MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2300, 6 November 1914, Page 9

MOTORS AND MOTORING

[By Cluioh.]

Motor Tax In Now South Wales. In order to raise extra revenue in consequence of the war, Mr. Holman, the Premier of New South Waleß, has proposed the imposition of a motor tax.. Beyond briefly intimating that the. Victorian legislation will be followed, Mr. Holman has given no indication aB ■to how he proposes to levy the now tax. The "Sydney Morning Herald," in discussing the proposal, says: "The justice of the measure at such a time of national crisis, of course, ia indisputable, but motorists will agree that the Victorian and English systems of computing the tax on the basis of the horse-power of the engines is by no means equitable, and -before the measure becomes law the Government would do well .to consider some alternative schemes. _ The, proposal which immediately springs to mind is that the ,tax should be based on the cost of the car. either at the factory or saleroom, but even if these prices were fixed for a season, which in the majority of caseß they are not, the matter would prove so complex for the authorities that the revenue would be chiefly consumed in the Assessment., This, of course, is not meant to imply that a dealer s word as to what he pays the factory for his goods, loth as he may be to giv» it, is not to be taken, but refers particularly to the difficulty of rounding up the thousands of cars in the back oountry, whose ages vary from 5 to anything up to 15 years—cars, it may be said, wnicn have lost their individuality to the extent of being without name-plates, or the original radiators, or parts by whioh they might be recognised.

"A more reasonable suggestion emanating from official circles is/that the cars should be taxed by weight, and not by horse-power. (This, of course, has no'reference to commercial vehicles.) The owner of the small,, inexpensive runabout with the big engine and owners of American cars would certainly have no cause for complaint; while the high-powered limousine or touring car would head the list in both cases. The assessment of the tax, too, would be greatly facilitated, and the services of the technipal inspector in the country, which would be very necessary in caso of the horse-power tax, could be dispensed with The Premier has a very good case, no doubt, in saying that what is good enough for England and Victoria ought to meet with satisfaction in New South Wales, but. tho motorists of this State have always enjoyed legislative freedom, and before shouldering tho burden of a new tax they want to be assured that the regulation and its administration will be in keeping with these already in force." With the Army In France. Some interesting particulars are supplied by an English motorist who followed along the route from Boulogne, taken by the motor transport of the English Army in France. "Upon overtaking the motor transport, we visited their camp, and found fi collection of motor vehicles, probably unique in tho history of motordom. Imagine ai broad avenue more than a mile in length, with a central roadway of unusual width, two side rows, six rows of trees ,and four paths. The central road was' left free for tho movement of the lorries. The broad grassy space between it and the side roads was used as a parking ground, the thick trees giving welcome protoction for. the'men. Every type of motor vehicle from traction engine to motor cycle was represented;,and they, were .from every,.town in England. A certain-number of the vehioles were manufacturers' . stocks: the majority had been requisitioned from owners'" and ;bad- come .away with all their advertisement matter ofi them. They were from Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Perth, Leeds, Keswiok, Newcastle, Conway, Edinburgh, Kingston, Nottingham, and Bradford. We cannot say how many motor vehicles have bean sent out-with the British Expeditionary Army, but at thiß centre alone, there were hundreds, and the total certainly runs into Beveral thousands. As one examined this fleet, one could not but be impressed with the magnitude of the task of sending an armed' force abroad. We had plenty of opportunities of examining the detail work of the Army Ser-. vies Corps, to whioh these lorries naturally belong, and can only say that it is admirable. The men are magnificent; tlieir equipment is excellent, and the general organisation shows a well-thought-out scheme executed to the j letter. • '

"It was a strange scene in that avinu# on the outskirts of the old citj[. Mechanics were lubricating their vehicles, cleaning out carburettors, examining plugs, making adjustments. In one of the side avenues a 6cor'e of traction engines were lined up. A little further on three well/equipped travelling motor workshops were busily engaged in repairing the vehicles which, bad been towed home- the previous evening. The workshops are big high-wlieeled wagons, either open or closed at will, containing a lathe,, band-saws, forge, and tools, the power'being generated 'by a single cyclinder motor placed undor the wagon and having belt connection to a dynamo or to shafting,. A few yards away stood a group of Douglas motor cycles, in charge of a sergeant. They are used as escorts to the motor convoys, running backwards and forwards along the line, keeping in touch with the leaders and with the laggards'. Pillion Seat v. Side-car. Some few months ago the practice of turning the motor-cycle into a "sociable" machine by the strapping of a cushion on the back carrier, and placing a lady in aa unbecoming and withal unsafe position on the top of it, was most roundly condemned abroad owing to a series of accidents which had occurred, and "the protest indeed received • the whole-hearted support of all motor-cyclists who wish to see the sport kept in .the high rank of public esteem. A Sydney journal states that this method of carrying a _ passenger is giving way to tho pillion -seat an American innovation, which, owing to the early exploits of the venturesome and thoughtless few referred to, was likely'"to bo for ever tabooed in Australia.

