THE TRIUMPHAL CAR.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXI, Issue 2723, 25 November 1910, Page 3

THE TRIUMPHAL CAR.

VICTORIA'S MOTOR BIU,.

Ten years ago Melbourne was all agape at the sight ot a noisy, coughing, clattering thing, which rushed along the street by its own motive power. Those who knew said that it was a motor car. Those who did not know described it as " one of the new horseless carriages."

Large as it seemed then, that car is now a pigmy beside even the ordinary modern four-seated car. Although it was only 8 horse power,, its noise was that of a bombardment. People a block away heard the explosions, and said " Here comes the new motor car." The car of to-day glides past at three times the speed, and with little more than a continuous hum. ;t All that is a story barely 10 years old. The motor car is no longer an object of wonder. A glance at the crowded motor paddock at Flemington, or the cars packed outside a theatre, shows what a change has come during those 10 years. Up till July 10th, 1590 motor cars had been registered with the Police Department, according to the requirements of the Motor Car Act. In addition, 1145 motor cycles had been registered, while 3204 persons, had obtained drivers' certificates.

Among the licensed drivers are 100 ladies, who have successfully passed the police test of competency.

The leap into public favour of the motor car has resulted in the growth of a great industry. The 1590 cars then in Victoria may be estimated as worth each. There are at least 40 cars in Melbourne—cars de luxe—every one of which cost Hundreds of cars cost irom ;£6oo to while the cheapest modern car would cost at least ,£250. The capital invested in motor cars m Victoria therefore amounts to ,£636,000. To this should be~ added the value of the motor cycles. There

are 1145, and their average cost can be taken as £50, or a total of ,£34,350. The total value of motor-driven vehicles in the btate would then be ,£670,350. The life oi a motor car is limited, of course, but it is difficult to say what the limit is. The two cars first imported— the De Dion and Darracq —are still on the roads. They are old and " rheumaticky," of course ; but then they were never of the same class as the modern car. A glance at the advertisement in our columns ot The Gaudin Motor Exchange (one of the pioneers of the motoring industry in Australia) discloses the fact that they have practically solved the chiet difficulty in the way ot purchasers generally, by placing on this market cars within the reach ot everybody. In addition to being sole distributing agents for the popular Darracq French car, the well-known Belsize English make, and the luxuriant Nagant (Belgian) car, they carry a large stock ot second-hand cars—cars which have been subjected to a thorough overhaul and testing before being resold. Accompanying every second-hand car sold is the independent certificate ot a certificated engineering expert, so that buyers may rest fully satisfied of their receiving a good machine at the value quoted. We hope to see, very shortly, the motor car just as proportionately popular in Ohinemuri district as it is in the chiet centres throughout Australia and New Zealand.