Evening Star Newspaper, January 31, 1926, Page 115

AUTO ENGINEERS TEST EACH THECRY Take Nothing for Granted in This Period of Efficient Design. granted by | producing says G- AL Nordyke and Marmon fact ed to be correct a few checked, he N the (nzine America’s a Wil taken for are es. ms of the vy theory and is being vs, adding These el enginecrs arve rechecking minor unit of detail, each func- nical units, with measuring devices that meel 1 ntific new almost as today’'s sun. Il school of fitand-try that industry is gone, erit schools und learned | research men reinvesti . laws of motor car | iey und the research en- | the fuctories are daily in- | <cientific instruments | em to revitalize the car | energv——a perfection it never knew. Many of these changes incorporated 1 refinements of the motorist may never learn, sugh @ delightful new per- standard in the cars he car factories ar on such re- svelopment work Aspect Hard to Explain. spect of the stability ar indus that is most | t to explain fully to the novice The expe the veteran motorists and the 1 hanical f will . I 1 work. The laym of these improvements nd their we he drives ises the new ereations. on of the change more clearly age of advancement » actual making of the car— oduction end of the industry. the same motor car units nd with no change in de- and equipment that result in a new de- ce of cxact perfection that we possible three ) ch in s of nee is an nt will d and at This ha in same time econor 1l prices that the industry Reassures Owners. “Viewed vinc rom whatever an, industry exhibits the most con- that must rea. r owner and buyer Never before was he offered such wonderful vehicles. Let him not vogret the few changes in funda mentals of the industry or its prod s stabllized. The car is pro- ivel tabilized. Never before as a tenth of the money spent annu on the creation of refinements seem minor at first. Let him ely Inspect every vehicle in the | B that appeals to him most I means let him experiment with 1 the den tration b de-. if he would know the g es wrought by refinements. > he will learn the full meaning stabili f the motor | and its prodi i . 11,000 Licenses Revoked. g Operators' licenses were revoked or suspended in 11,000 instances in New York State during 1925. Intoxicated drivers headed the list with the great- est number of revocations and sus- pensfons, with a total of 2,224. War Tax Item in Auto Prices. A second saving that almost always escapes attention accompanies all au- tomobile price reductions. It is in the ar tax item, and while it does not amount to much, in the aggregate ¢ reach substantial figures. On a duction of $500 the saving in war | mount to $25 Treasure Trove for Show Visitors 30 VALUABLE PRIZES To Be Distributed to Those Who Visit Stanley H. Horner’s BUICK BOOTH At the AUTOMOBILE SHOW Full Details of This Contest Obtainable at the Booth A Treasure Chest of Motor Conveniences and Accessories That Every Motorist Will Prize Here Are the 30 Prizes—Count Them! . Biflex Bumper. Auto Trunk. Biflex Fender Guards. Pines Winterfront. Motometer and Cap and Chains. Set of Gabriel Snubbers. Book of Wash Tickets and 5 Tourists’ Lunch Kit. Bosch Horn. Auto Lap Robe. Two Corduroy 30x3!; Tires Twostone Klaxon Horn. Wig«Wag Signal Device. Bilcox Bumper. Be Sure to Call at the HORNER-BUICK Booth Final Details Obtainable at Qur Maintenance Building, 1220 19th St. N.W. STANLEY H. HORNER Salesrooms, 1015 14th St. N.W. {off the Swif { mented. {son of the bumpers THE SUNDAY John Smith and His Car BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL John Smith is a character whom every motorist should welcome. He is not selfish; rather he is a motoring martyr, a chap willing and glad to expioited, in an interesting way, his expetiences for the benefit of other 20,000,000 or more riembers of the motor clan. No. 134—Bearing on Bumpers. Now and again Smith stumbles over z00d idea by analyzing the new cars Tie secs on the streets. The last time he tried this he went home fully con vinced that what he needed was a new set_of smart-looking bumpers. Bumpers make the Swift Six,” he told me. “There’s no reason why I can’t_spruce up the old car the same way Provided you install the right kind of bumpers,” 1 stipulated. It isn’t goinz to be such a simple job. You can’t pick out any kind of bumpers and expect results in keeping with your dreams of an improved car You've