Motor-Car Making.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1790, 8 November 1919, Page 11 (Supplement)

Motor-Car Making.

It It Possible in the Dominion?

Can the motor car industry be established in this country? This was the question which the writer of this article set out to investigate. In making such an inquiry the first thing was to ascertain what has been already accomplished. A reference to the last census returns (1916) shows that there were then established in New Zealand 172 motor and cycle works of various kinds. Of this number, 61 were established in Canterbury. The increase since the previous census taken in 1911 was considerable, the number in the latter year being only 71. The principal cause of this increase was the multiplication of repairing garages throughout the country. The following table will summarise the salient points in regard to the progress of the industry as at the three last censuses:—

1905-0. 1910-11. 1915-16. Number of works .. .. ..• .." .. .. ..- .. .. w 97 71 172 Amount of wages paid .. .. .. .. .. £30,831 £30,366 £56,164 Number of hands employed .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 452 315 649 Value of land used .. .. v. .. .. £38,020 £71,268 £133,464 Value of buildings .. .. ~ .. ~ .. .. ►. .. .. £33,664 £58,244 £118,323 Value machinery and plant .. .. .. £11,982 £15,367 £32,438 Horse-power used . .. .. 94 239 662 Ratio of workers per horse-power .. .. •• •• .. .. 4.8 1.3 1.15 Cost of materials used .. £37,092 £38,904 £65,742 Total value of manufactures, Including repairs .. .. £140,813 £92,141 £189,482 Ratio of capital invested per worker employed .. .. £185.1 £459.9 £437.9

The following figures will convey an idea of the development of the import motor trade in this Dominion. A comparison is made as between the imports of automobiles, motor-cycles and materials for each as between the years 1908 and 1918: 1908. 1918. . £ £ United Kingdom 199,040 109.420 United States, America .. 9,120 815,623 Total Foreign, including America 24,880 879,402 Other British Dominions .. 223,049 444,086 Total Imports 249,9201,323,488 The fact that while the total value of the products turned out of the New Zealand motor and cycle manufacluring establishments, was only £189,482, compared with a total of motor goods imported amounting to £1,323,488,. is evidence that the trade of motor production is not yet established in this country. As a matter of fact, the local establishments confine themselves entirely to repairs and reconstruction, so far as the chassis are concerned, though there is a growing business being done in the production of "bodies." Some inquiries were made by the writer of this article as to the cause of the very high proportion of imports compared wilh local production, and the possibility of more of the goods being manufactured locally. The prospects in regard to the latter arc not at all good. The difficulties in the way are those inseparable from a small population. It is a question of output. Motor production has been brought to such a high pitch of perfection, involves the use of such highly-efficient and expensive plant, and specialisation has ben resorted to to such an extent, that it would require the whole of New Zealand demand to absorb the production of one thoroughly up-to-date plant; American motor plants now manufacture up to 3000 cars per day each. A well-known importer of cars in this city, who i,s so entirely favourable to local industry that he has ■himself on occasion built complete motor cars, stated that no one could possibly establish a motor manufacturing business on less than a guaranteed demand of 400 to 1000 cars per day. The cost of an adequate plant would be many thousands of pounds. There would be no possibility of exporting cars to Australia, as we could not compete with the American manufacturers in that market. % No one type of car -would meet the demands of the New Zealand market, and several classes of machine, cheap, moderate, and expensive, would need to be manufactured. A plant that could be operated economically would have to be a very large and well-equipped one, capable of putting out from 400 to 1000 cars per day. The Sun's informant said further that labour was an important factor. It was a factor that was occasioning disabilities to the British makers in competition with American producers. The hours worked in the American factories were 56 per week. The same hours had, until recentlv, obtained in England, but he understood that they had now been reduced. In the Dominion the hours worked in the engineering industry were 47 per week, and the demand of the workers was for still shorter hours. This tendency towards reduced working hours would necessarily result in an increase in the cost of production. {Continued on another part of this page.]

