THE MOTOR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1446, 22 May 1912, Page 4

THE MOTOR.

(By Auriiics.) \

ft Motorists' Conference. A meeting was held recently in Palnerston by a number of enthusiasts, licad*d ))y Kr. I;, CI. Abraham, who explained ■ I'iit tho immediate cause for calling the neeting was a circular letter from the Hawko's Bay Automobile Association re'lH'cting the holding of a conference of lelegates of associations at AVcl Ii ngton, nut asking if delegates lnul been appointed 0 represent, Jlanawalu. An attempt had ireviouslv been made- to form an active ussociat.ion in Palmerston, but it had alien through. Then another association, 'Villi headquarters at Feildiiig, had been darted. He had thought it would be ad--1 9. Sfllvanise tins body into life, )ut alter consideration, ha had come to ho conclusion tliat a local association would be formed, the place being large nioiigli and having enough .ontiiniing, Jlr. Abraham pointed to the lecessity for holding a conference, especiilly in view of tho fact that a conference )f local bodies intended to meet at Wellington— somo of the delegates thereto, irishing to pass drastic legislation in retard to motor'sts. For that reason it was iccessary to have some responsible body 'ormed. They should form an association, \nd a federation similar to the New Zetland Employers' Association, with headlnar'uTs at Wellington, which had saved mtsido employers'" associations from somo .•ery drastic legislation. An Automobilo Federation could bo of great assistance to notorists. The meeting, after some discussion, deeded to form an Automobile Association. Dr. "Wilson was elected president, and | :hose present were formed into a provisional committee, to draw up rules and uibinit them at a future meeting of members. Messrs..Pi. S. Abraham, A. J. Toxward, uid Dr. Wilson were appointed delegates to attend the proposed conference in Wellington. Jlr. H. C. Baker, of Abraham and Williams, was appointed secretary of tho association pro tem. Tho issuing oi a circular to all owners of motor-cars in the district was deferred until after tho conference of delegates at AVellington. Driving Downhill. A driving expert, in writing to the "Auto-ear," gives somo excellent advice as lo driving downhill. He says that it is not advisable to "coast," downhill, i.e., tako- out tlio clutch and regulate tho speed by means of brakes aloine.' The throttle should be almost closed and tho clutch left in—unless it is desired to come to a standstill. The car lias then to push the engine, as it were, and this by itself froms a very effective brake. A'ceeleratioai beyond a speed which is desired can bo prevented by gentlo application of ono or tho other of' tlio brakes. AVhen the foot of a hill is reached, all that is to be done is to open tho throttle again after releasing the brakes. To brake tlio car on precipitous grades, the first speed should he put in at the commencement of the hill, and the clutch left in, the brakes being used too. i The Grand Prix. Considerable interest is being taken this year in the Grand I'rix, to bo run on .Tune 25 and 2G next at Dieppe. Close on GO vehicles liavo definitely enrolled for the event, and motorists are looking forward lo a struggle not bettered in the history of tho race or any other international race. The following are a- few of the bestknown cars that will competeTho great F.I.A.T.'s which figured at Savannah, three fiercely powerful LorraincDietnehs of 160 mm. by 'iOflmm.,' and several other large exponents of pace; Darracqs, Pcugeots, Sizaires, HispanoSuizas—a host with reputations already established; and another host with reputations in the making and struggling gamely I'o.r recognition on tho international market—the Cote, the Alcyoii, the Koecklhi, and tlio Sig'ma-Knight, for example. The British Cars. The British contingent in the raco should provo hard to beat, with s.ue.h ears as tlio Sunbeam (4), Singer (2), Vauxhall (3), Arral-Jolinston (:)), and Calthorpo (.1), which are all among tlio best cars of their class, in competitive work—cars which have already given France a tasto of their finality. Though not 'perhaps quite as fast as some .of the French makes, it will bo more or less of a surprise if ono of them does not carry off tho reliability prize. The speed prize seems beyond their powers unless, of course, accidents intervene. Wo know something of what Sunbeams and Yauxhalls are equal to in Speed work wlur.i seriously set to it, but against a bore of 150 mm. in machines specially devised for racing purposes our standard chassis champions can hardly expect to win. However, we shall see what we shall see. Self-Starters. Discussing self-starters, the "Bystander" maintains that the doom of the start-ing-handle was set on tho first Air that used it. The advent of a starting device controlled from the driving seat was always inevitable. jN'ext year some such mcchanism will be standard on several cars, and certainly optional on many. In three years the front of tho radiator grindiug-haiidle will bo almost as extinct as the dodo. That is not the prophecy of faith. It is not very intelligent anticipation. It is merely a statement of tho obvious. The particular form the "self-starter" will generally take may bo speculative. It may bo acetylene, compressed air, electric. or n developed form of that simple method of revolving tho cranlc-shaft by hand-lcvcr or pedal, operated from tlio driving seat, examples of which are familiar enough. Experience will dceido that. But one lias only to get somo running acquaintance with a device such as that adopted by the Cadillac Company definitely to incline to a view highly favourable to electricity. Electric car-ligliting is, I imagine, ultimately sure; and if the current is also available to operate _ a starting mechanism of positive action with (this* is important) a reserve for contingencies, then most of the argument is with electricity. Price and weight may |>e material objections in the present, but the balance of advantage and the competition for a gTowing market mako the future of electricity exceedingly bright. Very certainly Cadillacs have scored a notable initial success in this connection.