TELLING THE WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20283, 18 April 1934, Page 11

TELLING THE WORLD.

Englishman on “American” Improvements.

“ Weil, America seems to have come all over independent springing and streamlining, and I suppose we shall be hearing people saying that the U.S.A. has again led the way. Don’t you believe it,” writes the “ Scribe ” in the “ Autocar.” “ To Alvis and the Continent the credit is due for independent springing, and streamlining is something quite new to Uncle and Auntie Sam; it is plain that Sir Dennis Burney’s visit to the States with his streamline car has influenced design over there. Streamlining is essentially a European movement, coupled with the name of little old Britain. Sez me! “ Advance news of the New York Show suggested that streamlining had been adopted by all the leading makers for all models, but the particulars of the new cars given this week show that this streamlining business is only a try-on, and, as such, no more than every other automobile manufacturing country has done. “ Streamlining is gaining ground, but no one in this country thinks for a moment that even five years hence will see all of us driving tear-drop projectiles. It will take more than a decade for the good, sound, conventional cars to change into something totally different. The advantages of streamlining can never be very great with cais for normal service; what advantages would it offer to a suburban doctor, for instance? But if all traffic were speeded up to 50 m.p.h. we might find it an advantage in that greater economy would be possible because smaller engines could be used. In the meantime, the modern conventional car will satisfy 90 per cent of us.”