CYCLING & MOTOR NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 70

CYCLING & MOTOR NOTES

BY

“DEMON.”

Dublin authorities have decided to remove all kerbside petrol pumps from streets •within the borough area. In Worcester, England, the city surveyor has been empowered to take steps for the removal of pumps > from the kerbs. — MOTOR CAR SALES. A J. The demand for new cars this summer .> has not equalled the records of the 1925 season, and the total of 1534 sales in the Dominion for November is 200 less than aggregate sales in November, 1925. The October total was also below the figure .for October, 1925, and the motor trade '■ experienced a fairly quiet period through June, July, and'August. The increase-in price of the majority of cars necessitated by_ the’ tariff revision a few months ago may have retarded sales, and it is probable that, although sales have been numerically lower, the expendi~~>uveon automobiles has been almost as "''great as the record established in 1925. If (this is the case, the ill-timed tariff increases

have not restricted the expensive tastes of the public, but have merely prohibited car ownership to a few people. The money is being put into .cars to the extent which seefaied to shock the Government so greatly last year. The following table shows the 'monthly passenger car sales for the Dominion, together with the number and percentage of British cars included: —

CARE OF THE SELF STARTER. A great deal of trouble which arises in the matter of starting may be eliminated if the conditions are carefully appreciated. Often the starter motor is blamed when it is having imposed ..upon it a load and -a duty which are unreasonable and unfair. Unfortunately, many new motorists have not experienced the necessity for hand starting, and have relied always upon the starter motor. ..And the use of . this very valuable and convenient appliance has undoubtedly, . in many cases, had the effect of making users neglect their engines in a way they would not be guilty of if hand starting were still the order of the day. In such a case they would .make sure that the engine was in proper trim for the

easiest start, and would look to the plugs, timing and carburetter setting, so that the minimum of cranking would have to be indulged in when a start was to be made. In too many cases these conditions are not attained, and the heavy duty of starting an obstinate motor is imposed upon the electric starter, with a very serious drain and strain upon the accumulator and the electrical equipment generally. If motorists would make a habit now and again of getting' a Start by hand they would become acquainted with the, state of their engines from the point of view of easy starting, and would be constrained to see that everything was in ship-shape order for an easy hand start —always a desirable condition, it is generally under adverse, conditions that a compulsory hand start has to be made. This little attention would have the effect of ensuring that,the engine was equally ready for the electric start and would obviate "heavy and unfair loads being put upon the starter, and would obviate accumulators, which would thus be allowed to give their maximum of life and efficiency and economy of operation. The precaution would also lead undoubtedly to economy of operation all round for carburetters, and ignition systems would, of necessity, be kept in the most favourable condition for economical usage and the minimum of expense in running and upkeep. BEAUTY IN PRESENT-DAY CARS, The trend of taste in motor cars is towards models or enhanced beauty and superior finish, both iyside and' out, and the average motorist is determined to have these features in his new car. — To meet the growing demand the WillysKnight manufacturers have introduced a six “seventy” coupe. It is highly re-

fined in every feature both from engineerand appearance standpoints. The interior appointments of the coupe are rich in every respect. It is upholstered in mohair of the finest and most durable quality, tvhich blends pleasingly in the general grey colour scheme of the body. The lines of the coupe are smart and in good taste. "The rear deck, with its graceful sweep, has been designed to attain the greatest carrying capacity, and the jet black top and natural wood wheels lend a fine touch of richness. VALUE OF AIR CLEANER. When a vehicle is being used under exceptionally dusty conditions, the use of an air cleaner on the carburetter intake is well worth while, as has been shown by many tests made in California, when it was conclusively proved that such a cleaner will greatly reduce the rate of cylinder and bearing wear. Such cleaners, incidentally, have been employed for some time on many agricultural machines. RECKLESS BRAKING. < . The increase of, inconsiderate driving since the introduction of four-wheel brakes is just .what many feared would be the sequel to the discovery of the greater 'safety obtained, by braking all four wheels simultaneously (states a writer in'the London Field). Introduced and accepted mainly as a counter skidding device under dangerous road conditions, it has developed into an excuse for driving, at speeds in ’ excess of that which prudence -would dictate were only

rear-wheel brakes employed, and too often also m excess of the speed reasonably safe for the time and place. This excess is not always confined to sheer pace, but is demonstrated by other recklessnesses, such as cutting in and out when there is no other excuse for so doing than the greater command bestowed by four-wheel brakes.

