THE MOTOR WORLD

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16904, 1 December 1922, Page 3

THE MOTOR WORLD

Notes and News by

“Radiator.”

Projecting tram lines and nasty pot ] holes in various citv thoroughfares con. . tinue to he a menace to motorists. There are several well-meaning, hut j totally ignorant, push cyclists and ; motorisis loose ■in the city. On two j occasions recently * Radiator ** has ! seen a bicycle .rider and a motorist j dash their arms out on one side and t-weep majestically round the corner on ! the other side. They are under the j mistaken idea that they must hold iij ho traffic behind them, apparently. ' instead of giving a sure indication to oncoming traffic of where ' they are ' going. Tliese sort of persons learn i by hitter expedience. Drivers of motor-cars travelling through certain parts of England are not only responsible for the handling ol their vehicles, but are now liable : t.» be fined if they allow their passengers to imsbcliavi themselves during the trip. The • ar owner should keep in mind that one of the most' prolific causes of i engine overheating is driving on a re- 1 tarded spark. The cause is obvious, the explosion taking place when a maximum of the cylinder wall is uncovered instead of the minimum, as is the case when the ignition takes place ut upper head rentre, the piston being ut the top of its stroke. Steam car enthusiasts will be interested to learn that a. new company, with a capital of £50,000, is now being formed in England for the sale and development of steam cars in Great Britain. It is Raid that the company will he in a. position to sell its cheapest model at about £4OO complete, including every accessory, the vehicle to be delivered with a. guarantee and with the first year’s tax and insurance premium paid. The-substantial reduction by 5Jd per gal. ip the prico of petrol in Great Britain is likely to have a far-reaching beneficial effect on motor transport. Such a reduction is sufficient to be of real importance at any time, but partieularlv so at the present juncture because of kern competition, especially in the motor coach business, where had it come earlier it would have been of enormous benefit.. It ia considered hv “ Motor Transport ** (Eng.) that the position of the petroleum business is obscure, hut it appears as if the pro so nee of one or two powerful companies outside the oil combine was beginning to have effect. Tt is not an easy matter to hold a screwed stud firmly in a vice without damaging the thread, and many a stud has been ruined in the process of endeavouring to unscrew a tightlvtitting nut from one end. As a rule •l is preferable to sacrifice a nut rathei than a stud or holt, and when that i •be case the latter can be held m firmly as possible in a vice if a suitable nut Vie cut through with a hacksaw . screwed on to one end of the stud, and held in a vice. Sometime; copper pads or plates are inserted between t>.> r«ws of the vice, and usually are effective. The ever increasing number »F women who drive cars and their insistence upon gears that shift quickly j"h! easily and brakes and 7 clutch that d > not require a Jheaw weight to operate them is responsible for the great amount of attention that automobile engineers are giving to these features > i motor-car construction. Every automobile should he designed and built with the thought in mind that it is going to h© driven by women. Every lend nine member of the family, from mother down, is some day going to drive the car. Tins idea is appar cntk- taking joot in the minds of automobile engineers, and they are designing the hand and foot controls to make f heir cars immediately responsive to the feminine . touch.

DAZZLING LIGHTS PROBLEM.

In the matter of head lights the driver of a car is sometimes in a quan dary. If he uses lamps giving only a diffused light, lip cannot sec the road i very far ahead; lie must have a lamp throwing a beam of concentrated light veil ahead, and then other road users whom he meets declare his lamps to he ton dazzling. One solution of the problem, evolved by a British motorist, apparently depends altogether upon the drivers, who, when approaching each other, each provide a guiding light for the other. This is effected l*v an arrangement enabling the driver, on meeting another car, to switch off his head-lights by a two-way switch, v.liicli simultaneously lights a lamp on the off-side of the running-board, so placed, and focussed as t<> make the •dde of his car plainly distinguishable, and at the same time to throw a beam ot light right across the road and well to fch© rear, lighting it up for the driver of the other vehicle-, and when veil abreast of each other, the headlights are again switched on During experiments with this (‘ Pasolifce ’’) system of lighting, observations were made from the two cars and ■ roni the road, and it was found that •j was possible to pass without any dazzle whatever. and with absolute safety. Several runs were made with different neo©!© in the two cars, and „11 v-pro that the schema was wor+V. and went far to polve the dazzle problem. Of course j i, O sNct’m. to bo successful. fr autt that every mi oil the muds at

