THE WORLD ON WHEELS

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4500, 4 September 1930, Page 1

THE WORLD ON WHEELS

WOMEN DRIVER'S. Lady Drummond says:—-Petrol moves the world. Petrol, rather than steam or electricity, is the great propulsive force to-day. This is manifest from new statistics, which show that there are in use 34,897,323 motor-ears of every description, including lorries and motor-buses.

America leads the procession with two and a-'half times as many motor-ears as all the rest of the world put together. The United States has 28,0 12,130 motor-ears. All Americans —the entire population —-could get into cars and he moving at the same time. Europe has 4,04-9,793 motor vehicles; Australia was said to have 75'8,773 at the last census, and the figures have grown since then. Even then there were more cars than there are in Germany, or the whole of Asia, which has 509,250; Africa, 319,305. The whole world is taking to motoring. Since 1922 there has 'been an increase of 170 per cent, in ears.

Next to America, comes Britain, with 1,370',711. ICfooc'ho-alovwkia shows the greatest increase in the last eight years, jumping from 4,138 cars in 1922 to 05,000 in 1929. China with nearly 500,000,000 people, the largest population of any country in the world, has hut 30,283 motor-cars, scarcely more than Portugal. India, with 320,000,000 people, has 104,275 cars, compared with Sweden’s 144,510. Austria, with only six and a-half million population, ha 5.34,500; the South African Union, 141,074. Bermuda is at the foot of the list with only 20 cars to its 20,410 population. Modern civilisation is on wheels, propelled by petrol. Australia is said to have the largest proportion of registered women drivers.