Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1929, Page 116

PROGRESS OF AUTO LAID 0 OPEN MIND Oakland Official Says Growth Hinges on'Constant Work to Better Product. “Qpen-mindedness, I believe, has been a major factor in sweeping the automobile from scratch to first place in the industrial universc. So long as this same attitude prevails the auto- motive Industry faces a normal, con- structive, heaithy period of growth.” This statement is made by W. R. Tracy, vice president of the Oakland | Motor Car Co. “Competition has beer keen, but not vintictive. The frequent reductions in motor car prices have been the result of soynd merchandising practice, pass- ing along to the public the economy of mass production, rather than as a de- fensive measure forced by competition. “A singularly high type of business ethics has been evolved by the auto- mobile manufacturer in that he has been more concerned with putting out the best possible car for the money than in worrying about the next move of his neighbor. Attitude Has Been. Constructive. “His attitude has been constructive. | His mind has been open, aggressive and alert for any new method or device that might improve his-product. “In granting to the manufacturer a Rood share of the credit for the relative standing of the industry, I do not lose sight of the fact that to all appearances the, automobile market was an easy one to ‘sell’ The potential car market was always there. It has been said that the history of civilization is the history | of transportation. Civilization, in its forward march, was willifig at any time to_seize upon the most practical and efficient means of getting from here to there. “If the internal combustion engine had been perfected earlier we might easily have had million-car years a cen- wry or two ago. “Without precedent to hem him in or hidebound conservation to constrict his ideas, the automobile manufacturer has gone forward largely along virgin lines that give him a production and merchandising set-up unique in Ameri- can_industry. “His policy of open-mindedness begins properly in his research and experi- mental divisoins, Here ideas are con- stantly filtering through for weeding out or refining. Perhaps only one in 12 has merit. ~Perhaps only one in a hundred. But from this crucible of raw material comes the new car model or improvement. Experimentation Cited. “Certain vital factors in car design- cannot, as is popularly supposed, out on paper. Engineering theory will serve only up to a well de- fined limit. Beyond that point the muu is largely that of experimen- “For example, a power plant made larger develops crankshaft whip or torsion. Instead of going into an ex- ecutive session to try to remedy it the engineering staff builds a larger crank- shaft into the engine and tests it. Counterweights may be added or a har- monic balancer attached to the shaft, One or a combination of two or more fateors will bring the desired result. The méthod is not one of calculation but of testing and discarding. “Prejudice does not gxure in such ‘work. Similarly, no new idea, no mat- ter how fanatic on the surface, is tossed away until thoroughly tested and dis- proved. “An open mind is requisite in the automotive industry because the picture undergoing swift and constant change. A few vears ago the manufac- turer was buil a hill-climbing car. He was concerned then primarily with the American market. Today he is building a car that operates as well on the hills of Pennsylvania as on the plains of the Middle West, and a car that meets the driving requirements of a severe Canadian Winter as well as the intense heat of Midsummer in the TRl vl 1 i or the new and better and his willingness to meet adverse factors have enabled the American manufac- turer to achieve first place in the in- dustrial fleld and to put his product #ato every country on the globe.” SAFETY AND STYLE HELD YEAR'S BIGGEST TREND| ental Ease Is Stressed by Buyers | in Selection of New ZAutomebiles. Features making for mental ease as to safety and control in the operation of a motor car and provoking mental satisfaction as to the car’s style and luxury of appointments are the two demands which motor car owners will make upon the manufacturer in 1928, according to Ernest W. Seaholm, chief engineer of the Cadillac Motor Car Co. There has been something of a change in motorists' inclinations from Wwhat they were a year ago, when, with the vogue of color at its peak and with many new fashions in body design re- cently offered, the greatest amount of interest was in matters of style. As engineering research has revealed new possibilities of greater safety in the | operation of motor cars, the public | mind has turned to these features. And | wt’h the rising demand for greater | safety came two other demands of the same nature—the desire for ease of control in driving and mental ease in riding. - Roadability and the freedom of controls, like the steering wheel, brake and clutch pedals and the accelerator, from road shocks, are direct contribu- tions to mental ease, and are all among the 1929 demands of BALTIMORE’S TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS DECREASE Reduction of 783 in 1928 Shown in Report; 22 Fewer Deaths. Injuries Also Drop. