MOTORS AND MOTORING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2155, 22 May 1914, Page 11

MOTORS AND MOTORING.

[BY CXjUTOH.]

Two important Local Moves. 'Die Wellington Motor Cycling C'luli and tile Automobile Association intend organising a combined deputation in connection with the completion of the Ik'ikoraugi-Akatarawa Road. The completion of this road, of which there is to "be about three miles formed, will be a great boon to motorists and vehicle traffic generally.. it will opor. up a now road to tho Manawatu, besides lessening tho present route to a considerable extent. The present track is an altogether impossible one for vehicular traffic. Another jaatter both clubs are taking up is that of waiting on the various local bodies in an endeavour to bring about the future postponement of any road-mending operations to bo undertaken till after Easter. The reason for this is obvious, while its necessity has been strikingly brought before travelling motorists this year. Motor-cars and Trams. A rider relative to the speed of motorcars under specific circumstances was added by a jury at the Supreme Court, Auckland, last week, to its verdcit in tho case Aldridgc v. Patcrson. Tho causo of action was tho injury sustained by the plaintiff through being knocked down by a motor-car in AVellesley Street East, just as she had stepped from behind a tranicnr fronT which sho had alighted. Conflicting cvidenco was given during the hearing as to the paco at .which tho motor-car was travelling, ulaintifF'b case alleging that it was being driven recklessly and at an' excessive speed, and the evidence for tho other sido being to tho effect that tho speed was about eight miles an hour. In its rider the jury expressed the opinion that all motor-driven vehicles should keep at a greater distance from standing tramcars than the motor-car concerned in the case had, in their opinion, kept, and should travel at a slower paco than they considered that particular motorcar had travelled, when passing standing tramcars. A Road-Cuide for Motorists, A suggestion that might well be taken up is made by a correspondent l.\h. It. 0. Jaukson, ot Mastcrtonj. It is regarding tho compiling of a roadguido for motorists. Mr. Jackson writes as follows in this connection:— *'I think it wtruld bo an .excellent thing if you could, through your motor column, invite suggestions for the compiling of a road guido for motorists which could bo relied upon aa being thoroughly accurate. I think most motorists will agree with mo when 1 say that a thoroughly reliable road guide is badly needed. Those that are procurable now show roads that do not exist anywlicro but in tho book, while other important roads arc sometimos missed out altogether. Then, again, much of tho information contained as to road surfaces is inaccurate, bccausc.not up to dato. You may bo warned of a certain section of road becauso of its loose surface, which may, sinco the work was published)' have set down into a beautiful surface. Now, my suggestion is that tho various automobile associations throughout the Dpmiiiion bo invited to prepare plans,and particulars 'of the roads, etc.,''of this district over which they operate; the wholo to bo submitted to a central authority, with powers to classify and publish tho result in book form." ; I am sure that motorists would gladly pay a fair prico for a work that they could rely upon as being accurate. I think you could say with reasonable certainty that each association would liavo members 011 its list who had travelled every road in its particular district, and would say with certainty whether • tho information was correct; because, after all, no one.can possibly know the roads so well as the man who lives on tho spot. Further, a supplomcntary work—of course, 011 a smaller scale—could bo issued each year, containing any information bearing, on altered conditions, duo to rivers being bridged, loose surfaces settling down, roads being metalled, and so forth. For tho reasons given above, a work cannot possibly be, accurate unless kept up to date, and that which was correct a fow mouths ago may be most misleading now. With a thoroughly reliable guide in your pocket, tho lack of fingerposts would not weigh so heavily when touring. In' fact, I havo often found liuger-posts most misleading, becauso they generally give tho most meagro information. The road indicated may lead to the place specified, and half a dozen otljer places, not indicated. • I trust that you will find tho above suggestion of interest, becauso I havo toured tho whole of the! North Island by car, using a guide with which to sort out my way, and I can assure you that I found it far from an easy matter." <

