Cycling & Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 3782, 7 September 1926, Page 74

Cycling & Motor Notes

BX

"DEMON."

The compulsory grading of petrol is causing as much concern in Australia as in the Dominion. Motorists are demanding some protection from unscrupulous mixing of the brands. The Victorian Automobile ChambtK of Commerce has been active in keeping a check on dealers, and has been aiming for legislation to compel vendors to specify the grade in each pump. This has resulted in a number of proprietary names being removed from the pumps, and the substitution of labels bearing the assurance: “First grade petrol. Guaranteed by the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce.” The oil companies are not pleased with the removal of their trade marks. At the end of June, 1926, the motor cars in the various Australian States were:—Victoria, 83,622; New South Wales, 92,639; South Australia. 39.194; Queensland, 44,517: Western Australia, not yet available; Tasmania, 7058. MOST “FUEL DOPES” WORTHLESS. As the result of a large number of tests made at the instance of motorists and automobile manufacturers of the called “fuel dopes” for petrol, it has been announced bjr the United States Bureau of Standards that in the majority of cases the “dopes” are worthless. Scientists at the bureau, after subjecting these concoctions to tests, declare that they have been unable so far to determine where any appreciable improvement in power or fuel consumption is derived. Tbe bureau characterises as “unfounded and worthless” the allegations by manufacturer# of Many of these “fuel rlopea” that their products make for fuel economy. Actual tests have disclosed, the bureau* asserts, that the gain these manufacturers attribute to their product merely results

from adjusting the carburetter to their leaner mixtures of petrol in compliance with the instructions given by the manufacturers. It is made clear, however, that mixed commercial petrol sold by the reputable dealers does not contain these worthless elements, but actually does contain ingredients beneficial to operation. BRITISH MOTOR INDUSTRY. The suggestion that the largest and best of the British motor ear manufacturers should agree to same form of amalgamation in order to reduce the number of types of ear and increase the total output for export was, reports the Manchester correspondent of the Morning Post (England), made by Sir Kenneth Crossley, spealcing at the annual meeting of Crossley Motors Limited, in Manchester. Sir Kenneth Crossley said the company had decided on a bold policy of reconstruction, which was absolutely necessary to meet competition. It had not, of course, the wonderful home market that there was in the United States, but it had the great and growing Dominions, which were only too willing tw'lake British products at reasonable prices. The trouble at present was that there were so many British companies, which manufactured only a few thousand cars a year. Instejid or tmt-throat competition and the survival of the fittest in a more or less bruised condition, there would finally be established a really splendid industry. The plan of reconstruction, involving the writing down of capital by £551,000, was agreed to. BAD OLD DAYS. Only one who has watched the motor car or been connected in some way with the industry since its youth can appreciate the marvellous advance in improvements and refinements over a few short years ago. There are few motor car owners today who realise what changes have been made just in recent years to make the car the most convenient vehicle of transportation. The battery, for instance, is one part of the car’s equipment which now gives little trouble over a considerable period if given proper care. The discovery ,«f threaded rubber insulation has eliminated a lot of former battery troubles. This sort of insulatiou has greatly reduced the bill for repairing and recharging batteries, and has given the battery unusnal durability, greater force to spin the engine, and a higher

resistance to summer heat and winter cold. Other troubles which have been eliminated in the car of to-day may be remembered by some—Pumping tyres by hand; cranking the car from the side; using a handle instead of a. steering wheel; filling the sidelights with paraffin; paying extra for headlights, windshield, and battery; putting up the ear for the winter; hiring a team of oxen to haul the car home after a breakdown; entering the car from the rear: having all the neighbours come to the windows when you started out for a ride: stoppjng several times on the road and shutting off the engine to allow liorses to pass without running away. The motorist and everyone else is glad those days- are no more. BRITISH MOTOR CYCLES. Progressive research and consistently sound construction have earned for British motor cycles a reputation which is of the highest order. It is due to sheer merit and hard work, without any element of chanee, that the Home industry has gained and held a defiuite and substantial lead throughout the world markets. A point which is too often overlooked—not only with motor cycle but also with car and c omniereial vehicle manufacture — the larger a maker’s output the better the value he can offer; aud it is dear that factory turnover must depend upon the support of the public. The types of British motor cycles produced are numerous enough to suit all tastes and pockets, and their economical operation, reliability, and durability are beyond question. Motor cycle design has been through the mill' so thoroughly that a certain amount of standardisation has been achieved, which accounts for the absence of radical changes since new designs were brought out a few years ago. Better value for money rather than startling cuts in prices has l»cen the chief consideration. Makers have been and not unreasonably so—to improve production methods, to equip machines more adequately, to rednee noise in running, and to give more strength where it is wanted without increasing total weight. HORSE V. MOTOR. Reasonable and careful students of transport problems have never doubted that the horse has its sphere in shortradius transport, where collection and de-

