A VEXING QUESTION.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17008, 22 January 1927, Page 20 (Supplement)

A VEXING QUESTION.

To dim or not to dim, that ts the problem. Until some satisfactory alternative is discovered (and the ■writer has met none so far) it seems |,o he largely a question of the circumstances at the time. If the “dimmers” are bright enough to give a reasonable guide to the driver, then dimming may be safe. Certainly ft is • often impossible for two pairs of ultrapowcrful lamps to remain dimmed while the cars meet and pass except at grave risk of accident. Numerous cases might be cited by motorists of narrow escapes under such circumstances. CAR v. RUNNER. It is not generally known that a good runner can beat a car over a 100-yards wiih a fairly high power-weight ratio sprint from a standing start,. A car can get off the mark and do 100 yards in 11 seconds. An exceptional car might make the sprint in 10 seconds. This is assuming that the engine is running, the. low gear engaged, and the clutch ready to let in. Interesting tests in America showed that a light car just introduced, with an engine rated at 15. G horse-power, accomplished 100 yards in 10 3-ssec alongside. a sprinter who managed the distance in 0 9-lOscc. in 200 yards the runner would, of course, be "left well behind. A REVISED VERSION. Hordes of motors now remind us Wc should build our roads to stay: And departing, leave behind us Kinds that rains don’t wash away. When our children pay the mortgage Father made to haul the load, They'll not have to ask the question, ‘■Here’s the loan, but where's the road?” —Oregon Motorist. !L;h \ - SPARKS. ''W; : - A broken or loose tappet will not only make a loud tap, but will cause a lack of power and uneven pulling. It is even mistaken sometimes for a loose piston or bearing. A certain amount of back-lash or ■ play in your steering wheel, normally from three-quarters to an inch and a half, measured on the rim of the wheel, is essential to steering freedom. There are times when the road is good, and the moon is bright, and the engine purring, when the difference between heaven and earth is the thickness of your brake lining.

Two motorists who detested each other met in a narrow alley just large enough for one car to pass. One.said in a bullying voice: “I never give way lor a fool.” Whereupon the other reversed his car and replied gently: “But I always do. Go past me, my triend.” “My wife had a motor accident yesterday." “I’m sorry. Was there much damage done?” “A fair amount. A smashed-up back, and several screws loose.” . “Your poor wife!” “Oh, you were referring to her? She only got a broken leg.” A nine-speed motor car gear shift, that needs no clutch for operation was demonstrated recefally in England. The demonstrator made 18 changes of sliced in a few seconds without even the faintest sound of crashing gears. At Chicago plant has been installed for the washing and cleaning of cars on the conveyor, or mass production method, and it is said to be capable of turning out. a completely washed and cleaned autorpobile in six minutes from start to finish. A new Essex by-law makes it an offence to bring a motor vehicle on to tiie highway without having removed any mini or clay which may be adhering to the wheels. It is not stated whether the county council will provide tyre scrapers on the borders. With a total registration of 273,324 cars, Connecticut claims that almost every family in the State now has a motor vehicle of some sort. Threefifths of Connecticut’s motorists own cars costing less than £l5O, only about 5000 owning cars worth £SOO or more.