NOTES.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18893, 7 January 1927, Page 4

NOTES.

There is at present a good number of visiting motorists in Christchurch from the North Island, and various parts of the South Island, and many of them have taken the opportunity of j visiting the well-appointed clubrooms of the Canterbury Automobile Association, with which they have been favourably impressed. Mr P. R. Harman, secretary of the South Island Motor Union, is at present ou holiday at Hanmer. Official registration figures for the year ended august olst, i'Jib, have just been releaseu by the Britisn Government, and they snow an exceedingly healthv growth in automotive activity. The total number of motor vehicles registered is given as 1,690,000. This is an increase of 180,000 vehicles over the previous twelve months. Of the total, U30.000 are motor-cyc.es. Eren eliminating the motor-cycle registration, Great Britain for the first time has touched the 1,000,000 mark in automotive vehicles. When we consider the terrific taxes that Englishmen must pay out of incomes, it must be acknowledged that the growth is extremely good.

The first of the six-wheeled omnibuses which may be introduced in Birmingham to solve the problem of carrying the crowds of city workers to and from their homes has lately been undergoing tests. This vehicle is 30 feet long, "and has seating accommodation for 60 passengers and room for 12 standing. The present four-wheeled omnibuses carry 50 passengers and have standing room for six. Another six-wheeled omnibus, which is being built, will seat 66 people. Bath vehicles have covered tops and are fitted with pneumatic tyres.

No industrv is any stronger than its supnlv of skilled mechanics. The importance of the service side of the automotive business is being more recognised "to-day than ever before. Many of the larger companies are providing educational opportunities for their mechanics. In some of the larger cities of America. courses in automotive mechanics have been started in cooperation with the public schools, so that ambitious boys may learn the business of automotive repair while they are finishing their school courses. Henrv Ford has lontr maintained n school for embryo mechanics, whereby the right sort of boys can learn automobile repair work and at the same time earn enough money to keep themselves.

A minor, but important point in design which is now receiving the ( attention it .deserves, is the way in'which the tool kit may be accommodated in the car.. This is a matter which may be considered relatively unimportant in comparison with, say. the accessibility of the carburettor and magneto contact breaker, but a moment's reflection shows that in the majority of cases any trouble with either of these components means having recourse to the tool kit. A choked jet usually en-tails-the use of the jet key, and if the magneto contact points require attention it is quite likely that the magneto spanner will be needed. It is. therefore, just as necessary for the toot kit to be accessible in such ease l ;, and the inconvenience of hnvincr to disturb the passengers in order to extract the tool roll from the locker beneath the rear sent, or under the rear floorboards, has manv times been pointed out. Of late, much more attention has been paid to this and other, similar points, and there are examples to be seen of neatlv arranged tool lockers or trays which give immediate access tn their contents without the driver dist"rbir»» any of the other occupants of the car.

SLOW DRIVING.

POTENTIAL SOURCE OF DANGER. Slow driving (says the Wellington "Post") is often a potential source of danger to other traffic. If anyone wants to drive at fifteen miles, or even ten miles an hour, there is nothing except consideration for others that can deny him his right, in New Zealand, at any rate. He should, however, do all he can to enable faster traffic to pass him with safety. A busy road, however, is not generally one to choose for slow driving. If a driver does desire' to proceed slowly he should keep well ow.\r to the side of the road, even getting into the water-table at times, if necessary, to e'nablo other traffic to go by. A close look-out should be kept for traffic both ways, and signals should be given to overtaking drivers to pass on when such arc necessary, but only then. Care must be exercised that such signal cannot bo misread for one to stop, or indicating a stop. Quite one of the worst aspects of the slow driver is his reluctance to keep to thb left. The rear view mirror is a useful—almost a necessary—adjunct for drivers who desire to proceed at a slow Mistaken for Novices. There is a tendency in some quarters to abuse slow drivers, and often they are mistaken for novices. As a matter of fact, however, there is real pleasure in going slowly. The passengers in a car out for sight-seeing, the glories of a summer's daj*, the deligh s of conversation, and the like—very often a car party is merely a drawing-room party out of doors—want to go slowly. Past travelling is to them at the time merely a spoil sport. The danger is that the driver may become careless, whereas there is actually a demand upon him to deliberately exercise strict vigilance that 'becomes automatic at high speeds, and he lias the additional concern that be must be alive to the presence and rights of traffic coming up behind. When complete stops are made, clear ■safe parts of the road should be chosen, and the car pulled completely over to the near side, or even off the road altogether. If the desired spot for a stop is a danger point the car should be stopped at the nearest safe spot and the party should go to the place afoot. If it is not worth the trouble of getting out it is ninety-nine times out of a hundred not worth a stop anyway.

If a pound in the engine is regular and continuous, it is likely to be from lost motion in the bearings. If it is irregular and occasional, it is more likely to be due to pre-ignition caused by incandescent carbon or from imperfect connexions. If the pounding is accompanied by occasional missing, especially if the missing is more frequent when the car is running than when the engine is idling, it is more apt to be due to imperfect electrical connexions.