THE MOTOR WORLD

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16815, 18 August 1922, Page 3

THE MOTOR WORLD

Notes and News by “ Radiator.”

When driving in a busy thoroughfare a course should be followed approximately as closely as possible to a straight line. # # Spare tyres carried on the rear of the car should not be placed near the exhaust pipe. This is a poor practice, as the heat will ruin the rubber composition. • • The American rate of exchange has improved greatly in our favour of re cent months. X was told the other day that this was giving a big stimulus to car importation. The Continental exchanges are still much as they were, but the new Customs tariff introduced in November, 1921, has had a hampering effect on this importation tendency. *** To become familiar with the location and “ feel ” of the lever it is advisable for motorists to use the emergency brake occasionally in ordinary driving. This is suggested so that in the event bf an emergency there will be no fumbling in using it. Also this occasional use will reveal when the brake is out of order.

Some of our country cousins performed many peculiar stunts of driving during the Grand National week. It took some a long time to find out that the policemen on points duty were not inviting Pallida Mors to come along. Their ignorance of what' was necessary under the circumstances gave rise to a. lew minor inconveniences, ft- must be stressed, howevr, that the signals used by individual pointsmen are not. uniform. A motoring authority informed me yesterday that the constables were not receiving the training or tuition at the depot that one would have thought, they would get. He said that there certainly should be an improvement in making the signals more uniform. Each pointsman is apt to put into practice little peculiarities of his own, rind this as a consequence- baulks motorists and causes small troubles. Though sales of cars locally in the winter months just passing were few, with spring in sight are improving. It has been noticeable that during the last month inquiries for cars and consequent sales have been much more numerous. “We have made quite a number oi sales and the prospects fo> the spring and summer are exceptionally good, said one garage proprietor the other day. This may not be tli? general experience of the trade in Christchurch, however, for the speaker was one whose firm deals almost wholly with cars whose importation ceased during the war period. It lias taken some time for the producing French and Belgian factories to get back to normal conditions, and the dearth of and thus they arc meeting with a very fair demand. Apply the brakes considerately and the car will soon show its gratitude, because gentle brake application re duces the strain on tyres, wheels, springs and other parts. Lf the brakes ere applied with full force at least one, ii not both, rear wheels are likely to lock, and in sliding along the ground a noticeable amount of rubber is scrap ed from the tyre at the point where it contacts with the ground. There is no quicker or more certain way of send i n g tyres quickly to a rubbish heap or the junkman. Harsh brake application wears the brake lining unduly and pullsi and wracks the whole car. Much greater economy will be obtained and much loss trouble will be experience I if the brakes are used as sparingly as i possible. Exchanges that reach the Dominion record a big revival of racing all over i the world. During the war, of course, j this form of sport was stopped in arl I the countries engaged in the conflict. | except America. The withdrawal of ! European competitors from the American tracks let our Yankee cousins have the opportunity of keeping their troI phies in their own country, as formerly the great majority of the prizes went to drivers from overseas. The last eighteen months has seen a revival, and on the Continent especially there ha, been a great deal of racing. The Grand JPcix and the Figaro Florio have been

revived, and even the Germans have been taking an active part in the sport, and they have succeeded in winning the latter coveted honour. From now on there is no doubt about it that many Continental makes of cars will be represented on the American racing tracks.

Demands for cars these days are very diverse, ranging from the midget type to the most expensive and luxurious of touring types. The boom given to aero piano construction of recent years has had a very great influence on the designers of cars. Discussing this matter the other day a Christchurch authority remarked that the new post-war models embody some very new features. The general trend is to cut down weight without sacrificing strength. This was effected either by using a superior grade of metal or improved methods of construction. And this has been exemplified most strongly in the ca.se of racing cars. In many cases aeroplane engines have been fitted into the motor chassis, with varying results. The high cost of petrol is to-day ail incentive to motor manufacturers to produce a car that is more economical than its predecessors. ii The present-day purchasers, again, pay particular attention to the cost of upkeep.” stated the speaker. “ They realise that the purchase price of a car is not the only factor that counts. This also applies to the wear and tear on tyres. The tendency is to build much lighter cars—and that means increased mileage.” All things considered, Grand National week was quite an improvement on pro vious years so far as the behaviour of traffic wap concerned. There was a great influx of visiting drivers, most of them coming from the south. Although minor collisions occurred no serious accident was recorded, wliien fact speaks volumes for the effectiveness of the control applied. The trainway route was altered for the occasion when the trots were on at Addington Cars went along the South Belt and returned by that route to the city, thus leaving Oxford Terrace free for the floating or vehicular traffic. The city motor inspector (Air H. Macintosh) says that law-breakers were conspicuously few. There would, he said, almays be a. few defaulters, but last week the behaviour of all drivers was noticeably good. The police reports of the behaviour of llir* traffic bear out Mr Macintosh’s remarks. FUTURE OF THE MOTOR-CYCLE. The attitude of the purchasing public towards the motor-cycle is at present one of restrained anticipation, says the • Motor Cycle Trader,” England. Those who for reasons arising out of the war, were compelled to relinquish the use of their machines, are row in most oases taking active steps to regularise their j>osition as motorists again, and in the majority of cases new motor-cveles will be required, whilst an even larger number is doubtless framing intentions of adopting a more definite attitude such as will bring them into the market as pur- ; chasers. The difficulties yet to be surmounted bv the manufacturers must, however, inevitably delay motor-cycle production on a verv large scale that will necessary, and before the demands of newcomers cun be attended j to the long “waiting lists” will have to be disposed of. It is earlv as vet to predict the character of/ as distinct from the demand for. motorovoles. We may, however,. rest assured til at all classes of machines will be sought after, although, with petrol at its present price, the high-powered side-car combinations will perhaps not lie looked upon with such favour as those of medium and lower powers When it comes to be a matter of roundly 7s fid every time the twogallon tank is filled, users may he pardor ed for hesitating about employing engines of S h.p. and upwards, doing perhaps no more than a 100-miles journey on a two-gallon tin. This approximates to the cost of making the same trip by the railway at normal fares on petrol account alone, and if it were left at that many would elect to travel by train rather than by road. If the motorcycle trade is to flourish as it ■ deserves in the coming years, it is * imperative that there be a reduction in fuel costs.