livery involve numerous and lengthy weights. Occasional attempts to replace liorses by motor vehicles have admittedly resulted in an iucrease of expenditure not altogether justified by the advantages obtained, ami reversion to the horse lias followed; but even lu these cases it could often bo shown, if an expert examination of all the circumstances were made, that more than one factor could be blamed for the failure, so called, of the motor vehicle. The selection of an unsuitable type of vehicle, perhaps an ill-advised choice of model, inexpert employment of the vehicle, unskilful methods of maintenance, the use of cheap oils and other materials —they will alt, individually and collectively, serve adversely to affect the cost sheet by materially reducing the motor’s efficiency. Where none of the defective methods here mentioned has been allowed to enter,

the motor vehicle will often hold its own, despite the evidence of a slightly higher cost of transport brought about by the inability of a business to get the best out of a fleet of motors. In England the railway companies and the parcelsdelivery concerns are steadily increasing their fleets of motor vehicles, although by the very nature of their operations their work of collecting and delivering is conducted at a short radius from the depot, and their horses are diminishing. The use of the horse imposes a burden on the community by its effect in reducing traffic speed, by the soiling of the streets, necessitating the employment of sweepers, and by the iincleanliness of stables affecting the general health and reducing the. value of the neighbouring property. Again, the horsed vehicle does not, by direct taxation, contribute its fair share to the cost of road maintenance, so that, on the whole, the community is asked to pay dearly in loss and delay and in virtual subsidy to owners of horsed vehicles. It is satisfactory, therefore, to know that, instead of a return to the horse having to he recorded, the fact is that the horse population is definitely falling off. MOTOR IMPORTS. Motor vehicle and accessory imports for the first six months of this year reached the record value of £2,887,498. They were made up of cars, £1,498,319; car chassis, £358,701; trucks and buses, £298,578; tyres, £538,432; materials and parts, £193,468. An interesting feature was the heavy imports of chassis from Canada. This indicates extension of the New Zealand body-building industry. Of the 5612 motor cars imported from Canada for the six months, .‘IO7O were without bodies. This is actually more chassis than were imported from Canada for the whole of 1925. Following are details of imports of cars and car chassis for the first six months of this year:— £ Canada . . . . 5,612 643,900 United States . . 4,729 838,028 United Kingdom. . 1.348 331.684 Italy .. .. 167 27,907 France . . . . 78 12,216 Belgium .... 6 3,195 Totals . . . . 11,940 £1,857,020 Automobile sales for July reached a very low ebb, the total for New Zealand being JLII2, as compared with 1169 in June and 1404 in July, 1925. The total is the lowest for nearly 18 months. The relapse is not considered to be abnormal, and after another mofith of slow business dealers anticipate a quickening of demand. Of the total of 1112 cars 131, or 11.8 per cent., were British makes. This is the highest proportion of British car* this year. Continental cars numbered 55, or 4.9 per cent. The North Island sales were 674 cars, the South Island absorbing the balance of 434. 'lhe provincial sales for July were:—

MAIN HIGHWAYS ACT. The Main Highways Act Amendment Bill, which was introduced in Parliament lust week, is to give authority to the Main Highways Board to contribute three-filths of the cost of maintenance of highways, instead of one-half, as provided in the original Act. At the conference of local bodies convened by the Canterbury Progress League at the beginning of July, a motion was passed urging that the subsidy for construction work should be increased from £1 for £1 to £2 for £l. The Government has not agreed to graut this concession,

but in deciding to give the board power to increase the subsidy on maintenance it has very largely met South Island conditions.

