Evening Star Newspaper, August 28, 1927, Page 55

MOTORING BY WILLIA One place where nothing ever the sign “Emergency, No Parking.” ITH the vast increase in the number of automobiles in operation, and their con- | sequently heavy demand for fuels and oils, there has arisen | in all cities the problem of fitting the filling stations into the general archi tectural scheme of things. In some sections of the country there have been definite abuses in this connec- tion, in others filling station opera- tors have been compelled to main- tain certain standards of design, while in still others handsome edi- fices and layouts have been arranged through the civic pride of the opera- tors themselves, and still elsewhere an average condition is encountered. So far as Washington is concerned. | it must be said in all fairness that its | filling stations. generally speaking, do not violate the beauty of the city and are in keeping with the plan which visualizes the National Capital as the most outstandingly handsome city in the world. 5 Of course, there are some filling stations within the District of Colum- hia which not only fail to add any- thing in the w. of attractivenes: but definitely detract from the ci inherent beauty. Such stations are characterized by poor approaches, unpainted or cheaply and garishly painted structures and a general at- mosphere of dirt and grime. The majority of Washington's fill- ing stations exemplify the theory that a measure of beauty may be in- corporated with distinct utilitarian- ism without in any way sacrificing the latter essential. In former years a service station was thought one place which necessarily was dirty and unattractive. Today it usually is_the case that the best and most cfficient stations are the cleanest and most attractive. Thoughtful filling station operators years ago began adapting their places of business to the spirit and atmos- phere of the community, while today the stations which are being erected quite generally are in keeping with this general idea. It is a most salu- tary development, and one which the public at large is hopeful will con= tinue to progress in its present line of march. * % % X Whether or not the airplane will supersede the automobile as the pop- ular mode of transportation of the future is a question being asked with increasing frequency. With each new and spectacular areonautical ex- ploit the question is propounded by a large group who believe it sees in the growing influence of the airplane something of a menace to the auto- mobile. A little thought on the subject should convince these persons that nothing can take the place of the present-day automobile except one {)l_lling, and that is a better automo- ile. Certainly, it may seem short- sighted to say that the automobile never will be displaced, but when one . gives the subject close attention it will be seen that for the most part the opposite view in reality is the short-sighted one. It is not reasonable to expect that the airplane will assume the place now held by the automobile, because they are two entirely different types of carriers, designed for absolutely varying kinds of work. In fact, it is «quite as unreasonable to say that the automobile eventually will displace the steamer as it is to assume that the airplane will do the work of au- tomobiles. Today every type of transportation is vitally needed. One does not dis- place the other, but merely supple- ments it. 3 When automotive trucks first came into popularity many thought that they would take the place of the rail- roads. The ridiculousness of such an assumption now is plain. Trucks are used by the roads themselves to sup- plement their service; they cannot take the place of the railroad. At the time of radio’s first spurt to nation-wide popularity there were some who held that the telephone was doomed. Now that radio has hecome more stabilized and more set- tied we are able to see it in a clearer light and more accurately appraise its capabilities, vast potentialities and definite limitations. The airplane, of course, will grow and prosper as a transportation me- dium. It will become increasingly important. And it will do these things side by side with the automo- bile, the one supplementing the other. Today transportation mediums up- build each other for the ultimate good of the individual and the whole. That, it may be. is what will take place in the instance under discus- sion. * * % x Seemingly. there is one point in connection with good driving which Washington motorists, in: company with their sisters and brothers of every other large city, have generally failed to understand. That point has to do with the matter of correct and considerate and scien- ¢ parking. Now parking, in or- der to be correct and scientific, must begin with consideration on the part of the motorist for the rights of others. Probably in no other de- partment of motoring are these rights and privileges fellow motorists trampled upon with such amazing _consistency Everv day, and usually several ti hundreds of thousands of the country over tions of ur and poor bre no credit. Because this is otorists ¢ giving exhibi- parking hespeaks he case, I don't mind repairin’ a car or ad- in’ some