NINETY-FIVE MILES AN HOUR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 3 August 1929, Page 12

NINETY-FIVE MILES AN HOUR

PRINCE''G'EORGE’S NEW CAR Prince' George, hail recently taken delivery of,’,a pew.. 3/. li.p. saloon car which lie lift's liad' built to his special order. Having a guaranteed maximum speed of i)i» ni.p.h., it will-he, the fastest car to be owned by-any of.tlie princes', who are all keen and experienced motorists. Although it is the last word in modern British coachwork, the body on Prince George’s new car strikes a 'note of businesslike, and dignified simplicity. It combines in a pleasing manner tlie appearance of a 95 ra.p.li. car and a town carriage. The exterior colour. scheme is plain black with polished metal fittings. The body is a four-door saloon with a glass division betwyen ..the front .and..rear a'lid is- covered , with a smooth-grain-black fabric. ■ Tlie seats are upholstered in soft brown furniture leather and tlie interior of the roof is covered in soft cloth to match. A deft artistic touch is the very tiny window at the hack, whipli measures only eight inches by two,and a-lialf. Now that Prince-"Ge'ovge lias been appointed to the ' Foreign "Office his new car will soon be one of the best known in London. CARE OF TY2E VALVES Sufficient attention does not seem to be given to their tyre valves by many folk who run cars. In these days nearly all tubes are fitted with Schrader, valves, yet very few. thoroughly understand its requirements. First and foremost it objects to dirt in its working parts, a lid therefore' the pump should always be given one or two. idle strokes before being connected to a valve. Secondly, .the rubber pai ts should lie kept springy and not allowed to get hard and perished. Next it needs an airtight cap screwed down reasonably tight with finger and thumb and certainly not touched -with pliers'. To he airtight the cap should have a sound rubber washer' in .its -head—rand not one that lias been damaged by the sharp top edge of the v.al.vc.body. A useful test foil airtiglitness is’ to turn the wheel so that- the valve; with its cap on, is pointing vertically downwards, then to'immerse it in a cup of water and watch for bubbles. In the old days valve caps were intended principally to keep out dust;, nowadays their purpose is equally to keep the air in its proper place. PILLION RIDING Pillion-riding, considered by many to be unsafe, and"‘eveif dangerous, is actually a safe and economical means of transport, providing it is done in the right way! There arc two main points to remember when riding, two up, the passenger should sit astride and should have a pair of footrests. A seat is not essential, but makes for greater comfort. In choosing a seat it is well to get one that does not allow any side sway and does not give too high a position. The pneumatic type is probably the best. The passenger should sit as close as possible to the rider. Unless tlie pillion-rider is himself an experienced rider’ hp.'slio'uld never attempt to as‘sist ;' the- rider in corners. A sudden change -of weight wlieii cornering at speed may have unexpected results. The passenger’s job is to sit still, hang on, and say nothing. If the driver is in an awkward corner he can get out ' of it better without shouted instructions from behind.

A word of advice to girl pillion riders. Don’t-go out with your friend on his new bike a week after he has taken delivery; wait until he has developed. into a' competent rider. Never wear a long scarf which can flap into the rider’s eyes. A single blind moment may turn ’pleasure into tragedy. The pillion seat of a motor cycle is not the place to display shapely legs and silk stockings. Cover them with thick stockings and riding breeches, and you will lin'd it more comfortable and less expensive. REMARKABLE DURATION TESTS It is generally taken for granted that (he speed attained iu long distance aeroplane flights is nnicli greater than anything on land, and one is apt to overlook some of tlie wonderful performances of (Tie motor-car. The recent, performance dr Kingsford Smith and UJm in their flight across Australia from Sydney to'Derby-—on their way to England —covering 2070 miles in 22 hours one minute, and averaging 94 ni.p.h., was a magnificent one, and

servos to illustrate what'really remarkable aehievements have been recorded by the motor car under somewhat similar conditions as regards duration and distance covered. For instance, in 1927, in France, Messrs Mareliland, Morel and Kiri 101 l on an eight cylinder, Dunlop shod Voisin car, covered the astounding distance of 2724 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 113.4 m.p.li., and this, despite the fact that fairly frequent stops were made for changing drivers and the replenishing of fuel and oil, which, of course, cut down their actual driving time and meant that actually, their speed average was considerably above the figures stated. The Voisin negotiated the 2000 miles in 17hrs 43min Bsec, around a track in which wind resistance had to be overcome for half the distance. These figures thus serve to prove the wonderful efficiency of the one-engined car, against the three-engined power unit of the “Southern Cross.” Another remarkable performance was that of Mrs Bruce, of England, who recently drove a Bentley car, unassisted for 24 hours, covering a distance of 2200 miles at Montlhery, France.

