Evening Star Newspaper, April 4, 1926, Page 55

GROWTH OF FOREIGN MARKETS GIVES PROMISE OF PRICE CUTS American Automobiles in Great Demand in Europe, South America and Other Parts of World Be- cause of Increased Service and Quality BY HERBERT S. HOLLANDER. Declining prices in the automotive industry may be traced to one all- important cause: Stimulated demand at home and abroad. The former factor is well understood; upon the latter there appears less authentic pub! kets are play opinion. 5 To an ever-increasing extent foreign mar- ng an important part in the American automobile industry. A few years ago manufacturers on this side were more or less apathetic in thei maker is redou cultivation of other than domestic fields; today every important ng his efforts to gain sales abroad. An examination into the potential automotive buying power of a num- ber of regions outside the North American continent reveals a situation which spells further prosperity for manufacturers and greater values for the car owner. American cars are by far the mo: popular In practically every countr where they have been introduced and where even half-hearted effc have been made to extend thelr swa The American car outsells the Euro- pean machine in almost every foreign center, and Europeans themselves are turning to United States-made vehi- cles in increasing numbers Observe abroad report that even in the strongholds of cars of domestic manufacture the American automo bil s pushing to the forefront and running up new records for sales ve y “he point is continually emphasized by v,\;mrIvn(‘ed observers that the ter of service facilities through- out Ilurope—on an intensive scale— 1l be one of the most significant ‘tors in the future growth of this Ad veral of the largest Ameri- can 1 acturers have gone about the business of buflding up a sizable foreign trade in a manner bespeaking e mos. sweeping kind of ultimate ces Service Centers Started. Service centers stocked with parts of all kinds and manned by competent s are springing up at stra- n one end of Europe to the other. These, it will be under- stood, in addition to the elaborate show rooms in the important cities. ve. therefore, is gradually com- the American automotive ay be mentioned that in the wctors United States prod- a spreading v them. South American fleld this automotive industry is mak marked and sustained progress, with the total exports to that reglon isplaying a continually rising curve There the American is sharply referred over that manufactured in pe, and if manufacturers here pply themselves with a reasonable degree of vigor there is little danger of a serfous and effective assault upon the American automotive stronghold in the southern continent. Demand in South America is defi- ely in favor of United States-made machines, buyers insisting upon be- ing supplied with what they in many instances declare to be our “superior’” products. tex Reaches Many Nations. Much the same story 1s told in other and widely separated markets. The American car is forging its way into out-of-the-way and so-called {naccessi- ble fields, cutting into European ex- ports and planting the radiator ban- ners of familiar domestic makes In the most distant parts of the world. All this has a very definite meaning, @ definite materfal meaning, to the American car purchaser. First of all it means enlarged demands upon manufacturers. It means greater pro- duction and the economies coincident with great output. It means a better car at a cheaper price level, Furthermore, it means an added safeguard against the pessimist's bogy —-the saturation point. It has been demonstrated that a saturation point, if it does exist, is a matter which will not reach a serious level for many years to come. However, constantly stimulated demand from overseas re- lieves the industry of much of that worry—if it is, in fact, concerned over the moot question of a saturation | potnt. Building for Future. In other words, the American auto- motive industry in cultivating the markets of the world at large is build- ing for the future, guarding against the time when lessened demand here might mean considerably curtailed production schedules. s a fact that the automotive did not begin its forelgn trade activities soon enough. There was too much disposition on the part of manu facturers to let the matter take care of itself, to reap the harvest at homs and allow the overseas crop to fall to those waiting for it on the ground. The attitude has changed a very great deal during the last