MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 56, 30 November 1918, Page 13

MOTORS AND MOTORING

British Light Cars, . .Discussing light-car production in Great Britain;'the. "Light Car" dismisses -iis ■absurd the idea uf -niamifnctiirini; cheiip standardised light cars on the lines fol-' lowed in Aniprica. . "Instead,", it observes, "the safest policy lor British manufacturers, will bo in the 'future, as it has-been.in.tlu/past, iii iiidividmilism ■And in concentrating iipan the producticn of eni : s-of, quality riith'ei , . lhau'quiiii- . tity, although.notwiiolly. The production, on a comparatively suiiillsciili', of cheap, cars obviously ■ holds out jiromiso ri an..iwlequato •return-for capital invested, and so also, in probably cquiil measure, does a limited output of lngli- • class curs, it is these two conflicting projects which are causing tho British motor industry to'waver in its adherence, to the policy of producing light cars as wo know, them before the" war. ft is. probable' that flip majority of' concerns in the British - motor industry will produce what may bo termed a super light car—that is, one which goes out of-the recognised light car class and becomes a -hi/diiim-weight four- lo live-scater, priced .approximately at J;300. As the general feildeii'cy is" for the. motoring public which has hitherto l , purchased cars of : double ■ this size iihcl price to come down the. scale to the figure suggested, it is'-probable that tins policy will be a remunerative one. On the other hand, there are a certain number of light car manufacturers who will not depart greatly from the ideals of- ■ 1914, : and as their number will be reduced, although their outputs will bo.increased, it seems probable that the demand will exceed the supply. This, however, may again be affected by. the decision on the part of a number of concerns, both in tho motor-cycle'and motor-car trade, to produce a car still lower down the scale. This may bs 4 'cycle-car/- as we term the simpler type of machine, or, again, a utility car—a model on.ordiniu-y car lines but cheaper in production and finish, and spiling ,for- somewhere about. ,£150." On Being Towed. If a breakdown.necessitates the car being ,-towed, one oi ; two points should be kept in mind! In.the first place, the tow' rope should bo. neither too long nor .too-short/ for in the former case it will . be difficult to keep it'taut arid, there is the risk of the' rope coiling round one wheel 'unci' locking it irtth disastrous efr feet upon, the, tyre, and in the latter ease tho difficulty! is to, avoid hitting the back of the tdiving car when, for any reason, it is pulled up .rather suddenly. A rope 20ft." in length, if. properly attached, is about right; The back .axle,of the towing'car is the ■ proper place, to fix the rope, and, preferably, the'off-side dumbiron. .on. front axle of tho. car thiit is being towed. When being towed instruct the. driver to give warning of. all stops or when slowing' down, and keep a foot or a hand.on the brake in readiness.After a "few minutes it will not be found necessary to keep an eye on the rope, as the distance, between the cars can be judged, and it is better to look nhead, so that.the;one car"may be. steered to follow' exactly in the track of the other. If the trouble has occurred in th,e back, axle, it inust'lx! remembered that the brake which works on the propeller shaft becomes inoperative.' If this point is overlooked it is quite possible that a collision will occur should the- towing car stop abruptly." If a stiff hill is .encountered it is said' to be beneficial if the length of the.towing l'ope' is reduced'to about 3ft. ■•••■'■■-. Here and There/ \ , \\'hen. new motor-car tyres are being fitted, care .should,be taken, that the rims are .of standard, shapes, and sizes...'. If they are not a'.nice, crop of. trouble may be anticipated in the forin of rubbed ■tubes, br.oken beads, and similar' occurrences. If- tyres are. to be durable they should not. bo .under-inflated. The pressure recommended by the manufacturers ought; to be faithfully adopted.- It should not be. forgotten, that - undue exposure to -the sun is. injurious to the rubber, and thiity therefore, spare tyres carried on the car should always be uncused. The rubber -should not.be.aUoSred to got soaked with oil or grease, as these militate considerably ugiunst its .durability. ■ In course of time (says an English exchange) it - will. no doubt be ' possible for jnotorists.- to obtain, petrol "and otlur liiotor fuel, as well as liibri'.-attn? oils, by ..slot- -machiiiM at .-garngej,- -.■awL public .supply stations. Experirii ents now being Jnade.-.-witli-autonurfic-de.vices show, that ,the -desired, end .will ec-pn bo achieved; '■and -then, with'-automatic food and-, drink ■supplies, a camping outfit, and. every 'driver his-own. meehauk, with standards ..lsed, parts in the .lor/«r—heigh presto! ' the Ijooih time will lys .here! -. • ..Atall nian-in a-eximll car-is a. painful ..and .uiico.mfqrtable spectacle, anil while a 'sJiOjtt.man in μ-b'jg car-may' not attract so' much attention, he is equally ill- at ease. Ibis?suggests the nice problem ot how to ■fit-t'je car to the man. . Of ■course .the opposite is 'theoretically■ pos-sible,-TVnd the-tall man slioiiTd'.get a car of suitable <'iimeilsioii3; but we cannot always affonj the.car. we would like to have.'Extortion pedals lmvc b'eeii olfcred ,the ,publi.c, also . adjustable • steering -columns, .but the. distance between the ..seat and /.the dash. is.- really tho control'■li.n? elf/>ient..tliiit , is difflcul.t to adjust, r unless, .perhaps,, riii adjustable seat is'.pro. .yiiletl for the .driver. It wquid seem thnt ;a car, provided with all three udjustment's. '.wou7ii. prove., to. be. a '. decidedly popular '.. ji-qvement, especially with men. who ■.i;e'/i,'esenf the extremes! of. stiiture. ,' '. I'- The suggestion is made'by a jvritdr in ' '.Ae/'Einancial...Tillies" that, a promising /field for-'tlie utilisation of disused. Army .iiiotor-lorrie3..exist!iin'tlie Dpiiiiiiioiiß and , I'.-also'iii the':.British' African colonies. .In ! particular (he remarks), Nigeria, with its tin fields, which were 'never more | ■ valuable Vp 'the .State'thiiii. at -present, ; 'offers' l-eitiuneriltiye.opportunity. Hliodesiiin British Central Africa, Egypt, and !'n!estine : are potential fields, for British enterprise which should help materifillv to swell- the. national revenue, and incidentally reduce.the obligation on the AVar Loan , . 'Further, afield India, '-Aust'ralia, New r Zealand,' Canada, the' West Indies, and other British posspssions give iimple scopei -.fp.i:. expansion, .which can be more speedily achieved by the use . of motor traction. - '' Restrictions on the use of petrol became so severe '■ in." Grout-Britain jiist befqro.the armistice that.even the humble petrol lighter was thrputcneil with. att'eii r tipn by the Controller. The wonder "was, -onii" commentator, sarcastically observed, how- the fortunate owners, of petrol ■ lighters -managed to get even the drops of petrol necessary to make the lighter effective., •' ' :. . ' ' Lighting-uptime:-'. To-day, 7.G p.m.; next Friday, 7;12 p.m. - . •..-."