HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 100, Issue 16815, 5 June 1926, Page 24 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

CAR DESIGN. I j There has never been a car made but the veriest amateur of critics could tlnd fault with it in some more or less important detail. No doubt thousands of letters giving advice to car designers have flooded Ihe wastepaper baskets of many a drawing office. But because a designer is so indifferent to the pearls of wisdom cast before him so generously there is no reason why the private car owners should put up with his idosyncrasies because the easy lessons that are offered to him arc accepted in a spirit of obstinacy that prevents their being learned. In the long run the car purchaser is the head of the designing shop. The designer who attempts to go against public opinion is riding for a fall. The most numerous of mistakes made by designers may be expressed in terms of inaccessibility. Nothing is more irritating to the' average owner than to find that some part which needs frequent, or even periodical attention is so difficult to get at that it generally goes without. A car might be one of the best on the market, yet bristling with so many

faults that an experienced motorist would advise Ills friend not to buy it, yet at the same time would tell him that this car contains many brilliant features of design. Tile workmanship employed in it is of the highest standard, and the materials throughout are of tiie very best. Unquestionably its road performance would be beyond reproach, and there is no reason for thinking that the car will fail to stand an exceptional and useful working life. If these arc the only considerations which one intends to allow to weigh with one, and certainly they arc the most important, all well and good. But one must not forget, that this car lkie others, will require, a certain amount of attention now and then, and if it be neglected one's purse and one’s temper will suffer. It may havo no fewer than 30 grease cups, all of which require regular attention, and some of which are in most inaccessible positions. If one could be so unfortunate as to have a collision, a really serious collision, and crack the engine crank-case one will want a complex gear-box casting as well, by way of replacement of the broken part. If ono should havo back axle trouble, such, for instance, as a broken pinion in the differential, the dismantling and assembling of the offending axle will cost more than the entire replacement in most other cars, because the whole unit is so inaccessibly mounted. And so It comes about at the present time the most niimerous mistakes made by

designers may be expressed in terms of inaccessibility. There are two parts of a car, the clutch spigot and the clutch withdrawal mechanism, that need lubrication perhaps more than any other after the interior of the engine, but which, owing to lhcir frequent inaccessibility, arc compelled to endure most neglect. Turning to the front of the engine, there is at least one reputable car on the market which has no adjustment for its fan belt. Belts are in many instances a source of trouble aud annoyance on motor cars, and the modern car that is offered to a purchaser with a belt in any essential part of ils assembly must have very exceptional assets indeed in other directions before it can sway the capable judge in its favour. The employment of a belt on a motor car is now limited to one of three functions —driving the speedometer, driving the fan, and driving the dynamo, the last two often being combined, and a worse combination it is difficult to conceive. A careful inspection of a chassis will generally reveal if there are in it many snares of the inaccessibility type, although one cannot be ! absolutely sure of any car in this respect until one has driven it and maintained it for a least a year.

THE DAZZLE QUESTION.

FROSTED lIEAD-LAMP GLOBES.^

The dazzle question crops up whenever night driving is discussed, and almost every experienced driver lias his own views on what should and what should not he done when meeting other traffic. The motorist is confronted with two evils. If he has to drive towards a car with very brilliant headlamps he may he so dazzled that he may fail to discern anything on the road hotli before and after passing the other car. If the drivers of both vehicles follow the practice known as dimming or extinguish their headlamps altogether, the sudden transition from intense light to almost complete darkness has an equally blinding effect. The only point is that, where the motorist has not been blinded he can see perfectly the moment he switches on his lamps after passing the other car, whereas, owing to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, he may remain blinded for quite ten seconds after meeting a car with bright lamps. No one can say definitely whether it is better to keep the headlights on or to dim them, because the whole question is so dependent upon circumstances. For example, should the driver of a car with powerful headlights meet another vehicle with lamps equal or inferior in brilliancy to his own, he is not seriously inconvenienced, provided that he observes the simple precaution of refraining from looking into the lamps. On the other hand, should the approaching vehicle have very much brighter lights, dazzling is almost inevitable. One of the simplest and best means of reducing dazzle without sacrificing illumination is to frost the headlamp globes. STOP THAT RUST, Wherever a rust- blodge exists lake a sharp knife and draw a regular circle round the affected part, then remove every particle of rust with a piece of emery cloth. Apply a little common blacklead, rubbing it in very, very thoroughly, and to some length; then take a brush and give it a polish over. This will not only prevent the rust from spreading, but will almost disguis ethe fact that the' paint-work has suffered any damage. TIME PAYMENTS,. The majority of motor car agents in Auckland were opposed to sale on time payment live years ago (says “Focus” in the Herald). Now almost all are prepared to give delivery for a deposit of one-third. For several years time payment on a one-third deposit basis has been the popular practice in America. There has been a tendency of late to decrease the down payments and extend the time limit. This, according to dealers, should he discouraged by tlie experienced manufacturers, ■ because the prosperity of the automobile industry rests on tlie employment of sound credit methods.

One popular light car is sold in America under an attractive time payment system, and, of the annual production of about half a million cars, approximately two-thirds arc sold on deferred payments. The financing charges have been reduced to eight cutis a day, and Ibis not only covers interest, hut also provides for insurance.

