MOTOR NOTES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17185, 15 February 1930, Page 9

MOTOR NOTES

SYDNEY MOTOR SHOW

SYDNEY, Jau. 18.

Tlio seventh annual motor transport slnnv whieJi openeil in Sydney k IS (, Friday surpasses in general excellence of exhibits anything that has gone before. Over £l,ooo,mill in value is the mark estimated of the produets on view, covering 40 different makes of |ears, 25 different kinds of commercial vehicles and 25 types of motor eyelets. In addition, 31 of the 80 stands are devoted to parts, equipment, accessories, electrical fittings, oils and petrols, bodies and incidentals. It is interesting to note also, the extent to which local industries have been developed, \folUnving the motor transport's advent. Out ofi the seventyone components of the average motorcar, thirty-five are of Australian origin illustrating the steady and increasing adoption of Australian-made lines. In the Australian section the display is not an individual one, in that the various exhibitors do not shoe, their goods in competition with one another. Manufacturers have submerged their identities in the general interest of giving maximum publicity to the Australian-made feature. It is indeed a magnificent show of which its promoters may well be proud.

ROADSIDE ADV ERTTSTNG

Australia has always had a certain proportion of roadside advertising for many years consisting of advertisements painted on poat-and-rail fences. Within the last ten years many large hoardings have appeared, and, owing to the lack of discretion shown in tke placing of some of them, they have proved decidedly unpopular with road users. .Some advertisers, in fact, have not hesitated to place glaring notices across beauty spots in such a way that the eye cannot avoid them, while in other cases signs are placed on corners so as lo distract the at tent ion of drivers at a time when concentration is needed. In moderation outdoor advertising is not objectionable, but when carried out in this aggressive fashion it engenders resentment, and thus does more harm than good to the cause of the advertiser. In America the nuisance became so bad that in many places the erection of hoardings, if not bannd altogether, is controlled by stringent rules, rigidly enforced. A few weeks ago there appeared in a New York daily a paragraph from an official source asking the public to assist in keeping the roads of Westchester County free from notices placed at less than tinlegal distance tjrom the roadway. Motorists were asked to remove and destroy all notices offending against the regulation.

California, being a national touring State, as Westchester is the favorite near-by tonring ground for New Yorkers, was for a time threatened with the extinction of most of its natural attractions beneath a, flood of -hoardings and the Joss of valuable tourist traffic. Legislation lias stemmed the title, but much damage has been done, and the regulations are not framed in such a way as to allow of many existing signs being removed. Public opinion, therefore, is being organised by motoring and touring interests, an example of the methods used being a competition organised a couple of months ago by the Standard Oil Co. of California.

Prizes of as much as £4O were offered for photographs best portraying the defacement of scenery by signs, and three other contests for essayists and slogan writers were simultaneously announced, with prizes ranging from £2OO to £5, for the best- work on the ‘ ‘ Scenic or Sign-ic?” subject. Probably the worst; sufferer at; the hands of inconsiderate advertisers has been Honolulu, whose wealth is drawn largely from tourists who rapidly were becoming disgusted with landscapes composed almost entirely of signs. Several schemes of regu lation were tried and found inadequate, and finally the women 01. the island organised and took the law into their own hands. Their method was simple and effective; they merely refused to buy any product advertised in a manner considered objectionable. Since most of the lines advertised were foodstuffs and domestic utilities, all signs were soon removed, and there has been no recurrence of the trouble. /

OPEN CAPS,

Strnpgc as it may appear to the majority of motorists, a decided tendency is now apparent on the Continent in favor of the open touring car—according to a writer in “The Motor," England. This is evidenced, he states, by the increasing number of beautiful and luxurious streamline bodies that have recently been seen at the fashionable Continental summer holiday resorts, principally at Deauville and Biarritz, and on the Riviera. It is said that this is not accounted for bv the abnormally hot summer—which, nevertheless, should add to the popularity of this type of coachwork —hut from sheer practical experience. The seats are deep and comfortable, well upholstered in the best cloth material, while the doors are wide and high. The rear seats are provided with a safety-glass wind shield of the folding type with plated, fittings, thus making the open car ideal for the rear passengers. The hood and all movable parts of these luxurious open cars, so lately conspicuous, have been considerably modified, all the glass windows winding up or down as required on the system, now used in closed cars of the most up-to-date and refined quality. One can imagine a car on these lines for those who wish to enjoy tho scenery or in mountainous parts of the country, and especially motorists who prefer plcut} of fresh air and a speedy car.

