Evening Star Newspaper, January 19, 1930, Page 58

AUTOMOBILE TAX DEDUCTIONS LISTED Motorists of Virginia, Mary- land and D. C. Soon to File Income Returns. ‘With the. time for filing Federal in- come tax returns rapidly approaching, the District of Columbia Division of the American Automobile Association has secured from authoritative sources a list of the various deductions which may or may not be made by motorists of Virginia, Maryland and the District when arriving at the income on which they will be required to pay the Fed- eral tax. For convenience, they have been divided by George E. Keneipp, manager of the local A. A. A. motor club, into three groups—first, those which may be deducted by all motor car operators, whether the car or cars are used for business or pleasure; sec- ond, those items which may also be deducted in the case of cars used whol- ly or chiefly for business; and third, those items which are not deductible, even though forming part of the ex- pense of ownership. First Group Credits. In the first group, that is the items of expense which may be deducted by all car owners, there are five permitted credits which may be taken: 1. All sums paid during the calen- dar year as registration fees, for driv- ers’ licenses and as District or State personal property taxes. 2. The total sum paid as a gasoline tax where the law has been construed to make that tax a consumer tax. This is the case in Maryland and Virginia, and decision as to the District of Co- lumbia is now being awaited. 3. Interest on money borrowed for the purchase of an automobile, 4. Uncompensated losses sustained :{l reason of damage to one's automo- e. 5. The amount of finance charges on automobiles purchased, which cov- ers interest and risk on the loan but not the amount covering the premium on insurance to protect the finance company’s interest. Second Group Credits. In the second group, that is the items in addition to the above which may be deducted when the car is used wholly or chiefly (more than 50 per cent) for business, the following credits may be taken: 1. All operating and maintenance expenses, including depreciation (usual- ly figured at 20 per cent per annum of the original purchase price) on auto- mobiles used wholly for business; or a pro rata share of such expenses, rep- Tesenting the per cent of business use of a car used chiefly for business. In other words, if the car in question is used 75 per cent for business, it is permissible to deduct 75 per cent of the operating, maintenance and depre- cllztlon expenses. . Automobile insurance premiums on automobiles used for bu.uux:esa pur- poses with percentage deductions per- mitted where the car is used chiefly, but not solely; for business. . Damages paid for injuries to per- sons or destruction of property pro- vided the automobile at the time of :]l:e“‘ accident was being used for busi- 4. Loss sustained where an auto- THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTO. AMERICAN HISTORY BY MOTOR— I wounded a3 the defeated Texas leader. The Houston statue at the right f o T, T s D.-C, the R in the Santa Ana— caught e Battle of San Jacinto i i ; ¢ 5&11“ flwmAp;thHlél&gé,wmcg;n\rmh exas SEES AUTO EXHIBIT AN AID T0 OUTPUT B. H. Cram Predicts New York Show Will Greatly Stim- ulate Motor Industry. The expected impetus to activity in the automotive industry as a result of the New York exhibition is clearly visi- ble as an actual fact in a review of the production schedules in effect this week at the various manufacturing plants, according to B. H. Cram, president of Cram’s Automotive Reports, Inc. Increases in daily output occurred at several factories, with a noticeable effect on the total for the week. Several plants also resumed production upon completion of inventory-taking and this also served to add to the volume. While a few concerns remain inactive, most of them will begin production next week and the current acceleration should be augmented as the month progresses. Production on Moderate Lines. More than half of the manufacturers continue production at levels of the previous week and no reductions in output were reported. The schedule step-ups occurred in all price classes, the largest gains being made in the low- price fields. One producer in this class reperted an increase of more than 100 per cent in daily output. However, sur- veying the production trend as a whole, uutgut gains during the next few weeks probably will be achieved more slowly, much more so than was the case in 1929. although the increase should be fairly steady. Initial orders on new lines, received at the show, were fairly good and deal- ers throughout the country, now almost completely sampled, also are receiving mobile used for business purpos traded for a new car. - e Third Group of Items. sm’l;h% 'thé‘rgugroup of lhmgicwhlch con- expenses which bglfled¥§ud, are as follows: e 3 e amount paid for an - mobile, used for either hualne:aum Dpleasure (this being a capital expendi- ture and subject to claim for deprecia- tion where the automobile is used for business purposes). 