THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22487, 4 February 1935, Page 14

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By ACCELERATOR.

NORTH ISLAND/UNION. V; "This will only start a r dohnybrook,'" said Mr G. W. Hutchison, secretary of the Automobile Association (Auckland), at a meeting of the council of the association, when a letter was received from the Automobile Association (Wanganui). The letter contained a suggestion that the name of the Motor Union be changed ' to'-''Automobile ■ Association (North Island) Union, or a similar appropriate name featuring the '"words Automobile Association. ■ •• -. .. After Mr P. J. Farrell had expressed the opinion that no good service would be obtained by the change, the council passed a resolution against the suggestion. --■" V : ':.■ •.»..- A resolution also was carried rejecting a suggestion by .>the North Island Motor Union that the name of the North Island Motor Union Mutual Insurance Company be changed to the Automobile Association Insurance Company, or some similar designation.

•;■ HIGHWAYS SAFETY :\ While, of late years, much effort has been directed at improving both the motor vehicle and the driver* skill in the interest of road safety, there is still a freat deal to be done in improving the ighways, according to Mr Charles M. Upham,■ engineer-director of the American Road Builders' Association. Mr Upham pointed to 10 major improvement* • from the 4 highway safety standpoint which he holds ire necessary to reduce the accident toll. They are:—

;' 1. 'Flattening of curves and reduction of 2T Elimination of narrow bridges and 3, Elimination of level crossings, both at railway crossings and highway intersections. ■•.'..■ "\ i'a—- . 4. Widening of traffic lanes to a minimum of 10feefcV.; ■■:••)'':'':•' if. 67 Construction of suitable guard rati*. 6. Construction- of wide, stable shoulders, s-? : ,-'.-:;\'* : - f . •. : , 7. Construction of non-skid surfaces and elimination of high crowns. : 8. Banking of: curve*. ;. 9. Construction :of side walks where necessary. 10. Illumination and installation of signs and signals.

COLOURED. LIGHTS AND FOG, A common,belief among motorists is that the use. of a coloured driving light, usually of amber, it an aid to visibility when driving in fog. Three years ago the International Commiesion on Illumination passed a provisional resolution stating that there was no advantage to be gained by using coloured headlight beams in fog. Subsequently, that resolution was withdrawn, partly because the evidence in favour of the statement was indirect and of too vague a character. Last .winter the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington carried out a methodical series of tests during heavy fogs, and have recently, announced the .results of their -experiments. The official findings are:— "The distance at which an observer could just detect ■.test object through' the fog was determined, both with toe unscreened headlights and employing glass filters of/ various;. Vr*d, atJd ; .l>We>j^««hivi'vOf^nt«e,':#lteri!»ip<,i|ihe coloured glass plate,.overripe ne»aJirnt also diminishes the intensfty .of the 1 light; The results, of the experiment* point, to the conclusion thai;,the only effect,'on range of! visibility in fog due. to inserting the coloured ' glasses' arises from'v this diminution of intensity, which m aceojhpanied by a, seduction;; in, the .peWtritJpn 6f the beam thrdngh- the fog. The distance- at which the test object could be discerned was the same with coloured glasses as with clear, colourless glasses, j&ravided.i-v.'thil ■■.■ intensity:., pi , light,; after t<assih»v,t!irough the. • glasses, r? w.afl-the same in .each case." ■ • > iMotorists doubt continue ,to_use amber glfcw and,; screens, however, since they' form. * -,usefur means, of reducing the intensity! itfc:light which; is djsir-abje in actual*practice, on the roads. . ... I \ % ' performttg^splendid^wtork-; overall at has been described as the most treacherous road the track from Wau' to'Eaty Creefc^ifc'.(the distant, mountainous »country ' of New Guinea., The .road is" only five feet wide, and- extraordinarily rough and hilly. It rises 4000 ft in 13 miles, and in cut like a goat track around mountains. ' Oh one side rise sheer cliffs, while on the other there is a. drop of 2000 ft. The- Morris-Commercial mentioned is a six-cylinder forward control

rjtaoa of mw— short description*, of toars, the eUte el the weeTe, •to, imsnsssnt. *m inquiri- will be #a)erai*d by " Aeeelseasee."]

model, with- track and wbeelbase reduced in order to fit the terrain. The unit belongs to Mr P. Deckert, who; pioneered this piece of road. An engineer who recently accompanied Mr Deckert writes:--" Speaking from authority ana experience, I don't know bow the truck gets up and down consistently, yet alone standing up to the ordeal. It is truly a wonderful feat, and a good advertisement for; -the Morris-Commercial, which carries up her lDcwt every day."

