COST OF MOTORING

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18230, 14 November 1924, Page 4

COST OF MOTORING

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FALLING IN ENGLAND.

MOTORING IN THE OLD WORLD.

(By Our Motoring Correspondent.)

LONDON, October 8. Tho cost of motoring is still falling. The other day ifc was the price of petrol that went down. Now it is car prices which are dropping. Several English makers announce reductions, ran"ing froan £lO on the very smallest models to £IOO on the most_ expensive. The average is about £45. The sweeping away of the McKenna duties has forced these cuts. The motor trade in Britain has boldly set out to fight the imported car on the field of price. The firms which have made the cuts look to larger sales to balance their "hecounts by reducing overhead charges, arid several of thenu have planned a big increase of output' in anticipation of a better year in 1925 than the one they have passed through. It is claimed by those who backed up the Government in wiping out the McKenna duties that the ultimate result will be larger sales, therefore more garaging ana repairing, a bigger demand for tyres and. accessories of all kinds, and so in the long run increased <omplc/ymen_t>. One trusts that these hopes will be realised and that the motor industry and the many activities connected witjj it will soon reveal appreciable expansion. Th/ Dominion Market.

Taking a long view of the position, the removal of high protection, though worrying to car makers at the moment* lull probably turn 'out to be a soundmeasure. It will ultimately benefit the export' business which the English industry must develop if it is going to reveal large-scale expansion and help solve the problem of unemployment in Britain. Oversea motorists will bo able to purchase English cars ' at something like American prices. I d'o not for a moment think that the American trade in tho Dominions and India will suffer any reduction to speair of. But the oversea lands are still far from saturation point as faias motor-cars are concerned, and England ought to be able to get a fair share of the increased buying thatVill go on in the future, especially' if the ocst of motoring can be' further reduced. However the English manufacturers will have to study oversea needs and tastes as well as the price question if they want to obtain the best results. Excellent as many of the low-priced English cays are, -some of them are not roomy enough for the oversea'motorist. Extension of Motoring. • That there will be ji big extension of motoring everywhere in the not distant future, is certain. The Paris motor show, which is now open, reveals a range of mechanically-driven vehicles running from a £l4 motor-cycle up to a £SOOO limousine. You can buy in England to-day for £4O or £SO a second-hand motor-car that will last for years. Motor-cycles sire within the reach of almost any working man; and indeed there are' people who "think that before very long a great number of skilled artisans will drive to their jobs in thnir own cars as they do ill America. •

The Paris Show, by the way, revealed rib> mechanical - departures of importance. The Continental makers seem content with present practice, and are relying more upon greater, refinements in bodywork and more vividness in colours, to sell cars than upon novelties in engine design and so on. The low pressure tyro whicih was introduced at the Paris Show last yesr is now seen at all the stands. French firms, however, fit it mainly on light cars. It is the small light car which gains so much in comfort from low pressure tyres. . Motor Highways.

"Keeping One's Head." Quite a number of motorists in England still seem to think that low pressure tyres may burst, or come off, at speed and cause accidents. As a matter of fact, the actual cases of trouble of this kind are extremely few, and tlien the driver is usually found to be at fault. The risk associated with bursting tyres is in reality very small indeed, as long as the driver keeps his head. Mr Malcolm Campbell was recently driving* his 350" li.p. Sunbeam in Denmark at a speed of 150 miles an hour when a front' tyre came off' the rim. It dashed away from the, car, killed a boy, wrecked the timekeepers' box and ran for a mile, but Mr Campbell drove on and completed the course on the rim. The danger lies in the driver losing his head when a skid follows a burst, and jamming on the brakes. The proper thing to do, of course, is to correct the skid by careful steering and let»the car go 'on, and then stop gradually. Unless one is compelled to do so to avoid a collision, never apply the brakes hard and suddenly. That alone is"' enough to cause an accident. A fearful skid generally follows, or the car may turn a somersault. 'Years ago one of the finest racing drivers in France was killed by jamming- on the brakes when travelling at high speed to avoid a cyclist who shot out of a cross road. The racing car • turned three complete somersaults, and was totally wrecked. The ordinary skid on a greasy road is generally harmless if you slip the clutch out and let the ear run ahead, naturally correcting the skid with the steering. It is the driver who gets a fright and jams 6n his foot-brake as hard as lie can who finishes up in all sorts of queer places. Club Competitions. English motorists are very, fohd of club hill climbs, speed tests, and so on, and little competitions of this sort go on all over the country. They are divided into a large number of classes, so that nearly every club member can compete in an event in which- his car has a chance, but a few unlimited and open classes are put in to draw the cracks from a distance. The. English motorist seems keener on of sport thah his prototype overseas, where in my experience it is often difficult, to get a decent entry fqr club .events. Many of the amateur drivers in England are very keen, and here club committees, do not have to look to the trade alone to fill competitions, as is sometimes the case in the Dominions. i

When all the world and his wife are motoring, the building of special motor roads in selected districts is only a question of time. . Italy is leading the way in Europe at present, iand a speed highway from Milan to Lake Yarese, a distance of miles has been opened. It has a cement surface and contains long straight stretches of seven, eight, and even ten miles, while hillocks have been levelled and hills cut through in order to give an easy gradient. The road is reserved entirely : for'cars, not even motor-cycles being allowed "on it. Other similar highways are being built from Milan to the neighbouring lakes, and with a width of 45 feet and perfect surface they enable very high speeds to be maintained. In time other exclusively motoring roads are likely to be constructed in different parts of Europe and America. What is really the cause "of so many accidents to-day. is the mixing-up of different classes of trajc all foioving at varying speeds. Somebody seriously-suggested this week that horse-drawn' vehicles should be excluded from London on the ground that horses caused more accidents than anything else. It is hardly likely special motor roads will be built in the Dominions and India for a long time, as their crush "of motor vehicles is nothing like that in Europe and America, but an effort might at least be made to put the great trunk highways into really first-class order, and so provide a certain number of national routes. A guarantee of good touring roads would attract oversea visitors, and the essential improvement in . the country hotel accommodation would follow.