unit of it, but I do ob- it in' asked to redesign a ca Don't supose many mnotorists appry it, but when they order certain are askin' me to build their old cars over again Only in a very few Leen able to overcomne cer in a cai's design. I can reair T'm blue in the face, and the best 1 can do is to put the car into suc shape that its units will run as well as they originally were designed to. There’s a fellow who wants me to make ov his brakin® system. He doesn’t put it that way, though. “Ad- just my Brakes,” he orders Well T've adjusted ’em, but they'r thing but right. If I could rebuild the brakes and use some hetter parts, with a little more efficient design thrown in for good measure, I might be able to help him. they very | M ULLMAN. seems to happen is that marked by the parking problem has been aggra- | vated to a point far beyond the nat- ural bounds which mere numbers impose. It is not so much that there are so many cars and so little space as the fact that there are so many cars poorly parked in a given spaci A glance down any typical Washington street will indicate the truth of the latter statement. And when one considers that there are an average of at least ten indiscrim- inate parkers in each average block of 50 90-degree -angle parked cars | the importance of consideration in | this whole respect to the ultimate | solution of the problem is quite plainly and graphically seen. H 'R Those who think that everything | new in the automobile line has been | brought out have many surprises coming, for there are a number of developments in process, some of which are quite revolutionary. To begin with, a company has been formed for the manufacture of a new car which will utilize a hydraulic drive instead of the conventional clutch and transmission, Even brakes will be eliminated from this new type of machine. There are to be some new things in tire chains. A Tennessee company, having been organized to construct a brand-new plant for the purpose of building such a product, intends to incorporate some new features that may make skidding even less of a worry to the motorist. A lot of things are happening in the metal market. A vast amount of progress has been made in the aluminum alloys and it now appears that metals to substitute for gray iron are coming on the automotive stage. One of these new types of ferrous metals to be used for auto- mobile castings has all the advan- tages of gray iron and, in addition, the hardness of white iron and the physical specifications of the best of steel. The new metal is designed to do everything that every other automotive metal will do without chipping or sprawling. * ok %k * Whether the practice has fallen into the disrepute which it deserved, or whether the observer just has failed to notice it of late is not absolutely certain, but it does seem as thoug] most local motorists have gotten out of the vulgar habit of shouting in- wectice to their driving colleagues who have done something to irritate them. The practice was very gen- eral here a few years ago, and was not at all confined to truck drivers and others who one might be led to believe would take deep pleasure in indulging in a habit of this kind. On the contrary, it seemed to be re- garded as a mark of “smart” driving to give the other motorist a hot- tempered tongue-lashing on the slightgst provocation, and much of it went on between cars which ordi- narily were the epitome of correct- ness. One still sees and hears some of this today. but it does appear as though the ridiculous vulgarianism were passing everywhere, except among those whose motoring habits generally are such as to indicate that they never will get over the practice. It was one of those things that made motoring very unpleasant. Its pass- ing is to be hailed with the deepest satisfaction by all who are convinced that highway manners should reflect those one adopts for other occasions. T e With the filling stafion or_ service establishment it is considerably different. Distance is_a question of little importance. The motorist must take his car with him anyway, and a few city blocks more or less mean little in"an automobile. If he must leave the car at the service station, there is, of course, the re- turn_trip without it, but there the confidence he will have in a par- ticular service establishment often will outweigh the inconvenience of going home or back to his office on a street car. _One Washington motorist is so in- sistent upon noticeable courtesy at a filling station when he drives in for gas or a change of oil that he drives eight or ten blocks out of his way to go to a particular estab- lishment. He says that the man- ager and his assistants act as if they really were glad to get the two or three dollars he frequently pays out, and he gets sufficient sat- isfaction out of the treatment given him to warrhnt the extra trouble, _This possibly may be an excep- tional case, but almost any motorist will be able to recall at least iso- lated instances where he did not meet with the courtesy he wished for. not go back to those places the sec- ond time unless it was absolutely necessary. * K ok % Washington, blessed at the auto- mobile’s advent with streets and {highways fully wide cnough to ac- commodate a heavy volume of { trafiic, and now given an even bet- ter roads svstem through a pro- gram of widening, should have less of a traffic problem than any other city of its size in the country. There is one way, and one way only, for Washington motorists to take the fullest advantage of its nat- ural resource. It is a perfectly ob- vious way: perfectly plain, and should be perfectly easy. All the motorist has to do is: Think. The results in many instances it till, would be surprising. 