The situation gradually is becoming so serious that we must expect drastic action in some form or other unless more restraint is practised, because tliete can be little doubt that many of the accidents that daily disfigure the face of motoring are directly due to these malpractices. One hears of the relatively frequent need to readjust brakes, and complaints are made that'they wear out too quickly and fall away in power too suddenly, both indications of over-use for the ordinary, purposes of motoring on our -roads.

The -new school of drivers follow the example of the racing brigade, not merely ' in racing their cars to the extent they, consider safe —and are sometimes mistaken —but in depending upon their brakes to avoid collisions and dangers which in nine -cases out of ten should ..not arise. There is far too much driving on the horn and on the brakes for the good of motoring or for the safety of the road, and that despite the complaint we ourselves have made that the horn often is inadequately and incorrectly used. The driver who overspeeds, relying on his brake power for safety, also relies on his hooter to an extent justified, no doubt A by his circumstances, but none the less excessive for any other. The general average of driving speeds has gone up since the, introduction of fourwheel brakes, not merely on cars so

equipped, but on all cars. It is urged' that four-wheel brakes cannot be blamed for that, but' we are not concerned so much with discovering the source of blame as to secure a better appreciation of the folly of the proceeding and the need for greater driving restraint. J NEEDLESS NOISES. Silent automobiles, chiefly from the horn, point of view, are not yet to be hoped for, but _ the noises issuing from them may be diminished. The American Automobile Association in an attack on “Needless Noises,” says:— "It is inevitable that the use of signal devices in automobiles will produce some noise, but when there is much that is raucous in motordom that can be eliminated

to the advantage of everyone. Although signals must be given on streets and highways, there is an intelligent standard obtaining in signalling that every motorist should try to attain. The giving of signals produces the greatest volume and variety of sound from America’s 20,000,000 automobiles, but other noises issuing from cars well might be eliminated.

There are those produced by defective or poorly adjusted muffler and exhaust equipment and the dozens of rattles and jangling sounds issuing from parts of the machine that could be eliminated by the mere tightening of a few screws and bolts. "Primarily, elimination of unnecessary automobile noises is a matter of putting genuine efficiency into one’s use of the horn.” the statement from national headquarters says.

“It is illegal not to sound the horn under some circumstances. Thousands of motorists, however, overdo, the thing. Informed that -they must give a warning when passing another vehicle rounding a curve or going over the crest of a hill, they regard the regulation as giving them carte blanche to descend upon the horn button with the vigour and stick-to-itiveness of the neophyte driver applying his brakes in a ticklish traffic situation. Some cities require the use of the horn at every street intersection. In these places an approximation of bedlam is “achieved during the rush hours of traffic.” Excessive use of . the horn , is the 'reason for. many traffic accidents,, A.A.A. officials, believe. Citing the case of the driver who uses his horn too. much when attempting to pass another vehicle, the statement declares:—?

“Many drivers when they want to pass another machine blow the horn so- excessively that, too often, the man in the machine ahead regards it as a challenge, and refuses to grant a fair share of the road. “Probably the form of horn misuse that has given motorists more of a bad name than any other is at cross-walks. “Although the. pedestrian has the right-of way pt the intersection, thousands of motorists will dash up to the corner and count on a horn signal frightening • the pedestrian out of his legal rights. It gives motordom a reputation of selfishness and discourtesy, and the elimination of this one form of noise would go an enormous way in healing the breach that exists between car owners and the non-motorist.” The motorist must start solving this problem for himself or it will be undertaken by legislative agencies, municipal or otherwise, the A.A.A. declares. It suggests as a first step that each car owner determine for himself whether his signal device has a quality of mellowness that makes it pleasant rather than an annoyance to all who hear it. ' - BUSES IN CHINA. Buses operated over newly-built motor roads will, within the next decade, bring about a unification of China which 10 .-years of fighting have failed to accomplish, predicts a writer in a recent issue of “Asiatic Motor.” In the three years since Red Cross engineers first built famine roads in that country the mileage of improved highways, privately built for the most part, has more than doubled. In the 4000 miles of motor roads now in use or under construction, and in the hundreds of buses already in operation, the writer sees at work forces that will wipe out tribal animosities-and make for friendly, progressive rivalry among cities and sections thus brought together. ÜBIQUITOUS MOTOR CYCLE AND SIDE> CHAIR. It is many years since we first heard the opinion expressed that the coming of the cheap car would wipe the motor cycle, and especially the sidecar combination, out of existence. The opinion has been reiterated time and again, but the number of motor cycles and sidecars go on increasing, and they look like continuing to do so. When it is realised that the motor cycle combination of about 4 h.p. often carries as many as four passengers with a remarkable degree of comfort and speed, this form of vehicle calls for the serious attention of the motorist of moderate means. Given a machine of good gratae, a coach-built, two-passenger sidecar, and a comfortable pillion seat on the back of the motqr cycle, there is no reason why an outfit of this kind should not prove entirely satisfactory for the family man, whether for long or short journeys. Whatever one may say about the unbalanced appearance of the sideear combination,_ or the apparent disadvantages for the riders, this class of vehicle remains unsurpassed for speedy* and economical travel. NOTED TY-RE COMPANY. Of considerable -interest to the Australian motoring public is the formation of the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company (Australia), Limited, to manufacture Goodyear tyres in Australia. TREATMENT OF TYRES. Light and heat are highly injurious to rubber, and when a car is left in a garage for any length of time care should be taken that none of the tyres are placed so that the sun can stream in upon them through a window, especially in the summer months.