2. Loss sustained where an auto- moblle used for pleasure is traded in for a new car. LUXURY AND PRICE FEATURE AUTO TRADE New Model Motor Discussed as Re- flecting Genius of Designer and Engineer, ‘That luxury, varying with price, is one ©of the most impressive features of the new-model automobiles is the opinion of Oscar Coolican, local automobile dealer, who declares this characteristic reflects more than any other the manner in which the public taste in motor cars has grown. Down to the smallest detail, Mr. Coolican points out, the designer and engineer have recognized the motor car buyer's greater discernment, his demand for something finer, richer and more luxurious than ever before, “There are so many evidences of this point, “says Mr. Coolican, “that one scarcely knows where to begin. One might take the growth in number of eight-cylinder products. ‘These, with their smoothness, their silence, their lithe performance and their grace, sound a note that millions of motorists are demanding. _Shock absorbing systems are universal. They are not the least expensive devices of this character that could be manufactured; rather they are mostly of the hydraulic type. Once, save on the most expensive cars, they 'were accessory equipment to be bought after the purchase of the car. They cost from $75 to $125 or more. Now they are standard on cars of lower i therefore the industry spares nothing in provid- ing it within the limits of the price placed upon the car. “Mechanical parts also reflect this keynote sounded so vigorously this year. Take the clutch, for example. It has a velvety smoothness, a delicacy of ap- plication vastly advanced over the clutch of a few years ago. It must have greater strength, more ruggedness, but design has been so refined that one senses rather than feels the sturdiness of today's clutch mechanism.” GAS TAX RECEIPTS HERE ESTIMATED AT $1,350,000 Collections for Nation Will Show Increase of 30 Per Cent Over 1928, Keneipp Believes. Receipts from the gasoline tax in the District of Columbia for 1929 will amount to approximately $1,350,000, ac- cording to George E. Keneipp, manager, District of Columbia division of the American Automobile Association, who bases his statement on preliminary es- timates of the A. A. A. research de- partment. “Total gas tax cc ections for the Na- tion,” he said, “wiu show an increase of at least 30 per cent for 1929 over 1028. ‘This is based on the fact that the total for 1928 was $304,871,776, while estimates for 1929 place the amount at well over $400,000,000. Adoption of the tax in Illinois, Massa- chusetts and New York for the first time, as well as an increase in the rate in 20 States, accounts in a large measure for the heavy collections, Increased w&lumntlon is also a factor. their first orders in fair volume. Upward Trend Apparent. Indications of a stronger production also were apparent among the truck manufacturers, several factories re- porting that heavier schedules had been instituted this week. Activity remains or | slow and production irregular at some plants, however, but are expected to show' increases during the last half of the month. Tire manufacturers are watching or- ders and deliveries closely in order to avoid inventory accumulation, follow- ing the resumption of heavier produc- tion at the opening of the year. Con- sumer buying is not expected to show any appreciable acitivity for another 30 or 60 days, but is expected to break rall previous records when the general weather conditions improve. Original equipment orders from some car manu- facturers already are increasing. In the Akron_district output has climbed to about 125,000 casings per day, inst a_ peak output last year 180,000. R SHADES FORESEEN ADORNING HIGHWAY Public Roads Official Predicts the Planting of Trees Along Federal- Aided Thoroughfares. By the Associated Press, Long lines of trees, crossing and criss-crossing the continent with every turn of a Federal-aid highway, are foreseen by Thcmas H. MacDonald, chief of the Bureau of Public Roads. “Planting suitable trees and shrub- bery along all highways of the Federal- ald system, where such growth can be mainfained, should be regarded as a necessary eventual step in the improve- ment of the system,” he says. An amendment to the Federal-ald act on May 21, 1928, authorized Federal participation in the cost of planting shade trees along the Federal-aid system. Prior to the amendment & number of States had begun work along effective lines. The Massachusetts Department of Public Works is empowered by law to make roadside improvements, the work including such planting, replacements and care as may be necessary. Connecticut expects to spend in the next few years some $500,000 in land- scaping cuts, bridge sites and