CAR CARE. Shining new cars, without a single scratch anywhere to mar their truly fine appearance, are on the road in their hundreds at present (says "Focus" in the New Zealand Herald), and for the moment they make a brave procession. It is a little depressing, therefore, to realise that within a year many will have dull bodies, with only their modern lines to prove them 1035 models, and that this change will be due in nearly every.case solely to the neglect of the owner. Even a seasoned motorist, to whom the delivery of a new car has long ceased to. be. a great event, vows when he first takes over a shining model from the showroom that this time, at least, he will take due care to preserve the brilliant polish that adorns the body, and the spotless appearance of the upholstery. Before very long, however, enthusiasm wanes, and the car becomes just another unkemptlooking vehicle among the thousands of similar machines on the streets. "Little and often" is the golden rule with regard to maintaining the good appearance of a car. While it is manifestly impossible for the average man to dust his car daily, it should be well within his ability to perform this simple task say twice a week. Light rain works havoc with the appearance of a dusty car, forming mud-spots, which, if allowed to become dry, are quite difficult to remove. When washing the car ample water should.be used, and any rubbing to remove mud should be done with a sponge or a piece of very soft cloth, liberally soaked. Water may be removed with a clean sponge, and the surface finally dried off with a leather that has had, no contact with any greasy surface. If desired,

the car may then be given a coat of any ■reliable brand of polish, the final rubbmgup being done with soft cheese-cloth or similar material. If a good polish is used the resultant shine will last through several washings. ; A light rub with a lather is sufficient to revive chromium-plating; it is not generally advisable to use metal polish, although there are one or two special preparations which are claimed to have no ill-effects on a chromium finish. If the car has leather upholstery, wax polish will improve it, and in the case of cloth, a good brushing will remove dust. Petrol, sparingly used, is a reliable method of disposing of grease spots.

CHEVROLET NEW SEDAN. For the first time since Chevrolet added the Standard Six models to its line, a four-door five-passenger sedan is now included in its lower priced range. The major new feature in styling is the treatment of the rear end, where the body panels extend low in an unbroken contour to cover the back of the chassis. This construction does away with the rear cross-member cover, and provides a smooth, sweeping effect. The rear bumper supports extend through openings in the body panel, as does the petrol tank fitterneck. The spare tyre is carried in a fender well. . . Comfort,for rear seat passengers is improved by provision for extra leg room, the back of the front seat being deeply recessed, giving plenty of space for a built-in foot rest. Maximum elbow room, is obtained by means of deep recesses in the sides of the body above the large arm rests. A capacious pocket in the back of the front seat is an added convenience. Equipment includes an adjustable sunvisor at the driver's seat, button type latches for locking all doors, dome light and rear window curtain. . The front doors are equipped with no-draught ventipanes, fitted with exterior ram shields. The engine is, of course, a valve-in-head six following the accepted Chevrolet practice.

THOUGHTS AND SUGGESTIONS. The following simple but useful tips, intended primarily for the new car owner —they may seem somewhat elementary, but often experience causes ue all to forget the simple things—have been .prepared by Mr W. Barnard, service manager of General Motors (New Zealand), Ltd.:— . , .". . Perhaps the first suggestion should be to read the instruction book, to master it, and then I think you will appreciate how important and necessary it is to drop in to see your dealer from time to time, to let hie experienced men have a look at the car, It is to your advantage to keep in touch with him. Some little matter may require adjustment, and you will enjoy your motoring all the moi'e if these small adjustments are made. You see, a car must settle down before it is working properly, and you will readily understand that the very process of settling down brings about the occasional need for tuning. An illustration of this may be adjustment for slow running, which may be a small matter, but is one that can be irksome if not attended to; or, possibly, the adjustment of. valve tappets. These are typical of the trifles that may crop up while any piece of mechanism is accommodating itself to a life of work. Be sure to have the oil changed as frequently as the manufacturer suggests during the initial period. It really is important that you should do this. You may feel that it is wasteful to throw away what, appears to be perfectly good oil, but it is ;riot waste, because the oil is no longer good, and can be very harmful. Then you should make a practice of topping up your battery once a week, and continue to do this-regularly, even though there may seem to be little real need to add such a small quantity of distilled water. If it is not done regularly several weeks may elapse, and then the battery will have suffered. It is so human to forget, and time slipg away unnoticed. The difference between a battery and a

bank account is that you can't overdraw your battery account; it juat goes broke. Of course, you will watcß the water in the radiator. To omit to do that is to run serious risks of over-heating and possible seizure. The lower your water falls the quicker it disappears. If it uses water rapidly there is a leak somewhere. Possibly the water pump gland requires a tightening, and certainly the greaser should he given a turn.