night must he equipped with suitable lamps, and also for the two drivers to cut out their headlights more or less simultaneously. If there were much delay after switching off one’s own lamps, before the other driver switched off his, there would be a tendency to doubt whether he had a Pasolite lamp at all. There is much in the scheme that is ingenious ,and if generally adopted, it would bo very valuable, hut how can this desirable result he brought about without new legisation being in treduced. That feature is most undesuable. PETROL DRIVEN TRAINS. It i> and awayys has been a matter of some surprise to thoughtful motorists that a great and ever-extending use lias not been made of the internal combustion engine adopted for use on the railways. more especially upon ctckspur and cross country lines which, with the heavy and cumbersome locomotive. carriages and trucks, do not pay for the cost of operating them, despite high fares and freight charges. It is a matter that should concern the Kailwawy Department. . During the past few years some attention ha.s been bestowed upon the rail cars. Now South Wales being the most enterprising in this respect, while Victoria is clooselj' following up. The experiments nave proved so successful that the railway commissioners are extending the use of these handy vehicles. There the petrol-driven rail car scores over the ordinary railway train is in the tremendous saving of weight hauled tor the actual paying weight and that each vehicle can, is necessary, be a separate mobile unit. There is a tendency in France to convert light railways from steam to petrol, where the the authorities are replacing worn-out locomotives and ottjier antiquated rolling-stuck with petrol-driven vehicles. In actual use the petrol rail car averages 21 m.p.h.. and on a certain line shows a saving of seventeen minutes for a , journey normally occupying Ihr 40min by steam. The rail car could safely I>© run at a speed of 31 m.p.h. Over a distance of 400 miles the fuel consumption was at the rate of 14 m.p. gallon, while with a trailer weighing 44 tons, the consumption was lit m.p. One of the cars used is a Renault. ing thirty-live passengers ; it -l-<-v!in-.!er pi-rrol ©mum-. lot driver’-, compartment, in There arc side and rear ent the passengers. MOTOR UNION. MEETING AT DUNEDIN. The quarterly meeting of the South Island Motor Union was held at Dunedin last Week, when Mr J. S. Hawkfls was in the chair. The chairman, in welcoming the said it was very gratifying to know that the Marlborough Automobile Association and the Blenheim Motor-cycle Club had joined up with the union. As to the Highways Bill, they knew that it had passed the third . reading, and they had obtained one of the things they had striven for—namely. the .allocation of the money. This would mean a lot to the South Island, as there was plenty of work to be put in hand. The motorists of the South Island owed the union a debt of gratitude. Motorists unfortunately did not think of such things as legislation, and it was up to every motorist to join the motor association in his district. The good work of the South Island Union was already evident throughout the South Island, and the Oatgo Motor Club was to be con- ! gratula ted on its sign posting campaign. The Southland Association was also a live body, and he was sorry it was not renresenterl at the meetins: by a delegate. Regarding the list of questions put to the various parliamentarv candidates hv the union, the nresidciit. reported that favourable renlies had been toreived from most of them. Messrs Howard (South Christchurch) and Archer ('North Christchurch) alone had been non-committal. Mr Ariseß (Otaeol congratulated the executive of the union on the steps taken in nutting these questions before candidates. ft wnq left in the hands of +he executive to eleot two members to +h© harinor'heen pnncpH liv + he, nesif»u'»tion of J T». l'W-.Vh,+ h ,1 and C. W. Dervev (9»outt»land>. « WTTVttt ov Mr Orbell brought up the matter of restricting the width of loads carried by motor lorries. He said that it arose out of a remit from the Blenheim Association objecting to the i w idth of the loads carried by the wool waggons. 0 I The president said that there was a tendency to build big sight-seeing char-a-bancs, and something ought • ho done to restrict their width or to : make them carry mirrors. The subject of restricting the width of motor vehicles was fully discussed, j and it was proposed that the Counties | Association be wirtteu to pointing out | the desirability of restricting the • width. Mr Arjsell maintained that it should i be a Government measure. Motor 1 transport was th© transport of the I day, and he did not think there was anv danger of the Government rei strictinor the motor traffic, as suggestlod by Mr Baxter. Tt was finally decided that the Government he written to stating th.it

the union views with alarm the tendency to increase the width ot vehicles, and asking that steps be taken as soon as possible to limit the same. NEED OF MIRRORS. Mr Baxter moved that the Counties Association he written to recommending that on all vehicles where there is any obstructed view' to the rear mirrors be fitted. ROADS BOARD Mr Ansell moved—“ That this union 1 strongly protests against the present constitution of the Roads Board.” In putting his motion, Mr Ansell .said that •»t a conference held in Wellington it had been decided that six members constitute the Roads Board, three for tli© South.lsland and three for the North. That had been disagreed to by the Minister on the score of expense, so in bringing down the Bill lie made the board one of four members. That Bill was passed by the Dower House, and when sent to the Upper House it was decided that the Counties Association should have two more representatives on the hoard, and that was finally decided on, and was now on the Statute Book. In liis opinion four members could do the * ork just as well as six, and at less expense. The motion was carried after a short discussion, and it was decided to forward Mr Hawkes’s name as representative on the Reads Board. On the motion of Mr H. Halliclay, it was decided to write to the Hon G. J. Coates congratulating him on having put the Motor Bill on th© Statute Book and on the difficulties he had overcome. It wae also decided to thank Mr Tsitt for th© work he had don© in the interest of South Island motorists.