1 see where one of the engineers found that one of the new cars turned out at the factory had 70 per cent | of the braking force applied to one side, It proved to be largely a matter of poor brake bands and a faulty sys- tem of equalization. Now, how is a mechanic to “adjust” brakes like that? Almost every day in the year brings | me some owner who wants me to ad- | just tapets. “I'll be glad to do that,” I sometimes tell 'em, “if you'll just get me a new set of valves and push {rods from the factory.” They think | this is just an alibi for my poor work- | manship. There are dozens of things about certain makes and models of cars that can’t be fixed unless new and alto- gether different units are installed. I don’t care how good a mechanic is, there’s only one chance out of a hun- dred where he can remnd! trouble by improvin® design. L It will be found ‘that he did | THE SUSNDAT STAR. TASHINGTON, D. €. AUGUST %. 1937—_PART 4. DOWN THE ROAD—Deserted on the Desert. THE UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT IF HED PULL OVER AND LET THE OTHER GAR ¥ PAST, THEY WOULD HELP HIM BACK: OUT OF THE DEEP SAND. B DRAINAGE IS URGED FOR SIDE ROADS Total of 5,000,000 Farm- Owned Cars Cited in Show- ing Need for Improvement. Gains in farm-owned motor cars and trucks are shown in a bulletin just issued by the American Highway Kdu- cational Bureau, whose headquarters are located in this city. Pennsylvania, according to the bulletin, leads in the matter of rural-owned trucks, with more than 40,000 registrations of that class, while New York and Ohio fol- low in the order named with 38,000 and 35,000. This growing use of automotive power in farm haulage, added to the steady increase in farm-owned passen- ger cars, it is pointed out, is bringing up in still more pressing form the problem of adding to the mileage of usable roads. The word usable here meaning that all roads do not neces- sarily require pavement in order to become economically serviceable to the public. Good drainage and not pave- ment, it is said, is a logical step whereby highway improvement may be brought up to every farm gate. Discussing the whole matter greater detail, the bulletin states: “‘One other interesting fact in con- nection with this increasing percentage of farrfl-owned motor vehicles is that of the 12 per cent annual increase by far the largest part is going into the light four touring class. The per mile operating cost in this class, as de- termined by careful study, has been found to be approximately 7. cents per mile, and that on ordinai rogds this cost may be cut to around 5 cents, thus effecting an approximate saving of 2 cents per mile by the sim- ple and comparatively inexpensive ap- plication of better drainage. “Not only may vehicle operating costs be cut by keeping water off of the roadway, but more dayvs are gained in the use of cars, which is a big item when it is remembered that the total number of farm-owned cars is alveady approaching the five million mark. “This means that greater effort should be applied toward highway im- provement on that large group of 2,- 500,000 miles of highway which lead into the lesser group of approximat v 250,000 miles on main traffic route: In other words, better dratnage offe a road improvement opportinity which has, in a broad sense, been overlooked.” VAIN DRIVERS OFTEN IGNORE ROAD RULES Veteran Autoist Cites Many Er- rors of Self-Satisfied Operators. in There are innumerable ways in which a motorist may prove himself a bad driver just when he is thinking how other drivers must be admiring his facility in handling a car, accord- ing to Rudolph Jose, whose original driving permit, No. 7, stamps him as one of the National Capital’s veteran motor car operators. The 10 most common forms of bad driving, which too many motorists re- gard as good car operation, are, Mr. Jose points out, as follows: * “Driving slowly in the middle of the road. “Taking the right-of-way_ of the other fellow by taking advantage of his desire to avoid injury to himself or others.or his car. “Driving a car that has squeaky, unequal and generally inefficient | brakes. “Cutting corners and taking curves at high speed. “Passing another vehicle, going in ;‘!;]B, same direction, at the brow of a “Descending a steep hill in high gear when discretion dictates golng down in second or low gear. “Trying to beat a train to the grade crossing—even if the trick is turned successfully “Parking so as to use up the space that might be taken by two cars. “Trying to pass a long line of traffic that is traveling at the legal speed limit. “Making repairs without pulling the car off the highway or, at least, having two wheels off the road.” Muffler Needs Clelni}lg. Any mysterious