Evening Star Newspaper, February 23, 1930, Page 54

6 SPEED PROGRESS CHANGING ALTOS Body Designers Looking To- ward. Streamline Con- struction Trend. &pecial Dispated to The Star. DETROIT, Mich,, Pebruary 22.—With Passenger car speeds undergoing pro- gressive increases at the rate of approx- imately 10 miles an hour each year. the automobile body designers are '.ev:rd streamline construction as a trend. How widely it may be followed may be judged from the jump from 70 to 80 miles an hour maximum in 1930 models of medium price and above ft. For 1930 the list of cars in which the brake horsepower runs to 80 and above that mark has widened to 54 out of 96 lines of stock models produced by 44 makers. In 1920, there were only 37 out of 90. The engines as now manufactured rate all the way from 265 horsepower | in the Duesenberg straight eight to 180 | in the Cadillac V-16 and on down Lhrouih to the power plants credited ‘with 80. In the latter class there is an ex- | panding group in which modern en- | gineering is doing its part to build up | acceleration, faster getaway and inci- | dentally speed. In the current models to have invaded the $1,200 will Speed Capability Index. Usually, but not always, the brake horsepower is the index of a car’s speed capability. The brake horsepower is distinet from the taxable horsepower of N. A. C. C. raf . The taxable horsepower as compared to the brak: while the taxable horse- power puts it in terms of the force exerted in the operation of the vehicle. Thus a car rated at 80-brake horse- power would have a taxable status ef about 25 horsepower, according to the N. A. C. C. figuring. In this year's model line-up, there are special lines of sport models in which greater speed and consequently streamlined bodies is be- ing emphasized. Such specialized cars are usually two to four sl.sun r jobs and they include body types flexe the open sport roadster, the convertible coupe and the sport phaeton. They are the Nation | 1 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO!; AMERICAN HISTORY BY MOTOR— © Asericas Highway Edunatons! Burss, Wasingoe, 0. C. ) ¥ty bound. ilent plai Em'mgnhdnwbr PIng izona is east or west across vast stretches n set down before pass to and fro, and. ft commuticative waviderers known a3 ‘desert tats occasionally compromise with a rushing age by &m’h— = of n range. HOOVER SETRESSES President Wants Legislation| Enacted for Federal Aid in Construction. BY JAMES W. BROOKS, Director, American Highway Educational Bureau. President Hoover has let it be known that while his first concern is for the tariff, he is deeply concerned in the early passage of all public building bills, in which Federal Ald for roads forms an important part. The road measure is now Jbefore a Senate and House con-| ference committee. 1In view of the urg- ent need for its early passage, final action is expected shortly. ‘While engineers are struggling to keep road bullding space with public need, truck tonnage continues to w. This development is particularly marked around trading centers where depart- ment stores, furniture houses and other commercial institutions of local char- acter are extending their sales activities over wider territory as fast as roads are improved. Commodity Tonnage Cited. ‘This of outward-bound as well growth Y | as inward-bound community tonnage once more proves the wisdom of build- the | ing out from trading centers first as the cy use r ed fenders that completely rear halves of the front imination of running boards Was not confined to the sport cars, but also was used on fine town cars. According to M. Vandenplas, Bel- glan body builder, the general lines of mmmem-uwbemnn curves, not because of beauty, but for ;he Im ttr!nt tr;‘helf use results in orms offer the least ible re- sistance to the air. T “In the automobile as in the air- plane,” M. Vandenplas said, “we are coming to regard air resistance as im- t. The result is that we are tending to round everything off and carry air streams to the rear with the fewest possible interruptions. “The big tendency is toward sport- even for dignified cars.” (Copyright, 1930. by North American News- paper Alliance.) 