Evening Star Newspaper, December 13, 1925, Page 78

CASH PURCHASE OF AUTO MAY REGAIN POPULARITY Many Think Pendu Encugh Other W lum Has Swung Far ay—Costliness of Time Plan Often Overlooked. BY WILLIL AM ULLMAN is frowned the time. * | recent | eith is she it . the buyer on this loan. ¥ to be overlook ler to which must p: 14 other ed. Wh uses | finance custon bank or | s the Is of an ex pany, t alved @ car he detail is i expe legal ¢ All nt corpora t insuran at in anticipation of un i the au his own or who does to do the Another feature t consider is s which vers who d same freque comy the fina by conver that have been wre tervention of a ti Daturs have g . Tt may come as a shock to the man who purchases cars out of income to know that he has to pay hare of all this expe: ., plus an extra expense representing profit to the finance com- ypany And in all nneing arrange- ments the ma ervice plays an fmportant role nance company whether I've heads as on't know mind healer. rers gain some chap about closin® time t that his car steers b in and give the wheel but can’t find anythin’ Every now anc rolls in here just with the comy hard. I jur a few turi first notice it?” I asked one feil “I've moticed It for the last hour,” he expl t when I started. v rough @nd there were There was the tred of drivin Some drivers seem to think they can drive indefinitely i} the cur become ca to to ac- commodate ‘er A car takes just so mu answer He was just But it can’t be done. h ngth to t|in fean no more give quick and eflicient service without the car buyer paying {or it than the automobile dealer can exceptional services without for them. man who buys his cars out has to pay for all this, wh Ck to the simple thod of buying cars vital? In she if the time- yment method is inefficient why not » back to a cash basi; It is too early to seck a_definite inswer to this question, but the trend in motordom inclines to that the pendulum has zh in the time-pa, ment direction and that the cash oing to figure more o n the very near future. usands of car owners Lave found they can buy their new taking out of and then saving k that me hly. out >. The only ex pense involved is the loss of interest on the money taken out of savings ind invested in a car. This expense is partly ofiset by interest on savings out of income during the first f the car's existenc since many banks compe 1 interest quarter and investments in secu es can be made to yield interest over short yie aled to many years hecause have with to carr | were reluctant to dis | a venture as preferred to ke their i the finance company, | knowing that if the worst came to the worst the money lenders would merel: take back th Also at the ti e plan of purchasing out of income leaped into popularity with the rank and file of motorists the first pay | ment on the average car was quite an iix.\(w\mrnl in itself. Price Drop Helps. r, under present price s priced at not much more yment on the average This enables the to get by without a in many desire to bu expensive car each time a |« is made counteracts this to a | certain degree. One of the finance arguing for higher r to better fi neing car buyer scarcely notices the’ differ- ence between a quotation of $303 down and $51 u_ month as against $300 down and $50 a month. But the argu- ment covers another point equally well. It means that as vet the aver- age buyer of cars hasn't discovered what it costs to buy out of income. There are some who believe car buy- ing will either revert to u cash basls or swing over into a virtual rental sis wherein the motorist never will dly own his car since he will trade nnually pay so much to the finance company every month. Motorists who are Interested in this interesting subject, however, may find the clue to the answer in considering the paraliel situation in general mer- chandising wherein he will find the whole Natlon making surprising prog- ress in the direction of credit as well as cash business. Perhaps the answer lies in the quetstion, “Why borrow when you can pay for it?” and in the ability of the American car owner {o be strong enough financlally so that he will not have to borrow. the incom ] does he n {and 1 ancing has not buyers within many of them sufficient capital out the plan or irh their capital At owner- | app len with ! conaitions, than the first p companies In as a means | | bandle | below troubles H nd when the driver's pep is car is bound to seem s a clutch goin’ to seem easy s out when you've been out all hours the night before? How can a car seem to ride easy when its driver ought to be home asleep in a feather bed? How is an engine goin’ to seem to have pep on hills when the driver is tryin’ to make the last 50 miles go by without seemin’ like a couple of hours of drivin’? If a car is driven for too long a T the driver is bound to become scious of the nofse of the tappets. He will hear things he wouldn't hear If he was feelin’ more kindly disposed toward the world. He even becomes conscious of the condition of the road and thinks the c: isn’t ridin’ so well. When things like this happen he needs a bed, not a repairer. PENNSYLVANIA MAKES RECORD IN ROAD WORK 1,100 Miles of