CYCLE AND MOTOR NOTES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 39, 9 October 1912, Page 6

CYCLE AND MOTOR NOTES.

In view of the specific advantages that an air-cooled engine offers for light cars, both on the score of weight and reduced cost of manufacture, it is rather surprising that greater headway has not been made in this direction, writes a well known English expert. There are many, cars on the road with cylinders in which the total volume swept out by the piston is considerably less than that of the average motor-cycle engine, and, as readers are aware, the latter type of engine is in a wonderful state of perfection. There was a time when a cylinder with a bore in excess of about 75 m.m. was deemed too largo to be aircooled; nowadays ahy number of engines of 90 m.m. bore and over, are running successfully; The improvement that has been effected is due, to a large extent, to the skill of the foundry; cylinders can now "be cast with cooling ribs under one-sixteenth of an inch thick, and can he placed so closely together that a little over one-eighth of an inch separates them. Despite the thinness of the ribs and the proximity of one to another, they can bo made as deep as half an inch. This is sufficient to show that the aircooled engine of a few years ago must not be cited as an example of the air-cooled engine of to-day, and it certainly looks as if this matter is worthy of fnore attention from car manufacturers than it is receiving. The water circulation system of the petrol engine, with its radiator pump, etc., forms an expensive item, oven in the cheap roundabout, and if these can be done without, it would lie another step towards bringing down the cost of the car for the man of moderate means. During the twelve months ending June, 1912, 8025 cars were imported into Australasia from America. These figures represent about a sixth of the total number of cars in tiie Commonwealth and Now Zealand, and Australasia is blow America’s third best customer for motor cars, Canada coming first, and England second. The report of the Petrol Committee, appointed by the Royal Automobile Club of England, holds out very little hope for a reduction in the price of petrol, in fact the conclusions to bo drawn from the report are that as the number of cars increases, the price of petrol will slowly hut surely increase. One thing appears to be inevitable, and that is that some form of heavier fuel must bo the motor fuel of the future.

The change which has come about in the problem of the London omnibus traffic is extraordinary. When first introduced the running expenses were enormous and nearly ruined the various companies. Now the motor omnibus is working at less than 7d per omnibus, mile, and is considerably more economical than a horse omnibus. The best tramway apparently costs over lOd per tramear mile, while the underground railway costs about 9d per mile per thirty passengers, which works out at a cost of the omnibus mile plus half the tram car mile.