loss of power in a car should suggest the possibility that the muffler is clogged. An efficient muffler will not get clogged over a reasonable period of time, but if stoppage with carbon does occur, it can be cleaned out. A clogged ex- haust may, under some circumstances exert s50 much back pressure on an engine as to keep the speed down to fifteen miles an hour or even less. BIG STIMULUS Fills Last Gaps Motor club services, made available |on a vastly larger scale and reaching into every section of the country have resulted during the current year in a huge increase in motor touring and have brought materialization of the hopes that for years have guided the leaders of motor club movement, ac- cording to a compilation of reports from the 929 member clubs of the American Automobile Association. Announcing that the national head- quarters and individual afflliated clubs already have served 1,700,000 motor wayfarers in 1927, the A. A. A. pointed to the progress in touring facilities represented by the continued addition of affiliated bodies throughout the country. Only by extending the op- portunities for informational and other touring service can motoring he made as pleasurable as the extension road-building programs makes pos- sible, A. A. A. officials declare. 2,500,000 Use Services. According to figures compiled by the National Touring Bureau of the American Automobile Association, 500,000 tourists will have been routed by motor clubs by the end of this year. The demand for touring service and the ability to supply it indicated by these figures, it is pointed out, is in direct contrast to conditions existin 10 years ago, when so many individu: motor clubs floundered independently, and vainly attempted to give service available throughout the Nation. It is the aim of the national motor- ing body to expand and extend con- tinuously their touring service in all parts of the United States, and to maintain it on an ever-broadening scale abroad through co-operative associa- tion with European motor clubs. This widening of helpful functioning in behalf of the tourist has been ac- complished by further affifations in this country of which the most sig- nificant, it is stated, is the recent al- liance of the National Automobi - As- socfation of New England wit the American Automobile Associatio.. The amalgamation of the N. A. A. with | the national motoring federatio: was | declared comparable only to the 1 icrg- | ing two years ago of the Nutional of | whose value is greatest when it is | BROADER MOTOR CLUB SERVICE TO 1927 TOURING Affiliation of Large Groups With A. A. A. in Nation-wide Program. tion with the A. A. A. of the United States joined to form one great touring ground, throughout which may be found agencies prepared to offer a uniform type of service such as the American Automobile Association has developed, it is stated, the motorist of today is assured of a continuous line of travel, with touring agencies located at regular intervals to administer to his every need. The comparison is made to the development of highway building, which has progressed to the point where gaps in the main thor- oughfares have been filled in by con- stant extension of the finer types of roadway. Last Links Filled In. uniform motoring service L the A. A. A. announce- ment asserts, until the missing por- tions of this nation-wide chain of this constant administering to the needs of motordom have been filled in by {affiliations in all sections. By virtue of his membership in the American Automobile Association or one of its affiliated clubs, it is pointed out, a motorist thus may obtain information, emergency road service and avail him- self of the numerous/ other means which the A. A. A. places at his dis- posal to heighten the convenience and pleasure of touring—and all this in regions where he is a complete stran- ger. Nor is this availability of services confined only to the United States. As an American member of the Inter® national Teuring Alliance, the Ameri- can Automobile Association has ef- fected affiliation with 23 European touring clubs, and so far this year through its foreign department has as- sisted double the number of Americans who last year took their cars with them abroad. This universality of motoring serv- ice, the A. A. A. declares, solves the problems of touring, whether they are encountered at home or abroad. No- | where does the A. A. A. member need |to feel strange or without friendly land effective aid. He needs only to { present his credentials in the national | motoring federation and its nation- !wide and international benefits imme- diately are placed at his disposal. Difference in Numbe ‘Why some engines have more gears at the front end than the conven- tional arrangement of three often is a puzzle to the motorist who knows enough about automobiles to look into the details, but not quite enough to understand clearly what they mean. In addition to the three-gear front end there is the four-gear type, the five and six. Perhaps it will simplify the matter for the motorist if the dif- ference between the three-gear and four-gear type is cited. In the three-gear form there is, first of all, the gear attached to the crank- KEEP REAR GLASS