MOTORING & CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1516, 15 May 1919, Page 28

MOTORING & CYCLING

Photographs of private motorists in their cars, snapshots taken while on tour, or accounts of motoring trips and other items of interest to carowners, will be inserted in these columns if posted to “New Zealand Sporting and Dramatic Review,” P.O. Box 52, Auckland.

During April the Napier City Council registered 25 motor cars, six motor cycles and one motor lorry. The Hawke’s Bay County Council registered 19 cars and seven cycles.

It is stated that one old-established English motor firm has laid down a programme of 25,000 complete cars per annum. The features of this car will be medium power, complete equipment and thorough up-to-date-ness..

An item of £5OOO for purchase of three motor lorries and a tractor was on the preliminary estimates submitted to Rangitikei County Council at a recent meeting. Councillors were unanimous in agreeing to it, the chairman remarking that he would like another road roller and crusher purchased.

The London and Provincial Union of Licensed Vehicle Workers is trying to arrange with the London County Council, omnibus companies, and the Commissioner of Police for permission to be given to tramcar and omnibus drivers to be allowed to smoke while on duty. It is understood the London Omnibus Company has expressed its inability to comply with their request.

In connection with the arrangements for the trans-Atlantic flight, a recent cable states that the Air Ministry has provided for the use of wireless and flare bombs, and has instructed scores of steamship operators to listen for the signal D.K.A. (dash dot dot, dash dot dash, dot dash), indicating a request for guidance. The “Evening Standard” hears that several of the competitors will carry only three hours supplies of petrol, which will be seriously risking delays through adverse currents.

Information has been received by the Minister of Defence that flying cadets who were in schools at the signing of the armistice, but obtained pilot’s certificates subsequently, may receive the £75 grant. Officer’s uniforms are not now worn until a cadet qualifies as a flight cadet. Then a grant of £l3 is made. Arrangements have been made, however, for refunding to all cadets serving on November 11, 1918, reasonable expenses on officer’s equipment.

At the Magistrate’s Court, Palmerston North last week, before Mr. E. Page, S.M., a case was heard in which the Watt Motor Company claimed from E. A. Schwartz, salesman, of Palmerston, the sum of £8 9s. 9d„ in respect of repairs to a motor car. The evidence disclosed that defendant offered plaintiff company a car for sale, and while it was in the possession of the latter certain repairs were effected which defendant claimed he had not authorised and for which he refused to pay, as he was only an agent in the mat- . ter. His Worship gave judgment for plaintiff, with £2 15s. costs.

A remarkable record has been made by a Stratford motorist, and was mentioned by a councillor at a special meeting of the County Council. The council was considering a proposal to procure a new car, and Councillor Hancock supported the purchase of one particular make, giving as his reason that a friend of his had run one of these cars for a number of years, the car having run 40,000 miles. During the past year it had run 4812 miles; and the expenses had been £33 13s. 2d. for benzine, £lO 10s. for oils, and £l9 15s. for repairs, a total of £64. This worked out at the remarkably low running cost of only 3Jd. per mile. The repairs were somewhat heavy, as the car had run approximately 50,000 miles, and this makes the record an even better one than would be the case if the car was a new one.

Few motorists in this country are aware of the big assembling business that has developed in connection with the Ford car in Australia. The average motorist thinks that the complete car is imported ready for the road, but it is not so. The thousands of Fords sold in Australia are now brought overseas in parts, and the work of assembling, from the bare frame members up, done there, and what an industry it has grown into. All told, probably close on 1000 hands are now employed at this work, and the building of Ford bodies. In Melbourne a huge plant has been erected to cope with Ford equipment, and the output in bodies alone is at the rate of 2000 a year. The plant is systematised after the Ford factories, workmen being allotted standardised piecework that greatly simplifies production and increases output. Similar plants are in operation in other States. It is an object lesson of the benefits that accrue to the community in general and the workmen in particular, by having all this work done in Australia, instead of having the complete cars shipped there.

The voyage of the oil steamer Cardium, from Singapore to Melbourne with 6000 tons of benzine, has been eventful. On April 5 wireless S.O.S.

messages were received at Melbourne stating that when some 300 miles from Albany fire broke out in the engine room rendering the engines useless. Several vessels hastened to the assistance of the Cardium, and the latest wireless advice received was that she was being towed to Albany by the steamer War Soldier. The Cardium left Singapore early in the year, and in ordinary circumstances should have reached Melbourne early in March. While in the Indian Ocean her engines broke down and she was forced to put into Fremantle for repairs, and was delayed there for 10 days.