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, January 26.—There were 22 fewer traffic deaths and 783 féwer accidents on the streets of Balti- more in 1928 than in the previous year, sccording to the annual report of the Baltimore Safety Council. One hundred and ninety-three fewer por: were injured in the year than e , while'$62 fewer accidents hap- Wenea in which’ there were injuries than in the preceding year. ‘fhere was a total of 13,701 accidents st year, us compared with 14,484 the sear petore. Of this number the result was: In 1928, 147 deaths; 5085 ‘per- sgns were sent to hospitals as a result uf 4,525 of the accidents dnd 9,176 re- sulted in property damage only. * Tn 1927, 169 persons died as the re- el of traffic accidents; 5278 were in- jured in 4,746 “injury accidents” and experienced | motorists. i Results BY H. CLIFFORD BROKAW, Automobile Technical Adviser. | One noticable development in the jautomobile industry is the use of cars | throughout the winter as well as other | seasonis of the year. When automobiles first can.e into use the gencral practice was to put the machines in storage the roads, for modern asphalt highways we-2 not common in those days and roads outside of city limits were often + impassable on account of mud or snow. The marvelous development of high- ways has done away with mud and with this condition has come the demand for keeping the roads open during the period of snow. Consequently, most highways are now fairly free from both snow and mud 12 months of the year, even in the Northern tier of States. Another reason which used to mili- tate against Winter motoring was the car itself, which frequently refused to function at its best when ths ther- mometer was down around zero. These troubles also have been overcome, so that now one can get an adequate re- sponse from a car even in the coldest weather. Of these troubles that used to be the freezing up of the radiator was not the least. Of course. water in radiators will still freeze in Winter if nothing is done about it. The impor- tant thing to consider is what can be done about it. The present methods available are very satisfactory and tend to make Winter driving a real pleasure. ‘When cold weather arrives it is well to know that the radiator of almost every automobile has to have some- thing different than water in order to prevent freezing. There are numerous anti-freeze materials on the market, and some of them are undoubtedly ef- fective for accomplishing the purposes for which they are desired. In case of doubt it may be well to secure the opinion of the manufacturer's sales agent in your vicinity who represents the make of car you own. His opinion is likely to be as unbiased and as authoritative as can be found. Alcohol Most Popular. Alcohol is probably the most univer- sally used substance for keeping the water in automobile radiators from freezing. There is ‘no doubt but that alcohol will accomplish this purpose. There are one or two cautions which should be indicated in connection with the use of alcohol in the radlator. Now- adays many cars are covered with a lacquer type of finish. Such finish has been found an improvement over the ordinary paint and varnish. It will not, however, entirely resist the dissolving effects ofalcohol. Consequently, when alcohol is being poured into a radiator great care should be used to see that all of the liquid reaches its intended desti- nation and that none of it spatters out on the finish of the car. Another caution which should be mentioned in connection with the use of alcohol in a radiator is its tendency to evaporate rather rapidly. This will be likely to happen if the engine of the automobile tends to become overheated. The machinery of the most recent au- tomobile models is of such a guality that overheated motors are becoming léss and less frequent and boiling radiators in ‘Winter are not so oftén seen on our high- ways. It is easily possible