MOTOR IMPORTATIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 360, 22 May 1928, Page 7

MOTOR IMPORTATIONS

STATISTICS FOR FIRST QUARTER A decrease of per cent, on the total for the first quarter last year is revealed by the figures for the motor vehicle imports during Jan-uary-March, 1928. As compared with the corresponding | period of 1926, the decrease is 56$ per ! cent. The aggregate dutiable value of the j imports was £ 521,263, of which nearly I two-thirds went to the United States, j The falling off in Canadian cars and j commercial chassis was most marked, | and there was also less expenditure on : i British motors. ! Following are the dutiable values of ! cars, chassis and commercial vehicles lof all classes imported during the first quarters of each year: £ £ 1927. 1928. United States . . 322,504 343,398 Great Britain . . 185,535 137,117 Canada .. .. 140,267 38.545 Italy . . . . 27,943 30 France . . . . 5,137 374 Belgium . . . . 689 1,799 £682,075 £521,263 The values given are current domestic values in the country of origin, plus 10 per cent. Duties, dealers’ profits and assembling charges would have to be added to arrive at the actual outlay in retail purchases. An analysis of the £521,263 shows that £440,780 was for cars and j car chassis, and £80.483 for buses, | vans, trucks, and other commercial vehicles. j On a numerical basis, American cars I increased in number by nearly one- : third cympared with the total in 1 the January-March quarter of 1927. In 1 the aggregate, American passenger cars are nearly back to the position held in the record quarter of 1926, in spite of increases in duties since that period. Tlio remarkable falling off in Canadian cars is due largely to the fact that the “ Ford ” factories have been closed for some time, pending the production of the new model. Following are details of the number j of cars and car chassis imported during the first quarters of the last three years:— 1926. 1927. 1928. United States . 2,135 1,528 2,025 Great Britain . SOS 764 557 I Canada . . . 3,892 1,110 271 | Italy 87 184 1 i France .... 33 22 2 I Belgium .... 2 5 6,954 3,60 S 2,861 DIRT TRACK RACING i DEVELOPMENT AT MANGERE The sport of dirt track racing is becoming increasingly popular in England and from a spectacular point of view it bids well to outclass Brook-

lands. The cost of preparation of the track is comparatively small and the actual risk to riders is reduced to a minimum while the thrills provided by broadside, skid, cornering, make the racing among the most spectacular forms of sport to witness. In years past the present Auckland Motor Racing Club which conducts the local motor cycle races at Devonport each year, held a series of tests on the then dirt track at Alexandra Park. The riders were all amateurs and the speeds attained were very slow in comparison with the super machines and expert riders of to-day but from a spectator’s point of view there was more thrill in those old dirt track trials than at any of the world record breaking speeds attained at the present day. A dirt track for Auckland is not very far distant, and Air. Geo. Henning, who can rightly be classed the father of motoring in Auckland, has for the past few years been devoting a vast amount of time and money at the Pupuke Lagoon, Mangere, and now has the elementary work in connection with a track completed. Motor-cycles have circled the proposed course at an average speed of 25 m.p.h. and now all that is required is the formation of the actual racing track. The visiting racing drivers from Australia who competed at Muriwai were loud in their praises of the proposed site and claim that the side of the lagoon would prevent those accidents which occur through a rider failing to negotiate a bend and leaving the course.