The Motorist

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 755, 25 August 1904, Page 14

The Motorist

(By

“ Petrol.”)

Mr Will Atkin had . a narrow escape last Saturday with a Vauxhall car. He was driving along the Onehunga road on the top speed, but even this fact did not prevent a tramcar overtaking him and the force of the collision threw the car and its occupants some considerable distance. Luckily no one was seriously injured.

The 12-h.p. Darracq purchased by the Hot Lakes Transport Company is nearly ready for delivery. The body is being made by the Cousins and Atkin Carriage Factory Company.

Dr. Grant has purchased a 6-h.p. De Dion.

Mr Bockaert had a trial spin on Sunday with the second 24-h.p. Darracq ordered by the Rotorua Motor Coaching Company. The run to St. Helier’s Bny was accomplished without changing gear.

Another 6-h.p. De Dion has been sold to a Palmerston North client.

His Excellency the Governor has signified his acceptance of the position of patron of the Canterbury Automobile Association.

Dr. Parkes had a narrow escape from a smash on Saturday. He was driving his neat little car out to Epsom and when just opposite the entrance to the Newmarket railway station, while attempting to cross between two trams going in opposite directions was very nearly nipped. Both cars were brought up very promptly and willing hands soon extricated the car from its dangerous predicament. No damage was done, and the doctor was soon speeding on his way to Epsom.

# « The Clement-Talbot car has established a world’s non-stop record, having travelled 2070 miles. The previous best nonstop record was 1000 miles.

In the recent reliability test from Glasgow to London a 6-h.p. Wolseley car secured first place in its class.

There are few more inaccesible regions than the mountainous mining districts of California, and one is glad to learn that the automobile, which is penetrating everywhere, revolutionising traffic, and in consequence developing industry, is finding its way even into the Death Valley, where it will be shortly employed on a large scale for haulage purposes, and to replace the mules which have hitherto been regarded as the only practical traction power in the district. The introduction of the automobile for this purpose has been the result of experiments conducted in Colorado, where it has been satisfactorily demonstrated that motor vehicles can be used to advantage in such districts. The Death Valley is 167 miles long, and hitherto it has taken a 20-mule train 24 hours to haul 20-ton loads 18 miles. Arrangements, according to the “Financial News,” are being made for doing the work by an automobile train, which will have power equivalent to that

of thirty mule teams, and will, it is estimated, carry five times the load 100 miles in twenty-four hours. The automobiles will be electrically driven, and presumably take current from a tiolly wire. There are to be seven or eight cars to a train, and the electric power will be generated by petrol motors. Whether anything is gained by this arrangement over the employment of separate petrol engines on the cars is open to doubt, and it is very probable that beioie long this method of traction will be adopted. Possibly, however, electric traction has been selected owing to the amount of water power which is generally available in California, and which may perhaps be applicable for providing additional electric power. The scheme, at any rate, is a further instance of the rapid manner m which self-propelled traction is assisting important industries, even in the most out-of-the-way parts of the world.

G P Mills (England), the finest road rider in the world, and winner of the first Bordeaux to Paris race in 1891 has returned to his favourite long-distance jaunt from Land’s End to John o Groat’s, which on three or. four ocassions he covered per cycle in the late eighties and early nineties ; but now the push bike is discarded, and the record run is covered on a motor bicycle, this distance is 885 miles, and this Mills recently covered in the good time of 50 hours 46min 30 sec, beating the previous best made by T. Silver by nearly fourteen hours.

The Vanderbilt Cup Motor Race is to be held in America on October 8. The event is to be run on the road, and promises to be one of the most interesting sporting events yet held in America. . The number of American competitors is limited to 10. Most of the crack motorists of Europe have signified their intention of competing.

A motor cycle race was recently held between Pretoria and Johannesburg, a distance of 45 miles. There were twenty starters, the winner, G. B. Usher, who rode a 3-V-h.p. Rex doing the distance in Ihr 39min. The roads were rough and hilly, so the run was a very smart performance.

The Nottingham Automobile Club awarded the Foster Challenge Cup competed for in the non-stop reliability trial to Mr Evinson, who drove an 8-J--h.p. two-cylinder Humber car.

A bronze trophy, valued at £2OO, to be known as the French Alps Cup, has been offered for a reliability run over the touring roads of the French Alps during the space of one year. This is a practical test which should be of far more value than a dozen Gordon-Bennett races.

A remarkable ride was accomplished by a competitor in a 50 miles motorcycle road race, held at Buffalo, U.S.A., in June last. The rider, A. S. Noonan, used a 1$ h.p. machine, and covered the distance in lhr llmin 30sec—equal to Imin 20sec per mile, roughly. A local paper, in commenting on the race, says the most astonishing part of it is that the competitors came through with whole skins and unbroken bones. the second rider to finish occupied lhr 14min 30sec, and used a 3A h.p. machine, while the third man was 7min longer, also with a 3A h.p. engine.

The remarkable evenness of the pace of Thery and Jenatzy, the first and second to finish in the Gordon-Bennet t motor race, has attracted the attention of motorists throughout the world. In a circuit of about 82 miles the difference in time was onlv one second, the faster (Jenatzy) occupied lhr 26min 56sec. Thery covered the first two circuits in 2hr 53min 4sec, and Jenatzy in 2hr 53 min 20sec, while at the end of the third circuit Thery had a gain of 10min llsec ; his time being 4hr 23min 4sec. He increased his lead to llmin 20sec, finishing - the fourth and last lap in shr 50min Bsec.

Jenatzy, who was the defender of the cup, seems to have been unfortunate in losing time at various points. At one place 3min was wasted, while at another smin were lost through some difficulty in restarting his engine after bong stopped in control. Railway gates being closed against him was another cause of delay, which brought his total loss of time up to about nine minutes. Therefore, the difference between running times of the leaders over a course of 328 miles did not account to much more than 2min —a wonderful performance.

The well- nown I rcnch auiomobilist, Beconnais, was killed through an accident caused by a tyre on his car bursting. Both Beconnais and his machine were thrown against a tree by the roadside.