to have the alcohol content of a radiator lested at a service station. In the interests of satisfactory motoring the driver of a car should stop to have such a test made once in a while. If there have beén ‘unusually warm days, or if the motor has shown tendencies of heating, this should be done as often as two or three times a month. Kerosene has been used by some in- stead of alcohol as an anti-freeze ma- terial. In the main it is not found satisfactory, except in sections where the temperature is continuously low throughout the season. Neither do salt and water solutions usually give the resuits desired. One of the most recent achievements in this field of anti-freeze materials is found in solutions composed P y of glycerin. The advantage of the gylcerin solution is that the water in it evaporates more rapidly than the glycerin, with the ‘?!ultt !,l;x:lt llh:edwlg- resisting quality no Ipal y overheating of the engine or c-dinary evaporation. Also, glycerin does ngt af- fect ‘a lacquer finish. Results Satisfactory. Although glycerin and water do not ordinarily well together, it-appears that-this-problem has been sufficiently overcome to get satisfactory results. While this sort of mixture *is more ex- pensive to buy, it is claimed that due to the fact that it can be used for more than one year the cost does not become excegsive ‘when considered over a -pe- riod of years. When Spring arrives, the liquid can be drained out, put in bot- tles and tightly corked. . In the Fall this same material can be put back RUNAWAY HORSE OBEYS " RED LIGHT AT CROSSING Speeding Charger Hitched to Milk - Wagon. Qualifies as Law- Abiding Plug. A wooden horse played no small part in the fall of Troy. A milk wagon steed helped write history in Stamford, Conn. The wooden nag outwiited the de- fenders of the Trojan gates. The milk wagon horse showed more intelligence than is evidenced by many speeding humans. Here's the story—and the good r.lks of Stamford are goinz to stick to it. During the wee small hours this par- ticular horse decided to run away. The streets were wide and deserted and the going was fine for a block or so, dur- ing which time a lot of milk was de- livered promiscuously. Then came a Stamford intersection and as old Dobyn thundered down upon it, the green light changed to red. The noble charger dug his cleats into the pavement and stopped dead in his tracks, thereby qualifying himself as a law-abiding plug. The National Safety Council points out this little incident as an evidence of horse sense—often needed by careless drivers. 1f the horseshoe fits, put it on—jus ! for luck! : ROADS ARE IMPROVED. 18,184 Miles of Federal-Aid System | Treated in Year. Improvement was made on a total of 8,184 miles of the Federal-aid system during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1928, according to the American Auto- mobile Association. ‘The national motoring body says that at the close of the year initial im- provements were in progress on 9,494 miles and' advanced or stage construc- tion was under way on 1285 miles. Advanced stages of improvements. were completed on 2,014 miles in the fiscal year* just ended. The American Automobile Asociation states that the total cost of the 8,184 for the frigid term. One big reason for | this procedure was the condition of | T}IE SUND;\X" STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., JANUARY 27, 1929—PART 8. IRADIATOR FREEZING PROBLEM IS OVERCOME BY MOTORISTS| {Alcohol, Kerosene and Glycerine Mixtures Most Commonly Used—Satisfactory Obtained. into the radiator, with perhaps the ne- cessity of adding a small amount of | new material each year. Automobiles using the air-cooled type of engine, of course, do not have to deal with any of these anti-freeze ma- terials, since they have no water-filled radiators which might freeze. The old method of solving the anti-freeze prob- lem for cars having water-filled radia- tors was to empty the radiator each evening when the car was put up for the night, and in the morning a tea- kettle full of steaming water would be taken to the garage to refill the empty radiator. This method has almost en- tirely gone out of style, and thus we see progress in another phase of automo- biling, tending to make it more enjoy- able and satisfactory. (Copyright. 