of the country. There were also many other important claims to be met. They could rely on it, nevertheless, that the Government was thoroughly with them. They had to get a better system of road-making and of administration. He would read the Victorian Act, and if the Government thought New Zealand could profit by adopting the measure it would not be slow to act. He proposed to take the matter in hand before the House rose, and if he could learn sufficient from the Victorian Act to enable him to legislate in the right direction he would do so. The laying-down and upkeep of good roads would be taken in hand earnestly and vigorously as opportunity offered. Case for Concrete. The demands of modern traffic conditions being conceded, the question is how to meet those demands. What form of construction is best calculated to satisfy the conditions which such demands impose? In other words, what is the ideal road? To come to essentials, what are the requirements of a good roads? They are: (1) It must be hard, firm and have a long life. (2) Its surface should offer a low resistance to wheel traffic. (3) It should be dustless, and easy to clean. (4) The surface must be even without being slippery. (5) It should not be affected by climatic conditions. (6) The cost must be reasonable and the maintenance not heavy. It goes without saying that concrete approaches most nearly to the ideal road. Of the hardness of well-made concrete there can, of course, be no question, but the length of life depends upon various other considerations. The second requisite is that the road should offer a low resistance to the movement of the traffic over it. This is important, because, in the construction of a road, regard should be had, not only to the effect of the traffic upon the road, but also to the effect of the road upon the trafficthat is to say upon the vehicles which use it. If the tractive effort is great the cost in energy to the user is high, with a consequent loss to the community. Thus, under the new conditions, roads over which travelling is difficult will result in the loss of large sums of money annualjy from this cause alone. Some time ago a series of experiments were carried out in California under uniform test conditions with a view to ascertaining the amount of pull necessary on different road services to keep three tons of load in motion after it had been started. In the result it was found that on waterbound macadam in good condition the pull was 641b per ton, on a bituminised road 491b, and % on unsurfaced concrete 281b; in other words, the load that would be kept in motion by four horses on an unsurfaced con-

Crete road would require seven on an asphaltic surface, and nine on water-bound macadam. The concrete road, being monolithic, and composed of a nfaterial of great density and hardness, does not disintegrate under the traffic, and does not soften with rain or snow. No dust is created, and consequently no mud, which is often a source of danger as well as inconvenience. On the contrary any foreign matter: which may have been blown on to the highway is

washed off by the first fall of rain. For a similar, reason a road, if in a town, may be cleansed rapidly and easily by the use of water from hydrants. The surface would not be worn or damaged in any way. Cost and Advantages. The most common objection to the concrete road is its initial cost which is acknowledged to be higher than that of macadam. The initial cost, however, is not the criterion of economy. This can be justly

estimated only by taking into consideration the original outlay, together with maintenance charges over a period of years, and here concrete scores as has been proved in the United States. In New York State the average initial cost of the three principal types of roadway during 1915 was as follows:—Water-bound macadam, £2050 per mile; bituminous macadam, £2594 per mile; and concrete £3004 per mile. During the year the average maintenance cost ofmacadam roads was £2lO per mile, and that of concrete £26 per mile. In Wayne County, whose 11 years'experience of concrete roads has lad to the adoption of newer and more careful methods of construction, and the cost of maintenance over 150 miles was in 1916, £6 12/2 per mile. Chester, in England, possesses a road which has been laid for seven years, and during this period the cost of maintenance has been 2d per superficial yard per annum, the maintenance consisting of tar spraying once a year. In the early months of 1915 an experimental stretch of concrete was laid on the London to Chatham road, and for that portion of it which was constructed on approved modern methods, and which is unsurfaced, the cost of maintenance during the four years has been nil. TARANAKI'S VENTURE. The tarred roads of Taranaki are a splendid and valuable object-lesson as to what can be accomplished in rural road construction. There are now over 300 miles of the roads tarred and sanded in the various counties and board districts. With the advent of the motor traffic, the upkeep of the various main thoroughfares became a very heavy burden upon the ratepayers, and something had to be done to minimise the cost of upkeep. Several short lengths on the various roads were laid down with a'good crown of metal obtained from many streams that run down from the mountain side, and, after being rolled with the up-to-date road rollers, which the various councils have, the surface is then tarred and fine metal from the crusher is placed on top, which, when finished, is equal to the main streets of many of the cities and larger towns of the Dominion. The experiment proved so successful that one can now see many of the tarring machines at work, one of the councils alone having as many as 10 road rollers of the most up-to-date pattern, and many miles of roads are being taken in hand each year. By this system the cost of upkeep has been reduced one-third, and the wear and tear of the vehicles running on the roads is also greatly reduced, thousands of pounds being saved in tyres alone. There are five or six toll-gates in the various ridings, which also contribute to the upkeep. The present roads are the result of some lO.to 15 years of persistence and experiment.

