CARS WITH “KNEE ACTION”

Taranaki Daily News, 28 April 1934, Page 3 (Supplement)

CARS WITH “KNEE ACTION”

NEW NAME FOR AN OLD IDEA. INDEPENDENT FRONT WHEELS. (By Our Motoring Correspondent.) London, March 20. We shall probably be hearing a good deal during the next few months about “knee action,” the new phrase coined by those masters of picturesque commercial phraseology, the American publicity people, to denote independent front-wheel suspension. Our transAtlantic cousins are adepts at giving fancy names to conventional developments, and “knee action” is one of their brightest efforts, for it does certainly imply that the cars so fitted, are not so much automobiles, as robots fitted with special mechanism which enables them to pick their way over pot-holes and ridged surfaces without the slightest jar to the body. It is the action of the knee that enables human beings to walk smoothly and with springy gait, and the use of the term “knee action,” as applied to cars, is decidedly an inspiration though the phrase is scarcely justified in actual practice. It must be conceded that independent front-wheel springing registers an advance on the suspension of the ordinary low-priced and mediumpriced cars, but it is noteworthy that the higher-priced cars manage to achieve a supremely high standard of riding comfort with the ordinary semi-elliptic springs eked out by shock-absorbers. Let not the man who has made up his mind to purchase a new car within the next few weeks think, however, that he will only obtain good riding comfort if he buys an expensive car or orders a car with knee-action. I am a firm believer in independent front-wheel suspension which is probably bound to be universally adopted sooner or later. SATISFACTORY SEMI-ELLIPTICS. But my enthusiasm for this method of springing does not blind me to the fact that • among the new 1934 models are many cars which give excellent suspension with the ordinary semi-elliptic springs. It is all a matter of scientific weight distribution and the proper adjustment of shock absorbers. Lowpressure tyres are another great aid to good suspension, and the probable line of development is, in my view, independent front wheel springing plus large-section tyres. Prospective car purchasers who attach much importance to good suspension ought to bear this requirement specially in mind when trying out the car they think of buying. The average trial run is usually an unsatisfactory affair. The demonstrator naturally tries to focus the attention of his “prospect” on the good qualities of the car he is trying to sell and if suspension is not one of its best points he will not stress it. The thing is to make the demonstrator run the car at speed over a bad road surface. If the prospective purchaser finds that he is unduly jolted he ought to ask to be taken for a ride in another make of car in which he will not be bumped so much. But I doubt whether any 1934 car possesses springing which is bad enough to warrant the matter of its purchase being ruled out. Some cars are better sprung than others but there is no such thing as a modem car with really unsatisfactory springing. The advantage of independent front wheel springing is that it gives an added riding smoothness to a car which travels smoothly enough for the average motorist. SOUND PRINCIPLE. “Knee Action” is based on sound engineering principles. Obviously it is much more satisfactory that only onehalf of the axle or one wheel only should be affected by any road inequality such as a pot-hole or a large stdne. It is also claimed that this method of suspension yields better roadholding qualities than the ordinary semielliptics, which is perhaps one of the reasons why it has become so popular in the United States, where the cars are mostly constructed on the light side, while powered by large engines. But it need not be imagined that “knee action” is either a new suspension method or that it is an American invention.- They have invented the name but the principle was adopted by one company in England as long ago as 1926. Continental manufacturers too, have paid a great deal of attention to independent front-wheel springing, so that the system comes to America at secondhand. Actually the name is more important to the American manufacturers than the idea, for a good catchy slogan will sell more cars in the United States and many other parts of the world than a better mechanical but less strikinglynamed innovation. One cannot blame the Americans for trying to sell their cars by whatever legitimate means they can command, but it is as well to point out the nature of the development they are now trying, to boost lest unsophisticated people should imagine that America has given to the world some new mechanical blessing which renders obsolete the cars of all other countries. FORGOTTEN FREE-WHEELS. We "had the same kind of fuss about free-wheels when these were made a selling point in the United States. I forget what fancy name they were given at the time, but it is noteworthy that one scarcely hears the mention of freewheels now in American motoring circles. The free-wheel had its use as a selling point but last year’s selling point is of as much use to trans-Atlantic automobile publicists as the wisecracks of ex-President Hoover are to President Roosevelt to-day. Each year must have its own slogan, and this year it is “Knee Action.” But the great American mass-pro-ducers whose cars make a universal appeal have no great use for annual slogans. One well-known organisation, for instance, keep on making improvements to their cars without giving them fancy labels. The newest models reveal alterations in appearance and bodytypes are gracefully streamlined in the latest fashion, and interior furnished is entirely new, from tufted upholstery and deeper and more softly-sprung cushions to the instrument panel, mouldings and door handles.

A novel system of draught-free ventilation is a notable feature. It is known as built-in, “clear vision” ventilation, the circulation of air within the body being achieved by means of ventilators which do not obstruct the view of the driver or passengers. The ventilators are fitted to the forward section of all front and rear quarter windows where they, are invisible when not in use. On cold or wet days the windows are raised to the fully-closed position, when another half-turn of the handle slides the glass back and opens the ventilators. The system is effective at all -road speeds and does not interfere in any way with the streamlining of the body.

As regards the chassis, an interesting modification is the fitting of a dual carburetter with dual inlet manifolds. Thermostatic control of the cooling system is another new mechanical feature, while riding comfort has been increased by designed suspension, the springs being wider and more flexible and the shock absorbers of new design. » * * • Loose contact springs often cause fused lamp bulbs. If bulbs bum out frequently in one of the lamps,. examine the contacts and see that they press well against the bulb terminals.