aban- doned sections of right of ways. Cali- fornia has about 685 miles of highway along which trees have been planted and has surveyed others. Civic organizations in Illinois have taken up roadside planting to such a degree that the State has had to lssue regulatory rules. Georgia is endeavor- ing to make right of ways 100 feet wide. Missouri, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Delaware are other leaders in roadside planting. NEARLY 30,000 MILES ADDED TO HIGHWAYS States During 1920 Have Increased Their Systems Vastly, According to Association Officials. By the Associated Press, SAN ANTONIO, Tex—Nearly 30,000 miles were added to the total road mile- age on State highway systems last year. The State systems now total 309,783 miles, according to W. C. Markham of Washington, executive secretary of the American Association of State Highway Officials, who reported to the associa- tion's convention here that States had added 29,252 miles to their systems in the year. plied to 7,022 miles of that new mileage, which includes 8,748 miles of pavements of all kinds, 8,675 miles of improved earth roads and 9,623 miles of gravel, treated and untreated. t year District officiais_collected $1,263,148 for the gas tax here, but the increased number of automobiles now in use in Washington will increase 'lh. 1929 totals by about $86,000, I be- lleve.” e Automotive freight in 1928 exceeded 3,500,000 carloads, according to the Dis- trlf‘t of Columbia division, an A. A, A. unit, Federal funds, he regcrted, were ap- CONSTANT CHANGES MAKE FOR BEAUTY IN MOTOR CARS Manufacturers Emphasize lLength and Lowness in Design of Bodies—Many “Innovations” Are Old. Outstripping the pace of the me- chanical changes in present-day auto- mobiles to make them better and easier cars to handle and drive, are the multi- tudinous changes in body styles that have made the American automobile the handsomest product of the age of four wheels. The 1930 automobile not only is a finer mechanical product, geared to far higher speed than its predecessor of half a decade back, an easier car to handle in traffic and on the open road, but it is easier on the eyes, cheaper on the pocketbook and an ever-present joy and satisfaction to the eye of the woman member of the house- hold who uses it so frequently. Obviously car builders strive for ex- clusive effects. If they can find an automobile that hits popular (nnc{ in appearance and matches its competitors in the same price class in mechanical specifications, the success of that car is assured. And not only for the season of its exclusiveness, for a keen-eyed public knows the leaders in the field and is quick to sense imitation by com- petitors. The manufacturer who st out with a new body design is certain to start something in the automotive fleld if his desi catches on with his urchasing public. For many years y styles remained practically sta- tionary, affected, it is true, by the de- signs of European designers, but contin- uing along much the same general lines year after year. Three years ago the wheel turned and the change in body design has been rapid since that time. Today the American automobile has moved into front-wheel drive and into a four-speed transmission whose road- ability factors are matched only by its appearance. ‘Woman Credited With Changes. ‘There is not the slightest doubt that milady has had her share in this radical change in body design and general body embellishment. Three years ago & new line of automobiles came into the me- dium-price field, carrying with them changes in body design. Other manu- facturers, quick to sente public approval of the change, followed the general pat- tern of the changes and today the high, narrow lined radiator, is standard on the 1930 car. But that same manufac- turer has continued his research and has gone into the golden age of history for the motivations that appear on his product. Some observers take the view that style creators are moving toward the inverted “skyscraper effect” in the au- tomobiles of 1930, Keen, indeed, must be the eye to catch this effect, how- ever, if it actually is there, even though the modern trend is toward high lines at the front, particularly in the sport models, sloping to low lines at the rear. Along the bodies of the new cars the belt line continues to outline the mid- int and add to the illusion of extreme ength and lowness. Even s0, it takes a fanciful eye o in- terpret the effect of the modern sky- scraper, with its bulky base narrowing to a point at the peak. It does not take an overly keen eye, however, to discern that even in the cheaper grade of automobiles this year the attempt has been geueral to create an impression out of proportion to the actual measurements. Many of the new cars actually are long and low. Others, judged by measurement, are short and stubby. But all, because of use of cer- tain definite laws of appearance, give the