1930 AUTO MODELS IN HIGH-CLASS LIST Greater Power and Enhanced Mile- age Claimed as Among the Ad- most practical way of bettering rural transportation facilities. Fortunately for the motor car owner and other tax- payers, the policy of completing heavy traffic roads first has beco: fixed that there is small likelihood of a change back to the early and wasteful method of building in patches as an ex- Ppedient in meeting rural needs. While none too much has been said passenger car service, too little is known about its tax-saving and cost- reducing advantages under local truck operation. And while the gathering of statistics on the growing volume of local merchandise deliveries over rural areas is & difficult matter, enough is known to prove that the limitations of the mo- tor truck are more a matter of road sur- Illez than of road length. Short-Haul Trafic a Factor. The most accurate gauge as to what modern roads are doing in local service may be found in the trucking of live stock. In the gut calendar year, ac- cording to ;Jj iway shipping reports, Jjust announced, the highway captured nearly 25 per cent of the short-haul traffic in live stock around 17 markets, Along with this development, there has come a lengthening of haul from 50 . | miles up to an average distance ranging ‘mile: between 80 and 100 Not only have the local shipping areas been widened, but load weight has increased a5 a direct result of substantial road construction, thus cutting the farmers' shipping costs. Incidentally, one result not on the list of original good roads | claims has come to light in the fact that few farmers ever have enough hogs ready at one time to make up a carload. With the more flexible facilities afforded | by the motor truck and paved ‘highway, they are able to cut out animals that are ready for market and thus avoid the risk and expense of keeping them until others are fit, Plea for Modern Roads. { It is very clear that the hmllnt\ons! of the motor truck cannot be deter- mined until all roads are rebuilt upon | & modern basis, and that, In its broad- | est sense, the automotive powered road, | substantially paved, is superimposing a new type of city upon the old—a rural city, if you please—wherein the homes thus encompassed are brought within practical ra for rebuilding, refitting and re-embelishment according to mod- ern standards. And this may be said with emphasis: That the present policy of road building in the United States is tending inevitably toward that goal, CHIEF CAUSES FOR HARD STARTING OF CARS GIVEN vantages They Offer. The owner of & 1930 automobile at once gets greatér power and enhanced gasoline mileage, it is ‘&olmod out by Oscar Coolican, local tributor, who uses this fact to illustrate the general “#oposition that the increased perform- ance of the latest model motor cars is brought to the purchaser with the as- surance that operating expenses as a e;xer-l rule will be smaller than ever ore. “This is perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of the automotive en- gineer,” Mr. Coolican says. “To have wrought such an improved automobile as that of 1930 is an achievement of rare merit. But, to gain such better- ment not only without rui up ope euun,n costs, but actually reducing them in many cases, is & certain > cation of the genius of the laboratory workers of motordom. “Improved carburetion and manifold- ing means greater performance and greater mieage per gallon of gasoline. Inherently better balanced than ever before, the automobile of 1930 is less subject to wracking strains. - quently. depreciation is reduced and re- pair expenses fewer. No matter what part of the car is analyzed, one will find that the engineérs have bullt in vastly Motorists Warned to Watch Weak Batteries and Lubricants During Winter. Chief causes for hard starting in Win- ter are as follows: Weak battery, gravity low, plus effect of cold weather, which lowers efficiency of battery. Lubricants too heavy for cold weather, causing a drag on all moving parts. Dirty or worn-out spark plugs; also plug gap setting too wide. Excessive use of choke, causing raw charges of gasoline to be drawn into the combustion chambers of the engine and short-circuiting spark plugs. Insufficient gasoline, caused by the choke valve not closing properly. Breaker points dirty or out of ad- Justment. HORN ADJUSTMENT. Owners Exceed “Tone Limit,” En- dangering Operating Ability. The popularity of special horns, with their distinctive signals, tempts many & car owner to exceed the “tone limit,” fewer performances and at the same time they have taken steps to make owning that car more economical. “Those who have had practical expe~ rience with the 1930 automobile attest firmly that in this respect the auto- motive engineer has far outstripped his previous best efforts. Miles to the Gallon. If your car doesn't make as many miles to the gallon of gasoline as you as it were, of his present equipment. There is danger in an unwise adjust- ment of the horn, but few seem to ap- st ner: speaking, any adjustment that tightens the armature lowers the pitch and provides a tone that is deep and biting. Loosening the adjustment at the