CAR IMPROVEMENTS. TREND TOWARDS SAFETY. Outstanding characteristics of this year's International Motor Show. Melbourne, accentuate the engineering trued towards safety. The tremendous growth of the industry, from the "rich man's toy" of some years ago to

' the useful transportation vehicle of " to-day, with the streets of our cities • and towns and the highways of the 1 country becoming every day more alive ' with automative vehicular traffic, calls' \ for one outstanding advance in the automative engineering art—safety. The dangers of road transportation to-day are too obvious to be cast aside with just a claim of safety and without the necessary mechanical and engineering qualities that would make such a claim worthy of serious consideration. A casual glance around the show illustrated the engineering trend for safety. The passenger car exhibits revealed improved riding • qualities, built lower to the ground and equipped with better brake design. Improved riding has come with a wider engineering acceptance of the balloon tyre principle. Balloon tyres, as a matter of fact, interjected an entirely new factor in chassis design, and thus far it has not reached its highest engineering possibilities. Some engineers have designed springs for the use of balloon lyres with stabilisers I and not springs where the addition of

the shock absorbers or snubbing devices is a matter of personal whim or fancy. AUTOMATIC TAIL LIGHT. A NEW DEVICE. An automatic tail light for affixing to tramcars has been evolved at the Auckland tramway workships, and the city tramcars are to be fitted with the device. Whenever the air brakes arc applied following traffic will be warned by means of a red light at the back of the car. The tramways manager informed the City Council that the signal could be installed for £3 a car, and recommended that each car be provided with the signal. The Council approved the recommendation and instructed that the cars should be fitted as they went into the workshops for overhaul and painting.

LATEST CAR MODELS. “ALWAYS HOME” AND PERFECT LEVER. The latest motor-car trade journal has arrived, and the advance models for the 1027 season arc described. Two models are worth noting. The “All-ways Home” model has a patent release by which, when the speed of the car reaches fifteen miles an hour, the motor cuts out. This is designed for fathers of grown-up sons and daughters. The name, “Allways Home” is justified. When dad wants the car it will be found at home. The other new model is called the “Perfect Lover.” It can be steered by the feet. This will solve the problem of the earnest youth in the story of the Traffic Cop and Wobbly Driver. A traffic cop saw a car approaching, steering an erratic course. The youthful driver had one arm around the girl and one attending to the wheel. “Why don't you use both hands?” called out the cop. “I’m frightened ’ to," the youth called back. “I'm frightened I might run into something.”

A SYDNEY FARCE. Motorists in Sydney have been discussing the admisability of holding a meeting of protest against the con'linued persecution of car drivers for trivial breaches of the traffic regulations. A bright blue car for two traffic police was recently purchased and rapidly became known as the “Blue Peril.” It is said that in eight days more than £SOO was secured in lines against motorists presented on ab- ' surd charges, and within a fortnight penalties inflicted on motorists showed a surplus over the cost of the car. Some hundreds were caught by the crew of the “Blue Peril” for parking their cars an inch , too far from the kerb. Numbers of police are secreted along the roads leading to racecourses and the congestion of traffic due to motors being driven at slow speeds has become serious. it is claimed that the manner in which traffic- regulations arc being enforced at Iho present time in Sydney is Gilbertian. HUB BEARINGS. Hub bearings on motor cycles can be divided into two classes—those that wear and those that wear out. This is a truer classification than roller and cone-cup bearings, though the taper roller bearing is undoubtedly gaining headway. This is surely merited, for the taper roller bearing is an engineering proposition, and it has proved its many excellencies in actual praclice as well as in theory—though tlie theory of the roller presents a far more difficult problem than that of tlie ball. A few years ago a firm of moior cycle manufacturers produced a wheel bearing, iu which the axle revolved, the actual bearing being housed in Hie frame. This bearing appeared satisfactory, and it presented a very neat job indeed. However, the idea has gained little headway.

AN EPITAPH OF BAD ROADS.

They took a little gravel, And took a little tar, With various ingredients Imported from afar; They hammered it and rolled it, And when they went away They said they had a good street To last for many a day.

They came with picks and smote it, To lay a water main, And then ttiey called the workmen To put it back again. To lay the city drains They took it up onco more, And then they put it back again Just .where it was before.

They took it up for conduits, To run the telephone, And then they put it hack again As hard as any stone. They tore it up for wires To feed the Meetric lights; And then they put it back again And were within their rights.

Oh, the street’s full of furrows, There are patches everywhere; You’d like to ride upon it, But it's seldom that you dare. It's a very handsome street, A credit to the town; They’re always digging or it up Or putting of it down. —BUZZ, in the Washington Post.

A car owner at Brighton (England) was fined £L recently ofr aflng tioiarf was fined £1 recently for failing to notify the registration authorities of a chansc in the colour of his car.

SPARKS.

A fool and his car arc soon in need of repairs. A slip of ilie tongue often follows a slip of the tyre. The principal function of the flywheel is to keep (lies off Ilie. engine. If the motor fails to start on a cold morning considerable action may be caused by building a bonfire under the car. lie: Have you fixed (lie status of Ilie new people next door? She: No, they have no car, no radio, no piano—in

fact I can’t imagine what they have got. lie: Maybe they have a bank account. Tlio use of disfiguring road signs bv oil companies was criticised by the council of the Auckland Automobile Association last week. The service officer said that one company had authorised him to remove offending signs. Another company was taking no action. The question was referred to the North Island Motor Union. Motor vehicle imports into New Zealand in 192. j were valued at £!,- 143,023. For the first quarter of this

year they were £I,ISO.OiI. Since tha motor trade is generally fairly dull for the first six months of the year, the activity up to the present suggests that the imports this year will pass the Li),000, 000 mark.