H.M. THE MOTOR.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1887, 23 October 1913, Page 7

H.M. THE MOTOR.

SWEEPING ALL BEFORE IT. STATE OF THINGS AT HOME. " My visit to England has been a revelation to me—it has shown, me that this is indisputably tho age of the motor. It is sweeping all before at. All the leading mamiiaoturera are going at it ihammer and tongs to keep up ivitn tlio demand. Most, ot them are working double shifts; and all tho works I visited are extending their premises and plants as rapidly as they can." These were tho words of Mr. W. W. Pilkington, of Wellington, who returned from a visit ta. laighmd, America, and Germany yesterday. His attention was foeussed on the motor during his sojourn in t'ho, northern hemisphere, and bo returns with strong eenvietions. "While in England," Said Mr. Pilkington, " I was shown over tho works of tho makers of such cars the Austin, Renault, Argylo, Napier, ! and Daimler, among many others, and ill every case tho manufacturers were go* ing at top speed to fulfil orders for a waiting world. Apart from tho ordi- . nary pleasure cars, t'ho development is. extraordinary, and to-day the commercial car, the motor-'bus, vaiu, and lorries—form tho backbone of the business. What tho world is now, doing with its horses is, perhaps, best known to the Continental meat markets. They certainly now have a somewhat antidiluvian appcarance when, they figure amongst the thic4c of the motor traffio in the busy streets of London 'Busses Ousting Tramoars. "When I was in London, tho London General Moter-'lius Company had not fewer than 2400 'busses running ; daily on the. streets, and were building others themselves at the rate of two a weelt. Not only were they running to every suburb in successful competition with the electric trolly cars, but on all bank holidays and other festive occasions they were run to all the pleasure resorts within 50 and COmiles of London, and the business which they were doing was seriously affecting tho county council's electric car service, the tubes, and the suburban railways, rhey were extremely popular with tho public, and wore so mobile that they can serve plenty of localities better than the train-cars, which 'have to stick to a definite track system. The London County Council makes no secret of tho fact tiiat they are sericnsly embarrassed by this astonishing development ill the transport service. Glasgow—which is supposed to have the best municipal ■ car service in the world—is embarrassed, and just beforo I left the county council had held a meeting to discuss wiiat « as to be dono to meet the situation created by njotor-'bus competition. The Mosquito Car. "Another wonderful development in the business , was- the arrival of tho cycle-car — the mosquito car, as 'it is sometimes called.. Thoy are making them very perfectly ■'now, lindrthousands of them may be seen, not only in London, but all over' - England. Tho prices range (in England) from £'125 to £175 for really serviceable littia cars, out of which a great deal of pleasure can be got. i_o far, not many of tho high-class carmakers have turned their attention to tho cycle-car, being kept quite busy fiiuugh with their civil lines, but tho Wolseley and Arrel Johnson Companies have added the line to their manufactures. Motor-cycles simply swarm all over the place, and tho rider of a safety* bicycle looks as out-of-date as ( did formerly the riders of tho toll ordinary machines a few years ago." Industrial Vehicles. "The motor-cycle, with attachments, is becoming an important factor in the ■ carrying business at Homo, and tho light motor vans and heavy motor wagons and lorries are doing 75 per cent, of the work that formerly fell to the lot of the horse." Amorloa—"A Big Sham." Whilst abroad, Mr. Pilkington visited , America, which country he describes as "a big sham from beginning to end." •It is difficult commercially to got at the ' bedrock truth of anything, so alarming is tho American habit of exaggerations, and tho length to which ho will go m what is colloquially termed bluffing.. "The American parent will,'' says Mr. Pi'kingtou, "impress upon his son from tho earliest stages that ho is the greatest man on earth, and there is no other country worth a straw, and tho Aniorienn teacher will have no scruples in impressing on his pupils what a great fellow ho is. Our American experience . was such that ire were positively elated on returning to England, whore there is a bettor atmosphere, niid a surer code of commercial dealing. . The American press is, oil tho whole, quite unreliable, depending, os it does, cut gross exaggeration to thrill the public. There aro good , papers here and there that aro not unprincipled, as there aro charming American people (particularly among the travelled class), but our experience was that thoy were not in the majority. "Germany struck mo as a far moro solid country industrially, and one that was likely to be an increasingly formidable competitor with England in the world's markets." Up in an Aeroplane. "We saw a great deal of noroplaning at Hendfl'n and Brooklands, and were amazed at the progress which the art of flying is making. I wont up in a Farnian biplane with Pilot Noel, and so dfd ; Mrs. Pilkington. The sensation —well, how can I .describe it? It was gloriously exhilarating—ono "has a feeling of absolute triumph over the things of earth. I can quite understand the : fascination which it has for those engaged in it.. Absolutely no sense, or .fear is created. It seems to bo the most natural thing in the world te hop into tho seat, and go sailing awav. X was up in the air for fully lialf-aii-hoiit? at Hcudoii—three times round t-lu? course (3} miles), and then a broatt across country at an altitude or abouu 900 ft. Mts.' Pilkington was aeropjan. ing for twenty-five minutes, and just loved the sensation. It cost- us £5 ss. On Saturday afternoons and snndavf crowds go down to Henden and Brooks lands, where a ton-minutes' fly call bfc had for a couple of guineas.