On returning to the garage after the car has been out for'a long run on dry roads it is - good plan to rub the tyres over with a damp sponge; This has the effect of refreshing the rubber and helping to preserve it. Painting the tyres occasionally with tyre paint is also beneficial. When nails, small stones, or other similar foreign substances are found embedded in the tread of the tyre they should be picked out at once to prevent water entering the casing, and thus rotting it, also to prevent the cuts from extending. The holes or cuts made by such foreign substances should be cleaned out with a rag damped with petrol, or, better still, benzol, and then plugged with tyre tread dough. After the hole has been plugged with tyre dough the tyre should not be used for at least 24 hours to allow .the_ dough to thoroughly set. If the casing is also cut this should be packed with cotton material specially made for the purpose. As soon as you buy a new inner tube, before you use it, test it in water, so that you may be quite sure that when you do require to use it it is free from leaks. AMERICAN VERSION OF LONDON STREETS. Six hundred years ago som--' wandering cows beat down the virgin grass of meadows into a series of criss-cross paths which later became the streets of London. _ Men travelling in the line of least resistance followed the paths the cows made—- - and the paths became lanes. To-day those paths are the cause of tba greatest traffic congestion the world has ever seen. For they have grown into meandering streets in tho heart of the world’s largest city, and automobiles, motor trucks, buses, horse-drawn and man-drawn vehicles pour into them day and night by the hundreds of thousands from the four corners of London, and all England. Millions of dollars are being spent by the London City Council every year, in attempting to undo the congestion those cows started, and millions, more are’lost by the public in loss of, time while men and goods creep at a snail’s pace across these.congested areas. At tone place in the Strand where the cows once walked around a small projection —a stump, possibly, or a rock—and then the lane, and finally the street went around the obstruction, a building now, stands pro- . jectinginto the street, cutting its width at' the point to nearly half that of the balance of the street. , To-day, to straighten the street at this point the London Council ia. negotiating-with tho owners of this nar-

row, projecting strip for its purchase at a price well in excess of 3,C00,C00 dollars. The undesigning cows, who originally “laid out” Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar square, Oxford Circus, Regent street, Shaftesbury avenue, Fleet street, Ludgate Circus and numerous other present centres of congestion probablv little realised the trouble and expense tney were making for men who would appear on earth 600 years after their departure into cow heaven. The traffic problem is being studied from all angles by numerous committees, of which the London traffic, advisory committee is the most prominent. All sorts of remedies are being suggested, such as re-routing of bus lines, diversion of “through city traffic” to round-about roads whicS stay clear of the congested areas, the widening up of some streets and the creation of some entirely new streets. Up-to-date, however, except for the repaving of a number of streets and the widening of the Strand, no marked step for the improvement of conditions has been taken. Meanwhile, purchase by motor-car buyers are adding a thousand more cars to tho streets of London each week, and the committees, fighting mostly at odds with each other, and assailed by the newspapers, and the general public, confess they aye almost at their wits’ end in the matter of knowing what to do about the situation.

1926. Total British included. P.O. January .. 1782 143 ' 8.0 February .. 1753 166 9.5 March .. .. ' .. ICO 10.6 April 1912 203 10.6 May .. 1416 155 10.9 J une .. 1169 108 9.2 July .. 1112 131 11.8 August ., .. .. 1177 143 12.1 September .. .. .. 1431 156 10.9 October .. 1495 183 12.2 November .. .. .. 1531 151 10.2 Eleven Months 16,286 1699 —