few years, and the outlook is for an even more marked swing in the near future. All makers, large and small, are aroused to the essentiality of careful and determined exploitation of over- seas flelds, no matter how remote they may be and how insignificant they may appear. For this reason it can be expected that the automotive foreign trade figures will show a ris- ing tendency in the export column. BODY POSTS DANGEROUS. Passing of Cause of “Blind Spots” Foreseen in Auto Industry. ‘While it is known by those close to the automobile industry that the time is not far distant when the car with thick front body posts will ‘be ruled off the road as unsafe because of ex- cessively large “blind spot plans are under way to enable owners to make their old closed cars safer. One plan is to use a rear view mir- ror turned perpendicularly and at- tached to the inside of the right front body post in such a way as to show the driver what is approaching from his left. It is the left “blind spot’ that causes most of the trouble. Put on the Brake. Setting the emergency brake helps to get you out of the mud. This acts as a powerful drag on the wheels which, balanced against the full pow- er of the engine, causes them to pull mightily but so slowly that they do not spin and therefore are less in- clined to slip. ‘THE SUNDAY SCIENTISTS STUDY STARTING IN COLD Four Times as Much Gas Needed in Freezing Tem- perature, Tests Indicate. The motorist who was forced to use the street car last Winter when he was unable to start his automobile undoubtedly will be interested in a recent experiment at the United States Bureau of Standards which in- volved starting a gasoline engine the cylinders of which were housed in ice-cold brine. The outside of, the cylinders was crusted thick with frost like a refrigeration machine. The aim of the experiment was to find a fuel that would assure easy starting at any time and in any tem- perature and the conditions described were taken as the ultimate in The test was conc 1 sue. avs an official on the subject. The problem was one p co-operative fuel research cong by the bur with the Amer troleum Institute, the Natio mobile Chamber of Comme Society of Automotive Engineers statement the cled More Gas Requi in starting a car »-fourth as much gasoline Winter as in Summer. In other words, it requires four times as much gasoline in a cold cylinder to produce an ex- plosion that will turn the motor. Automobile designers and oil refin- ers are co-operating in an effort to solve this problem. The former have made provisions for delivery of a lar supply of gasoline to the engine for emergency starting use. Some of them also have put electric heaters on the intake manifolds and in the carburetors to provide Summer tem- perature there when it is needed. Ol refiners have furnished a more vola- tile gas that will vaporize at lower temperatures. “High Test” Best. Describing the experiment, the offi- cial statement of the four agencies says: “In refining crude petroleum it is generally true that the more gallons of gasoline you make from a barrel of ofl the less volatile the gas will be. So-called high-test g: is very volatile and good for starting, but it is expensive. Not s0 much ean be made from the same amount of crude ofl. It is not nec such volatile gas after the motor started and heated up. “The United States engineers wanted to discover a gasoline which would be sufficiently volatile at low temperatures. They wanted to refine as many gallons to the barrel as possi- ble. “This mean trying out many kinds of gasoline drawn off from the refin- eries at different stages in the refining process. They had to determine the conditions under which they vapor- ized and the methods by which they were produced. “The final result pretty the conditions we were seeking, the engineers. is well fills " say “Real” Mentality Test. If psychologists and allen looking for a real mentality test, do they overlook the automobile? More people have been unofficially tested as to mental normality by means of their actions at the wheel than any 10 mentality tests combined. why haven't v to have | STAR, WASHINGTON D, -C., APRIL 4 THE SUNDAY MOTORIST An Abridged Magazine for Car Owner: EDITED. BY WILLIAM ULLMAN High speéd motors and high speed motorists have the same common fail- ing. They don’t last long. Hills Strain All Cars. Every time a car goes over a hill its life is shortened. This may seem impossible to the car owner who is confident his engine is powerful enough to climb almost any reasonable