CLEAN. Back Window Next in Importance to Windshield. Next to the clear windshield in facilitating driving is the clean rear window, in both open and closed cars. Many of the shadows that dance dia- bolically in front of the driver at night are caused by streaks of dirt on this window when the lights of the car behind outline them on the ‘windshield. In addition, the dirty window cuts down the efficiency of the rear-view mirror both in day and night driving. The glass at this point catches a great amount of dust and wiping it off regularly will prove a most satisfactory procedure, .. ‘When Horn Changes Its Tone. Many motorists forget that changes in the tone of the horn often are due to outside sources, such as a dis- chagfed battery, loose terminals, in the horn circuit, lack of lubrication or loose diaphragm or mounting screws. These various causes for change in the sound of the horn should be looked into before any attempt is made to improve tone by the adjustment ;urovlded for this purpose. Official A. C. SPEEDOMETER SERVICE We Repair All Makes Starting, Lighting, Ignition CREEL BROS. 181117 14th St W, _, Pob. 413 r of Auto Gears Explained for Benefit of Motorist shaft. This operates the cam shaft gear, which 1s twice its size. The lat- ter, in turn, operates the accessory shaft gear, to which is attached in many makes of cars the distributor, water pump and generator. Suppose, however, that the design of the en: gine was not quite so compact -and the water pump or accessory shaft had to be placed in a somewhat dif- ferent position. In that case an idler gear is made to operate from the crankshaft gear, the former, in turn, operating the cam shaft and water pump gears. In this case there is a four-gear arrangement, TIGHTEN THE TOE BOARD. Remedy for Noises Caused by Loose Flooring in Cars. On some of the popular-priced cars the floorboards and toeboards are not fastened. The result after relatively short usage is noise. The owner who wants to get rid of this annoyance will find it simple to tighten down the toeboard with screws. Since this sel- dom is removed for any purpose, the addition of the screws will serve only a good end. Tt is not difficult to hinge the part of the floorboard that covers the battery, which provides a ready means of adding water to it without the necessity of raising the board every time. HAWKINS ' MOTOR CO. Conveniently on Fourteenth Str 1333-37 14th St. Main 5780 —By BECK. “CUTN" MOTORIST IS CALLED BULLY “Artful Dodger” Declared Contemptible and Men- ace to Traffic. That the “artful dodger” of the highways, the motorist who cuts in and cuts out of the traffic stream without regard to the lives and prop- erty of other drivers, is responsible for a significant proportion of acci- dents, is pointed out by Representa- tive Frank R. Reid of Illinois. Mr. Reld, who is president of the Great National Insurance Co. of this city, emphasizes the fact that this practice has become an important factor in maintaining automobile insurance costs, and shows that its diminution in every respect is highy to be desired. “Speed in itself,” Mr. Reid asserts, “is not such a dangerous thing when the speeder is in control of a high- powered and heavily constructed car. ‘With a clear road, a good highway and a big car well under control it is considered safe today to travel at a rate which a few years ago would have been considered a breakneck ace. 5 “It s when the speeder deliberately and intentionally disregards the rights of others on the highway that the trouble begins “The most contemptible person on the highways today is the man who dodges in and out of heavy traffic at a high rate of speed, cutting out behind cars, regardless of the rights of the motorists upon whose right of way he is encroaching, and cutting in in front of cars in such a manner as to imperil the limbs and lives of people in the machines thus endan- gered. “The “cut-in” motorist is a most contemptible individual. By very na- ture he is a bully—and an ignorant bully at that. His sole object is to intimidate other motorists. He pulls out of line in traffic expecting others to be cowed by his speed and daring. “In fact, his whole course of action proclaims him as a man who takes it for granted that every other mo- torist on the highway is a careful driver except himself and he deserves not the slightest mercy, or considera- tion of any sort, after he is caught and a definite charge laid against him.” PROBLEMS OF MOTOR OPERATORS STUDIED Engineers Will Aid Truck Fleet Owners in Maintaining Cars. Attempts to assist in the solution of some of the problems which face operators of fleets of motor trucks and motor coaches recently have been undertaken by the operation and main- tenance committee of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Among the problems where consider- able difficulty to the operators has presented itself, is that of a proper cost record system. The accounting subdivision of this committee now is gathering information on the various cost accounting systems that are being used with the object of working out a basic system which it will be en- deavored to induce the opcrators’ ac- counting departments to adopt. This will enable comparison between the