appearance of litheness and agility created by that same long and low illu- sion. No matter how low the price, the car of today appears low and rakish, even though it may not actually be so, when measured by the yardstick and the rule. Hoods Are Long and Low. In the matter of the lengthy hood found to be preyalent on the 1930 auto- mobile, many manufacturers go through no process of illusionment to bring about the appearance of rakishness. Eight-in- line engines need long hoods to cover them. They need no tricky belt lines or creation of appearances to make them look low and long. They actually are low and long, measured by the eye, or by the engineer. The psychological approach is not necessary to create appearance. The “five-foot hood” is a necessity, and an engineering one at that. Tradition associates the long, low hood with European ideas of luxury, but it is an actuality now and a ne- cessity, too. Because of their mechanical design, any modern cars must have hoods of extreme length. Just because they are long is no reason they should be excessively wide, and high, and cum- bersome looking. So the engineer has given the body designer something to work with and the designer has done his job well. Front-wheel drive cars carry so much mechanical equipment in front that a long hood is & necessity. In addition, they all have eight-in-line engines. And to clinch the matter further, as wheelbases have lengthened, hoods have been forced to lengthen merely as a mat- ter of proportion. A car of 145-inch wheelbase must have a hood in propor- tion, even though the engine may be a short, stubby affair itself. Front-wheel drive has had another marked effect on body design.. Because of the absence of the bulky differential at the rear of the car, which must be compensated by increased height at that end, the front-wheel drive car design- ers have been able to build their cars lower to the ground. Top heights only slightly in excess of 5 feet are not un- common, and it is no longer impossible for a man of average height standin, on the ground to look over the top of his car. If the cars were not so low, they might give the appearance of squattiness and lose the.impression of speed and agility they possess. One Change Proved Unpopular. Yet in the chase after the wilF o’ the wisp of exclusive design it now is gen- erally admitted that one manufacturer went too far with a radical change in body design last year. The car of the company this year has altered the lines of last year's car only slightly, but with what a change in general appearance! Hardly could the car of th’& year be {called the car of 1920 gere it not noted that body bulges have been only slightly depressed and details generally smoothed out. Popular appeal brought about the change when the word went around that this car looked like a hearse on wheels. Another car that had fallen behind the procession of body change and had had its own distinguishing marks for years finally drew near the point where its makers realized it was slipping, in so far as body design was concerned. So the hood was lengthened, windows were widened, the rear quarters were rounded off and the entire appearance was changed to meet modern style. The result is sald to have been a financial success. In the face of the whole trend, how- ever, there appears no justification for the belief that body changes are being speeded up to the point where the familiar lines of the better known makes will be forgotten. Points which seem to have been lost reappear from time to time in so-called “design cycles.” There is no denying the fact that striking points of similarity of design appear in the 1930 cars with their predecessors of a decade ago, even though illusions of newness have been created by use of louvers, belt lines and other ingenious tricks of the designer. A year and more ago certain manu- facturers made it plain that they had gone into history for the motivating in- fluences behind the hardware used on their cars. That trend now has spread to instrument panels, door handles, hub caps, interior fitments and even to bumpers. If futuristic color designs conflict in interior decorative scheme in the home, it is plain that the auto- mobile designer has made his decora- tive scheme as applied to hardware one of uniformity. Give Impression of Length. So far has the long and racy-looking type of body design gone that propa- ganda has had its part in education of the public mind that this appearance of automobile—and this alone—meets modern demand. The car of 1924 was streamlined, theoretically to cut down wind resistance, but it was found that streamlining also cut down the appear- ance of length and lowness. An eye going over the entire silhouette from front bum, to tail light received the impression Of squattiness and stubbi- ness, So the manufacturers introduced such matters as windshield frame con- tours, nickeled lines where hood