FIRST MOTOR CAR IN TIMARU

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2955, 29 November 1900, Page 3

FIRST MOTOR CAR IN TIMARU

Mr N. Oates, of tlje well known bicycle firm, and his travelling companion, Mr J. Carl, arrived in a motor car from Christchurch at half-past 8 o’clock last night. They started out on a pleasure trip; but there was more incident than pleasure in the journey, owing to rough riverbeds and roads in the early stage of the long journey. Once Ashburton was left behind, however, joed roads were met with and travelling was hen most pleasant. Incidents of the trip .vhich meant delay were a) breakage in the ■ramework of the machine owing to the exessive vibration caused by rough roads and . stick up of some hours in the Hinds riverbed. The run from Geraldine to .Timaru yesterday was the best of the trip, and timaru was entered in great style.

The car was run, about the streets for some time this morning, and of course attracted a great deal of attention from people going about, and shopkeepers left their counters to have a look at the novelty, and the remarks made about it were mostly of a favourable character, hough naturally there were those who vere prepared to criticise its construction, its appearance as odd, its progression, as noisy. It did not strike us as very noisy, md certainly not as odd. If one saw a man on a modern bicycle now for the first time, that would indeed be an odd fight, but a buggy without a horse is only in part a novelty, and the peculiarities of the vehicle distracts attention from the absence of the horse. As for noise, many buggies rattle as much, while the motor is not to be compared to the ordinary express for advertising its whereabouts. What did strike us about it, was the immense improvement that would be made in the cleanliness of the town if all vehicles were horseless. It s driven by a tiny gas engine, the gas being a light oil called netroline, vaporised by the heat from the engine exhaust, and ignited by electric sparks supplied by a small storage battery. Mr Oates kindly gave some members of our staff short runs along the streets. They were pleased with the ease with which the machine is guided or controlled, though for lack of ))■ connecting bar (removed in consequence of accidents on the way down)/ the control did not cover the arrangements for increasing the power for going up-hill, and consequently a steep hill pulled up the car. Horses took, little or no notice of the car. The one defect •'oticeable in a first ride is the vibration ■-mused by the engine, which shakes the -ar with every explosion. This, it would seem, should be easily remedied by having ■vn efficient arrangement of springs between Mie driving power and the seat and footboard. The wheels have solid rubber f-vres two inches wide; pneumatic tyres are often used, _but Air Oates doubts their safety. The wheels are of small diameter, and this brines out prominently the unevenness of the streets. Prnbnblv the re--rnliir user of the motor car becomes accustomed to the vibration, but the running o\-e" uneven roads must be hard on the vehicle. Messrs Oates and Carl take their car .back to Christchurch by train this evening.