got to consider a number of {mportant points.” T'll just order the kind on the Swift he said “And you think you can do in 10 minutes” time what factory engineers have &pent days thinking about!” I retorted. “Well. Smith. it looks to me as if you had be - get your mind Six for @ few minutes many cars carry the | bumpers. | a and see h wrong kind « Sermon in Collision. | The busy boulevard was excel 1 lent place to observe this fact. Hardly had we decided to investigate before investing In a new set of bumpers than two bumper-equipped cars col- lided. There was damage to the fend ers of both, and, what is more, it was necessary to call for assistance to un- lock the bumpers. The situation de- veloped a result of the variation in the helghts of the bumpers. One rode over the top of the other. “That looks like a lesson not to have the bumpers too low.” Smith com- 're wrong t draw there.” 1 conclusions too hastily. rity of e now are built very low. Owners with high cars should equip with lower bumpers, bur | even if they don't you must figure that the chances of colliding with a low car always are greater. In seek ing bumper protection it is best to figurn on_ the most likely cventuall ies. Just then we heard a commotion as a driver, in backing into a parking space, ripped off one of these so-called side bumpers. Tt had been protrud ing about 2 inches from the edge of the rear fender, the owner apparently fizuring that the overhung of the bumper would be further protection. Instead, it became a hazard, st ing out'in such a way as to the bumpers or fenders of other cars A little farther on we examined bumper that had besn through w lision. The force of the impact had pushed it back not more than g inches. and vet the back « bar had touched the cross-tube of the | frame. It was obvious that the bumper had not played a very valu- able role, ; Fittings Found Fragile. We found a wide variety of bumper fittings. With some of them it \Em apparent that in event of an impact | the bumpers would come loose from their moorings. With others we were surprised to find that in a collision the might actually be dumaged by rea In other words, to cause dam- replied. | the fittings were such to the apron, fr in some instanc devices. Then there ful merel They were m the ‘spring control were th wpers pu the strain of a collision. On the ether Land, there were many well built, well | tached and well selected bumpers to be seen. The best ones were those with dou- ble bars, since they took care of the variation in car heights to better ad- vantage and also provided a larger bumping area. We favored the rear bumpers that went all the way across, and saw no good reason why a motor- ist should expect his spare tire and the tire carrier to handle the work that can be done so much better by a bumper. Well with wh spice”—t equipped cars had bumpers cnown as “deep shock | th 13 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21 22, 23, 24. 25. 26. 27. 28, 29. 30. - Combinatios Auto Spot Auto Wind Pair of Skid -gal. of Caspar. “Warcross” “Buckeye” and Tubes. Auto Clock. 1 to 9 P.M. Dail; Retail Buick Dealer Main 5800 1 {tied when I told him that the end of land if Bilcox Fender Guards. Weed Bumper. Weed Fender Guards. Perfection Auto Heater. Auto Lap Robe. Trunk Rack. Battery Charger. Aladdin Jar. Pyrene Fire Extinguisher. Exide Six-Volt Battery. margin between the front bars of the bumper and the rear bars or the cross- bar of the frame. While the best selected bumpers were low, they were not so low as to reduce clearance to the danger point. An interesting point was the discov- ery that the best bumpers do not run the full width of the car. They also! have a decided curve at the ends. Later on we sketched on paper cars so equipped, and when we made them collide we could see why it is impor- tant to have the ends curve in toward the fenders. Such an arrangement just manages to protect the fenders without making the-bumpers catch- alls. Moreover, Smith could see where the illfitting bumper might be a source of danger to pedestriuns. Iven i he rajsed the point we saw a woman nar- rowly escaping being tripped by a pro truding affair, which the owner doubt considered both attractive undl No. 135—Steering and Balloons. Since the introduction of balloon tires and their universal adoption steering has been revolutionized. The| hg that passed muster with high} pressure