the notice of the City Council, it was not until 10 years ago that Cambridge terrace was attended to. The paving of Cambridge terrace was in the nature of an experiment, but so successful was it considered that it was largely instrumental in the council adopting a bituminous concrete policy and in-, directly led to the paving of the Hutt rond in the same mix. Several failures in paving of city streets were recorded subsequent to the paving of Cambridge terrace. One notable and costly failure was the paving of Thorndon Quay in sheet asphalt. This " mix " rolled and buckled to such an extent under the influences of changing temperatures and traffic that the whole of it had to be "ploughed up" and re-laid. Another bad bit of paving was clone on Featherston street North, where an indifferent tar asphalt was tried with sad results. When Cambridge terrace was completed a 12-foot strip was left unpaved on the western side of the reserve as a park for tramcars. Subsequently this provision was ultimately made on the eastern side of the reserve, where it has proved of the greatest value in handling traffic at rush hours. GOODS TRANSPORT. Commenting on the explanation of the Minister of Transport that the scheme of regulation for the control of goods transport by road has been drawn up to provide " a transitional period " whereby the transport licensing machinery can be operated with " reasonable jurisdiction," and at the same time provide the means and the opportunity of exploring fully the whole question, the Dominion says: " That is a necessary precaution. While there is general agreement that the huge sums invested in public transport services must be economically utilised and protected from uneconomic competition, much diversity of opinion prevails as to the methods by which this desirable end is to be attained. Consultation with representatives of all branches of industry, trade, and transport has revealed to the Government the immense difficulty and complexity of the problem, and the wisdom of making haste slowly in its attempts to solve it. "In adopting the method of trial and error the Government has taken the course obviously demanded of an adventure into an unknown field. The regulations in operation may produce effects which were not 'anticipated. The way has been left open for readjustments as circumstances and results demand. Much will depend not only upon the spirit in which they are administered by the authorities, but also upon the measure of co-operation extended by those affected.

litems of news—short description*, of tours, the stats of the rowJ*, •to., comment, or inquiries will be welcomed by " Accelerates."}

It must be remembered that the new regulations touch but the fringe of a great modern problem upon which every civilised country in the world is at present occupied. Progress can only be built on the lessons of experience. "The problem ahead," says Mr Coates, " is to secure the economical utilisation of all the existing facilities." Thus far we have touched only the question of road and rail transport. There remains to be solved the problem of co-ordinating the movement of goods—and people—by road, rail, and sea. The implications are extensive and far-reaching. ■ "The operation of the new goods regulations should provide the pointers to the next stage. In a case like this, for which there is no established precedent to guide us, those concerned in the experiment will have to exercise moderation and common sense. The object in view is to restore the transport industry to a condition of economic stability, and by practical and business-like methods reduce the tremendous burden of overhead of expense which waste and inefficiency lay upon the whole community." GUM IN PETROL. The motorist will be well advised to satisfy himself that his motor fuel does not contain more than the faintest trace of a varnish-like substance, which can create havoc in various parts of his engine. It is known as gum. Petroleum technologists tell us that " gum " is a resinous non-volatile product formed by the oxidation and polymerisation of certain hydrocarbons. In everyday language it is a sticky, varnish-like substance, when first deposited, which gradually hardens up under heat. The continued use of a petrol containing gum, or gum-forming compounds, will result in the gradual depositing of this substance on the vital internal parts of the engine. The carburettor float will become strained, and as the thickness of gum deposit increases so will the float become heavier, requiring a higher level in the float chambers and thus enriching the mixture above the economical point.

Gum will form on the valve stems eventually causing them to stick fast in their guides, with the resultant expense and nuisance of dismantling the engine. The piston rings will stick in their grooves, allowing the inlet gases to blow by into the crankcase, there to dilute the lubricating oil, and render it inefficient to protect the metal surfaces of the working parts. Compression pressure will thereby be lowered, and the piston-ring seal broken, with loss of power as the result. Gum will form on top of the piston and cylinder head, and by reason of its sticky nature will collect particles of carbon from the exhaust gases. The net result will be increased petrol consumption, increased oil consumption, loss of power, and the necessity of a complete engine overhaul with its attendant expense and delay. The great bulk of petrol marketed throughout New Zealand to-day is produced by two main processes—' straightrun "or " cracking." " Straight-run " simply means that the light constituents used as motor fuel are distilled off _ at normal atmospheric pressure, and at fairly low temperatures from the heavy crude oils.

In the " cracking" processes some of the heavier constituents left in the oil after the petrol and kerosene have been distilled off by "straight-run" methods are subjected to high pressures and temperatures which have the effect of changing the nature of these heavy constituents.

Take, for example, a heavy kerosene — it can be subjected to high pressure and temperature whereby its whole nature is changed and a yield of motor spirit obtained.