end of the armature shaft does Just the reverse. Since most motorists | prefer the deep, rich tone, the tempta- tion is to tighten the adjustment what frequently becomes a dangerous $hink it should, maybe it's tn,:“;«h fault. Prequent stopping and start: 3 e use ‘of cond 3 speed on limit. Should the battery be horn lubricant, the ho; in an emergency. A good rule to go by is to about the advantages of the modern | Ch road in UNIF Reduce Mounting Some time in the future a motorist will be able to start from the National Capital, drive the length and breadth of the land, and be enabled in each hamlet, town or city he passes through, to turn a corner, manipulate a traffic light, and know the speed limit, all in one and the same way. It is toward this end—co-ordination of motor laws and all their ramifications—that doz- ens of automotive institutions, headed by the National Conference of Street and Highway Safety, organized by President Hoover when he was Secre- tary of Commerce, are working. Since August 1, 1928, a code has been circulating throughout the country. It is a code drawn up after many months of investigation and trial by the Na- tional Conference on Street and High- way Safety and is called the “Model Municipal c Ordinance.” It was intended for use in municipalities, so that, when it was adopted throughout the country, a motorist could do such things as turn a corner in the same manner in Philadelphia, Pa., a5 he did in Los Angeles. ‘To date, however, only the following cities have adopted the model code: Indianapolis, Ind.; Grand Rapids, ; Brovidence, R, 1. Roanoke, Va.. Towa; Great Falls, Mont.; Savanah, me so well | Gi Program Is Outlined. But this list does not include cer- tain cities which have, since the issu- ing of the code, adopted similar codes. f among these latter cities is Chi- cago, where, it is said, the new code has been received gratefully and used with high success. A. B. Barber, manager of the trans- portation and communication depart- the United: Siates, in Spesking of the ni tates, in spes o work of the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety before the fourteenth annual meeting of the Na. tional Association of Commercial Sec- renl ni&. Sk % “I1 am ve you some figures later on 52 lllullrl'e. but first should like to say just a word as to the pro- gram of the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. This pro- gram is very comprehensive. It out- lines the set-up of proper State and municipal administration for dealing with the street and problems, the licensing of drivers and so on. It contemplates uniformity in traffic laws and regulations through- out the land. It provides for the es. tablishment of uniform signs, signals and pavement markings in the cities as well as on the rural highwi It in- cludes a program as to should be done to improve city traffic facilities, It includes a program of education of children and adults in traffic safety. It includes a program for enforcement of the traffic laws and regulations. It includes matters relating to the de- and maintenance of the motor le in the interest of safety. I said that I had figures here that gave some indication as to why this model ordinance and uniform code offer one of the biggest bargains on the s Vi today. A little calculation has shown that” the trafic congestion in Boston is costing $81,000 a day, or $24,500,000 a year over and above the $2,000,000 loss due to accidents. In Chicago a similar estimate was made to.the effect that it is costing’ that city $600,000 a day, or over $200,000,000 at year. In New York the estimate is that it is costing $1,000,000 & day, or $300,000,000 a year, Accident Cost Is High. One of the committees of the Na- tional Conference on Street and High- way Safety was requested by Mr. Hoover to make an estimate in order to get some idea of what it is costing the Nation as a whole. The estimate, which was conservative, showed a cost of $2,000,000,000 a year in losses due to dents and congestion. If you will capitalize that $2,000,000,000 a year show this year. the adjustment is safe enmg the armature ogn be turned with Washingten Motor ORM TRAFFIC RULES ARE BELIEVED NEAR IN U. S. NEED QF_fl'_G_HWAYwaouM ik Trovel Basier -and Hils Throughout Country. counter before the American people | Cost of Accidents you will see that the amount runs up to & sum in excess of the total cost of all the rallways in the United States, and the total cost of all the roads ai all the motor transportation that we have up to date.” Coupled closely with the movement to co-ordinate the municipal traffic or- | dinances is the movement to bring the 48 States in under a uniform vehicle code. The latter would make uniform throughout the coyntry all laws pertain- ing to drivers, such as licenses. ‘Three States have adopted this uniform ve- i hicle code—Delaware, Pennsylvania and California. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have adopted portions of the e, along with 20 other States, and it is hoped that all will come to it in the near future. One phase of it is being pushed strongly by the American Agrtgmom{f Al.oelnlon. o e national motoring body says the mounting toll of deaths stands as a challenge to a progressive Nation. The A. A. A plan has as its basis stringent Dermits of thoce Tound Buity. of srions permits of those foun y 0 lous violations of the motor vehicle laws, with the suspension of permit remain- ing in force until the guilty party has established proof of financial responsi- bility against possible future injury to persons or property. In addition, & per- son against whom a judgment has been rendered will be denied the use of the nighways until it is liquidated and finan- cial responsibility established as a fu- ture guarantee, Fatalities Show Increase. “The trend of fatalities from motor vehicle accidents in ratio to car regis- trations,” sald the A. A. A, “was de- cidedly downward from 1917 to 1928, but since that time has suddenly t upward. There is every indication that # high mark for the last decade was reached last year, despite the fact that the 1929 automobile was better equipped for safety than any car in the history of the industry. Another phase of the uniformity of traffic rules and the like is the move- ment to persuade all States to have the same types of road signs. Standard signs for use on the United States highway system were adopted by the Joint Board of Interstate Highways in_ Sepfember, 1925, and since that time, according to a check made by the United States Bureau of Public Roads, 28 States have completed the marking of the system within their borders. The signs are of two general classes—-danger and caution signs and standard route marker: Arkansas, Oregon, Connecticut, South Carolina, Louisiana, Delaware, Nevada and Idaho have marked 75 to 99 per | cent "of the roads. California, Ken- tucky, Utah and Colorado have marked from 50 to 75 per cent. Tennessee and Florida have erected caution signs only, The 28 States which have completed the marking system are: Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massa- chusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Miss sippl, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hamp- shire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Penn- | sylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, | Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wis- consin and Wyoming. | ROAD MILEAGE GAINS. Increase of 18.8 Per Cent Over ‘World Reported in 1929, The road mileage of the world is now 7,805,629 miles and there was a gain of 18.6 per cent, or 1,223,628 miles, in 1929 over 1928, according to:the District of Columbia division of the American Automobile Association. This is on a report from the (A A. A research department, which says that 3,016,281 mfiu, or 28.7 per cent of the world total, are in the Unit- ed States. Have the car or truck at regular intervals. tightened up Finest display of boats ever shown in Washington. See these new and reconditioned Chris-Crafts in our showroom and if you want a boat for early Spring order now. $2,000,000.00 worth of Chris-Crafts sold at the New York Dupont Circle Building, 1344 Conn. Ave. Building open every day from 9 A.M. to 11 P.M. Boat Sales Agency mol arch forms a g; stoved. water 110 feet C., FEBRUARY 23 (Title registered U. 6 Patent Office.) 1t of a great a igation. sy ameramen tises 1930—PART _FOUR. —BY THIS ir-made ke fi In this JAMES W. BROOKS. (Sketches by Calvin A. Fader.) Y i3 “one i ), and. crude O T PRODUCTION TREND FOR AUTOS LEVEL Higher Price Movement Con- tinues With New An- nouncement. As the automotive industry enters the second half of February the trend of | production appears to be fixed for the month, according to B. H. Cram, presi- dent of Cram's Automotive Reports, Inc. That is, the current levels will continue for the most part until March. There may be some further increase in output of low-priced cars, since demand in this division Is gaining steadily, but in the medium and high-priced fields there is nothing to warrant the instituting of heavier schedules. Sales in these classes are swinging more generally to an upward trend but it is doubtful if the gains will be suffi- cient to warrant much of an increase in output before the end of the month. Even in low-priced field there is evidence