tires has now become bal- loon steering, and, in addition to mak- ing possible the use of balloon tires without exertion on the part of the driver, improved steering gears have introduced some features that were not seen when high-pressure tires were in the heyday. Smith had just about concluded that the new things in steering were sales tallc when he came across several of the new types and was privileged to see how they work. Then he changed his_mind “I th Jooned had been bal “but T see that balloon nearly zht steering he confessed it's se where t went up without my getting around in time to witness the show. Would vou believe it? [ parked one of the new cars with the new type of steer- ing with one hand on the wheel. Just when I started to tug at the \heel it started to operate at its best. Tt seemed to adjust itself automatically.” What “Steering Gear” Means. Smith, however, found that before he could understand what fmprove- ments_had been made in steering gears he would have to know how the usual steering gear works. Common sense told him that the very name steering gear” implied a reduction gearin W with comparatively ttle effort i driver might be able to! change the direction of the front wheels even when the car was not in motion. He could understand that the greater reduction the easier the ering would be, though he appre ciated the fact that if reduction gear- ing were carried to an extreme a driver would be obliged to turn the steering wheel one or two complete revolutions before the wheels would change direction appreciably. Just how the steering gear operated puzzied him. The situation was clari- the shaft connected with the steering wheel, in the typical arrangement, was cut with a deep spiral thread. This is known as a worm. If a gear is reshed at right angles to this worm, the worm is turned, the gear will revolve. Makes Operation Easier. ‘If you attach an arm to this gear -ou will have something to transmit | direct motion to the steering rods,” 1 explained. “If you turn the steer- ing wheel to the right the worm turns with it and the worm gear, in follow- ing the threads of the worm, turns the steering arm so that the front wheels point to the right. If the steer- ing arm were connected to the end of the steering post direct It would be as hard to steer as it would be to get out and set the front wheels in the desired position. The action of worm and worm wheel or gear results in mechanical advantage. The larger the worm gear the easier it is to steer. “Wheen balloon tires came Into popularity, the first thing weas to in- crease the steering gear ratio or re- duction from inches to 1 to 11% i to 1 ho i n Smoking and Vanity Sets. ight. Deflectors. ‘Windshield Wiper. icnic Basket. STAR, WASHINGTON, NEW Neries 11, Se SEDAN DESIGN BY AN OLD BUILDER D. C., JANUARY 31, 1926—PART AUTO HORN SOUNDS ARE SHOW MYSTERY |Motorist Can Find Out About All Other Features, But Not This One. One thing the motorist will have to guess about when he inspects his favorite car at the annual automo- bile show is how the horn sounds. Everything else will be demonstrated to him, from fan to farthermost tfp of the differential housing. horns-—well, there probably will be a Tot of horn tooting in connection with the various cars, but they won't be automobile horns. Awtomobile dealers are fully alive to their own and everyone else’'s ir- resisttble temptation, born of impa- tience in traffic jams, to “stand on the horn.” To obviate the certain bedlam, all n model of ar-cooled Franklin. solve the whole problem because some method had to be devised to provide for increased mechanical advantage at the extreme position of the front wheels, for there is where the wheels turn hardest. It is only recently manufacturers have come to realize that at the extreme positions of the front wheels the front of the car is raijsed as wmuch as a quarter of an inch. This combined with the drag of the wider, softer tires made it necessary to provide for a variable ratio type of steering. 