Probably the reason for leaving the subsidy on construction at £1 for £1 is that the amount of construction work taking place in the North Island is so great that it was likely that the demands on the road fund would prove to be too heavy. This difficulty, however, is not likely to be so pronounced in the South Island, where the need for new construction is not so great. Another new provision in the Bill gives the board authority out of its revenue fund to advance moneys to local authorities to provide a proportion of the cost of the construction of main highways, provided that the total amount advanced to all local authorities and outstanding, shall not exceed £50,000 at any one time This is a step in the right direction, although disappointment will no doubt be felt that the amount is limited to £50,000. However, the main consideration is that progress is being made all the time, and an extension of the powers of the board may be looked for in the future. GOVERNMENT-OWNED MOTOR VEHICLES. “At the present time,” states the annual report of the Stores Control Board, which has been presented to Parliament, “the various departments own over 1000 motor vehicles, of which half approximately are owned by the Post and Telegraph Department. Although most departments have kept a record of running and maintenance expenses, there has been no uniformity of method, with the result that the same make of car running under approximately the same conditions has shown widely varying costs, according to the method of costing adopted by the particular department owning the vehicle. The matter has received consideration on several occasions, and last year it was decided to appoint a special committee consisting of three expert officers, one each from the Post and Telegraph, Railways, and Public Works Departments. The committee investigated the problem very thoroughly, and came to the conclusion that it was practicable to adopt a uniform system, and to enable this result to be achieved drafted sets of suitable forms. The forms provide for a complete history of each vehicle from the time it was purchased until it is finally disposed of, including the original cost, interest on capital, and depreciation.

Better provision will also be made for recording tools and spare parts. Competent mechanical field inspectors will be appointed, whose duty will be to see that the caTB are kept in thoroughly efficient condition and not allowed to be running when they are in need of overhaul or adjustment. Controlling costing officers will be appointed for each of the larger departments, and one will be attached to the Treasury to supervise the costing systems of the smaller departments. At the present time the covering instructions have been drafted, and so soon as they are printed, the new system will be brought into operation.” RECORDS BY BRITISH CARS. The following extract from the monthly “Bulletin of Information” has been forwarded by his Majesty’s Senior Trade Commissioner:—Several world's records have recently been obtained by British cars and motor cycles. On March 16 Major H. O. Seagrave, driving a 4-litre Sunbeam car, on the sands at Southport, in attaining a speed of 152.336 m.p.h. over a kilometre course, created a new world record. The most remarkable feature of this performance was that such a high speed could be obtained from so small an engine. This record was, however, again broken on April 27 by Mr J. G. P. Thomas. driving “Babs,” the converted 12-cylinder 27,050 c.e. “Higham Special,” when he covered the kilometre distance at an average speed of 160.298 m.p.h. Mr Thomas also succeeded in breaking the flying mile record at a speed of 168.074 m.p.h. The one-way run for the mile, which, of course, does not count as a record, was achieved at the record speed of 172.331 m.p.h. Very ittle of the original "Liberty” engine in this car remains, Mr Thomas having practically redesigned it. A new record was recently set up for the 24-hours by Miss Cordery, driving an "Invicta” ear. The Invicta car, made by Invicta Cars, Cobham, Surrey, and which is fitted with an overhead-valve engine, is rapidly establishing for itself a reputation for high speed. On March 31, four drivers, under the leadership of Mr W. O. Bentley, using a 3-litre Bentley car, succeeded in establishing a number of new class records, and in breaking the world’s 2000 kilometre record on the track at Montlhery. The distance was covered in 12hr 23min 57 2-ssee. During the second members’ metting of the 8.M.C.R.C., at Brooklands, on April 10, Mr J. S. Wright,

using a 9.98h.p. Zenith motor cycle, in the five laps, 1000 c.e. solo event, annexed no fewer than four world’s records. The 6peed of 108.51 m.p.h. was attained, which is the fastest speed at which a motor cycle event at Brooklands has ever been won. Another record of a different type, but which will be of more interest to users of British cars in the dominions, is the lowering of the record from Cape Town to Johannesburg by a 15/30 h.p. Crossley touring car. The distance of 968 miles, 600 of which were negotiated in mud, was accomplished in 35hr 30min. The previous record was held by a large six-cylinder American car.

Auckland Province .. .. 269 Wellington .. .. 268 Canterbury .. .. 217 Otago .. . . 99 Southland . . . 77 Taranaki .. .. 69 Ilawke'a Bay .. .. .. .. (W Marlborough .. .. 18 Nelson .. .. . . 18 Westland .« .» 11