that manufacturers, watching demand closely, have found it necessary to reg- ulate production more carefully as a result of the strong pace at which they opened the month. ‘The trend toward higher prices con- tinues, and this week another company announced increases in the prices of its lines. Others undoubtedly will follow, with an interlude due during the Sum- mer, when manufacturers will find levels satisfactory because of the peak of sales and production. As the year wanes a resumption of the upward trend of prices may be expected. An undercurrent of increased vigor is being felt in the truck division of the industry, although on the surface of production and sales levels there is yet little evidence of this. , after subsiding to a steady trend for some time, again show an upward turn, and sales for this market revealed consider- able during the past week. A notal t in the trend of the com- 5] SEDAN DE LUXE DOWN PAYMENT ONLY $325 R B ot T — mercial vehicle field is the current in- crease of bus sales, as preparations for the opening of new traffic lines in the 8pring near completion. In the tire industry the crude-rubber market disclosed the most noteworthy developments. Increased trading has occurred, and it is reported that a num- ber of Shanghal rubber growers have agreed to & voluntary restriction pro- gram, together with planters from Brit- ish and Dutch areas. Meanwhile, a Dutch-Anglo committee is endeavoring to work out & definite program of volun- tary restriction to prevent any further accumulation of surplus stocks. Poten- tial world production of crude rubber for 1930 is estimated at more than 900,- 000 tons, as against a potential world consumption of 860,000 tons. World stocks now exceed 350,000 tons. Watch Spark Plugs. Foulsd or otherwise ineficient spark plugs cause loss of power in the engine and waste of gasoline. It's a good idea to look at your plugs regularly and change them at least every 10,000 miles. ‘Two billions for roads eTull 8 year's work for 1,000,000 men at $2,000 a year. 48 IN SECOND GEAR 65 HORSEPOWER INTERNAL 4-\WHEEL BRAKES WOQDSON. MoTOR CO. lver . . u%mn%wm te] Md. C. B. ORGAN, ‘Winchester, Va. SAFETY SCISSORS NULLIFY CRASHES Inventor Claims He Can Hit Wall at High Speed With- out Damage. A revolutionary principle for killing living force in moving bodies, applica- ble as a safety device to automobiles, airplanes, trolley cars, raflroad trains, watercraft and other conveyances whose momentum subjects their occupants to injury or death by collision, is to une dergo its first practical tests in the United States at New York on Tues- day, February 18, under the auspices of the American Automobile Associa- tion. Former Ace to Demonstrate. Driving of an ordinary stock touring car head-on into immovable objects and into other machines, both movii and motionless, at speeds up to 45 miles an hour without damage to the touring car or injury to its driver will consti- tute the demonstration. At the wheel, while scientists, engineers, insurance officials, automobile men and safety experts leok on, will be Capt. Franzcarl Schleiff, one-armed former of the German air forces and originator of the principle. That the Schleiff crash absorber on his machine will protect him from the slightest injury Capt. Schieiff has suce cessfully demonstrated 180 times abroad. The device, patented all over Europe and in the United States, is in wide use abroad, where it is known as the “Casco puffer” and where insurance companies allow from 10 to 25 per cent premium discounts to motorists whose cars are equipped with it, Resembles Scissors. In general appearance the Schleiff crash absorber resembles the usual metal automobile bumper, although the grofecmon it affords cars and automo- ilists is immeasurably greater. It con- sists of a 3-inch bar of solid rubber attached horizoritally to the chassis by two pairs of claws suggestive of forward-pointed, partly-opened scissors, with their swivels where they join the chassis and their ends clamped to the rubber. Collision, causing wider open- ing of the seissors, stretches the elastic, its lateral extension and recoll sending the impact progressively to left and right before it RICH UPHOLSTERY HYDRAULIC SHOCK ABSORBERS lts performance must be experienced to be believed| NEW WILLYS SIX PRODUCT OF WHLYS-OVERLAND, INC., TOLEDO, OHIO MID-CITY SALES COMPANY s In the Middle of the City—1711 Fourteenth St. Remember the Phone Number, Decatur 5050—“Fifty Fifty.” NEARBY DEALERS < COLLEGE PARK AUE PLACE 3. A. SWAN, 2 Ceptios Hotghias g, O '8 GAITHERSBURG MOTOR cO., CATLETT R CO. Catlett, Va. C. LEO McKENNEY, WAGGONER. 'no"vhnl. OTHE H. 5. LOWE, Brandywine, M.