MOTOR-MAKlNG—Continued. Yet another difficulty in the way of establishing the motor car industry in New Zealand, said this gentleman, was the fact that we were not yet producing steel —at least, in any large quantity. We were also far removed from the countries which produce the necessary metals used in motor car construction. The evidence is clear that it will be some years before there will be any reasonable hope of manufacturing motor car chassis in New Zealand, even with a very high degree of perfection. The' country is not large enough from the population point of view to maintain factories capable of providing 400 to 1000 motor cars per day, and, unless they are manufactured on that scale, they cannot be produced cheaply enough to compete with the productions of the gre#t factories of Britain and America. In regard to body-making, a similar conclusion holds good, though not quite to the same pronounced extent. The cost of producing motor car bodies in New Zealand is much higher than the price at which they can be imported. Nevertheless, this branch of the trade is progressing in New Zealand owing to the very high standard of workmanship that obtains in our local factories. The work done is - superior to that in the imported goods, and on that account importers are very favourably disposed/ to assist the local industry. Carpurchasers could do something to help the development of this industry by spending the extra few pounds that it would cost them to obtain a New Zealand-made car body.

A Great Scheme.

Beautiful Motor Drive.

A hill road from the Cashmere Hills tram terminus to Akaroa—that . is the splendid scheme which is ;being proceeded with by the . -Port Hills-Akaroa Summit Road Committee. When it is completed it j will provide one of the finest motoring and walking routes in Australasia. At present, the motor road runs as far as Kennedy's Bush, nine miles fram Christchurch. • Thence onwards; runs a track which later is to" be widened and formed into a good roadway. From the tram terminus at Cash- - mere Hills the road leads up Latters Spur to Dyer's Pass (1150 ft), and then runs south along the summit a of the Port Hills, with beautiful views of Governor's Bay, Port Cooper., and-.-Hoon Hay Valley. On reaching Mouut Ada a very fine view of Lake Ellesmere is obtained, with a glorious western panorama stretching right away to Timaru. After passing through the edge of Kennedy's Bush the road winds its way through Cass Peak Bush on to Cooper's Knobs. Thence it goes through the edge of Ahuriri Bush to the summit of Gebbie's Pass, traversing, on its way, the pretty Ngaio Bush. From the summit of Gebbie's Pass, the road will run over the low range of hills dividing the Lake Flat from Port Cooper, and, passing through the Devil's Staircase—two great walls of rock—to the Kaituna Rest House. On reaching the Port track —the old pack-horse track to Lyttelton—which crosses the saddle between Dykee Hill and Castle Rock, the north head of Kaituna Valley,, the most beautiful of all the valleys of Banks Peninsula, is reached. Here the Summit Road will run along the boundary of Gravenor Bush, through Parkinson's Bush Reserve and: th© pretty Tongue Bush, named on account of its remarkable shape as seen from the home of the Parkinsons. On emerging from the Tongue Bush, the road, will run along the open hillside 2000 ft above sea level to the largest area of native bush on Banks Peninsula, Mt. .Herbert Peak Scenic Reserve, in which there are over 300 acres of dense bush. At the Port Levy Saddle the Summit Road will join the historic Purau track, the old way to Akaroa. On Mt. Fitzgerald, the road will enter a beautiful reserve of over 100 acres of virgin forest. From Mt. Fitzgerald it will climb nearly to the top of Mt. Sinclair (2700 ft), and will pass through some very pretty native cedar bush on the way. After leaving Mt. Sinclair it will run do\fa to the Pigeon Bay Saddle, where it will join the Akaroa Summit Road, just above Barry's Bay. At this point a beautiful view of Akaroa' harbour is seen. Already there are some rest houses on this fine highway of the hills--thc "Sign of the Kiwi" at Dyer's Pass, the red stone house at Kennedy's Bush, and the pretty stone house at Kaituna. It is intended also to build a rest house at the tram terminus, a log house on the Port Levy saddle, and a rest house, in stone, on Mt. Fitzgerald. The distance from the Hills tram terminus to Akaroa by way of the Port HillsAkaroa Summit Road is about 45 miles. For over 30 miles the road will run along the hill tops. When completed it will provide a magnificent roadway amid beautiful native forest scenery, with views of the great plains of Canterbury, the snow-clad Southern Alps and the pretty hills and bays of Banks Peninsula, with far views of Pegasus Bay, the Kaikoura mountains and , the Coast. '