1929.) beauty RUBBER INDUSTRY FUTURE S BRIGHT Improvement in Stock Values and Probable Price In- crease Predicted. Greater volume of business, improve- ment in the value of rubber stocks, probable higher rubber prices and better credits are predicted for the rub- ber industry in 1929, by Wililam O'Neil, president of the General Tire & Rubber Co. of Akron. “I would not be surprised if the rub- ber industry were to establish new records in both production and sales during the coming year,” he said. “The rubber business was never on sounder ground than now. I see no serious rea- son why we should not continue to pro- gress and enjoy good business and pros- perity. - Steady growth of the automo- bile “industry plus increased demand from overseas markets and a prosper- ous era generally should insure the tire industry a good year. The rubber in- dustry in the first place will feel this year the pull of an increased replace- ment business in tires for the new type, | high-powered automobiles that went | into service last year and the year be- fore—particularly those cars whose speed, braking equipment and weight were increased at the expense of the tires. Prices May Increase. “Another important factor auguring good business is the extreme low price of tires. Here is a situation that bene- fits the consumer and manufacturer of the better quality tires by making it easy for everybody to purchase the highest grade tires at prices ranging very close to the level of the cheaper rades of tires. “Unfavorable influences such as the “rupt price declines which affected 12 rubber industry during the last year we been removed. There wil' be a wrmal supnte of rutber procurable at | prices perhaps slightly higher during | the last half of the year, due to the fact rubber is now selling below the cost of production. American rubber | factories and their distributors will be | doing business this year in a healthy, rising market and this undoubtedly will have a favorable effect on rubber stocks. Inventories of finished goods are generally satisfactory in the in- dustry. Credits which have not been up to par should show improvement. “While thousands more tires were produced and sold last year than the year previous, neither profits nor dollars and cents showings of the various com- panies were in harmony with gains made, due to the rubber market slump and the subsequent extreme low price of tires. The inventory write-off which followed the crash of the rubber market in 1928 wiped out the first six months’ profits for most. large companies. Industry Is Optimistic. “Despite obstacles encountered during the year the industry as a whole entered the new year in good financial condi- tion and in an optimistic frame of mind. The industry is more happily situated than for several years. I do not believe any of us have a full appreciation of the accomplishments possible in the coming year.” TROLLEY CARS ENDED. Paterson, N. J., Largest City En-| Ci tirely Bus Equipped. Paterson, N. J., is now the largest city in the United States in which all public street transportation is supplied by motor busses. With the recent dis- continuance of the Park Avenue Rail- way Line by the Public Service Co-or- dinated Transport, the last trolley car operated entirely within the city disap- peared. The population of Paterson is 143,000. F OR THE FIRST TIME in Motor Cars—A Deliberate Design Using the Centuries-0ld Canons of True Charm and Loveliness. Chrysler’s unerring success in developing, year after year, and style which lead the motor car industry, may be credited'to the very individual and definite plan which animates Chrysler design. Then came the characteristically daring Chrysler step. New Chrysler “65’'— Six body styles priced from $1040 to $1145 ¢ + » New Chrysler “75”—Nine body styles priced from $1535 to $2345 + + + New Chrysler Imperial — Five custom styles priced from $2675 to $3475. All prices f. 0. b. Detroit. To achieve its unique beauty, Chrysler trusted no accidental inspiration of individual designers. Instead it went directly to those sources of art and archi- tecture which have come down the centuries unsurpassed and unchallenged. These were studied, and examined, in the patient pursuit of authentic beauty. They were reduced to exact formulae of line and outline. These canons of ancient classic art were carefully translated into terms of motor car beauty and utility. They were ap- plied to the most modern vehicle that travels the earth. The results were hailed as masterpieces of dynamic sym- metry—an expression as new to the industry as the Chryslers themselves. The accompanying illustrations make clear the origins of some of the details of the very latest Chrysler style—tbe style that re-styles all motor cars. They show very definitely the workings of a plan, the like of which can be found nowhere else in the industry. It is everywhere conceded that Chrysler style and