0ld Style Is Made New. ““One of the latest examples of this incorporates one of the older features n steering gear design, but gives it a new twist. Not all steering g used a worm wheel or gear to n with the worm One mmon was to use a nut with a thre match the worm. The movement of this nut up and down the worm pro- vide, through a lever, the necessary mechanical advantage to move the steering arm with ease. In this new type of steering gear the thread on the steering worm varies so at th ends that the nut changes its posl tion. Tt slides up and down in the Jaws of the lever it operates as it does also on the worm. If you know & thing about a simple lever you can appreciate that when the nut is work | enpl |of 1 Chains on Without Jack. Many motorists would be spared annoyance if they knew it is mot necessary to jack up the car to attach the chains. It can be done by ring the chains on the gromna behind the at the farthest point out on the ws of the lever it is providing the greatest amount of mechanical ad vantage. When it is in this position the wheels of the dur are cutting sharpest. “Recause balloon tires bounce more there is a greater tendency for them | to reverse the steering gear and knock | rear wheels. The car is backed then | the wheel out of your hand. With a|onto the chains to within about a foot variable ratlo gear, however, ‘this|of the ends. This done, it is compara- tendency is offset because as the|tively simple to encircle the tires with | wheels o wild the shock on the steer-| the longer ends, snapping them to. ing wheel is lessened.” gether just below the fenders. - Statistics show that the automobile | industry uses more hard wood than |the furniture and building trades combined Don't Fill. Radiator. ) I5 - = HAWKINS Now 15 the time to divect the | to discontinue their s 5l Ning up the radlator h night It Is handy not to huve the radiator filled to the brimh when the weather Conveniently Located on Fourteenth Street 1333-37 14th St. Main 57801 in Next week—Vagaries of Valves. of the world’ (Copyright. 102 A Good Buy -:- turns off cold and onc wants to add another quart of antifreeze in a hurry. s il Drive Slowly in Ice Ruts. Snow or jee ruts call for slower driv. ing in meeting cars on the road. Two cars can get switched into each other very easily, especially the rears of the cars. which cannot be controlled readily by stes 1627-1629 14th St. N.W. P. S.—We recharge all makes 1rwe systems. VERYWHERE you hear of the mar- vels of the new 90-degree eight- cylinder Cadillac. Delivery records of long standing are smashed —and still the unsated public demand grows and grows. The outstanding improvements and betterments which are manifest in its enhanced beauty; its greater luxury and comfort; its finer smoothness; increased flexibility and more ing power are the result of simplified design and advanced manufacturing. These in turn make possible the more attractive prices, which com- bined withitsmarvelous superiorities make the new 90-degree Cadillac the year’s sensation and the big feature of the Show. Prices range from 32995 for the Brougham to $4485 for the Custom Imperial. F. O.B. Detroit. Tax to be added. Gemeral Motors’ plan (GMAC) provides the most ecomomical way to buy a Cadillac on payments. its NEW NINETY DEGREE But | A Wonderful Price -:- 19 | horns have been disconmected, and | the noise éreated by pressing all of them at once is cxpected to eq the sound of crashing into a pine tree AN in all. the motorist who has been responsible for trafic jams with thelr resultant “beeping.” honking, “ e e 'e 5" 4nd various other weird and rasping noises, can, when he visits the show, look upon A traf fic jaum that is marvelous for {ts silence. It seems &n opportunity not to be overlooked. Furthermore, among others to whom the show should be an event of primary importance is the pedes trian, the man who is reported to have learned the Charleston while crossing Pennsylvaniu avenue at 4:35 {pm. on any week duy. Here's b chance. Two hundred curs — and every one of them stopped to let him pass. Yes, sir; it will be a big week for the pedestrian at the Auditortun a moonbeam Hint on Skid Chains. See that your wkid chains are not so tight that they gouge into the threaa and fabric carcass of vour M. $11.95 FOR A BATTERY A brand-new, rubber box 100-ampere-hour auto- mobile or radio battery, made and guaranteed by one largest manufacturers and ser=asi by us. A Quality Battery LIMITED TIME ONLY—BUY NOW! Potomac Battery and Electric Company Washington, D. C. of batteries, repair any make of elec- CADILLAC Maintenance Dept. 1220 19th St. N.W. Divisien of General Moters Corperation » The Washington Cadillac Company RUDOLPH JOSE, President 1138-1140 Conn. Ave. Franklin 3900, 3001, 3002 Space 26 at the Auto Show 4