Surfacing Will Have Been Done by End of Year. Says Report. work has A regord : 1nia, ac been achieved in cording to a prelimi report of the State Highv Department, which states that total of 1,100 miles of new hard road acing will have been constructed by the end of 1 of which 900 miles will consist of ne pavements This ro construction is 223 miles gaore than ever accompl A by the highway department in that State; the best previous achlevement con gisted of #77 miles of new pavement, built in 1921 Pennsylvania rural 90,000 miles, of which constitute what is known highway system. Con: during 1925 brings the i in this system to appre miles. More than haif thi concrete. The remainder @irt road Progress in Pennsylvania covers a porfod of 10 years, since before that time the state had few roads fit either fo bear heavy motor traflic or to make pleasure motoring comfortable. Within @ decade the state has improved its road system to the point of having one of the best systems of any state in_the Nation. The sum of $196,000.000 w on the highway system from 1911 tc 3923, but even greater impetus was given the road construction work in §919. From that year to 1823 §150.- 000,000 was® spent. It is estimated that from January 1, 1923, to Janu. ary 1, 1927. expenditures for roud work under the urisdiction of the de- irtment of highways will be about $220,000,000. w roads total 10,274 miles the State ruction work proved roads ately 6,700 mileage i comprises s spent Tt is estimated that the automobiles of the United States have a seating capacity of 70,000,000, or 30 times the geating capacity of railroad cars, s|of oncoming drive Oil May Be Saved by Keeping Radiator As Hot as Possible Without Boiling Ancient Car Does 15 Miles an Hour To Win Speed Dash Twenty-three ars old and still going. Three cars from the early days of motoring, which answered this descrip- tion, were entered in a unique race held recently near Los Angeles was a battle from the start, an the dust had cleared, the victor's re- | ward went to a 1902 Oldsmobile. During the race of the old-timers the Olds at times attained the “speed” of 15 miles an hour. TIRES MOVE HEADLIGHTS. Tires, particularly balloons, play an important part in headlight glare. Un- | less the front end of a car is held down by a suitable shock-absorbing device, and by one that i{s properly adjusted, the headlights will bob up and down in unison with the car. ! The effect is the same as though the headlights were tilted back so as to shoot into the air and into the eyes = A considerable quantity of automo- bile engine ofl can be saved by proper operation of the radator, according to Science Service, which outlines the following explanation of research on this motoring problem conducted by the Bureau of Standards: If the radiator of an engine is too | cold the water circulation around the -vlinders makes some of the gasoline condense and mix with the lubricating {oil. Soon the vil is so diluted t it must be thrown away. To prevent this difficulty the radiator water should be run as hot as possible with- out boiling; especially it is important to warm up the engine quickly when starting in cold weather. But, with alcohol in the radiator to THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WHEN YOUR SHORT- CIRCUITED HORN GOT WHILE YOU DECEMBER 13, 1925—PART |DECF,)1BER DON’TS When the car comes in out of the cold and the glass windows sudden! cover with mist. don’t_ make ta deciding rub dry the g taneously. U that job. The mist may give enough moisture. but Keep in mind that if you rub the glass dry you're also rubbing in a lot of gritty dust, which should be gently washed off first Don’t drive in the ruts means that vou'te helping the road impassable throu the ruts to a point where get out of them at all Don't fc be accelerated more than is customary when letti in the clutch and driv from point where thé car in_the and snow for s The ti will tend to etic thus encouraging a stall. CONDUCTED TESTS OF CRANK CASE OIL Expert Says Dilution Not Always Direct Cause of Scored. Cylinders. 1t simply to mak zh cuttin car can't Dilution of burned fuel rect ise of scored and burned-out bearings. This shown b ts described by Albe Le Roy. tant professor of mex ical engineering at the Univer: Ttah, in the Journal of the Society of Automotive Engineers. In general, the results of these tests indicate that dilution of the oil up to 50 per cent had no bad effect on the engine so far as increased friction and temperature of the bearings were concerned, although s y be injurious in other of power due to leakage of the piston. Many motor vehic {n operation with oil diluted from 25 to 50 per cent without any ap ill effects. So long as a film of oil can be main- tained between the bearing surfs dilution does not affect the fri or the bearing temperature, according to Professor Le Roy, but when the film breaks down, both friction and tem- perature Increase. The tests Indicate that the filin does not bre: down un 1l the oil becomes highly diluted if the pressure on the hearing is low, but when the pressure {s increased the di- luted ofl seems to be squeezed out from between the surfaces more easily