Crossing tho Antics. A representative of General Motors, Ltd., in tho Argentine, recently crossed the Andes in the courso of a journey from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso 011 a Jiliick car. The rout-o was by way of San Luis, Mendoza, and Santiago, following closely tlie route of tho Transcontinental railway. Tho total distance is roughly 000 miles, and tho fact that twenty-eight days were occupicd in accomplishing the journey gives some idea of tho difficulties that were encountered and overcome. For a great part of tho distance tho only available track is the railway, and tho country is practically uninhabited, except by natives. Tho crossing of the Andes entailed climbing to an .altitude of 13,000 feet, tho significance of which may bo realised when it is remembered that the summit of Ben Nevis, tho highest mountain in Great Britain, is only .1100 feet abovo sea level. Traffic Conditions in London and Anwrlca. • One of tho reasons wliy traffic conditions are worso in London than in any American city is that the population is much more congested. Greater London's population of 7} millions lives within an area of 693 square miles, which figures out at GO persons to tho acre. In New York tho million inhabitants have moro room, there being but 26 to the acre. Street accidents in London have increased at tho same rate as the traffic, which is to say that thoy have almost doubled since 1903. More than 80 per cent, of tho accidents liavo occurred at speeds of less than ten miles an hour. The increased number of accidents is attributed largely to tho confusion of a large volume of .mixed traffic moving at speeds varying between wide limits—in other words, to tho presence of both fast and slow vehicles in tho same streets. Hints, Tips, and Queries. ".New Chum" writes that about four weeks ago 110 purchased a new car in Wellington. He drovo' it homo with tho agent to ilis liouso up country, and everything went right till tli6 Sunday morning following, when after having hosed the mud oil' the car he went to start the crank. He had some difficulty in starting it, and when it. did go it made "popping" noises He left the car alone, and sent for the agent, who told him lie had water in two of tlie cylinders. The agent took tho car awav and brought it back fixed up. "New Ciunn" states that the agent would not tell him how ho fixed tho car up. "I would bo glad if you would tell me what to do if ever I get water in the cylinders again," concludes the writer. Apparently the cause of tho whole . trouble was not water in the cylinder,

but water in the. carburetter, and to rectify this all that was .necessary was to take off the carbm'ottv-r and thoroughly clean it, a job that would tako at most a quarter of ail hour. Local Racing Track in View. Tho possibility of a lino racing track eight, miles in length within reasonable distanco of town is being inquired into |'y tho 'Wellington Motor-cycling Club, ■I he track in question ik tho Scarborough Beach, lying between l'aekakariki and Waikanae, and it is stated to hi l quite .suitable at low tide for high speed trials. Tho club intends in tin* ti°a"L oxnm ' n ° the proposed London Traffic. The conditions in Loudon as revealed by tho report for 11)13 of the London traffic branch of tho Board of Trade aro interesting, and the report itself inav well servo as a model bv which other boards ot trade may pattern their activities. Iho report states that tho «•»«- oral speeding-up of traflio in LonUon, direct result of tho use Of Motorcars, has made it possible for the streets to accommodate nearly double tho nuriiber of vehicles that could bo accommodated ten years ago. It goes without saying that the compactness of the niotor vehicle has bd.en a factor in keeping down congestion, as has also the facility with which it can be handled in . difficult places. Tho London report brings out the fact that the motor vehicle is responsible for the almost entile disappearance of tho protracted blockades that at one time wef® so frequent and so troublesome. The report goes into traffic figures in elaborate detail. It develops that a total of !>,035,000,000 journeys are n®le annually in London, and that oi these two-thirds aro made over tiro streets and roads of tho . city. Deducting 250,000,000 suburban trips on the tmnjc railroads and 50,000,000 cab trips, tho total number of trips mado in die Metropolitan district annually is' 1,785,000,000. Of this enormous number'no fewer than -551,000,000 trips arc* mado by motor-bus—a number that bears comparison with tho 787,000,000 trips .made on tho "trams" or street cars, and i? a jump ahead of the underground and other electric "roads, on which 438,000000 trips are mado annually. Tha Romance of Petroleum. Gasoline promises to rcmnsm one of tho chief if not tho foremost, source of energy, in the propulsion of motor-driven vehicles for many years to coma, in spite of tho dire prophecies of its rapid extinction and thethreatened inroads of cheaper fuels. Of the proposed substitutes several, kerosene, molar spirits, toppings, and others, come from the samo sourco as does gasoline. To the average. motorist petroleum means simply tho raw form of gasoline and cylinder oilsvery few . realise the importance of its other prodsict-s- to humanity as a whole.

One writer, in commenting upon tho general ignorance of the value of potioleum and its products in the arts and industries, says that: -'If 100 people were asked to name tlio most valuable of all tho riches taken from tho earth, few indeed would be the" answers giving petroleum an important plsco. I'et, coal and iron excepted, no other mineral product, can rival petroleum in real value to all the peoples of the. earth,' Without regard to class."