GERMAN ROAD PROJECT. Germany has embarked on a great roadbuilding scheme, the sole responsibility for which ha a been entrusted by Herr Hitler to a great civil engineer, Dr Todt. The opinions of a man invested with such power, are of course, of prime importance, and an interview with him appeared in the Commercial Motor of September 28. The outstanding facts may be' summarised as follows:

1. Like the Italian Autostrades, the roads will be for use solely by motor traffic, i.e., private cars and commercial vehicles.

2. They utilise labour previously unemployed. Actually, the scheme is of dual purpose, the provision of roads to meet modern needs, and the provision of work of a sound economic nature to relieve the unemployment position. 3. They will be toll roads. 4. They will be high speed roads or great width, with no intersections. They will either be carried over cross-roads, railways, etc., or these obstructions will be bridged over them. 5. As far as possible they will be level and straight. 6. They will be free from buildings. This is a sine qua non for high-speed roads. English roading is threatened with failure because it has led to what is known as " ribbon development "—i.e., the extension of housing in long strips along the routes these roads provide between the great centres of population. The rural beauty of England is thus being destroyed, besides which these highways, instead of speeding up and relieving traffic, are actually congested. Dr Todt makes light of the 'enormous cost that will fall on the nation to build the roads. "It is all very well for you to say this work will require enormous capital," he is quoted as saying. "Just take a piece of paper and see for yourself whether this is really the case. Pre< vious to the building of these highways we spent many millions, in the course of seven years, on the repairing of roads. Even then, no one was satisfied, because what we did was patching, and on these roads motor traffic could never reveal its capabilities. Now we are spending an equivalent amount, and can safely add to that 1 what will come in as the result of the stir our road-building progress; is making everywhere, whilst it is bringing to our impoverished army of unemployed the work for which it was gasping. If other nations saw things in the same light they would give up their methods of patching old-fashioned roads, would relieve the railways of the cased goods which they carry, and put these on fast vehicles running on motor roads, thus economising and lightening transport; more important still, they would assist in solving the problem of unemployment. The point about the roads relieving the German railways is strongly stressed by Dr Todt. He sees railway and road traffic as a co-ordinated bulk and the roads dealing with what he terms " cased " goods. 7 ' The railways as a means for transport are old-fashioned," he says, and. remarking that what an engineer wants is concrete facts, goes on: — "Each railway wagon in this country carries 434 tons per year, which means that it is in use for only 35 days. A fiveton motor vehicle, however, can carry 1380 tons. Do you need stronger proof of the economy of using these five-touners, especially as the figure for the motor vehicle is far lower than the rail capacity, because at present it is impeded by having no proper roads on which to run; so that it is able to show only a part of its economio value? Imagine what the results will be when all these obstructions have been removed, when markers will be at liberty to adapt their products to tracks on which they will be unobstructed by slow-running .traffic and pedestrians, and can run at economio speed." He points out that a business concern unable to wait until it has enough goods to fill a railway truck will be grateful for Suitable roads. The railways, he says, will not object, because they can easily dispense with goods. "iThey give too much trouble. Bulk goods are all the railways want." Quoting figures in regard to the roading programme, Dr Todt said that by the end of this year there would be in all nearly a quarter of a million people employed in connection with the works. Dr Todt points out that this year the authorities responsible for the upkeep of roads in Germany will receive 115,000,000 marks out of motor taxation, because the State has undertaken upon itself to pay all expenses for road building during the time of transition. Seven thousand kilometres of road are to be built in seven years. , •, "You realise the width of these roads, don't you? " said Dr Todt. 'At each side there will be a track of 7.5 metres, in the centre a 5-metre track in which trees v will be planted to give shade and at the sides a 2-metre embankment. Bridges will carry the by-roads."

THE MOTOR CYCLE OTAGO MOTOR CLUB CYCLE SECTION. FIXTURES. February 10.—Run to Purakanui. February 16.—Beach races at Oreti, Southland. February 19.—Monthly meeting. February 20. —Evening pillion run' to Whare Flat. March 2.—Hill climb at Bethune' s Gully. March 9.—Hill climb a& Coal Pit Hill, Oamaru. March 16.—Run to Doctor's Point. March 19.—Monthly meeting. March 23.—Waikouaiti Beach races. March 30.—100-Mile Race at Waikouaiti. April 16.—Monthly meeting. April 27.—Night trial. Leave midnight, via Palmerston, Kyeburn, Middlemarch, Dunedin. May 11.—fAccleration test. May 19. —Run to Taiaroa Heads. May 21.—Monthly meeting. June 3.—King's Birthday trial. June 15.—Camberley scramble. June 18. —Anuual meeting.