than undiluted oil. Bearing pressures in an automobile usuallv do not exceed 2 pounds per square inch. Light engine ofl films hreak down more readily than heavy oil films. the di linders OVER-INFLATION, WRONG. Balloons Effectiveness Reduced by Excessive Pressure. The propagandists who favor keep- ing high air pressures in tires are at it again. This time they are making the balloon tire their target, and per- suading car owners to sacrifice the cushion effect for which the balloons were designed. Many owners of light cars are carrying air pressures suit- able for machines weighing 4,000 pounds. Because the pressures are low as compared with high pressure tires, they feel that they are following the right course. Give the balloons a chance to ease the road shocks and save the car. Thousands of cars that are carrying 30 pounds per tire should et that the engine should | * | hine b oun- | INEQUALITY 1 of the gasoline tax rate 44 States of the Unlon which ave adopted this form of taxatlon is hindering the development of Nation- DTOC A 1s charged in a issued by the American Association A Wwhere | changing the present methoc taxation In order 1o bring eq ity and fairness for lowners throughout the c As viewed by the A. A. A., pay the gasoline tax for the mainte- nance of roads they use. An exces sive charge in onc State defeats the principle of reciprocity, which is re- garded as belng of vital necessity to the continued growth of motor-tour- ing In America, it is pointed out. Holds Method Unscientific. awaken mo. need for of gaso about »mob ntry. maotorists gas ta re paying tribute to ot v the form of taxes which are n the s in their hy nonwealths mas . He of the pational motoring ation, declares. pyramiding of the s Mr. Henry, “while other to comparatively low 1 good example of the unscilen- tific methods of motor vehicle taxa- tion to which the automoblle owners of the country are subjected. “There are 21 States and the Dis- trict of Columbia levying a tax of 2 cents a gallon. This is the nearest approach to uniformity in taxation, but it is far from what is desired. The tax varies widely in other States and underg frequent revisfons. Three St impose a tax of 1 cent a gallon, while there are 13 taxing at the rate of 2 cents. One State has -cent tax, two tax 31 cents, three tax 4 cents, while one, South (: - lina, goes the limit at 5 cents. GASOLINE TAXES | HELD OBSTACLE TO RECIPROCITY |A. A. A. Head Sees Difference in Rates as One More Example of Unscientific Methods of Motor Vehicle T tax in some xation. on a basis of registration and total gas tax receipts of 10 States, which are not ‘resort’ States, the average car used Allons of gasoline for the first six months of this year and paid a tax of $3 For the same period the aver < d in Flo 1 was | $11.80. Since the tax in this State is 3 cent the figy puld ind ! f ns for car | ““The fig 1 {ing. The diff paid in any wever, are mislend hetween the taxes 10 non-resort States and in Florida is largely the amount of taxes exacted from tourists. Yet the Florida motor tourist can travel through Illinois, New York, New Jer- sey and Massachusetts without paying a penny for the use of the roads. The same {s true in comparing other States. nee f th Rhode Island Differs. “Rhode Island is a good example of the wide varfations in taxes and taxa | tion methods. Automobiles registered | {in the smallest State in the Union to- | tal 89, yet, despite a tax of 1 cent a | | gallon. tax receipts were only $45.8345. 1 | This is only 51 « ch ear. | Vhat is the answer? Does the Rhode sland motorist buy only 102 gallons of | a year or is he buying his gasoline in Massachusetts, where it is tax free? “Whether the gas tax is right or wrong, it is obvious that a variation in the tax rate automatically defeats the principles of reciprocity. If South Carolina levies a tax on the Pennsyl- vania motorist of 5 cents on every gal- lon and Pennsylvania asks only 2 cents from the South Carolina motor- ist for every gallon of gas he pur- chases, there can be no reciprocity be- tween the two States. “It must be apparent that the pres- ent state of affairs is leading to un- necessary complications by tend- ing to throw up barriers between States and is nullifying attempts to bring about reclprocity.” D. C. RECIPROCITY HELPS MARYLAND Auto Registration Receipts for State Show Big Gain Since Change. Financial returns to the State from automobiles have been greater in ryland since the establishment of iprocity with the District of Colum- than before, according to John N. Mackall, State roads commissioner. For the calendar year 1923, Mr. Mackall's records show, the total sum realized by the State upon registration receipts, including licenses {ssued to motorists in_the District of Columba, was $3,462,374.75. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 1924, the total income was $4,861,- 400.35. This figure represents returns for Maryland motor cars alone. Of the $4,861,400.35 the sum of $2,- 954, was realized upon registra- ipts. The remainder, $1,906, was yvielded by the 2-cent gaso voted by the General Assem. to provide for the main cconstruction fund of the Commission. tenance and | State Road: not be inflated over 22 pounds. prevent freezing during cold weather, the driver is limited as to how hot he may run the cooling system without danzer of losing his anti-freeze ma- terial. Every one knows how danger- ous it is to boil out the alcchol during a warm spell in the Winter, because the cold wave which follows a freeze- up is likely to occur. with the usual disastrous radiator leaks or cracked cylinder block. The to get rid of these troubles is to use an anti-freeze material which boils at a higher temperature than water. Nu- merous such materials have been sug- gested and certain of these have been tried out with complete success by commercial fleets of trucks. The two most widely recommended materials are glycerin and ethylene glycols est proposal | i A Repair of Roof Leaks. Leaks in the roofs of cars can be re- paired effectively by the application of a roof paint which consists of a combination of asphaltum and asbes- tos. This paint may be procured at local paint stores. NASH R. McReynolds & Son Sales—Service 1423-25-27 L St. NW. Main 7228 Sales 14th and Park Road N.W. Leon S. Hurley, Mgr. Col. 2619 *Sixty Years of Satisfactory Service”| NEW RECORDS SET More Cars Produced and Sold Dur- ing November Than Year Ago. The automobile industry establish- ed a new November record, according to shipping reports filed with the Na- tional Automobile Chamber of Com- merce. Cars and trucks manufactured last month totaled 379,300, it was esti- mated from the reports. The 11-month total for this year is 3,997,954, ‘exceeding the record total of 11 months in 1923 by 6.6 per cent, and assuring the year 1925 as the largest in the history of the business. The total to date is 1615 per cent higher than the same period of 1924, which was the second largest year in the automobile business. Sales were proportionately large, it is stated. November was 63 per cent over the same month a year ago, which, in the opinion of the motor trade, is due to the low prices now obtainin, ‘W Afv O N | | rSZA?ILATORS 1724 Kslorama Road . Phonme Col 7484 {the ¢ often c IN AUTO INDUSTRY . DID YOU KNOW— | — it the ient which permits iarging rate of the generator is se at nauthor tor an n be improved by changing ure in the tires? Where evenly balanced. with in the front, the front 1d_carry more air than the This simple plan also may be employed as a_means of reductng the tendency to skid. With the rear tires less inflated and m better contact with the roa the car has less uppo: That gasoline, not kerosene, should | lean roller bearings? Gaso- | kiy and thus does not | 1 which the bearings ard packed TRAFFIC TAKES BIG TOLL OF CHILDREN Baltimore Victims Mostly Under 10 Years and Adults Over 50. the air pres are 1 | old und| equentiy the | accidents in der 10 y 0 are e fatal traff Children ars adults ove vietims in Baltimore. A notable increase of fatal accidents among those two classes is d; sad in figures compiled by the statistical department of the Haltimore Safety Council. In the first group, 30 were killed this vear, as against 18 in 1924; and in the latter group, 44 were killed, as against 31 in 1924. Of children from 10 to 16 vears old, which group is under the influence of the junior safety councils in the schoals, only 6 have been killed in the last eight months, a8 compared with 13 in the same period of 1924. Among this group non-fatal injuries b decre: 3 The increase among the old and the very youns groups, said Preston D. Callum, who compiled the Safety Coun igures, is responsible for the increase in the whole number of traf- ing 95 in 1924 and 118 this year. During October, Mr. Callum’s fig- not a single child of school s killed in & traffic accident. s held due to education in safety, stressed in the schools. Emergency Brake Advice. Never look dowm at the emerzency brake when setting it after parking. Frequently the car will roll forward or backward while switching from the service to ihe emergency brake, and If the operator is not looking out of the car he may not detect it. The new Denver, Colo,, traffic code provides that motorists on first con- viction may be fined from $10 to $300 ?Nn? sentenced to from 1 to 90 days in MR. MOTORIST If you are going to Xeep your ‘car in_onition_you Tnust Xnow that the trans- m'ssion and rear axles con- stitate the most important &“x."' of your motor car or , that these gears carry’ the entire load, and uniess the gears are cor- rectly lubricated you will Defore long hear of tools. Motorists have learned that Ebonite {a the most remarkable gear lubricant ever offered. in OAllty, in " value and in per- Buy with your mind made w Demand Ebonite. L Take no substitute. "At dealers tn five-pound can and at_service stations fro: the “Ebonite checker-board pump. only. i BONITE 11T's SHRECDED 0!L FGR TRANSMISSIONS AND REAR AXLES SN OILWORRS {an inch one w: | the top of a particular rod. He sets | the ! slapping. HAPHAZARD TINKERING MULTIPLIES TROUBLES Motorist Who Starts Fooling With Car Without Understanding It Fully Finds Process Costly. That every parl of a motor car has a story all its own is, as most motor- {sts have discovered, an old tale in it- selt. What