MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2575, 24 September 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

( [By Clutoh.) Evolution of the Motor Chassis. In some notes on evolution of tlie motor chassis Mr. H. Jlassac Buisfc writes as follows in the London "Morning Post" :—Tho incrcasinir variety of uses to whicti motors arc being put, the demand for more power for given weights, and tho plain necessity for providing the purchaser in the near future with vehicles of greater powers of performance for given sums of money aro resulting in a steqdy growth of inventiveness on the parti of those devoted to tho evolution of the motoring industry. Tlio general idea is, perhaps, that progress merely consists of increasing tho output of certain types of cars to such an extent tbat a middle-sized, medium-powered vehiele of more or less conventional dosign and equipped with a mechanical engine starter and all manner of other conveniences can be supplied to the public for even less than £200. ■ Certainly, that is one way in which America is solving the problem, ■and it is equally certain that this is a way in .which we cannot solve the problem in this country, where the industry is unprotected, and tho wage ,for a given amount of service is wholly disproportionate to what/ obtains abroad. AVe must accept it as a fact that jn no European country will it be possiblo to equal, far less surpass, tho scale of production of motor vehicles already- achieved by tjio leading firms in America. To admit this obvious fact, however, does not argue that there is therefore no future for the motor industry in Europe in general, and in these islands in particular. On tho contrary, price: is by no means the oniy, or even the most, important factor in the further evolution of the mechanical vehicle movement for road service. AVo know from experience to date that scale of output, provided your industry is sufficiently protected to justify it, is of course, tho easiest', as it is the shortest cut to bringing motor vehicles within the purse-range of a yet wider public. But, if we examine the majority of these propositions, -it appears that the inventiveness is chiefly manifest not iir the ma.oliinery supplied to the public but in the machinery employed' for making those machines.

Progress Due to Accessory Makers. Indeed, there are not lacking sufficient signs to enable one to present the fairly rational argument that if the evolution of motor vehicle design' depended only on scale of production to enable costs to be reduced wo should practically mark tiino indelinitely. Take, lor example, the cheapest American car turned out in very great numbers; there has been practically no advance in the', design .for over four years. The reason is obvious. It pays better to reduce the retail price of a car produced in such vast numbers than it does to alter the design. Take another class of American car, also niado in vast numbers, but on what we may call more or less conventional European chassis lines, and what does one find? The ■cylinders are enormously largo for the power they develop, and are cast separately, but the whole vehicle is made up to date fuoin the market jraint of view by standardising an electrical en-gine-starting plant and such like details, which arc evolved not by the motor manufacturer but by the genius of tho accessory maker, who, on his part, can put them on exceedingly cheap when tho motor manufacturer places his orders on. such a large scale. Take, again, the larger medium-powered classes of American cars coming within the £500 range, and representing extraordinary value for money, and on© finds that, again,' in a hundred and one. details of designs the chassis when stripped is unnecessarily "untidy" and complicated. The American motor engineer, as a olass, has still an odd hankering for going round corners to get at things when his European brother employs direct means to the same purpose. This American trait- is the more odd when one reflects that it involves unnecessary complication as well as unnecessary cost.

Incentives to Fresh Designs, In tho majority of examples American progress in design consists of little else than copying the latest European practice. Anyone -who makes acquaintance with the 1916 American models, which will soon, bo available for the British public to try, will find that the best of them embody a degree •of flexibility and smoothness of engine working of which there was absolutely no trace in tho vehicles shipped to this country twelve and eighteen months ago. By no means evory American car of what will bo called the 1916 pattern will embody these characteristics, but each one that does will be merely making use. of lessons taught by the European industry in general and the British in particular. These improved qualities of flexibility and refinement are especially noticeable in eight-cylinder cars, a type with which we have done comparatively little in tliis country; but the principles of design, notably of tho reciprocating parts, whereby the desired results aVe achieved in tho eiglit-cylinder American engines, arethe same that we previously exploited in the Old AVorld for our refined four and six cylinder motors. After the war, if steps are taken to protect our motor industry with its heavy labour handicap and its position in relation to bearing the costs of the war through taxation as contrasted with that- of the highly prosperous and lightly taxed -American industry, we shall still be'able to lead the way in tho evolution, of the motor and the chassis as distinct from. mere accessories, such as the mechanical engino starting and electric lighting plant and so forth. The reason I except the accessories as a general proposition is that the immediate scope for profiting by their evolution is so vastly greater in America by reason of her mere scale of motor production'than it is in Europe that certainly nine-tenths of any accessory .development that is worth while should be first brought to fruition over there because the incentive to invention is so much greater i/Jiaii it is here. The evolution of the motor vehicle itself is : inherently bound up with progress in design,. aiid under this head; concludes M. Buist, there is assuredly no cause for us to be pessimistic in this country, provided the manufacturer is justified in continuing his experiments through the industry being, protected.

Cleaning out Back Axles. There are tJhree places on the oar whore the lubricant should be cleared out and renewed periodically—the crank case, the gear bos, and the back axle. An owner is not likely to forget the first of these, and lie occasionally thinks of' the gear box, but the back axle is very frequently overlooked. I was recently caught sinning under tho last heading with dire results (writes "Aeolus" in the "Autocar"). For some 18 months I had omitted to clean out the waste lubricant, though I had not forgotten to replenish it from, time to time. During some rather strenuous driving it seems likely that one of the teeth of the crown wheel had 1 become slightly chipped, and' the broken piece had dropped to the bottom of the casing. | So' long as the supply of lubricant remained at a minimum there would be no tendency for the chip to be whirled up and foul the other teeth, but when I came to replenish the lubricant on a liberal scale the chip apparently was picked up and firmly embedded between two of the teeth' of the crown wheel. The disastrous effect of this involved the fitting of a now ciown wheel and bevel pinion. Hero and There. Legal lighting up time for motorcars and motor-cj'cles:—To-day, . 5.56 p.m. Next Friday, 6.5 p.m. Coasldevable attwitioji Isat of late

been paid by motor-car designers to constructional detail in tho steering gear mechanism, which was formerly neglected. Easy steering, and the immediate answering of the road wheels to t'lie movement of the stoering-ivheel means greater safot.v. It also moans less wear of tha front wheel tires, and, since this is productive of a saving in running' expenses, the steering mechanism is well worth a careful consideration'. Good design, as regards this particular part of tlie car, implies, abovo all else, big wearing surfrccs, ample means of adjustment, and adequate lubrication.

It is remarkable how space available for luggage varies on small cars. Some of the smalest have the best accommodation—on others there is practically no room at ali. It is a great advantage when tbe top of the rear platform is flat and 1 not sloping downwards. Most little cars will taken a suit-caso or kitbag, but the test is when a few days' tour is contemplated with a lady passenger. The belongings of mere man are often obliged to si aro tlio toolbox with the spanners! It is wonderful, however, what a lot of baggage can be accommodated with a little ingenunity. And the added weight does not seem to make much difference as regards climbing, maximum 6peed', or petrol consumption, provided the windage area of tbe car is not increased.