SOCIAL RUN. On February 10 a social run to Purakanui will be held, leaving the clubrooms at 10 a.m. This type of run usually draws a large attendance, and it is hoped that thia one will be responsible for an even bigger turnout than usual. All who ride motor cycles are invited to come along and spend an enjoyable day's outing at this popular resort.

I NOISY RIDERS. Properly used (writes " Chassis," in the Christcburch Sun), the motor cycle, is a most useful unit in the transport system, in for certain work it has manifest advantages over the motor car. Every now and then through the thoughtlessness of young men of the hobbledehoy type the motor cycle is roundly condemned in many quarters and odium is piled on the heads of those who do not deserve it as well as on the heads of those who do. The cause of complaint is sometimes one of speed, but that complaint lies just as deservedly at the doors of motor car, van, and truck, drivers, and the riders of bicycles and the drivers of horse-drawn vehicles, the last-named at intersections chiefly. No matter what the vehicle, its speed may be at fault if the circumstances make the speed dangerous. But the standing charge against the motor cycle is its capacity to split the night particularly with the staccato, irritating noise of the unmuffled exhaust. So many complaints have been made recently about the racket of motor cycles that the staff of inspectors in Christchurch is concentrating in a drive at the present time against offenders, and no warnings will be given to those motor cyclists unreasonable enough to disobey the law and disregard the feelings of residents of the city and suburbs. The racket is bad enough by day, but it is accentuated in the quietness of the night hours, particularly late at night or in the early hours of the morning when rowdy riders shelter in the mistaken belief that the inspectors as well as everyone else are asleep. "A determined and sustained effort is being made to end this form of traffic misbehaviour bj teaching certain motor cyclists a sharp lesson in manners. Noisy motor cyclists, or noisy motor vehicles of any type, are no credit to tbeir owners. Traffic noises could be reduced by at least 50 per cent, if those who drive or ride used a little common sense on the roads.

SPARKS When a bee comes buzzing round, it is better to stop the car yourself than let some fence or ditch do it for you. * * * For the first time in history a motor car was used recently by the King for the opening of Parliament, one of the imposing State cars being employed. It has just been- announced that a new 40 h.p. Daimler with Hooper body is on order for his Majesty. * # * In an endeavour to reduce the great number of road accidents iu Germany, the Berlin police have introduced an accident investigation flying squad. When a crash occurs this squad hastens to the scene and reconstructs the situation, marking out the tracks with chalk and photographing the position of the cars.

Wiring on motor vehicles is often exposed to the attack of oil, high temperatures, and mechanical damage. It can be protected against these by winding on a layer of asbestos tape and then giving it a liberal brush application of sodium silicate. This will dry into a tough resilient coating, which is resistant to fire, grease, and mechanical damage. Sodium silicate is corrosive when wet; therefore, if any handling is necessary, gloves should be worn.

Taper ping in positions where the thin end is not accessible are difficult to remove. The following method simplifies the job to a great extent. Before the pins are inserted the larger end should be made parallel and a few threads cut on the parallel part. The diameter of the threads will, of course, depend on the size of the pin. A suitable nut screwed down on the pin, when it is fixed in position, will start it sufficiently to facilitate its quick removal.

* # * " There is too much of this hanging to the centre of the road. and blocking other cars from getting past," stated Mr J. L. Stout. S.M., in the Palmerston North Magistrates Court, when he fined one motorist £2 for failing to keep as far as practicable to the left side and ordered another motorist, who had been overtaking the first one, to pay 10s costs only tor failing to pass on the correct side.

When it is noticed that patches of oil form on the garage floor the motorist should take steps immediately to remove the oil and to ascertain the cause of its appearance. Oil and grease are arch enemies of rubber, and if allowed to come into prolonged contact with the tyre will tend to rot and undermine the tread. If it ia not at once apparent from which part of the vehicle the oil is leaking, a good plan is to spread sheets of newspaper on the floor before parking the car for the night, and next day to examine the result and note what part of the mechanism is immediately above the spot on to which lubricant has leaked. Often a little judicious tightening of bolts will effect a cure, but in all circumstances it is desirable to find out what ia the cause of the dripping and to bear .itttnind that the gradual lose of lubricant might become much more serious under running conditions on the road.