STRONGER THAN STEEL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20168, 9 June 1928, Page 9 (Supplement)

STRONGER THAN STEEL

TESTS ON HARDWOOD CLOSED CAR COMFORT CONSIDERED Common sense is sometimes very deceptive. For many years it has been widely accepted as true that motor-car bodies made of wood do not offer a protection equal to that of steel. And it has been commonly believed that steel bodies provides just as much comfort as bodies with wooden frames. The United States Bureau of Standards recently made careful tests to determine just how the two kinds of bodies compare, with amazing results. Weight for weight it was discovered that the hardwood commonly used in motor-car frames not only has greater strength than steel, but greater rigidity also. The protection offered by wooden bodies is far greater than is commonly believed. But the comfort they provide has very distinct advantages over steel. Closed car bodies framed with wood shut off from the occupants over 99 per cent, of the noise, originating in the motor and transmission, and also the noise caused by contact of the car with the road and transmitted by the steel frame. Cars with steel frame work let more than 100 times as much noise through to the occupants. Practically all bodies on General Motors cars are produced by the Fisher Body Company and the frames are made of specially selected hard wood with steel outside sheathing. In addition to the noise-silencing qualities of wood arc added other refinements reducing still further the amount of noise received by occupants.