they are just coming to learn, however, is that knowing only half the story is usually a dangerous and costly process. A emattering of the story of any unit of the modern automobile be. comes a direct cause of dissatisfaction in car ownership and explains better than anything else why persons spend week ends sitting 1dlv at home instead of in their cars. The man who fs not ed in the various stories of the chassis hs tens to his favorite repalr man eve time he thinks eomething has gone Wrong. | attention, and the story does not have | to take on an unhappy ending, unle he is careless in the selection of a r pairman. But the man who “tinker with his car is quite likely to fail sim- inte missed the Little Knowledge Costly Motorists who have tried to their fan belts without knowing that the pulleys must be kept in align- ment are ready to believe that the little knowledge is & | must have heen the | In fact, any one ever worked on a carburetor will dmit that the maxim rings true. iven the man who is well inform frequently forgets that no tw are alike, and that even last ye struction book bears rereading. There is the case of the distributor. In some of these instruments, the rotor {5 made to touch the ignition wire terminal points. In others a fractlonal clearance is allowed, the spark being made to jump a gap at these points. If the owner of the lat ter type of distributor examines the instrument notice that the actually touch the con d the pot ntil there actual contact. Since this parti of ignition is not designed to| at these points, the re- | sult is certain to be unsatisfactor Here is another instance of miscal- | culation. A car owner finds that he | has a knock in the engine. His garage man mentions an astonishingly large figure to indicate the “approximate’ cost of getting rid of the annoyance, whereupon the motorist ectdes to try the job himself. Dangerous Tinkering. Removing_the bolts, he drops the crankcase, For the life of him he can- not find any loose bearing. Grasping one of the connecting rods, he finds that its upper end moves a fraction of or the other. Instead of trying all the rods to ascertain whether the looseness is the rule or the exception, he jumps at the con- clusion that the knock originates at first car owner. hi in. 5 to work at once removing the bolts that hold the cap of the connecting rod bearing in place, #o that the rod and piston can be pulled down and examined. To make matters worse, the car own- er discovers, when he has struggled to pull out the rod and piston, that there is no provislon made for tight- ening the upper end of the rod. He wonders if it is supposed to move back and forth, or if this free movement of upper end is so designed as to offset auto; feally any m! lignment | the rod, thereby preventing piston | 1t then occurs to him to feel the other rods to see If they also are loose at the top. It is then that he realizes that “skipping” hasn't paid. But he Is not to see this fuct until he has made The trouble receives proper |t at the marks on t 1st match, and he do sitnation until he ikease, filled it and tried to drive has p wi the ca Causes of Tapping. Judging fr erage difficulty the in_silencing t from too much cle tappet or valve the possibility of a broken camshaf roiler, a warped valv or @ loose roc of a valveinh t and valve assem stem (in th the push r stem (in t t end of the v head motor) This being the haust, shou when tappet ¢ do the to ing off on Knowing the ping gotten is a statement all valve tappet ac be tested for 1 the remed: than the entire why his eng he cute down the cle ance is entire stem exy isio s, remair causes a loud power, depen additional Uf spot Worse Mistakes Made. In the valvein-head ance is likely or left, or that comes in contact with the stem end is not ent haps the m hile a the rocker arm touc valve stem. When the zled to know wh run quietl he has read that the stor. ceives the idea of using his own juds ment, and decides to adjust all tap pets with no clear; Havins done this, and findir will not run, he tries to undo his work E gets confused o valve timin @ motorist t he reads ruse each puge many angles to eve car part who 1 own knows tory, he i find himself perplexed whe into a complication. to profit b es him to pe There the s rep: plest ¢ the error of replacing one of the bear- (Copyright. 1025.1 The ‘‘Boss” “Billy me wasn't in a bad way Talks Tompkins was in to see yesterday—and maybe he Seems as if he was in an accident, because his windshield became cloudy and his whecls skidded. But he had no excuses to make—said it was his own fault in not properly equipping his car. “Then he went on to say that he had noticed our ads running in the paper on Winter accessories, and asked what 1 would recommend for him: to which I quickly replied : —how about these? Automatic and Hand-Operated Windshield Wipe: Automatic and Hand-Operated Radiator Shutters A Good Jack Denatured Alcohol Texaco Winter Run Gasoline Light Winter Oil . Light Gear Grease Spare Lamp Bulbs New Set of Spark Plugs Firestone Gum-Dipped Tires Weed Chains Our Winter Hours: Week Days Saturdays .. Sundays ... DD JNO. R. BRIGGS, Manager 12th and C Streets N.W.