THE MOTOR IN GERMANY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 144430, 18 July 1914, Page 8

THE MOTOR IN GERMANY.

A BOOM BEGINNING. Germany is in tho throes of a motor renaissance. Only three years ago Prince Henry, tho Kaiser’s brother, and the pioneer of motoring, aviation, and golf in Germany, lamented the backwardness in this respect of his country, which only possessed one motor-car to every 927 inhabitants, as against England’s one to 249 and Prance's one to 441. When tho Prince opens tho Berlin International Automobile Salon next September ho will have a very different story to tell (says tho Daily Mail’s Berlin correspondent). Tho new “boom” is to be attributed largely to tho invasion of the cheap American car. There are, perhaps, not moro than 2000 American cars in uso in Germany at tho present time, but at tho rate at which they are pouring in it is estimated that there may soon ho 5000 or 10,000. A sign of the times is the new motor highway at Berlin, which is said to he tho last word in scientific motor road-building, and is to be opened for traffic on October I. Six and a quarter miles long, with parallel tarredmacadam roadways 2Cft. wide, separated by grass plots of equal breadth, and with scientifically-banked curves, this highway has cost £IOO.OOO to build, and will undoubtedly prove one of tho finest , speedways over built. The road will be "officially opened as a racecourse next year, when' tho Imperial Automobile Club intends to invite tho racers and manufacturers of the world to participate in an international speed contest. At Charlottonburg, not far from tho Autoniohilstrasso, there is in process of construction a huge Atrtomobilo Palace, which, it is claimed, will bo the first exhibition building in the world to ho devoted exclusively" to the motor industry. It will spread over 20,000 square yards of area, and he used for the first time for tho forthcoming International Automobile Salon. In spite of the growing popularity of tho American car, foreign motors are at present very rare in Germany, amounting to not more than 10 0r.12 per cent, of tho entire number in use. Tho national dislike of foreign things probably has a good deal to do with this. Tho Kaiser, who is an inveterate motorist, drives only German cars by way of example, hut the Crown Prince—over a rebel—has a Belgian “runabout” in his garage.