BILLIONS INVESTED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 23, 19 April 1927, Page 11

BILLIONS INVESTED

AND MILLIONS EMPLOYED AMERICA’S MOTOR INDUSTRY Considering that more than a hundred million people in America think in terms of automotive transportation, the United States can be thought of as being strictly motorised, according to Charles Broad, sales manager of the Flint Motor Company. He states that 20,000,000 automobiles furnish this transportation. “Approximately 3,000,000 people are employed in this industry,” Broad says, “Billions of dollars are invested and this giant business is still growing.” The Flint executive pointed out that coincident with the rapid growth of the automobile industry has been the nation’s expansion in resources and buying power. He also says during the past expansion of the automobile industry, savings bank deposits have been more than doubled, individual bank deposits have more tlian tripled, building and loan associations have seen the same increase, and life insurance in force has increased two and one-half times. According to Broad the automobile has multiplied the working and marketing radius and largely increased the earning capacity of the salesman, physician, the farmer, the business man and the artisan. It has relieved city congestion by offering to people in metropolitan centres the opportunity of living in the suburbs. This also has been instrumental in bringing millions of dollars into the subdivision field.

“To suddenly deprive the country of automobile transportation and revert to horse-drawn vehicles would cause industrial stagnation of such magnitude as to completely paralyse business,” Broad says.

The Flint official asserts that the automobile has affected education in that it has been the direct cause that made possible the consolidation of small country schools into larger schools.

DON’T USE KEROSENE Some owners have a great habit of swilling the sump out with kerosene after the old oil has been drained out. This should not be done, and the reason is that the sump is really a twostoreyed edifice, and in the upper floor are troughs which normally contain oil into which the big ends dip as they revolve. These troughs are not drained when the plug is taken out of the bottom of the sump. If kerosene is poured into the sump some of it may collect in these troughs and stay there until the engine starts up again, when the big-end bearing will be most unsuitably swilled with kerosene —which is not a lubricant. Therefore be content with simply draining OLit the old oil from the sump, and do not swill out with kerosene. AN EXCEPTION From the look of a number of stained and dirty running boards on the cars in use. it would seem that few motorists know how to clean them properly While soap and water will remove the mud and some of the dirt, the running boards will dry with the grease spots and other marks as plain as before. These can be entirely removed and the covering made to look like new simply by wiping them with a clean cloth dipped in kerosene. This is also the best way of cleaning floor boards. WHOSE FAULT? Many a motoifist is puzzled as to his right-of-way—especially when he hai . ons to be on the open road or in a strange city. Hov.. ver, to be right, and positive of the fact, is not enough to sure safe progress; one must constants be on the alert as well. For' instance, if a driver is coming down the wrong side of the road it is obviously precarious to dispute the right-of -way by • adhering to the proper side—even though one knows he is right. Some drivers, however, will go through to a collision rather than relinquish the right-of-way when it is theirs. The prevalence these days of drunken and careless drivei's renders such a course olhardy, to say the least. A wise precaution (and the only truly safe one) is to drive as though every car you encounter is liable to swerve into you—assuming the driver to be incompetent or careless. Then, should he turn out to be a real driver, you may be pleasantly di 'pointed. This, in no wise, slows your progress—it is simply a state of mind, and you elimin ate most of the chance.