POSSIBILITY FOR CARS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 227, 25 September 1928, Page 17

POSSIBILITY FOR CARS.

DEVELOPMENT OF DIESEL ENGINE.

SUCCESSFULLY USED IN LORRIES

When one considers the marvellous legree of efficiency to which the modern nternal combustion engine has been leveloped, with its 4, 6, 8, and even 12 :ylinders, its smoothness and silence of iperation and its flexibility, it may come is a surprise to many to learn that a •oterie of eminent engineers in Engand, France, and Germany is convinced ;hat its supremacy is about to be threatened by the Diesel principle. Actually, the Diesel engine has been ex:ensively developed of recent years, hand n hand with the petrol engine. Although ;he Diesel is an internal combustion sngine, it does not operate on the same principle as the power units at present jmployed for automobiles, in which the ;harge of petrol vapour and air is drawn into the cylinders from the carburettor, ignited by an electric spark, and burnt instantaneously. In the case of tht Diesel engine, only pure air is drawn intc the cylinder and compressed, and oil fuel is then injected as a fine spray into the highly compressed air. The aii is compressed to a pressure of about 5001b per square inch, and the temperature is sufficiently high to ignite the spray of oil, but in view of t.he higl pressures which have to be dealt with the Diesel engine is necessarily of verj robust construction, and its weight haf been the. main difficulty to be surmounted, before they could be developed for use in road vehicles, or possibly foi aeroplanes. Nevertheless, considerable attention is being paid to the Diese engine behind the scenes, and in engineering circles in England and on thi Continent, it is not considered impos sible that the day will f,oon come whei the various difficulties will be sur mounted, and this type of power plan! will be utilised for all classes ol mechanical transport on land and in th< air, for it possesses one great virtueeconomy in fuel consumption, apart froii its unquestioned reliability and safetj from lire risks, compared with th< normal petrol engine. BREACH OF RIGHT-HAND RULE. MAGISTRATE THREATENS HEAVIER FIXES. Charges against a Xew Plymoutl motorist of driving in a manner whicl might have been dangerous to the public and of failing to give way to traffic or his right-hand side at an intersectioi were heard before Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M. The magistrate, in giving his decision said he had formed the conclusion thai the defendant and his witness had made too perfunctory a glance to the righi and failed to see Masters' car, and tie fendant had failed to give way to traffii on his right-hand side. On the questioi of speed he expressed the opinion tha , very few people drove at 15 miles ai hour along Devon Street, and if anyoni drove at that speed he would be passe* by every other vehicle on the street. Hi had hoped the regulations wore bringinj about a better standard of driving, bu he still found people "barging" aero*: intersections without taking proper pro cautions and he would in future hav< to increase the fines for such offences. He convicted the defendant of failin< to give way to traffic on his right-ham side, and imposed a fine of 40/ (costs an; expenses £3 18/). ACME OF TRAVEL COMFORT. MOTOR v. RAILWAY TRAIN. "The train ran so smoothly one might almost have been in a motor car." This is an extract from a tribute by a lad\ (the wife of aii ex-Colonial Governor) t< the "Flying Scotsman," the London anr North-Eastern Railway's new London Edinburgh express. In its unconscious compliment to the modern car it is superb. Consider the train's advantages. Its motive power is steam, and no interna combustion engine ever invented cat deliver its power through pistons an< cylinders so sweetly and smoothly a* steam. It runs on rails laid witl mathematical precision on the flattest possible bed—a '"road" with which th( newest arterial highway cannot compare; and it is subject to no sudden checks and swervings due to the presence of other vehicles or obstacles in its right-of-way. And yet, in spite of all, the finest British railway train (which is as good as saying the finest train in the world) is not comfortable to travel in as a good motor car. 50 MILE CHAMPIONSHIP OF AUSTRALIA. A fine .performance was recorded or September 9 by a Chrysler car on the Lake Perkolilli speedway. West Aus tralia. The car won the Australian 5( miles championship in 35 minutes, 3( seconds, averaging 86.4 miles an hour covering the last 25 miles at a speed oi 92.3 miles per hour. This is ciaimed tc be a world speed record for a natura' unbaiiked dirt track. The event was rur under the control of the Royal Auto mobile Club of West Australia. WHAT TOURISTS NEED FOR OCEAII TO OCEAN TRAVEL. The Southern California -automobile Club suggests the following equipment for tourists, which might be noted by Auckland motorists when setting out next summer:— Transcontinental motorists nave learned from experience to travel as light as possible. One snouiu carry a set of skid chains, a complete set oi tools for the car, a good jack, a pail of pliers, extra tyres mounted, patches extra spark plugs, a two-gallon watei receptacle, a flashlight, a small hanc axe for the cutting of firewood, a smaL shovel to be used in covering fire witt earth before leaving it, and in the bury ing of cans and other refuse before breaking camp, lamp bulbs, and tow rope. This last will be used not eseen tially for oneself, but for assisting perhaps, a fellow tourui on tie road