Two returned soldiers have applied to the Canterbury District Repatriation Board for help in establishing a motor garage in the city. They have £lOO and they asked for a loan of £6OO from the board. It was stated at a meeting of the board that inquiries showed that the site they had in view was a good one, but that the capital contemplated was quite inadequate. With rent, interest and other items they would have to take £lOOO a year before they cleared expenses. Garage proprietors, who were consulted, said that it was utterly useless for anybody to go into the motor garage business with-

out the backing of adequate capital. It was obvious that it would be useless to entertain the proposal unless the men had a backing of several thousand pounds at least. A member of the board said that, in any case, there was no hope at present of obtaining in New Zealand machinery for a motor garage establishment. It was stated that the men had great faith in their chances of success and that their application had been declined by the committee with regret.

Lieutenant H. E. Hyde, R.A.F., of Tarras, Otago, who published a pamphlet in 1914 in advocacy of the adoption of international measures for the prevention of war, has recently prepared a pamphlet under the auspices of the League of Nations Union on the same subject, in which he points out that the alternative to the prevention of war is warfare more devastating and horrible than that of the past. In connection with aviation alone, in respect of which Lieutenant Hyde writes with the knowledge derived from the fact that he flew one of the largest type of night bombing machines for twelve months until he was shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans, he says that so rapid has been the development of flying that, with very little improvement to the present

type of machine, large cities could be made uninhabitable in a single night. In a few years’ time it will be possible to drop bombs of such a weight and with such destructive capacity as to make the effect of the bombs dropped on London during the war appear trivial. Even as things are, had it not been for the signing of the armistice, the world —and particularly Germany — would ere now have had a terrible demonstration of what the progress in aviation means in war.

Professor Whitfield, of the Perth (Western Australia) University, who recently returned after three years absence in America and England, was at the time the armistice was signed in charge of the gas-making factory near Liverpool. Speaking of the effects of the poison gas, Professor Whitfield stated that unless the League of Nations, or some other organisation, controlled the deadly gas agency, nothing short of chaos would be caused when the next war broke out. “Poison gas,” he said,

“has been developed to such a remarkable extent that a very little of it dropped from an aeroplane would put a whole town out of action. Thus, if two neighbouring nations went to war and began using poison gas from aeroplanes, they, would have all their centres of population in confusion in no time. So far as lam aware,” said the professor, “none of the belligerents dropped poison gas from aeroplanes during the war. Our side would not take the initiative. The Germans by the time they were in a position to use their aircraft for gassing purposes were apparently afraid lest reprisals from our side might do them more damage than they would cause us.”

Speaking at a meeting of the Coventry branch of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, recently held to discuss the post-war development of the motor ’bus, Mr. T. Clarkson, who presided, emphasised the fact that the double deck is a survival of the fittest. People like to see London from the top of a ’bus. Wire wheels have been tried unsuccessfully, and wooden wheels are not suitable. Pressed wheels were tried, but did not last. A centre plate was added, which made them satisfactory but increased the weight. The cast steel wheel is still the best. The

use of driving chains allows lower floors —no differential to clear. Much might be said for both large and small engines, but the latter are more suitable for London. The tendency was to increase the diameter of road wheels. The rubber tyre was the biggest development since 1904; then price was 2d. per mile per tyre; at the present day it was Id. per mile, and had not gone up during the war. Capsizing is not frequent. Static tests with ’buses had shown it necessary to raise wheels over three feet in order to turn a vehicle quite over. The tram is a back number as a method of transportation. It is less efficient than it was on account of reduced flexibility and liability to obstruction caused by the greater number of other vehicles and general growth of transport on the roads. The difficulty with ’buses was not to decide on a tax, but how correctly to apportion it.

The latest idea in America is to have women motor milliners, who are to act as a sort of dressmaker to the car. They select the materials, the colours of cushions, of leather and the paint, and also plan the design of the interior. “Good luggage space,” we are told, “is regarded as essential. Drawers and boxes under seats, lockable and dustproof, are needed for wraps, etc. Women like a removable polished floor of wood because so many skirts are soiled on oily, dirty floors.”

