Where Our Cars Come From

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 290, 28 February 1928, Page 6

Where Our Cars Come From

British Share Growing at Expense of Canada FIGURES FOR 1927 Great Britain's contribution to the 10,019 cars and 552 car chassis, imported into Mew Zealand during 1927, was 19s per cent., a record share in the history of the trade. A merican cars also increased in proportion at the expense of Canadian products. Numerically, Imports from all origins were lower than the totals for either 192*5 or 1925, but the signal feature was that the English vehicle suffered but a slight falling-off compared with the slump in imports from other sources. Following are details cf the Dominion’s imports calculated in percentages of the total number of cars and car chassis imported during the last five years:

UNDER-INFLATION. POINT TO BE WATCHED. BALLOON TYRE CARE. The trouble with modern balloon tyres, which hold a considerable volume of air at a relatively low pressure, is that a minor puncture nay remain undetected for many miles until the tyre has reached a pressure of, perhaps, only 101 b a square inch. The driver may notice a slight pull on the steering, if it be a front tyre, but being, shall we say, in a hurry, he puts it down to the road camber and takes no notice. Then if the conditions are such as to call for a sudden swerve against camber he may find it almost impossible to pull the car round against the drag set up by the deflated tyre. It will be clear that the rolling resistance of a deflated cover of large section is considerably greater than that set up by the same cover running at the correct pressure, so t lat when a puncture occurs in one of the front tyre* the ear tends to steer towards the side on which the deflated t3*re is placed. If a slow puncture of thi s kind is suspected, owing to steering drag, it is a good plan to drive the car first on one side of the camber and then on the other in order to see whether this causes any noticeable difference in the steering. If the drag persists, always in the same direction, then the only course is to stop the car and correct the fault.

ContiBritain. Canada. V S.A. nent Per Per Per Per cent. cent. cent. cent. 1923 .... 4 60 3li U 1924 .... 62, 66 2-? li 1925 .... 154 36 1-3 2 1-3 1926 .... Hi T>5i oli 2i 1927 .... 19i 21i 53i 2i