MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 107, 30 January 1920, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

! -. « — (By "Clutch.") Jhe Speculator Busy, > Tlio speculator if becoming a menace in tlio Knglisli motor trade, says a motor writer. Getting in curly, and securing supplies of tlio most jiopulur makes of cars, ho llien passes them on to impatient motorists at prices greatly in advance of the makers' retail figures, "'ho Ilolls-Royei! Company Juts been one of the victims of this class of trade, ami with a view of endeavouring to minimise, tile trouble, has issued the following letter to the Knglisli Press: "During tlio war our second-hand chassis changed hands at, fantastic'prices. Nowvery large sums of money are being paid to people, who have ordered their pastwar chassis for the right of precedent in deliveiy secured by,them. The abnormal demand is exciting Ihe cupidity of speculators. We have for same time refused orders for our chassis from thoso who are obviously ordering with a view to selling at u' premium. Wo have done, this solely for Ihe protection of tho bona-lide 'purchaser who intends to use the car lie buys. AVe have inserted a clause in our order form whereby we claim the right to refilso the delivery of a ear if we find it has been ordered for. tho purpose of speculation, and we, in common with nil reputable motor factories, are doing fur bcM to stump out speculation and to protect the true motorist."

Who Invented the Side-car? The nurstion as to who invented the. motor-cyulo side-car is one Hint; has received considerable attention of late in England. ]). 1\ Jlorgnn, an Knglisli motor-cycle engineer, claims to have been one of blip first, to have tho'iiglit of substituting the side-car for a trailer—the. iiist attachment v used by motor cyclists for carrying ti second person. Mr. Morgan states that tht facts are as follow:—, "I used a trailer with one of the earlier ])e Dion motor-tricycles, but the dust thrown upon the rider, etc., was great, and, besides, the position of the trailer was very unsociable. Ono day in my. workshop I had occasion lo have to wheel tlio dclnchcd'trailer from one end to tlio other. I was at the sauio time, wheeling a bicyclo with the other hand. Tile idea struck mo at once hhat a motorcycle would easily pilll along the trailer if attached to the side—as at present on, motor-cycles. I had some 1} h.p. Minerva motor-cycles in use, and afterspending a sleepless night or two over tho idea of a- side-cav, I called my foreman into tho oflico and explained my invention to him. He at once said he would see what tho result would be. I gave him my sketch, and ho bent the long orm of the trailer to clamp on to the top lube of the motor-cycle near the head; then, taking off one wheel of tho trailer, lie made a coupling to attach the axle to tho rear axle of tlio machine. After some trepidation I got in.thc basket scat, anil my foreman pushed the motorcycle and side-car. along, and wo were soon speeding up and down, the roads. This wns in tlio year .1901, I believe. I then decided I would aslt the principal!) of a well-known ltodditch firm their opinions on the indention, and I sent them my shctch and particulars, stating I had experimented with it and if was satisfactory. I was very much disappointed to get a reply shortly afterwards, saying that the idea was novel, hut giving their opinion "that no motor-cycle would ever bo built strong enough to pull along a side-car.' This put a damper on lily spirits, and I did not patent tho invention. Many months afterwards there appeared in one of the cyclo or motor-cycle papers a sketch from a reador suggesting an attachment exactly as tho ono I had submitted to liedditch. No one patented tho idea, and ]io\r«,its use is world-wide." '

Search for New Fuels. The search for new fuels hasn't brought lis much up to now; but, despite muny delays and disappointments, one cannot but i'ool a certain confidence Unit some interesting developments will begin shortly (says J. Owen in the '"Westminster Gazette,"). Ido not share the'view of those gloomy people who predict that within a certain number of yearn the world will hnvo used up its fuel supply, since long before that happen* we may expect that the science of Synthetic .production will have reached the practical stage, and it may possibly include coal as well as petroleum, and other fuels. There is some hopyin the. prospect, but all the same, we need to lie very careful in forming opinions about, new and mysterious fuels. It is very cntertainingr to he told of magic tabloids or mystic -potions which, when added to water or other medium, v

will drive a motor-car or set a stationary engine in motion. That lias already been demonstrated in the United States, and quite recently at Nottingham; but a brief frial of this character does not teach us much. If the 'compound is as efficacious as is made out. there is no reason why it should not lie submitted jo an exhaustive road trial "of, fay, 10,000 miles in order to discover whether or not it has any harmful effects on the engine. lam not denying that it may t be' possible to produce a highly coin'bustible gas by means of a powder mixed with water, .but since it would be unreasonable to vxpeet the inventor of it to disclose the exact nature of ito •make-up, the only thing to do, as a safeguard for the inventor himself and those who would like to have an' interest in it, is to use it in n long-distance run."

Here and 'there. ( Accent labour strikes have seriously affected the output of cars in America. When ono firm is behind 60.000, it can be realised what (ho total setback must be in the Amqric.in motor*vfldnstvy. , The latest motor-ear registration figures to hand from America show that nil told 6,730,550 motor vehicles are now registered. These include passenger cars and motor trucks. This means.that there is, practically one motor vehicle for every 15 persons in the United States. There is such a demand for motorcycles in England that there are said to lie 30 orders awaiting evei'y,.innchino that leaves the factory. Tlio problem of delivery appears to ho as had in this branch of the motor industry as in the car section. , Although the motor is already most widelv used in the United Slates of all countries in the world, the greater expansion of its employment is limited by the lack of garage accommodation. It is asserted that there are thousands of citv dwellers who w.ant cars and can afford (hem. but are not purchasers because tihev have no facilities for housing t.ho vehicles i»hen not in use. Garages mav be, and perhaps are. \n the neighbourhood, but th.'.v arc small-ui #ize, and depend chiefly mion repair work, and not storage, for the hulk of their busiI Unde- a new Motor Act passed by the. General Assembly of Connecticut, U.S.A., there is now no speed limit, but recklessness mav he penalised irrespective of! speed, the automobile department of Hie Stale will maintain highway palroU whose authority will he broad enough to take, action on visible evidence of excessive speed, carelessness, or recklessness, but the accused driver will bo ■riven dm opportunity lo defend himself. Previously the police caught motorists in speed traps, but as this method gavo riso to great dissatisfaction, as it dow here, it has been eliminated. .'