Never in the history of aviation has any event created such worldwide interest as the proposed flight across the Atlantic Ocean from America to England or vice versa. For many weeks much speculation has been indulged in regarding the prospects of success which the different contenders for cross-Atlantic honours possess, and all along Harry Hawker, the intrepid Australian airman, whose deeds are not unknown to New Zealanders, has been recognised as the most likely candidate to accomplish the gigantic feat. Hawker’s friends have always regarded him with amazement owing to his incredible toughness. On the coldest days he has ascended to high altitudes and has not been provided with extra clothing. One of his achievements was to attain a height of 25,000 feet without using oxygen and nose dive rocket-like, which is a tremendous lung test.

In an American paper to hand appears an interesting article tracing the history of the motor bicycle in the United States, and in which reference is made to the early days of the Indian machine. It appears that it was at the end of August, 1900, the Hendee Mfg. Co., which had been manufacturing Indian bicycles in its works in Springfield, Mass., announced that preparations were under way to produce an Indian motor cycle. The factory then in use occupied about 14,000 square feet of floor space, which was expected to be sufficient for both bicycle and motor cycle departments for a while. The first Indian made its appearance

early in June, 1901. The engine was built into the frame under the saddle, the general lines, closely following the standard bicycle diamond frame. The motor w’as rated at 12 h.p„ and the weight of the entire machine was but 751 b. The fuel tank was built over the rear mudguards, with a small oil tank above it.

There are two kinds of motorists who do not get full value out of their cars. The one is the fussy individual who is for ever thinking that this or that wants adjustment, with the result that his car is more often in the workshop than on the road. The other is a greater sinner, but a more picturesque one. He is the happy-go-lucky one who expects a motor car to run on for ever. He gets good value out of his motoring until the car stops or develops symptoms of general debility and premature dissolution, and then he has to pay. This he generally does with a smiling face, to the considerable depletion of his exchequer, the great financial gain of the local repairer, and the benefit of the labour market. It is to his credit that, as a rule, he does not blame the makers, but instead recognises that the fault is his own, kicks himself metaphorically, pays up the regular bill and continues his happy and inconsequential running of the car. • But with patients in the garage it is the same as with patients in the hospital. Neglect of early indications of derangement, running the machine — human or mechanical —in an unfit condition, improper feeding or lubrication—all end in the big, expensive, ultimate overhaul with a skilled man to superintend, and the slow and tedious pull-back to renewed vigour and activity. Unfortunately, in the case of the human machine, the tug-o’-war is sometimes won by the grim opponent — there are no spare parts or replacements to be bought. With the mechanical machine we can tinker it up, replace misused parts with new and generally restore the organs to their original condition.

A motor club has been formed in Invercargill, Mr. R. R. Binney having been elected secretary. A live committee is sparing no effort to secure members, and the club should not be long in promoting an opening run and other social outings.

There are a good many thefts of motor cars reported from various parts of the Dominion. A Hawera gentleman recently in Palmerston left his car in the backyard of a hotel. Next morning it had disappeared. A few days later a Wanganui car also mysteriously disappeared. It would be well for motorists leaving their cars about to take the precaution to lock them; also to put their tools, etc., under lock and key, as there is a lot of theft of tools, pumps, etc., going on.

A Gisborne motorist calls attention to the practice of butchers, bakers, milkmen and other tradesmen’s carts using the wrong side of the road when on their delivery rounds. The result is that an accident was narrowly averted in Stout Street a few days ago. Tradesmen’s carts, it is pointed out, are subject to the rules of the road as well as other vehicles.

For once Australia has been behind Christchurch, says the Christchurch “Sun.” Under the heading. “Melbourne Gets in First,” a Sydney paper reproduces, from a Melbourne journal, an advertisement of passenger aerial flights during the Easter holidays. In Christchurch the novelty of passenger flights has worn off, and the fees for them have been reduced.

The laying down of the concrete road at Makaraka, Gisborne, under the supervision of the Cook County overseer -is nearing completion. An experimental stretch of 16 chains has been put down, with a width of 16 feet, and it is intended to finish it with a tarred wearing surface. Part of the concrete was put down with Patutahi metal and the balance with Motuhora stone. The roadway has to be allowed to season, and it will probably be a month or two before it is available for traffic.

