THE POSTWAR CAR

Southland Times, Issue 25746, 9 August 1945, Page 8

THE POSTWAR CAR

1942 Model Likely At First “Automotive Ignition Servicing” and the “Postwar Automobile” were the subjects dealt with at the monthly meeting of the Invercargill Group of the Automotive and Aeronautical Engineers Institution. In his paper on “Automotive Ignition Servicing,” Mr G. C. Davenport described the general procedure which should be adopted by the automotive electrician, and demonstrated by means of a film strip the sequence recommended by the makers for one wellknown car. Mr P. O. Couchman introduced a further discussion on the “Postwar Automobile,” and dealt mainly with the power unit, and specifications. It .was shown that the immediate postwar car was likely to be a 1942 model, not for lack of better ideas, but because postwar reconversion and re-employment would be much faster and smoother if the industry was able to use existing tools and dies. This practical consideration will postpone the revolution in car design, which would come later as a result of metallurgical advances, the availability of high-octane fuel and the development of synthetic and natural materials during the war years. The new car, when it came, would be light and spacious with a smaller engine rated at about half the present power unit, which involved a waste of metals and fuel. For engines rated at the present horsepower, the size could be reduced by designing for higher compression and modern fuels. The use of light alloys, together with a reduction in the weight of the engine and the use of plastics, could reduce the weight of future cars to one-half that of pre-war standards, with a resultant improved performance concerning fuel consumption.