... Motorists themselves are indebted to petroleum to a far greater extent than would bo imagined'at first thought,' Not only do they, depend on .its products for fuel for engine and lamps, but tlio actual construction of the car involves tho use of petroleum products. Ligroin, one of the lightest- oi the petroleum distillates, is us.ed in the manufacture of tires; paraffin, petroleum wax, insulates the ignition coils; ben. zino goes into the manufacture of the varnishes for tho body; even the roads offer a field for the use of peirolotim products. Among theso are road materials and binders under tho names of asphalt, bitumen, road tar, etc., as Well as tho heavy- oils employed ns macadom binders and dust-layers being omployed.

There is a romance in tho history of petroleum and its products,. Its "formation began aeons ago, prababiy before human life even was passible on this planet; it made its first appearance as lakes of pitch or as fast seas of burning oil, ignited by some prehistoric Prometheus to become air object of reverence by the fire worshippers.

Tho British Motor Market. ; Beyond all doubt the-British motor 1 market is the world's trade centre in ' automobiles (states a Homo motor ! journal), and so wonderful and so important is it that some analysis of the ' business cannot fail to be of'interest. ! Dealing first of- all with'tho number ! of separate makes of cars on ihe' inai> Icefc, wo find that there are 210 distiiwt i brands, or, in other words, that 210 < manufacturers turn out cars .which find 1 a sale in this country. As in most cases, a manufacturer turns out more i than one chassis model wo have a total 1 of-59S models offered. The maimer in i which this grand total of brands and 1 mocloU is arrived at is shown by the fol- 1 lowing table, which indicates "how the British market is divided up by t-lie ' international competitors:— I Total number i of Brands, chassis models. 1 United Kingdom 91 214 France 55 10f» 1 U.S. A S5 4.2 1 Germany 14 58 Belgium .'. 10 33 Italy 9 30Austria 2 8 Holland 1 o Switzerland .... 1 3 Spain 1 4 Total 210 Igi From the above it will ho seen that less than half the number of manufacturers engaged aro British, France coining next, and the United States third. Theso figures -show that the h-oliift industry has grown very rapidly, and the fact that on an open market British houses have attained to this predominance is a cheerful augury. Ven» tnring into the region of prophoey it may be indicated that Continental manufacturers will decrease rather than iiieroaso in numbers, while figures indicate shrinkage in various directions, mainly with regard to small concerns. It may occasion surprise that' Italy is so low on tho list, but it is certain that the beautiful creations of the Italian engineers can never wholly disappear from tho British market. Belgium has mado great strides, avid threatens to overhaul Germany in th«11 car future unless the latter country makes a great ell'ort. 'With all the rumours of American .invasion it may appear that tho American representation is small. But it really marks a rapid growth in number of brands. And it must bo borno in mind that American cars sell in larger numbers than many other foreign varieties, The. leading American makers are evidently preparing for a big struggle. At the same t-imo the British market is so cosmopolitan in its taste that it is certain no one foreign country will fill its needs. France failed to monopolist* English trado though she had first chance. And there is loss likelihood of America driving out all tho Continental ears, the choicest specimens of which now conio to Homo shores. .Analysing tho types of engines used, we find: Four cylinders, 550; six cylinders. IS; two cylinders, 2G. America accounts-for a large propor-.

iKMi oi/ Hie .sj;:-oyi'!iH]or onrs. . Thnro I are two" vchicJos sold with single rylin- ' dors, and throe chassis can bo had' With eight cylinders.*' The battle of the (tears is (strongly in lavonr oi the' lonr-spiK-d ■ box, figures ■'■■.being: Kafir-speed . gears, -11)6; three-speed gears, 157. American makers arc tho most consistenfc snpportpts of iho thiw sprwl gear, '.IV number of friction gears and iitlier devices is very small. "The 210' manufacturers ' produce 50H% separate model? oi (."bassi*, of, na an average, throe typos lo each biand. America, as a- rule, lias' but mio chassis per brand, tho I'nited Kingdom overage is under thi'rr, ii■ tv Franco. (•erlnany, avid . Continental.makers aenerallv believe in nitmerous models. 1 • Tito word lie* with a French house, which- list =s nine pattorus. In tho matter of price it is most curious to find'that CJioO is i.he uuisio 'lor both . eh,issis and' cars, that . is,, one can find . wore cars or "'.chassis listed- at tlu.it price iiian at any oilier. The most spirited competition lies between tin--1 range from £250 to £400, as out. oi the 1070 cars and. chassis on the market over 400 are to he found between tlicso figures. Nearly 200 ears and chassis are between tho prices of .£-100 and £525; and after passing £'02(5 tho field is divided between less than 170 cars and chassis. Those figures indicate that tho hulk of the trad® lies in the cars of motk-ttLle price, ami hero the competition is most, keen. At. tho Sumo t-imo the really cheap car is yet not ■ strongly represented, a:-- up io £185 there aro less than JOO models of oars . or chassis to pick from. Tito molarcar may bo -said to start in earnest from £'135. The dearest orttnpiefo car in our list- is priced .it £1215, but tho most expensive model of tho complete Eolls-Royce works- nut at about £1500; although tho chassis prices aro only quoted in our tables.