The Royal Automobile Club of England is probably the richest and largest club of its kind in existence. It has a membership of over 15,000. In its early days, it used to cost £lO 10s. entrance, and £25 was the annual subscription, but the fees are now more reasonable, it only costing city members £6 6s. per annum and country motorists £4 4s. a year. Even at the latter figure, the revenue of the club from subscriptions alone is a big one. The Royal Automobile Club’s club house in London is one of the most palatial in Europe.

It seems almost incredible that a few months back Brussels was in the hands of the Huns, and now a six-days bicycle race is being conducted in the capital of Belgium. Fifteen teams started in the event, including Spears and Corry, two wellknown Australian riders, who have been racing for the past few seasons in America with considerable success. Spears is evidently in his best form, for in a sprint match he defeated the French crack, Dupuy, one of the fastest riders in Europe.

After a lapse of four years, the Victorian Cycle Traders 100 miles road race is to be revived, and will probably be held on either the first or second Saturday in October. The exact date will be announced later. The race will be held over. the old course —North Essendon, Lancefield, Carlsruhe, Nuddend Woodend, to the starting point. The event will be conducted under the auspices of the League of Victorian Wheelmen.

The question of procuring improved motive power for metal haulage has been occupying the attention of the Manawatu County Council. In reply to the council the Public Works Department intimated that the makers of traction vehicles used during the war were arranging for the War Office to return these vehicles on demobilisation, and it would therefore be better for local bodies to make their own arrangements. The

council had hoped to be able to arrange through the Department for the purchase of one or more of these second-hand motor vehicles, if desired. A discussion ensued, and in the course of this there was a divergence of opinion as to what form of traction (steam, electricity or petrol) would be the most suitable to adopt, and as to whether the county could stand the expense, and ultimately the whole question was held over for further consideration.

Flight-Lieutenant W. T. McKeague, eldest son of Mr. Dan. McKeague, of Gisborne, returned to New Zealand by the Remuera, which recently arrived at Auckland. The Gisbornite obtained his flying certificate at the aviation school at Sockburn, and left New Zealand in October last, joining the Royal Flying Corps on arrival in England.

Some complaints were made at the last meeting of the Wellington Automobile Club about the blocking of motorists by motor ’buses. Mr. Partridge stated a definite case, but was not able to get the necessary evidence in order to prosecute. The secretary was instructed to write to the owner of the motor ’bus stating that if any future complaints were laid before the committee they would have no hesitation in prosecuting for obstruction.

The first national war factory to be sold is the aircraft engine factory at Edmonton, England,"which has been bought by Messrs. Straker, Squire, Ltd., the motor manufacturers, for £140,000. This is £7OOO more than it cost to build. The purchasers, states the British Ministry of

Munitions, propose to transfer all their manufacturing activities to the factory, which will be organised on the lines of quantity production. It is anticipated that 5000 workpeople will be employed. The firm’s programme is to concentrate on a sixcylinder and a four-cylinder commercial chassis. According to present" plans 2000 complete vehicles will be produced from the factory within the first year.

Discussing the question of Government control of the main arterial roads of New Zealand at a meeting of the Manawatu County Council, the chairman (Sir James Wilson) said that earlier in the year he had discussed the subject in conversation with M. Corbiere, a member of the French Mission. M. Corbiere had informed him that the roadways in France were the most perfect in the world. There the Government constructed the roads, and recovered the cost thereof by means of a levy on local bodies. New Zealand’s experience of Government construction of roads had not, remarked Sir James, been a very happy one, and he questioned the efficacy of the French system as applied to the Dominion. To his mind the great and controversial point to be decided in event of any measure of State control would be: What was a main road? Members were inclined to agree with Sir James, Councillor Boyce remarking: “All would be main roads then.” (Laughter.)

The absence of two doors to the front seat of most motor cars is apt to cause considerable inconvenience at times. The driver has to get on board first, and if he has to dismount he necessarily disturbs the passenger. The orthodox method of locating the gear is at the right-hand side of the car. The central position, as adopted by many American makers, however, has certain advantages. It reduces the permanent extra weight on one side of the car, and, whether the steering wheel is at the right or lefthand side, there is no difficulty in operating the gears or brake. After a little practice, it is as easy to do so with the left hand as the right.