operation costs of fleets in all parts of the country. Associations of truck owners, coal merchants, laundrymen, oil and fuel companies as well as other entreprises have been notifled of this undertaking of the Society’'s committee and have bear;( requested to co-operate in this work. otect' Your Gears Z‘he‘am'ect (Lubrication forithe]Gears. ‘Ebonite'is a'scientific'gear lubri- cant in ,two grades.Y EBONITE-T4 forthe ytransmis- sion #gears, - makes, gear - shifting amazingly easy,’in all_seasons, and at all speeds.” _EBONITE-R . for “rear axles” cushicns these important gears, and saves_repair. bills. % EBONITE Eomfiuflo%mbzoj]; "20/Centsa Shot. AfFilling Stations'snd Gas A YERSON OIL'WORKS' 3 SALESMEN'S GROUP COMPLETES MOTOR ORGAN Association BY HERBERT S. HOLLANDER. Fundamentally, organization is re- sponsihle for the vast strides which America has accomplished 1n its economic life. The ability ‘o weld | themselves into compact units and then to function as a whole, not only for individual betterment, but for the | greater progress of the entire fabric of their own and interrelated fields, has been an outstandingly important element in favor of American groups of all types as opposed to the chaotic | conditions arising out of disorganized action. | It mdst be an unquestioned fact, and is so recognized by most careful | observers not only in this country but abroad, where there is continual agi- tation among the well-informed for at least partial adoption of highly suc- cessful American trade and industriz methods of all kinds, that to the c pacity for joint and co-operative en- deavor this Nation can trace not an insignificant portion of its rise to hitherto unprecedented heights in many lines. Like Military Units. The process of organizing national economic life bears striking resem- blance, in some respects at least, to military organization in that, gener- ally speaking, the best trained, best disciplined, most compact and most orderly unit is the most successful. Organization always has been the touchstone of firm, sound success; its application in an economic field has reached its greatest development in this country. Of all industrial lines, the auto- motive must be singled out as one where organization has played a pre- eminently important role in its ad- vancement—that is, in all of its de- partments save one. The manufacturers, formed the National Chamber of Commerce. The motorists themselves are banded together in several outstanding groups, the larg- est and most important of which is the American Automobile Association. Makers of automotive equipment, a force of vital importance in the in- dustry, have their own organization knowp as the Automotive Equipment Association. Retail distributors of motor cars, too, are unified under the banner of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association, and the technical men have the Society of Automotive Engineers. There they stand—manufacturer, dealer and motorist. Who has re- mained still to be organized for his own good and for the good of the in- dustry and the public at large? Salesman Important Link. The salesman, the man who forms the contact between the industry and the public. The man upon those shoulders rests the responsibility of giving to the public the story of what the manufacturer and his col- leagues have done by way of expend- ing time, energy, engineering genius, millions in money, to give to that pub- lic an efficient mode of personal trans- portation. Until the present, or, rather, until a few short weeks ago, the salesmen of the country—that is, the salesmen in every line affiliated with the distri- bution of automotive products—had no place to which they could turn for an organization similar in funda- mental purpose to those other bodies herein enumerated. ‘Washington, the National Capital, is the birthplace of an idea which now | years ago, Automobile | tual value and IZATIONS' CHAIN Last Element of Great Industry to Unite Launches Program for National in Capital. gives promise of important things tc come. A sn Washington automotive who, within their own circle, have discussed mu- problems confronting them as aries of the country's greatest ustry, have taken upon their shoulders the task of forming the au tomotive salesmen of the entire coun- try into a cl v knit co-operative ov eanization to he known as the Na- tional Automotive Salesmen’s Asso ciation. National Group Under Way. These local salesmen for some time have sensed in their own gatherings i eed of something bigger, a factor I might become a power for an industry which so em- has demonstrated the basic gnificance of capable or- ganization. They have felt that here as an idea which should not be re- stricted to a purely local field, but which should have the opportunity of drawing to it the thousands of men the country over, who themselves have realized the need for a body of their own and have looked about for one in vain. In other words, in this local move- ment, which now is in the process of becoming a national influence, 1s found the awakened group conscious- ness of the only remaining body in the automotive field which until the pres- ent time has lacked a medium of ex- pression. It means that