■ The pillion seat, which, by way of explanation, is really a second saddle mounted over the back wheel, and enables the passenger to ride tandem fashion with remarkable comfort, has much' to recommend it, and as far as the male section of the community *iB. concerned, bids fair to become a. strong rival of the side-car. ,For certain classes of' work the side-car machine, which originated and is immensely popular in England, has, of course, indisputable claims. It is the only method by which a motor-cyclist may enjoy the company of a lady; it has all the advantages of a ligh't car, without the disadvantages of high original cost and expensive upkeep. The side-car machine, moreover, is recoginsed to be faster and easier to control. But the pillion 6eat attachment, costing only a few shillings, as against the pounds of the sidocar, has many adherents, particularly in; districts where tile roads are not what they might be. Over these tracks his passenger on tho pillion scat adds to the comfort of the rider, astheniachine is' found to hold tho road' better with the extra weight, while the expense through wear and tear is hardly any greater than if the rider were mounted "solo" fashion. The road' question, of course, lias largely influenced tho development of the sociable motor-cycle in America and England, and under equitable conditions the side-car machine in America would no

doubt 'hare reached the high stage of perfection that it has in England. In the circumstances, therefore, _it will not be surprising to find a big increase in the popularity of the pillion seat, to the detriment of the sidecar in Sydney, although, as in England, the side-car has a very, firm hold.

Wheels out of Alignment. It is generally known that tires on wheels whioh are even slightly out of alignment soon show excessive wear. Most motorists will be interested in the description of the appearance of a tire which has been running in this condition given by Messrs. Moseley and Sons in. a letter to* the- "Motor." They state:— It must first of all he understood that the wear on a pneumatio tire, under normal conditions of running, is exceedingly slight, but that if instead of the wear being in one direction it proceeds from two directions not parallel to each other, what can be best described as a grinding action wears the rubber away remarkably quickly on account of the increased friction set up. Whenever this grinding action occurs, the surface of the rubber tread assumes a curious appearance, and as this appearance is invariably associated with tires used on • wheels running out of alignment; it is well worth mak-' ing note of. Instead of the ordinary smooth "velvety" surface, the latter is much rougher than usual, and presents ; a "feathery" appearance, and the Bmall particles of rubber, in the process of being detached from the surface, take up what might almost be described as a definite pattern, and lie in diagonal lines. , '

We have frequently been asked by oustomers how it is that wheels which are running only. slightly out of alignment can have such a disastrous effect on tires, and if your readers will make a simple calculation they will find that a wheel which is out of centre to the extent of l-Bin., measuring from the rim of size 816 mm. by 103 mm., will have the same effect on the tire as if it were dragged • sideways whilst running to the extent of 22 yards . per mile, and the effect of this after runnine 1000 miles is obvious. There are many people who deliberately disregard the accurate alignment of wheels, and we have even had it denied that a. wheal which is Jin. out of .truth can have any ill-effect on the running a tire. There are many ways.. of testing' the alignment of wheels, but the simplest .we have ever come across is that recommended by the Palmer Tyre, Ltd., and which is reprinted by permission in our own motor tire catalogue. Hero and There. Legal- lighting-up time' for ' motorcars and motor-cycles:—To-day, 6.49 p\m.. Next Friday, 6.59 p.m. Motor tire prices in America, which jumped from 10 to 15 per cent, when war broke out, have now gone nearly to normal again. ' - Spencer _ Wisharfc, one of the bestknown racing men in America, was killed whilst taking part in an important road contest at Elgin. Two events were held on, successive days, over a course of 301 miles, and both were won by Do Palma, liis respective times being 4hr. sniin., and 4hr. 6min.

The great exodus of motor mechanics, drivers aad repairers from the Great Portland Street area in London has left many of the depots almost depleted of hands. In every case mechanics are bettering themselves financially, bo that apart from the patriotic spirit there is the monetary inducement to encourage enlistment. One man (says the "Motor"), who was earning 275. 6d. a week is now receiving 85s. from the Government and a weekly grant for his wife and children during his absence at the front, The motor-cycle- and side-car, now so popular for carrying an extra passenger, is now used very considerably in a lighter form by many cyclists in England for the carrying of juvenile passengers. On good roads two children. can easily be carried in . a side-car without much extra exertion by a cyclist. The average weight of carrier used is from 13 to 201b., and f;he cost, of the outfit is small.