meets frame, and other interruptions to the sweep of the eye to give the impression of length. But they didn't stop there. They found that tires mounted in fender wells, instead of increasing the stubby appzarance, gave an illusion of rakish- ness; that cowl light lifted out from the body aided that appearance, and that by focusing attention on doors and windows the stubby illusion might be successfully combatted. So in the newer car, the sweeping eye paused a moment to study the detail of door and fender well, window treatment and rear quarter treatment, and although the car as a whole might be the same stubby affair it was before, the impression of length would be created. This year we see in the new cars the old idea of a slanting windshield fea- tured. Many of the newer cars make a special point of the slanting wind- shield, featuring its non-glare principle. Yet the idea is an old one, and had been in use for many years prior to its definite abandonment as a principle about five years ago. However, it now is used in conjunction with perfection of design in side-windshield posts, and has been an improvement in preventing glare and ruling out the “blind spot” where windshield meets window post. Many Changes Are Experiments. Some of the body changes can be classed as experiments. Among these are the transfer of the cowl light to other places on the car, notably on the front fenders. On one make they are mounted on the front body posts, while others have them on the fenders. Un- usual treatment of fittings seems to have reached the stage where further developments in this fleld may be an- ticipated. ‘The entire trend probably is more to- ward scientific placement of lights than any idea of a novel way of mounting them to achieve effect. And the question might properly be asked as to whether cars are not getting so low to the road that proper illumination cannot be given unless they are mounted in fenders or some high point on the buzz-buggy. Some engineers hold to the belief that wide lighting from ditch to ditch of the road is an essential of careful night driving. Mounting of the lights on the fenders may be a concession to them, but so far the big lamps themselves have not moved up on the fenders, with the exception of one well known and high priced make of car, which has had this method of mounting as stand- ard practice for many years, ‘Wheels also probably will stay small, contributing further to the low and long physical measurements of the auto- mobiles of today and the future. The trend today is toward smaller wheels and tires bigger in their diameter measurement. This makes for smaller wheels and is said to promote easier riding and better control at speed. The belt line is here to stay, apparently, if the cars in the New York show may be judged as the basis of advanced de- sign. Obviously the belt line is good because it creates an interruption in the sweep of the eye from top to bot- tom, and added to the convex type of roof, gives again the impression of low- ness and length. At least two cars have carried the body panels so low that they hlVE-PQ"ejl lblf to do TI y _with Official Service A. C. Speedometer CREEL BROS. 1211 14th St. N.W. Decatur 4220 SUCCESSFUL SHOW FORESEEN BY JOSE Washington Exhibit Will Find 150 Models of New Cars on Display. Indication grows that the forth- coming tenth annual automobile show, which will open at the Washington Auditorium next Saturday, will be the most colorful and comprehensive dis- play of its kind ever held in the Na- tional Capital, according to a state- ment yesterday by Rudolph Jose, chair- man of the show committee of the 1| Washington Automotive Trade Associa- tion, in behalf of that group. Plans already made leave little room for doubt, Mr. Jose asserted, that the exposition will exceed in interest and value all those which have gone be- fore. And, he adds, plans are virtually complete at the present time, although there are numerous minor detalls which need and will receive the atten- tlonkol the show committee during this week. Sees 1930 Show as Finest. “The way the show shapes up at present — and we know that any | changes which are made from now un- til opening time will be for the better —we are more than safe in saying that the 1930 display will be the finest the ‘Washington Automotive Trade Associa- tion ever has sponsored,” Mr. Jose said. “First of all, the cars to be displayed will be more interesting than ever. Scores of new developments are to be seen in the various lines. Mechani- cally and from the standpoint of ap- pearance, the 1930 lines ve a very great deal to offer the show visitor. The cars themselves, so replete with impressive improvements and notable surprises, assure us the most interest- ing show we have ever had. “Secondly, the show committee this year is sparing no pains in making the setting worthy of the splendid exhibits which will be shown, The interior