The kerosene would then have been " cracked," and its original chemical structure broken up, thereby assuming the nature and chemical structure of petrol. In a straight-run petrol, gum is usually present only in very small quantities, and, moreover, does not increase in quantity during storage. On the other hand, the high temperature and pressures used in "cracking" tend to form gum and gum-forming compounds. A cracked petrol may contain only a small quantity of gum immediately after it has been produced, yet after it has been stored for a few weeks the percentage of gum will have increased greatly. In the words of the refiner, the " pre-formed" gum was small, but the petrol contained " potential " gum as evidenced by the tests made after a storage period. There is not the slightest objection to the use of " cracked" petrols, provided they have been properly refined free from objectionable odours, and stabilised so that they will not deteriorate in storage. At the same time, stabilisation costs money, and may be skimped to cut the costs at the refinery end. The insidious thing about gum is that ito presence is not always apparent by the' colour or odour of a petrol. The " pre-formed" gum may. be reasonably small in quantity, the colour of the petrol water-white, and yet after it has been stored in bulk tanks for a period it darkens in colour and becomes turbid if sufficient gum is present. One of the simplest methods by which the presence of potential gum can be detected is by exposing a carefully-cleaned and clear glass bottle, filled with petrol, to direct sunlight for a period of eight hours. If the petrol has been stabilised free from gum it will retain its original colour at the end of the exposure, but if it contains gum-forming compounds it will become darker and slightly turbid, and throw down a deposit of a brownish substance.

The presence of gum will definitely stamp a petrol as inferior where any efficiency and economy are required. THE MOTOR CYCLE FIXTURES OTAGO MOTOR CLUB CYCLE SECTION. April 5. —Social evening at O.M.C. rooms. April 8. —Club run. April 18. —Monthly meeting at O.M.C. rooms at 8 p.m. April 29. —Paper chase. May 7. —Club run. May 16. —Monthly meeting. May 20. —Acceleration test. May 31. —Evening pillion run. June 3.—King's Birthday trial. June 20. —Monthly meeting. CHRISTCHURCH CORSAIR MOTOR - CLUB. April 14. —Excursion to Dunedin. OTAGO CLUB ACTIVITIES. Members are reminded of the social evening' to be held in the Otago Motor Club's Rooms on Wednesday next at 8 p,.m. The Social Committee is in charge, and an enjoyable evening is assured. This will not take the form of a dance, but is an evening for the boys alone. Members of the club are also rcmind-'d of the run on April 8, which w'il commence from the club rooms, Moray place, at 2 p.m. SPARKS Sheffield's first traffic signals of a type which regulates the traffic by contact of the vehicle wheels have just been set in operation. * * * Roller bearings have a load capacity some 70 per cent, greater than ball bearings of the same external dimensions. * * * In this year's Indianapolis race, fueltank capacity will be limited to 15 gallons, so as to increase the number of pit stops. * * * Series of tests in America have shown that traffic-actuated light signals save some 45 per cent, of halting time as compared with pre-timed signals. * * * "Horns play very little part in giving warning, for one side always says they sounded their horn and the other that they never heard it,'' says an English judge.

According to the figures published by th« National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, in the United States and Canada last year there were produced 1,000,000 fewer cars than in 1931, and 4,200,000 fewer cars than in 1929, the boom year.

In the Australian Grandprix, a 200 miles road race held at' Cowes, Phillip Island, W. B. Thompson (Riley) was first and fastest time; H. Drake Richmond (Bugatti) was second, and L. Jennings (M.G.) third. All used Castrol. This is, the fifth year in succession it has been won on Castrol.

Tremendous engines, in size and power, are now almost a commonplace. Headliners at the recent Paris Aero show, were a 24-cylinder 2800 h.p. Fiat, weighing 20241 b; an 18-cylinder 1480 h.p. Farman, weighing 10601 b; an 18-cylinder 1000 h.p. Hispaho-Suiza, and a 12-cylinder 2000 h.p. Renault.

A glance at the windscreens of numerous motor cars parked in restricted areas during the past week showed that - the city traffic officers have been enforcing the by-lawg regarding time limits, and more than one driver has found it necessary to explain away a " sticker."

Summonses issued under the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1851, were served on two motorists for leaving their cars on the public street for two hours at Manorhamilton, Ireland. Mr Flattery, D.J., held that the Act did not apply to vehicles, and added that the provisions of an Act passed nearly 100 years ago were ill-adapted to present-day conditions,

In Maryland, United States, the annual; campaign known as " Save-a-Life" has revealed, as a result of an examination of 100,000 motor cars, that fully 50 per cent, were being used with faulty headlights and over 30 per cent, with defective brakes. The commissioner has refused to license for the new year cars not subjected to the inspection. * # . #: ■.

During 1932 the British motor industry almost entirely captured the Ceylon market, the total number of British cars registered being 628, as against 143 for all other nationalities. Of the British cars, Austins proved in greatest demand, more than twice as popular as the next British make, and' more than six times as popular as the leading American car. In fact, sales of this make alone more than doubled the aggregate of all foreign cars.

There are many metals lighter than aluminium. The lightest of all, lithium, will float on water like a cork.