SYNTHETIC RUBBER.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19890, 20 May 1936, Page 12

SYNTHETIC RUBBER.

BETTER THAN NATURAL. PETROL PRODUCTION SOLVED. MIRACLES WROUGHT BY GERMANS (Times Air Mail Service). Surrounded by Nazi guards and with an enormous electrically lit swastika above his head. Herr Hitler to-day opened the Berlin Motor Show, writes Mr Robert Walling , the motoring correspondent of the Evening Standard. As he spoke lie looked at an illuminated chart 20ft high showing Germany's annual motor vehicle production sales of 44,000 in 193*2; how it rose until in 1935 it was within a few thousand of Britain’s figure; and how Germany is now England’s closest European competitor. ! He claimed that Germany had solved ’. the problem of 1 Assuring a suffl- : cient supply of synthetic petrol, and j (2) producing usable synthetic rub- : ber. j This is what he said: ! “The need of an adequate petrol ; supply may be regarded as overcome. The road leading to German petrol is i open. Our chemists have worked j miracles. i “For the first time. 100. German synthetic rubber is shown at the Automobile Exhibition. It has been tested by the army and other competent quarters for more than a year now and !• am happy to tell the German people that, the synthetic rubber we have produced surpasses natural rubber in durability by JO to 30 per cent. “Our Industry, which is still In progress of development, should not be touched. The price of the German motor car must correspond to the income of its potential purchaser. “I shall see to it with unflinching determination that the cheap ‘people’* car’ is completed.” Oil Engine Car. The chief centre of Interest In th# show was the 4-seater saloon on the Mercedes-Benz stand. It looked no different from many of the cars on the other stands. But as the first ollengined car to put into standard production anywhere in the world. It marks the possible start of a new era In motor cars. Some of the leading motor engine • designers think to-day that the oilcar is the future form of mass transport. Here are some of the features of .this car. The firm tested each of three models over a distance of 50.000 miles. They say that when dismantled the engines did not. require reboring or any major attentions. They claim a consumption of 30 miles a gallon and a maximum speed of 60 miles an hour. Another spectacular claim is that the engine can be started up immediately. though there are 15 degrees of frost. The power unit is stated to make a little more noise than the pelrol engine at a low rate of revolutions, but is quieter when going faster. Ali fumes are led away beneath the engine, and there is claimed to be practically no need to decarbonise. The English equivalent to the German price is £650. The only English car stand, that of the Austin*car, was constantly crowded. The bigger passenger capacity and Improved steering and springing were features of the show.