beauty are today more striking than ever. The deliberate and con- scious plan which gave them birth assured then and there the greater grace, charm and artistry in Chrysler cars. "DUCATION ASKED Instruction by Dealers Would Reduce Accidents, in Wil- liams' Belief. to teach safe driving methods and good road manners to every bad driver on the road, in the opinion of G. M. Wil- lllmso.opresidenl of the Marmon Motor ar Co. “If dealers would realize the im- portance of not making final delivery been taught to drive them correctly, every one concerned would be greatly benefited,” Mr. Williams pointed out. “Besides giving instruction of proper handling of the wheel, dealers could also make it a point to instruct the politeness and trafiic regulations. FOR AUTO BUYERS \ Some automobile dealers or salesmen | has had the opportunity, at least once, | industry an important function of the automobile dealer or salesman give driving lessons to purchasers or prospective purchasers. Now, however I &m afraid too many dealers lect th t‘uk :rnlg dle::""m':; cars o it even inqul g to uyers' ving ability or knowledge of speed and traffic laws. “To my way of thinking an untold number of accidents would be eliminat- ed if dealers would again adopt the strict policy of teaching correct driv- ing. And many times, moreover, the r driver places the blame for mis- aps or accidents on the mechanism of his car when, in reality, the fault was in his own driving ability—or, more correctly, his driving inability. Even the most perfect piece of machinery, of course, will not stand misuse.” | VENICE PLANS SUBWAYS. Pedestrian Trafic Becomes Prob lew: in Watery City. Although there is no vehicular traffic of their cars until the new owners had | congestion in Venice, that city has its | pedestrian traffic problems the same as less watery municipalities, accordiae = the podesta (mayor) of Venice, who hes announced that plans are being repared for demolishing the steel ridges over the Grand Canal and con- novice in matters of road etiquette, | structing submarine tunnels for the | use of the growing number of pedes- “In the older days of the automobile | trians. CHRYSLER Style and Beauty Leadership No Accidenta Creation iy All Chrysler models—*"65,” 75" and the new Chrysler Imperial on display at the Automobile Show (Space 19 and at all Dedlers’ Showrooms) ‘THE most modern thinginmotor car design.—Chrysler’s matching of slender-profile radiator with cowl-bar moulding — has its ar- motif in the historic frieze of the ancient Pacthenon. NOTE how the dynamic sym- metry of Chrysler fender con- tours and wheels expresses the very essence of life and motion, just as do their counterparts in the “wave border” of the classic masterpieces of architecture and design. IT may seem a far cry from the correct lines of an old Roman aqueduct tothe “arched-window” silhouette of the Chrysler of to- day. Here it is, however—a plain indication of the artistry with which Chrysler lines are developed. THE Chrysler front elevation in- dicates the influence of the Egyp- tian lotus leaf pattern. Modified to its modern application, it is pesfectly proportioned, and ap- plied with consummate arownsy in blending beauty and utility. ARTISTS know this as a “rising, diminishing series.” The level road, the slightly arched bumper, the shorter arched tie-rod above, and finally the shorter and more deeply arched radiator contour, form a series in perfect harmony. m 8738 accidents resulted in property | miles of initial construction and the damage only. 12014 miles cf stage construction enm- H. B. LEARY, Jr.,, & BROS. Duxav Preparing. Leon Duray szems to have joined the ranks of the “eam owners’ He has bought Harry Miller's personal front drive special, camvaigned last year by Ralph Hepburn. He is keeping front drive car and in addition ing a rear drive presumably &s the dirt tracks, burn pleted was $205,043,784, of which the Federal Government paid $38,056,984, | or 43 per cent, and the States the bal- | ance. The largest disbursements during the vear were made to Illinois, Jowa, Kan- sas, New York, Pensylvania and Texas To each of thes> States the Govern- ment prid during the year more than $3,000,000. All cther States received Jess than that amount, Frank H. Rowe, 3309 M St. N.W. Executive Offices and Service, 1612-22 You St. N.W. DISTRIBUTORS Salesrccms—1612-22 You St. N.W., Connecticut Ave. and Que St. N.W. and 10th and H Sts. N.E. Used Car Salesrooms—1321-23 Fourteenth St. N.W. and 1612-22 You St. N.W. Chevy Chase Motor Co., 6701 Wisc. Ave., Chevy Chase, Md. " Skinker Motor Co., 1216 20th St. N.W. °