SPEED AND SAFETY

1 By .Mr. W. Mi-Hardy Forman, managing director General Motors New Zealand Limited.)

Speed an,| safety are considered as autonyms, insofar as motor vehicles are i-oncerned. In fact vehicular transportation, from the horse and carriage days to the present time, has been hedged about- with laws limiting speed. There are however, in this age of heavy traffic, times when a. certain type of speed not only is required but is a real safety factor. That speed is rapid acceleration, or the ability to get a car under way quickly. When a moving obstruction appears in the path of a motorist there are three ways of avoiding a collision. One is to steer out of the way. The second is lo come to a-quick stop. And the third is to speed up and getout- of the way. Which of these three safely methods is to be selected must be chosen by the driver practically instantaneously, for emergencies on the road do not perniil lengthy thought before acting. And the selection made by the driver will depend upon two distinctly different conditions. One has to do with that particular emergency and whether it would be best to veer, brake, or speed out of the way. The oilier condition has to do with the driver’s knowledge of the performance ability of his car and whether it can be turned quickly enough to escape, or if the brakes will stop it in time, or if if has the -needed acceleration lo got it out of the danger.

If tin- car is deficient in any of these three performance factors the driver’s choice of action must be limited, regardless of what would be the best wav to avoid an accident.

Regarding brakes, there is no room for difference of opinion. Every motor vehicle, should be equipped with adequate brakes and these should be kept in efficient condition.

BOOTLEG LIQUOR. With a sense of humor rare m engineers, the staff of tin- Quartermaster's Depot, on instructions from the commanding officer, Colonel Edgar ■S. Stayer, tilled the tanks of the engines fitted will: the generator with confiscated bootleg liquor. The engines ran perfectly. It appears that the porfoelion of combustion secured in the generator is such as 1o lead to a definite reduction of the deadly carbon monoxide content of exhaust gases, thus promising to rid the streets of the poisonous emanations which constitute so grave a menace to public, health in the capitals of the world.

OIL TROUBLES. One of the principal troubles which may be experienced with an engine that lias undergone lengthy service is what, is known as "oil pumping.” The indication of this trouble is continual fouling of the sparking [Jugs, a greatamount of blue smoke coming from the exhaust; and rapid formation of carbon of a wet and sticky nature. Although some of the causes of this trouble are relative to piston condition, care should be taken to chock over Ihe lubrication adjustment to ensure that an excessive amount is not being given to the engine. If the adjustment is all right, then perhaps the piston is cocked in the cylinder—caused by a twist or bend in the connecting rod. la such a case the edge of the piston pushes I lie oil up into tin- combustion chamber. If a piston which is cocked is allowed to function indefinitely, undue pressure will be exerted upon the cylinder and piston walls, with quick and uneven wear, which can only be cured by regrinding or reboring. it will also cause piston slap ami loss of compression and power. Rings which do not fit the ring grooves or cylinder walls correctly are conducive to the trouble of oil pumping, as are also worn pistons. There are two methods of overcoming excessive lubrication by working on the pistons, i.e., by drilling holes round the piston skirt, and by culling a groove. The drilling of holes in Hie piston provides an outlet for excessive oil. By the second method, a deep groove may be turned in the bottom of the piston skirt, something similar to a piston ring groove, but with the lower edge bevelled off. When this is done a series of about eight small holes are drilled in nl the angle as a scraper and removes the excess oil from the cylinder walls into the groove, whence it passes through the holes to the interior of the piston and so drops back into the crank case.

LONDON VIEWS LATEST OP MOTOR OMNI BUSES.

LONDON.—The last word in motor omnibus •construction is being uttered by the builders of London’s buses. They are displaying, at Charing Cross Underground Station, where the reproduction of Shi Hi beer’s horsedrawn “Omnibus" of 182!) recently stood, the chassis of the newest typo of motorhus to bo known as tho “L. T. i." class.

Everything of the very latest design has been embodied in the six-cylinder 95-horse-power engine. One noticeable feature is the “off-centre" transmission. So as to keep the door and rear platform only one step up from the road level, the engine together with the transmission shaft has boon, slewed to one side, so that the bulky differential casing is tucked away iim der a seat instead of sticking up through the floor or necessitating a floor level two steps above the road level.

Great, attention has boon paid to the stopping power, amt the application of the four-wheel brakes is no longer dependent on the strength of the driver’s foot; the engine maintains a vacuum which holds the brakeshoes clear of the brake-drums, and all tlm driver lias to do is to bronic the vacuum by means of his loot-lever when ilii' brakes go on automatically with all the weight of the !■> pounds per square inch of, pressure supplied , for nothing by the ‘atmosphere. J Tho advent,' of this new fleet of motor omnibuses coincides with tho hundredth anniversary of Mr. Shilliheor’.s first “Omnibus," it vehicle drawn by three bay horses harnessed nbreast and working from Paddington to the bank, with a single uniform fare of Is.