MR G. B. SHAW ON MOTORING Mr G. Bernard Shaw recently addressed the Chief Constables’ Conference for over an hour. During the last 20 years, lie said, he has covered over IOOjoOO -miles. lie confessed that never once has he taken a drive without breaking the law, and he sympathised with the chief constables who were obliged by their position never to exceed the speed limit. “G. 8.5.” also confessed that he has been summoned. He refers to that matter in this delightful way: — “I was informed that I had passed through a police control at a speed of 27 miles an hour. There was no question. There was no room for argument. The constable and I were perfectly civil to one another. He was pleased when he got my name, because lie knew he would be in the paper next day. And I was pleased because what came into my head was that it was a mercy he did not catch me half an hour before, when I was driving at 50.” , Mi" .Shaw then went-on to .ask what dangerous driving is. He said that he has a tendency to believe that everyone’s driving is dangerous except his own. “My chauffeur sitting beside me,” continued Mr Shaw, “has a tendency to regard my driving as dangerous. When he drives I return the compliment.” HIRE PURCHASE SALES Over two-thirds of the new car sales in New • Zealand are effected on hire purchase terms'. Several financial organisations which take over the liability from dealers exist in the Dominion, and the losses through default arc very small. Terms over twelve months are most popular, although eiglitcen-montli and two-year periods are accepted in many cases. The proportion of cars sold on time payments in the United States is actually decreasing. This is attributed to a more> careful investigation of credit risks, and to the lowering of prices to a degree which makes cash dealing possible to a larger., proportion of the community.' In 1025 08.2 per cent, of the new cars sold in America were handled on instalments. In 1928 this had fallen tp 58.1 per cent. Last year only 0.9 per cent of the new car sales in" America resulted in repossessions through default of payments. In these cases 4.1 per cent related to sales where deposits of only 25 per cent were taken, and the remaining 2.8 per cent were instances where the deposit had been one-third of the purchase price. The absconding of persons with partly purchased cars resulted in one loss in every 200 transactions. —• Lyttelton “Times.” NOTES According to figures obtained by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, U.S.A., the average life of a car is 0:] years. In a recent speech, Sir W. JoynsonHicks, late Home Secretary, said that, during the general strike, Major Segrave drove a car (containing a policeman) from Mitcham to Whitehall in four minutes and a half. This would mean an average speed of over a hundred miles per hour, which seems a bit steep, even for Segrave!

Because an average of 200 > persons are killed bv motor vehicles in Paris

each month, French physicians have proposed that operators undergo medical tests. Doctors say that licenses should be in force for a period of only five years, when another examination should be considered necessary.

Motor cycle manufacturers, during the past two years, have devoted unlimited time to obtain silent exhausts. The silencers fitted to machines nowadays arc as near perfect as design can make them; they are efficient and not unsightly. Why undo all the good work of the manufacturers by removing or despoiling the silencers.

Much time can be saved when jacking up a ear if the wheel brace be utilised for winding the jack handle. The latter should, of course, be adapted to such use by having a short bolt, the head of which is the same size and shape Sis the nuts securing the wheels, and screwing it into the jack handle, riveting its end over so that it does not work out when unwinding the jack, which can then be fully raised or lowered in the minimum of time.

Motorists in England are protesting against the regulation which prohibits the locking of closed car doors on recognised parking areas. The law requires that the car shall, be left so that it can be .moved by hand in the event of any emergency. The regulation has the. full approval of car thieves and prowlers.

Never cut out of linp to pass a car in front when approaching the brow of a hill. A car coming from the opposite direction cannot be seen until the top of the hill is reached. Yet both, with accelerator pedal pressed close to the floor to “take” the hill, are travelling under full pressure which merges into speed as the hill summit is approached.