Hsro and Thcro. Legal lightiiig-up time 10-tlny 5,0 ji.rn.; nosfc Friday, 5.11 p.m. ■ T-iio dircctioii posts for (lie, Joluisou-vill-o district, ara practically <<oui|)l4lK(l and tho Wollington Stiildr-cycllnii; Club is awaiting a favourable oppoi'tunity for orcctin;.; tho sanin. The «mfcTt'sico of u',of/>i'-(;yi":Un{; club delegates regarding flic iirop'oncd North Island IJnioii Iras lict/ii ari-'fii-igecl to tiikn • place at Palmcrstou iS'orili on Saturday. June 0.. The secretary of the Wellington Motor-cyck Club (Mr. Lianiet) lias a number of club for disposai. Iho question of motor-car insurancu, inoiltioupa in our column Inst' week, was uii>cus3i."d at last meeting of the Auckland Autourahilo Associftuoii. Tiis uwwbws decided, after sonic uiacussioii, to appoi?.it a dofnttaikm to wau- on tho general managers of the tivo ujsaranee companies having hca'duuartW's ui Auckland, and place bM'oro l.ii-c-m ull particulars of the insurance mmtwn trom a motorist- point of view. Evidence of the lower average, prices that, aro rimy ruling for ;niotor*ears is aftorded by tho figures which have lately been issued with regard to tho importatjoii of. foreign motor-cars into italj. ihey sliow that wl'iiio the number of cars has iecreascd bv 0ver.350, there has been a fall in thc'total value ot over £12,000. Thus, last vear 1383 loreigu cars wore imported into tho country, oi a- val\t& of ss comlinrocl with 1007 and £421,071 respectively in 191". A feature of the returns th*-very.;poor sharo tateu by Great Britain, vfhieii also shows a foiling off. Franco leads with 489 cars-, GcrmiUiy, which has tho iarscst incrorist, following with 3.38, and the United States with 265, the last-named figure,- however, being an advance of only 4l"vehitles.

A, Birmingjiam motorist is working on the idea of fitting a coupfe of .planes on tho top of a car. These, he says, will have considerable lifting i.ti'-Ht-: when speed is attained, and will thus mini-' raise the tyro wear. In front of the machine lie intends to fit a propeller working off an 8-li.p. J.A.P. cngmo.

On sonlo light cars, though cn very few nowadays, the petrol tank is arranged behind the drivers scat, fuel being fed. to the carburetter..b,v gravity. On a steep hill, if the petr&l is low in the tank, it may not bo high.cnongli.to flflif into the carburettor, twtwi the only thing tfl do is to fill up the tank, and', failing any patrol being at hand, the hill most-bo eli.iricd.o-fl the reverse gear. To overcome this dofoc*. states an English motor journal. 0110 can have fixed to the filler cap of tie tank an ordinary bicycle tyre valve. The filler cap nrust ho airtight, -and, when the necessity arises, a few strokes from the tyre pump will put the tank under pressure and causa the carburetter to receive a proper supply. It -inust bo'remembered that, unless pressure is at nil times to bo used, some sort of vent must bo provided, and this may bo obtained by removing the detachable parts of the- tyre valve. Tiio latest material to be used for belts is human, hair. l)i'. Low has recostly obtained a material made of this substance., which, it elairetd, is likely to ■ provide. a remarkably satisfactory • constituent for'use 011 cycle-cars. It shows much less stretch than most belting, and is practically indestraetiblo. After ail eventful career in which ho mafia his name we'll known all over the ci'.iSised world, George Westiiighouso died at Ids Tc-si-denee, Central Park West, New York City, on Thursday,' March 12; heart disease . caused his death. Ho was 07 years old. West' iflgllouse's greatest achievement, and the'one that gave to his name its greatest prominence, was his perfection of the air hrako system that, now is so universally known and used. Latterly, he turned''his-inventive faculties toward Uie automobile field, and comparatively recently brought to perfection his air springs' for pleasure "'and commercial -vehicles, and the electric lighting and ensine starting system that bears his name.