THE MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 287, 13 May 1915, Page 7

THE MOTOR AND CYCLE.

NEWS AM) NOTES. ! An i,Ua, of the tremendous growth of , the motor industry in the I nitod states i„f America, can be gathered irom the . ,W H.iit "... him >=■»»»■ l-1 Urns of 'petrol were used in that oountrj. I Ju the 'same period Endaiid mcl just ten per cent, of that quantity.

TI K . American tvre trade also affords ,triki<i"' evidence of the popularity ol tin. automobile. One. big company alone sold .afi.li)!!,™ Wl,llk " f t - m ' s " lu,nti its last financial year.

America, according to a speaker in a recent debate at the Ko.val Autonmbi.e Club Loudon, had in liU4 no fewer than ee S !U cars registered, and it is oxthe present year the lignve will reach^,-.l«U)0!>.

Tmrtv-cight per cent, of the motor eve'es in Russia, were imported .rom Ku; land, twenty-live per cent. Irom l.ormauv, sixteen per cent. Irom America, and 'the remaining twenty-one per cent, had their origin in Russia and othe. countries.

I'riction drive on motor cycles is now licmi" tested in Englaml. There seems ,',„" inherent reason why this simple form of transmission should not prove practical and economical when applied to a motor cycle. For lhd't car work this svstem of power transmission has proved a success where adopted.

Canadian motor cyclists are orgams- ;,,., a +l,l miles relay despatch rid, across rough country from V\ indsor to Ottawa, with a view of impressing the n ,i!itarv authorities with the value of the motor cycle for eve-y commgene) Vothiii" better iu this direction ha.-, e\el in the world than tee .rrcnt nerformiuice registered by Australian' cvclists, motor cyclists ami carisfs in the Duulop despatch contest ol 1!I12. when military despatches v.ele delivered from Adelaide to Sydney. U...1 miles, in the appended timei: Cyclists, ") hom Hmin: motor cyclists, ol hours r.ll.nin.; motor hours -l-tmin.

It looks as if there, will he a shortage of high quality motor cars in Australasia from now onwards, owing to the manufacturers in Kagland '••"''"'d l ' unable to fulfil orders. I'.v.-u where thev can, shipping space n; now so limited that it. is a difficult matter tog< t ears to this country. In botn directions matters are likely to get worse before the rear is out, consequently intending purchasers of ears will do vvcll to "vet in early" and secure what they want at once. " "it was thought that relief in this direction would come from •\merica, but with a keen market mi Kuropo, and better shipping facilities to that country, there appears to be litt'o hope of America being able to fully cater for Australasian requirements.

R. Arast has definitely announced his retirement as an oarsman. What a meteoric career this sportsman had! I'fi 5 first canie into prominence in Australia \ in the Dunlop Co.'s liij.' Wa.rnanilmol-to-i Melbourne voa<l race in UMI, when lie >' vjic.ml h's brother -Tack to victory from J scratch, tlie Mm miles covered in ' file then record time of 7 hours Minn. Turnim; his attention to tnicl: racinir, lie curried oIT in VXW the Sydney Thousand which was worth €7.">o to the winner. Aquatics next claimed his attention, and much merriment was caused in cvclimr and scullm;: circles when he announced hi.s attention of H'oin;,' throufh a course of training with a, viewto bidding for the ppullinjr blue riband. In h than two years he was champion of the world—a wonderful feat.

K, is impossible, of course, to asccvtain with any approach to even tolerable accuracy how many motor vehicles of nil sort* are engaged in active service nv tlie different armies, but one estimate places it at liiilf a million vehicles! We he-Hate to express any opinion on the estimate!. but we are at least aware that the mimher is so high as would have been considered incredible a year or two ago, while the money value must lie stupendous. Think of the swarms of motor cycle-*, all of them of the best tvpes, engaged in despatch carrying and other similar work; the enormous number of convovs of lorries transporting munitions, food and all the impedimenta of great armies in the field: the fast touring and enclosed cars conveying offi. cers about their duties: the splendid fleets of motoV ambulances carrying on their work of humanity in all parts of the front; the armored cars fitted up with quick-firing guns; the motor cycle machine gun sections; the many thousands of motor 'buses taken from their profit-earning duties to carry troops as swiftly as mav be from point to" point. Think of the'other uses to which the motor vehicle is now being put in tile war arena and it will be found diflicult to discredit an estimate which at first sight secpis fantastic.

It seems as if there is going to be a mild boom in eight-cylinder cars. The subject is being dealt with to a considerable extent in the motoring papers. There are ten American firms now producing them, and it appears that but for the Avar there would have been several European eight-cylinders on the market, in. addition to the eight-cylinder De. Dion, made in France. What a change as compared with the potion of affairs fifteen years ago! The singlecylinder engine had then many sup-port-ers owing to its simplicity. The twocylinder engine was criticised on account of the extra complication, while the four-cvlinder was, as a rule, regarded with 'actual suspicion as being bound to give an immense amount of trouble, owing to the multiplicity of parts, and the 'difficulty in keeping the. various cylinders, their valves, etc., m tunc. Times have changed since then, and a good engine gives little, trouble, but when an overhaul does become necessary an eight-cylinder will naturally prove more troublesome than a four. It seems that some firms are even discussing the question of using twelve-cylinder engines. Meanwhile, we should think that eight is quite sudiciont for ordinary purposes. It undoubtedly has many advantage... It takes up no more space than the four, and is lighter, power for power, than either the six or the four, while, needless to sav. it is hound to have more halamo and lorqile and to he smoother nmnriig, provided, of course, it is well constructed. No doubt the experience gained ill building aeroplane engines will prove of considerable serI vice in perfecting the- "eight." ft is In- | foresting to note that the first practical eight-cylinder engine was built in I France.' hv ' Messrs Charron, Cirardot | and Voiglit, in IWH. It was a. T-head j engine, with the eight cylinders lifted i tandem fashion.