MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2692, 11 February 1916, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

—— IB* Clutch.) Production of Light Cars. Motor-car manufacture in Great Bri tain has been very seriously affected b; war conditions, but it is stated tha light-car and cycle-car constructors, ii spite of adverse cirumstances, have ob viously determined that nothing slial prevent them improving their produc in anticipation of the boom which it i, hoped will follow the cessation of lios tilities. It is thought in somo quar ters that it is impossible to obtain nev machines of prominent 11 akes, but thi: is ndt the case. The output of tin prominent makers has been restricted but in very few instances has it beer entirely stopped. A certain proportior of cars are allowed by the military air thorities to be manufactured each week and thus it is not a very difficult mattei to obtain delivery of ! ew cars, if the purchaser does not mind waiting a certain time so as to take his turn as regards delivery. A notable feature of the productions for 1916 is the general increase in price This is a tendency to be deprecated from most points of view, hut, unfortunately, in the present Instance, manufacturers have no choice but to raise the prices of their wares. The contributor) causes to this are manifold, the chioi of which is the difficulty in obtaining material! and l labour. Where the Government has first call en all raw materials and all productive machinery, it is but natural that productions for private purposes should be more expensive than previously. f Increased Engine Sizes. The next most noticeable feature in the new season's light cars in England is a small, yet nevertheless distinct, tendency towards an increase of engine size. The causes of this tendency are twofold. In the first place, purchasers arc demanding heavier andi more luxurious bodies, a fuller equipment, and are requiring the car to carry more than the load for which it was designed. The manufacturer has thus no option but to increase the dimensions of his car and also increase the engine size to correspond. The second reason for the increase of engine dimensions is due to the fact that several light car makers lit engines made outsido their works. As soon as war broke out and the disorganisation of all engineering works took place, or, rather, a diversion of their energies to other spheres, the makers found tfoey coi.'ld not obtain their usual engines, and had therefore to cast round for substitutes. America, as in most other tradesj has adopted the role of general provider for anything lacking dhie to the war, and has thus been made use of to supply engines. A Novel Piston. Cutting a piston ring into three segments and then providing for the proper placing and holding of these segments in position is the radical innovation made,by an English motor manufacturer. The piston has recesses spaced at equal distances around the circumference into which plugs are fitted. These plugs are slotted to receivo the piston ring, while in the bottom of each plug is seated a small helical spring, forcing the ring against the cylinder walls. One of the plugs carries a centre pin, which projects into small recesses in the ends of two of the ring segments. This pin keeps the ring as a whole from turning. Compression is said to be exceptionally good, while frictional losses are small in the new piston, due to the faot that but one ring is used, and this ring is firmly and equally pressed against the inside of the cylinder. Automobile Exports from U.S.A. As demonstrating tho vast demand for American-built motor vehicles outside the United States, the export figures published in "Washington by the Department of Commence referring to the first eight months of last year are instructive. The United . Kingdom was the largest customer, taking "16,784 vehicles, valued at 25,528,943 dollars. Of single countries France came next with 44G4 vehicles, of a total value of 11,209,798 dollars; while Germany was unable to obtain direct more than four /ehicles, valued at 2800 dollars. That jlermany, however, received 110 more than tho four vehicles standing openly to her credit seems doubtful, since we ind that the rest of Europe, excluding France, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain, took 654-4 vehicles, valued at L 4,741,288 dollars, between January <nd August this yoar, as against 2378 vehicles, of a total value of. 1,886,047 lollars, in the firsl eight months of last year. This very large rise in exports to .mspecified European countries appears w.tlier suspicious, the inference being that a good many of them are not retired for use in tho countries to which :hey are imported directly, but find their ivay to Germany. On the other hand, ■ha increase may be accounted for by ilie number of. motor vehicles for Army purposes supplied by America to the Russian Government. Sermany's Petrol Supplies, . According to authentic' news from ?aris, Germany is now getting the bulk jf her petrol supplies from Gulicia, vhile small quantities are obtained from ianover and Alsace, and probably somo icavy grade oil from Rumania. It ap)ears that when the Russian Army had :o fall back from Galicia 229 petroleum veils were destroyed at Tustanowice, in iddition to somo 320,000 tons of reierved oil stored there. At Boryslov, mother big oil centre, tha wells were lot destroyed, and it is from here that jermany and Austria arc now drawing jomo 50,000 tons of crude oil a month, he wells of Hanover and Alsace proluco some 140,000 tons a year. As far is Rumania is concerned, that country tnnually produces about a million tons >r crude petroleum more than she con|umes. Although nearly a third of the oreign oapital invested in Rumanian ill interests is held by Germany, that wintry some time back prohibited the of motor spirit and the lighter finds of petroleum, an important de■ree from tho Allies' point of vioiv. anil There. Lighting up time for motor-cars and iiotor-cycles:—To-day, 7 13 p.m. Next ' riday, 7.3 p.m. 'I he complaints which are sometimes nado 111 Great Britain against motorsts of signalling with their headlights I'ore stated in a recent case to be due o the fact that some motorists use lomewhat bright lamps which can bo iceii from a distance. As the car itself s out of sight, and is continually passng trees and other obstructions, the lteriuittent appearance of the light gives ibservers the idea that the driver is ignalling. A novel device for teaching ladies notor driving is in use in America. To lid them in controlling their cars beore essaying traffic driving, all four vhcels aro jacked up and the pupil takes ;he driver's scat. A semaphore with several arms is placed in front of the :ar. By pulling a cord the operator :attses an arm to be raised before the :ar with phrases like "Road closed," 'Stee)) hill," "Bad curve," etc. Ladies 110 said to gain groat confidence, and. to juickly learn how to manipulate gear evers, brakes, otc., by means of this levice., When charged with exceeding tho imit at Jlortlake recently the defendant iffered to present the police with his :ar if they could make it exceed 30 niles- per hour,, as he bad tried for nany weeks, but without success. An English motor trader' suggests hat innn mamhnrs nf the motor trade

should each pool £1000—£1,000,000 in all with a view to forming a company in Jingiaiid to manufacture a low-priced J> ce P le cheap American cars out or England. He backs np his suggestion'by offering to make one of the group, claiming that what has been achieved in America from a low-priced car point of view can he achieved in- ■ England.