MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 November 1917, Page 7

MOTOR AND CYCLE.

NEWS AXD NOTES The thieving fraternity are turning their attention to the motor ear in the Ignited States and with serious effect as may be judged by the following figures. In Chicago last year 3295 cara were stolen of which 2336 were recovered, the balance 9.59 never being traced. jSo far this year 1700 cars have been I"lifted" and 500 not recovered and this is in one centre o'.lh In cities such as New York Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles, the trouble is just as rampant and thou - 'snnds of cars are stolen and never recovered. A new set of world's short distance motor ear records has been established [ at New York by W. Rader on a "Packard" fitted up with a 265 h.p. aviation i engine. The new track figures come near beating the straightaway records put up on the Ormond-Daytona .beach. The Sheepsbead Speedway was used for the trial and in addition to the distances covered, Rader actually travelled 400 feet per lap extra (two miles) owing to the terrific speed necessitating the driver keeping high up on the banking of the track. .The fastest time was that made in the 1-4 inile trial, negotiated in 6.9 see., or 130 m.p.h. The J-mile was done in 13.9586 c., or "129 m.p.h., and the mile 28.755ec., or 125.1 m.p.h. The 10-mile record was made in tain. 50.88aec., or 123.7 m,p.h. Though these records have not as yet been passed on by the eontest board of the American Automobile Association to make them official, it is likely they will be passed. A comparison tvith the Brooklands (England) records shows that all records for these distances made there have been broken, thus making the new figures world's records for circular courses. The kilometre (1003 yards) of 15.285ec. made by the late R. Burman in a "Benz" at Daytona, April 23, 1911; the mile of 25.40, also the 2-mile of 61.2Ssec. made by Burman are still the fastest times ever made by car. Hemery's 5-mile mark of 2.34 made in the Darracq at Daytona, January 24, 1906, has been broken. There is no straightaway 10-mile mark to compare with. . It is reported from Boston that an Oldsmobile six-evlinder car has just put up an official ' window" test by running 20, US) miles without a stop. The car was mounted on jacks in the windows of the agency, its rear wheels belted-to a 17 kilowatt dynamo, giving this car a load equivalent to a 10J per cent, grade and requiring a continuous expenditure of 2-2 h,p. It remained this way for forty-seven continuous days and nights, attaining an average speed of 23.17 m.p,h. The petrol consumption was 22J miles per gallon. Only four adjustments, totalling lflmin. and Msec, were made during the run, and in no case was the engine stopped. The American military authorities have ordered 2500 "Indians" and 1000 "ITarlcy-Davidaon" -motor cycles. These machines are three speed twins to be built with some slight modifications of the present models so that the spokes, hubs, sprockets, etc., will be interchangeable. This order totals nearly £200,000. The special price charged the U.S.A. Government being just under £. r )0 a piece. The machines are to be delivered within four months and most of them will be utilised by the American Army in France. A. Parsons, the well-known Victorian motor-cyclist, proposes making an attempt at an early date on the Mel-bourne-Sydney motor-cycle record. The existing record stands to the credit of J. Bolger, of Wagga (N.S.W.), who, over ii years ago covered the 56? miles between the two capitals in 23 hours 41 minutes, thereby winning a gold watch offered by the Dunlop Rubber Co., to the first rider negotiating this Inter-State, route within 24 hours. With the great improvements effected in machines during the past five years, the lowering of the existing figures should be an easy matter and considering that Boyd Edkins' car record stands at 10 hours 55 minutes, a first-class rider should accomplish the trip well under 20 hours. Motor air tubes are easily ruined by allowing any kind of foreign substance to remain in the cover. When inflated the pressure of a tube against the cover Is considerable, and even road dust when present is liable to be forced into the comparatively soft rubber of the tube, producing in time a series of small leaks. Dust or grit should always be brushed out of a cover before re-fitting. The English Government collected neariy £2,000,000 for the financial years 1916-1917 from the petrol tax. Enormous .profits have been made by some of the leading American motor concerns as the result of the war. One company which Vnade £1,400,000 in 1914, increased its profits to £5,600,000 In 1916. It is interesting to note that there are 450 motor-car manufacturing firms in the United States. Of these, twelve companies are responsible for no less than 80 per cent, of the total production leaving only 20 per cent, for thp remaining 438 firms. W. Arcnd, the German sprinter, who won the world's championship in 1897, is said to be a prisoner of war, according to late exchanges from Paris. One of tile most curious facts in the light oar movement says the Light Car (England) is the demand for electric lighting. It is probably safe to say that the light car of the future' by which one means the standardised car produced in largo quantities at a moderate price some years after the war, will always be electrically fitted, but at present it is perhaps rather extreme to consider the light car incomplete unless so equipped. Electric lighting and starting are very great conveniences, but for a large proportion of light car owners they are, after all, not much more than luxuries. In the demand for electric lighting there is something of the fascination of a novelty; the mere pleasure of being able to press a switch and turn on the lamps at any moment, and having no need to take a battery off the car for re-charging, no messing with carbide and no examining of oil lamps to see if they are full. The average light car owner uses his car considerably less at night than is the case with the big fiveteater and the enclosed car. There are special users, suoh as doctors, commercial travellers, eto., to whom electric lighting is quite invaluable, but the majority of user*, convenient though ib is, the outfit Is probably idle for 99 per cent, of the time the ear is in use. Until light cars are turned out on a large scale with standardised electric equipment, the post of lighting and starting sets can hardly be muoh reduced, but the £ls to £2O for lighting and over £3O for a combined set, which were approximately the prices before the war, when -bought separately, is a sufficiently large sum to influence the buyer of small inean9 considerably. With many large car owners siicli an addition to their capital expen- ! diture would he accepted without hesitation, but with almost all light car buy- ' ers the actual sum mado available for the cureless is ofteu cut rfttW flag. It la

natural to expect that two or three years after the. war prices of new cars will tend to be reduced, for the cost of material and labor will then bo more certain and light car production will be on a large scale. It would therefore seem likely that the main demand immediately after the war by the very large class of potential light car owner* who will then begin to buy will be fur the moderately-priced light car* without, dynamo or self-starter. Gradually, the demand for these extras will increase, and many new owners, when they learn just what their car is costing them to run, will add such fittings if they can afford them, until eventually, the demand will become general and cars will be Bftnt out with an electrical outfit as standard at a figure little in excess of the original price.