MOTORING.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16503, 2 August 1919, Page 9

MOTORING.

An enormous combine,_ compi using many of the biggest American car ami parts manufacturers, bus been ciinnina in the United States. All told thcio are 21) linns in the corporation. Arising out of a recent article on motor-cars and wireless power an Amorican claims that he can already control the present type of ear from a distance by ether naves, the cfteei oi which is to cur, oil the <>t 'd cars within a certain ranee and bring them to a standstill. On the efficiency of a motor-car engine depends its value in the opinion ;;0 per lent, of motorists. .Despite this tact the vas! majority ol <*ai owners appear to take hot liule muue>t in tlic theoretical aspects oi design, says The Auto-car (Fuglaudj. and cate not whether twenty parts <»’ one be dried if the result is a component "'lnch gives no l rouble either upon the road or in the workshop. To a man about to buy a new ear. value lor money is the deciding iactnr, yet this value is coupled inseparably with the ability of the engine to perform .is duties efficiently and adequately to carry the required load, and the basis o. me comparison Twixt ear ami car rests almost entirely on inis faint. it is an hulispu I able ian-h tit'', when the greatest ellieiency is d; aired, engines ale litted with iwo ur nio.e overhead valves to each cylinder, v. nether that/ engine lie for a rae.ng ear or a lighting aeroplane; tiiereioiv. no doubt can exist lh.it this I- tile most ehn.aent term ol valve gear. Obviously the gas passages aie simplified, the loianusiioii space is more neartv oi toneet lonn, and the wails m tie- eoaibusiion chani;.t r can be nun. lum. d to a greater extent than is possible* in the ease of the■ockeied talve design. Against this wo hone the tact tn.it. were a valve head to hrealt away Irom Us stem, or a salve spring to (ollap.-e, swill disaster would m ail probability overtake the piston of that cyiimler—a tronbie whieii in ilie .past Inis caused the tie sign to b>‘ sn.-pect. in liie minds of both motorist, amt manufacturer. During the war, however, many linns have acquired a more accurate knowledge of the overhead valve; valve .steels have become lar more reliable, and ccibain saleguards against calamity have been evolved which tend to lull or to dispel altogether the. earlier suspicions. T lie pilot ami the air meelinnie, representing the motorist and the garage man. lane learned the value of the overhead valve and convinced themselves of its reliability. thus smoothing ih.e way lor Inri her improvements. I). all the faults charged against the design, this question oi breakage is tile ebief ami outstanding teahire, others being that the engine over-all height is increased unduly, that the noise oi the lappets is greater, since it is not muiflcd by the thick walls of the containing crank ease, while, considered as a eoninicreiai proposition, the overhead valve mechanism is supposed to he more eo.-tly in manufaeiure. Kven as the first--and greatest -difficulty has been robbed o) u s terror, so tlie minor troubles gradually cease to hold their importance; for example, the increase of engine height, slated originally to he a 1 1 1 -advantage, has in actual fait become an advantage, as the decree of ! ashion proclaims the high narrow bonnet- of supreme jmpor; anee, while an aluminium cover over the valve gear ami correct arrangement ol i lie rockier gear effectively deal with I lie pin A >D 'in of noise. As to the third claim—the cost "I inanuie.e!e.ite - it is veil known that I be iayiuit el the machinery in any works governs the cost of everything, eaeii individual upholding or rejecting the idea of a particular design according to his view of tlie works' equipment ior the joh. Further, all these arguments, and more also, were urged against the pocketed side valves in the earlier days of motoring; with the laying of those ghosts there comes the possibility of an increase in the power and decrease ol petrol consumption in engines designed for the everyday use iif tlie ordinary, iion-meehaitieal man, and wo have reason to believe that lint overhead valve engine will bo very gen-

crallv adapted by tho English ca juak.rs in their now models. Nothing could have demonstrated tin possibilities of the motor lorry lor trans port more than the work performed b, tiiese vehicles in Franco (hiring the wa period. When it is considered that i ; huge proportion of the chassis wen designed for use on good roads, tin manner in wiiiclt they stood tip ti work tinder active service conditions r remarkable. Under no other condition; could such experience have boon gamed Vehicles were worked usually under tin worst possible conditions —bad roads heavy loads, many inexperienced dn vers,' and lack of time for attention am repair facilities. Under such circuit* stances it is natural that defect: showed and a certain number of failure: occurred. At the same time much vain able information was obtainable from such defects as developed. Though under normal conditions many of those failures would not have, occurred, il will, no doubt, bo the aim of designers to obviate the possibility of similai troubles in the future, in view of the largo demand which will arise for mechanical transport, it is therefore tc bo hoped that British motor manulactimers will avail themselves of the opportunities thus afforded for improvements in new designs. French and Americans have had similar opportunities. and they are not likely to fail tc profit by such (experiences. It has been proved that British makers can produce motor lorries which are the equals of any on the market, and it they show the necessary initiative in embodying modern principles in their new designs, there is no reason why they should not- continue to bold a foremost place among motor vehicle manufacturers. During the war motor transport, from a commercial point of view, lias not progressed in this country. In fact it lias had a considerable setback, but with the advent of the postwar vehicles the motor lorry should soon take its right place as the' most efficient and economical means of transport in Australian commercial centres. A remarkable hill climb was rcecntly held up "Devil's Despair Hill,” at San Juan, California. The length of Hill was only 500 feet, but its,gradient was from one in two to one in one and onethird. So steep was the incline that nearly every machine broke its chain, turned over ' backwards, and rolled to the bottom of the rill. Fifty-two riders competed, mostly with special gripping appliances attached to the driving tyre. Several riders suffered minor injuries. Fully 50 per cent, of the chains snapped immediately the wav on machines, from a flying start, cased off. Two riders D. Perkins (Harlcy-Davidson) and C. Ilcalton (Excelsior) surmounted the climb, tbo former getting to the top in 3-1 4-osoc. The event drew mi ouorpious crowd, one spectator’s knee being dislocated owing to a falling machine striking him. The two successful riders received prizes totalling £l5O each.