INSURANCE REBATE. A remit was deceived from the Otago Motor Club asking, the South Island Union to write to the Council of Firo Underwriters of New Zealand asking for a larger rebut© on premiums on policies necessitating the carrying of fire extinguishers.—The remit was supported by th© Otago delegates, and it wa-H decided to writ© to the Underwriters’ Association accordingly. GENERAL.. The next quarterly meeting was fixed to he hold at Blenheim early in March.

AMERICAN “ BOOZERUNNERS.”

What M-Volstead c3.nVSo to Aracrlias been deli result, of roiivt^dcIn* interested in tin' wid> the Act confer* on ih SBHBHTt officials. ■IH has. mad© it unlaw lul to liquor containing one-luilf of n t or more ot alcohol. Miiiahi© provided. TFis pusV.oto. to transport liquor f'.r sacramental purposes, or liquor which was in the possession of the son prior to the passing of the prohibition act, by seen in© a permit upon the proper representations. An automobile in the act of unlawfully transporting liquor is subejet to seizure and forfeiture, according to section 26 of the act which provides, in substance, that upon discovery by an officer of any person unlawfully transporting intoxicating liquor, it shall he his duty to seize such liquor and take posession of the automobile or vehicle and place the person in charge thereof under arrest.

It lias also been held that an automobile found standing, in the owner’s garage, loaded with liquor was not subject to seizure since it was not found in the act of transporting the liquor and that an inference to this end was not sufficient to justify such action on the part of the officer. The court further stated that it was necessary that someone should he discovered performing some act in furtherance of transportation. BOND FOR CAR. Upon the seizure of an automobile for violation of the prohibition act, the defendant, or some interested party may put up a temporary bond in release of the machine until the date of the. trial. The act then provides that upon conviction of the defendant the liquor shall be destroyed and. unless good cause to the contrary is shown by the owner of the machine, it shall be sold at public auction. In other words forfeiture can not take place until con.v icl ion. is had.

Many cases have come before our j courts in whi°h the owner of the mach- i in© was not driving at the time of the violation of the act. Jn some of these instances the courts have' held that a return of the machine to the owner may be had upon proper showing being n ude by th© latter. In other words a stolen machine would not- be subject to forfeiture from the owner. In case of a conditional vendor, U.S vs. Kane, 273 Federal Report 275, held that even though the subject vendor disclaimed, any acthal knowledge that th© purchaser intended to use the automobile for illegal transportation of liquor, the circumstances, notwithstanding were such as to put him upon inquiry as to such use, and the testimony of such vendor showed a lack of interest as to what use the automobile was to be put together with the fact that he probably would have made the contract of sale had he known that it was to he illegally used. A forfeiture of the vehicle resulted.

In summing up, it is safe to say that the conditional vendor must not only establish his bay.a. fide lien but must also prove chat. he. had no knowledge nor any information which should hare aroused his suspicions of tlie unlawful use of the automobile to entitle him to recovery from th© proceeds of the sal© A furtner point which has been sub ject to a great deal of controversy in the United States District. Courts was very recently settled by the Circuit

Court of Appeals in a. decision holding that an automobile could, be searched without search warrant and subsequently seized if the officers had reasonable grounds to believe that, -the machine was being used in violation of the National Prohibition Law. ACROSS -AMERICA. Cannonbail ” Baker, th© noted motor cyclist, recently reduced the American Transcontinental record of 7 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes, established in 1917 by Alan Bedell. Baker covered the 3332 miles between Los Angeles and Tottenville Ferry in 0 days, 22 hours, 52 minutes. In America the transcontinental record is a much-coveted honor, and sme© Bedell’s rid© in 1917 no fewer than 59 attempts have been made to lower his figures. It was Baker’s fourth attempt this season. He put up a remarkable performance, and five days’ rain before the start, added to his hardships. Nothing was don#'to the engine of liis machine, except that two sparking plugs woije changed, and the valve tappets adjusted.