from the manufacturer and the motorist and all through every phase of the industry there now stands an organization—or organizations — dedicated to mutual welfare. And it is mutual welfare further than between members of the individual group, but extends between the various organizations represent- ing the entire body politic, so to speak, of the automotive field. In other words, while each group has its own problems, which its par- ticular organization attempts to solve for the benefit of its members, there are other conditions which affect dealer, salesman, motorist and manu- f: rer alike. These problems are wed in the large, and the organiza- tions representing the scattered units work together in the common cause. There is the efficiency of organization, and in this process the automobile salesman from this point forward will have to be recognized in his organized capacity. All Factors Organized. Sponsors of the National Automo- tive Salesmen’'s Association, which will have its headquarters here, where it received its inception, emphasize that the body {s not a union, as a union generally is regarded, al- though it is a union in that it will bring together for mutual benefit members of one calling in one strong central grou ‘With the tional Automotive Sales- men's Association already in the field, it now well may be said that the in- dustry which has done so much to bring prosperity to the United States s organized at fighting strength. The st link in the chain has been forged. With each individual unit of the whole which makes the industry backed by the efficiency that organization brings it has nothing to fear in any quarter. Thus it is that the formation of this association means so much more | than the bare facts as they appear upon a superficial examination. Wash- ington, indeed, may be rather proud that its representatives were alive to a pressing need, and have had the spirit and energs tu fashion & na- phati has ripened into a force and which It any motorist is planning to drive all night and go to sleep in his car without the trouble of looking for a camping spot, the method employed by one tourist may be of interest. The motorist In question had gone quite a distance during the might and had come to the conclusion that a few winks would not be a very serious loss in his race against time. It is interesting to note the psychology he used when picking his highway hotel. Did he turn down a side road or off into one of those quiet side streets ENGINE “KNOCKS” PUZZLE AUTOMOBILE EXPERTS Explosion of Unstable Peroxides Is Latest Theory to Be Ad- vanced as Cause. Science has found several effective ways of meeting “knock,” or, more technically, detonation, in tge automo- bile engine, but there is stfll no gen- eral agreement as to what it is. The latest theory, provided by British phy- sicists, is that knock is caused by the explosion of unstable peroxides formed in the charge within the cylinder. The United States Bureau of Stand- ards, which has been working for vears on the subject of detonation, has not yet accepted this or any of the other theories advanced on the sub- ile on the subject of detonation, it is interesting to note that in spite of the remarkable progress of science during the last decade, the only way of determining the anti-knock value of any motor fuel is by testing it in an tional instrument of progress, Motor Tourist Selects Busiest Street As Parking Place When He Goes to Sleep in the suburbs? He did not. He se- lected the most traveled thoroughfare in town and parked right in the mid- dle of things. He knew that if he parked in an outoftheway place some curious person would come along and disturb him, perhaps thinking him dead. Where there were many per- sons going about their business he knew he would remain undisturbed. On’ this same street a stolen and abandoned car remained for three days and nights before anybody took any notice of it. The moral is plain. | MECHANICAL RUBBER DEVICES TO BE TESTED | Society Members Organized to Probe Shock-Absorbing Mate- rials on Autos. Valuable information regarding methods of testing mechanical rubbe devices for absorbing shock and vibra- tion in motor vesicles is expected to be developed by a committee recently organized and composed of members of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society for Testing Materials. Organization of this committee comes as a result of numerous in- quiries recelved by the Soclety of Automotive Engineers regarding the results of tests for determining the life and other qualities of mechanical rubber parts such as engine blocks universal joints, spring-shackles blocis and door shock pads. As no such tests had been developed, the matter was taken up with the American Society for Testing Materials and the engine. It isn’t just sistently go BUT. Edward B. Semmes, Inc. Alexandria, Va. AS THE DEALER committee was formed. NOTHING BUT luck. Our Used Cars. are so con- od because we handle NOTHING SEMMES MOTOR COMPANY RAPHAEL SEMMES, President 8 Dupont Circle. 613 G St. N.W. 1424 Florida Ave. N.E. 2819 M St. N.W. Main 6660—Night Phone, Main 1943 Associate Dealer H. C. Fleming Motor Co. Hyattsville, Md. A USED CAR IS ONLY AS DEPENDABLE WHQ SELLS T