AUTOMOBILES.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 115, 13 September 1902, Page 13

AUTOMOBILES.

Whilst the larger cities m the world have been developing the motor-car industry it is pleasing to note that Wellington is not to be behind the times. Within the last week the New Zealand Motor Cdi Company has entered into ai i angements with the Knowles Automobile and Motor Power Company, of Sydney and New Yoik and will be landin.fi; during November a large number of cars, consisting of Runabouts, Voiturettes, Tonneaus, and delivery vans. Hitherto there has been a deal of uncertainty as to the reliability of this popular form of locomotion, but this, we are assured has now been entnely overcome. They are now safer, faster, cheaper, and more reliable' than the horse-drawn vehicle. The cost of running a "Runabout" is Is 6d for forty miles. They will climb any hill in New Zealand, even where horses cannot drag a light buggy. To give one some idea of the

power they have : In a recent hill climbing competition, on a grade of 1 in 7, and three-quarters of a mile long, the Knowles car won handsomely, and com. pleted the task at a pace of thirty-five miles an hour. Again, in a trial a, Voiturette was run one thousand mileß without a stop. Such facts as these speak volumes. The local company are also completing arrangements for a large supply of 'busses, and in the near future the Wellington public will have at their command the most up-to-date form of travelling the world knows. At the present time even in Sydney, one can see several ladies driving round Centennial Park with their families aboard, in preference to their pair of horses and handsome landau. To the professional man a car is no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity, and few of the medical fraternity can afford to be without one. Mr. Ernest Mayes, who is representing the Knowles Company, informs us that in Auckland, Gisborne Napier, Hastings, and other centres the leading merchants have taken the matter up, and are landing a number of cars. At Rotorua, a local company are importing a number of Knowles 'busses to cater for the tourist traffic. Old-tdme cyclists will recognise in Mr. Mayes the examateur champion of Europe, who visited New Zealand in 1888 in company with J. E. Fenton. Full particulars and catalogue can be obtained from Mr. McLean, the secretary of the company 10, Lambton Quay."