MOTOR NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 179, 7 January 1915, Page 2

MOTOR NEWS.

•Says an English exchange:—Since an j authoritative assurance was given that there is no immediate danger of a shortage of petrol in this country, car-owners have for the *pst part decided on a policy of miftbflng very much as usual, in order that the large number of persons dependent may not be thrown out of employment. British ear-owners should count themselves lucky, for Parisians, j it appears, may not exercise their cars without a written permit from the Military Governor. Even when this has been obtained, the car must not be driven outside a six-miles radius, the penalty for disobedience being confiscation of the vehicle. Permits for single journeys beyond th« six miles confine may be obtained, however, if the fullest particulars of the intended route arc given, and the motives of the journey are adequately explained. So great is the spy danger in France that it seems that tile latter regulation is enforced even in districts not greatly affected by the war, and that the greatest caution is exercised by the officials in granting permits, which must bear the photograph and signature of each occupant of the car. The British motor industry, in both • ears and cycles, is having a busy time, j many of the firms working at higi prcsl sure to fill orders for the War Office. iThe demand for waggons, especially those of the three-ton class, is exceptionally large, orders being in hand not only for the British forces, but also for the Allies. Many of the motor-cycle works are running double time to supply the needs at the front; the motor-cycle divisions being an important arm of the service. Pessimists, at the outbreak of | the war, prophesied that the motor trade, especially that in motor-cycles, would shrink to infinitesimal proportions, but, instead, the future of the ■whole motor trade is brighter to-day than ever before. The Melbourne Motor Omnibus Company, which has a fleet of vehicles in operation around Melbourne, carried 3,141,000 passengers during its first financial year. The mileage covered was 459,345, or 34.025 miles per hour 'bus. The takings amounted to £25,101, and the wages paid totalled £9542. • The Director-General of Posts an A Telegraphs at Simla, India, has ordered twenty motor-cycles and side-carriers for distribution of the local mails. This is meant to be a trial, and if, as is confidently expected, the experiment proves a success, further Government orders are expected. According to the Bombay Times, the Director-General said "the motor-cycle has arrived at such a state of perfection that we think we are justified in generally adopting it. In any case, it is considerably cheaper to run than the horse-drawn vehicle, and enables a much quicker service to be proTided,"