hill with ease. But con- sider the facts. When an automobile goes from one level to a higher one, what lifts it? Does some magic power take hold of the car and transfer it from one level to another 500 feet higher? Or does the engine of the car do the lifting? When an automobile drops fros one grade to another, what checks its st Does the driver handle the whole job by keeping his foot on the brake pedal, or is the checking process accomplished at a sacr of brake brake .drum we: and trans. mission and engine friction” When an automobile starts climbing a hill it has two jobs where before ft It has to push rwurd This strain not | all work pressure N « car is going miles up a per cent grade it wi e to lift itself on tenth of a mile. If a car e brou,sht to the base of Washing: Monument with the id that it itself (o the top, & rise of 14 feet, the motrist would exclaim, ‘mpossible!” . Yet in the "2-mile run ust mentioned his car lifts itself 528 feet The relation of life is, accordingl importance 1t o ries but one extra_passenger its reserve force will be called upon just that much more Maybe He Is Right! He is “queer” in that he doesn’t do what most car owners think is right. He doesn't follow custom, but close ob- servers who watch him administer to his® various cars are commencing to see that he doesn't “bust ‘em.” For instance, when he takes the car out into the rain he makes sure the body is dusted off. He claims it saves having the car washed so often. When he buys new tires they &o on the front wheels because he says he doesn't want a blowout on the steering wheels He doesn’t change engine ofl by the speedometer alone. Sometimes he is found reading the thermometer and sidering the character of his driv- ng. He knows the car thief can re-wire a car to get around the ignition lock, but he always locks the igntion be cause there are so many owners who overlook this little detail and conse- quently so many other cars to steal. He never drives any faster with chains than without them. He avolds ver possible and tries his there are no brakes on ton was to lift rht Keep o; Oiling It. One difficulty in checking up on squeaks lies in the habit of failing to make oiling continuous until the trouble is remedied. A motorist will get the idea that a squeak originates in some particular part, gives the sus- pected section a few shots of oil and then tries the car to see whether the treatment has had any effect. If the squeak still is there he concludes that he has made a poor guess, whereas he probably has made a poor job of | one se | hair conclude that one treatment will not solve the problem, and should not be ready to give up suspecting the par- ticular part until he has first made sure he has given the treatment every possible chance to make good. Did You Know That— New cartridges must be installed in ofl purifiers about every 10,000 miles and that using an air cleaner will serve to increase the mileage life of a cartridge? It is dangerous to lean against the door of a closed car? Many have done so and have fallen out because the door was not properly closed. The car with spring controls will ride better if driven faster over rough roads? The car at higher speeds lit- erally “hits the high spots.” Seen Along the Way. > real estate folk want to see down and be homey. One “Thes r 1s You live on the earth, why not own a plece of it Says anothe “When you've got a home. When home you've got a lot.” lot Yol you've g ‘'ve got a Stretch}s Its Life. As u sample of the intelligence be- ing displayed by inventive genius, the motorist’s attention is called to 1 by two rubber com- ) prevent the deterioration of d rubber by oxidization 1 calls for a reversal of cata- aetion « uysls is the speed ing up of a reaction produced by the presence o bject which ftself ap pears to remain unchanged. Decom- Josition, or oxidization, can be has- tened in many substances simply thiough, the presence of the Iytic sgent In the new process an anti-catalysis is used. 'The oxidization of the vul canized rubber is delayed by using substances which are themselves ox ized freely, Grease Important Factor. Just because the car is going to the paint _shop is no excuse for not spreading the leaves of the springs and graphiting them. The chassis of the car will always look well when it returns from the palnt shop, but consider this as pure camouflage un. less the important work of greasing been done first. Now You Have It! (Answers to last week’s questions.) 