decorative scheme is being planned to provide a vivid, yet beautifully blend- ing background for the automobiles which will occupy both the auditorium floor and exhibition hall of the vast structure at Nineteenth and E streets northwest. “The show committee has been work- ing closely with those intrusted with this highly important task, and we be- lieve that the final result will be pleasing to every show visitor. ‘Will Speed Up Traffic. “During the last few years one of the most important phases of the work of the show committee has been to ar- range the exhibits so that ‘traffic’ through the auditorium can be enabled to move freely and without congestion| dcspldv,: the extraordinarily heavy crowds. “That this is no small job is better realized when one understands that last year more than 80,000 persons passed through the portals of the ‘Washington Auditorium and filed through the wide corridors between the various motor cars and accessories exhibits. “This year the show committee is hopeful of doing an even better job in this respect than that of last year, assuring every show visitor a clear, un- hurried view of every display in the building.” The show committee announces that more than 150 different models will be exhibited at the Auditorium this year, and the widest variety of body types | ever shown here. Body styles avail- able for inspection will include sedans, coaches, touring cars, phaetons, con- vertibles in two, four and five passen- ger types; limousines, town cars, road- sters, sport variations of all models, victorlas, sedan-limousines, and many others. the running board altogether. But here again, this development is but a return to a “new” departure of some eight years ago. It must be true in the automotive in- dustry, as in many other lines, that nothing is so constant as change. But if the beauty of the new cars means considerable change, let us have more z RADIATORS-FREEZEPROOF RADIATOR, FENDER & BODY WORKS 319_13th St. N.W. Metropolitan 6410 . Narth 31 A motor is more easily started with Autocrat Motor 0il, 100% Pure Pennsylvania. It is more efficient at both low and high temperatures and functions efficiently more quickly than ordinary oils. Nothing is more important ' than thorough lubrication, AUTOCRAT—THE OIL THAT 18 DIFFERENT FROM ALLOTHERS Beware of Substitutes, 1f your dealer can’t supply you, telephone us, and we. will “tell vou the* dealer’s nam@ ¢onvenient- ly located to you. Bayerson’ Oil i Works Columbia 5228 JANUARY 19, 1930—PART FOUR. —BY JAMES W. BROOKS. ‘(Sketches by Calvin A. Fader.) Prn by h:dn;f in a tree top—was brought before the victorious in the city which, beats his name. s g 2,500 Parts in Average Car. There are approximately 2,500 parts in the average car, according to the District of Columbia Division of the American Automobile Association, CLAIMS DISCOVERY WILL CUT DEATHS Baltimore Professor Perfects Devio to Counteract Effects of Car- bon Monoxide Gas. Spectal Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, January 18.—Tests announced this week by Dr. C. W. Frazer of Johns Hopkins University prove that he has discovered a means of preventing the great yearly toll of death from carbon monoxide gas, he declared. . It will be some time before motorists ’| are entirely safeguarded against death from gas, his opinion, but eventually cars may be equipped at no great cost with the means his ex- plorations have adduced. Dr. Frazer, the B. N. Baker pro- fessor of chemistry at Homewood, said he has found a chemical catalyst which will transform the deadly carbon mo- noxide into harmless carbon dioxide. ‘Tests with a motor car equipped with a device to apply the catalyst has dis- closed, according to Prof. Frager, that a man may remain indefinitely in a closed room where a motor is running and suffer no ill effects. He has applied for a patent. Carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of fuel in the auto engine. Dr. Frazer's catalyst is a combination of elements in the pres- ence of which the carbon monoxide is burned completely, forming carbon dioxide. All the gases tnen pass into the atmosphere. MARMON FOR 1930 Salesroom 1517 Conn. Ave. N.W. Phone Dec. 1 85 —in fourgreat price fields—the BigEight, the Eight-79, the Eight-69, and the Marmon-built Roosevelt. Power—to do what you will, as you will. Appearance —immediately Marmon, but unmistakably Marmon of this new day. Ample, Luxurious Size—three people can really seat themselves in the rear seat “without needing a shoehorn”— super-comfort dimensions all the way through. Easy Riding—a famous Marmon quality, even more pronounced in these new cars. Only a straight-eight can give straight-eight perform- ance. Marmon, having built only straight-eights for nearly four years, knows how to get the most out of eight cylinders. Marmon has the cars for 19301 NEUMEYER MOTOR CO., Inec. Distributors Service Station 762 2021 17th St. N.W. Phone North 4010