1. When referring to lubrication of the spring ends it is proper to speak of both shackles and spring bolts. The shacles connect the spring ends with the frame ends or spring supports. The spring bolts hold the spring ends in place at the shackles. Lubrication is essential to both shackle and bolt. 2. The center of the radiator, by reason of the action of fan, is the coolest portion. 3. The firing order does not have to be the same for all sixes. Several orders are possible, and are used. The same applies to eights. 4. The two-cycle engine has failed to make headway in modern car de- slgn because of its ineficiency. It can- not clean out enough to provide foi and chokes up at h 5. A ‘“clover leaf” body is a three or four-passenger open job vided front seat and entrance to all seats through the front doors. clean mixtures h speed. remedying. the matter. He should (Copyright. 1926.) 1926—PART 3 MILES NOT SOLE GAS TEST Look Into Tank, Not at Bpeed- ometer, to Determine Quantity. The speedometer is a very valuable plece of equipment, but don't depend upon its odometer reading to tell you when the gas supply needs replenish- ing. Mileage is not the only indica- tion of gas consumption. All the Stearns Knight The Lifetime Car with the cylinders quickly | with di- | mained dominant. ,Cuxurz'ous Through the 27 years the F. B. Stearns Company has been build- ing automobiles one aim has re- a large number of cars, not to see how cheaply cars can be turned out, but to build the best motor car in America at a price consistent with quality. To own a luxurious Stearns- ‘miles” the engine idles are never re- corded, nor the leaks In the carbure- tor, tank or gas line. Also there is evaporation to be considered. Don't even trust the gas tank gauge when you want to know about the gas supply. See that it's working properly and look into the tank through the filler pipe when possible. Maintenance of detours during the road construction season of 1926 cost Connecticut $63,860. the Lifetime Motor ’ Not to produce The Model cylinder Remove “Stray Particles.” After having the cylinders cleaned of carbon It is important to remember to remove the stray particles of the substance from the engine and the accessories. This seldom is done by car owners and the result is thut now and again bits of carbon will be sucked into the carburetor or other- wise find their way into places where they should not be. Knight is to realize that this ambi- tion has become a reality. 7% a six-cylinder Knight-motored car of 121-inch wheelbase and the Model 95, a siz- Knight-motored car of 130- inch wheelbase, are leading the Stearns-Knight line. Represented in Washington by GEORGE C. RICE Trading as Stearns-Knight Motor Co. 1601 14th St. N.W. North 5273 SUPPOSE you're not going to buy another motor car for six months or so. That should not prevent you from asking for a demonstration drivein this newest and greatest Paigeimmediately. For we realize that the purchase of an automobile is a mighty important event in the average home—and we do not expect you to act hastily. We are so confident of the sheer dollar-for-dollar superiority of this newest Paige—that we are only too glad to offer you any kind of demonstration you desire—without urging you to buy immediately. Don’t delay. Let us take you home from your place of business this evening—or the car to your home during the week-end. Remember —it will cost you nothing, except many regrets should you buy without accepting our invitation. Y—y Improved cated—Full wrist pins, cam shaft, auxiliary anced Crankshaft—Silent Chain Tim Paige-built Motor, none more modern or better lubri- High-Pressure Oil Feed to all Rotating Parts, incl: shaft and tappets — Counter with automatic takeup— Air Cleaner—All Metal Oil-Seal Universal Joints. 125 Inch Wheelbase—Springs 58 inches long—7 Inch Frame— Shock Absorbers—6 Inch Balloon Tires. Paige-Hydraulic 4-Wheel Brakes— Easy steering Ball Saw_blade Steel, Light A Clutch—Short Bearings—Saw e = ight Acting Clu m*hrvw, ul Cazirz cAmerica Standard 5-passenger Sedan: Deluze §-pas- - Ca Sudurban Lii AL LT draulic fi»wm 7.0 b. Detroit. WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DISTRIBUTORS WASHINGTON-VIRGINIA MOTORS, Inc. 1522 14th St., Corner of Church St. Potomac 772 Open Every Evening Until 9 : ALEXANDRIA MOTOR CO. MOTOR SALES & SERVICE CO. FRAZIER MOTOR COMPANY LOGANS GARAGE CAYLOR-SPAULDING MOTOR CO. RICKETTS GARAGE 117 N. Fairfax St., Alexandria, Va. 33 New York Ave. N.E. 518 .10th St. N.E. 1812 E Street N.W. Clarendon, Va. Rockville, Md. GEORGE C. RICE 1601 14th St. N.W.