Evening Star Newspaper, July 13, 1930, Page 45

In the Motor World BY G. ADAMS HOWARD. tered upon will see the erection of no great num- ber of traffic signal lights. Few, if any, wili be added to the number now in operation. This cessation, temporary at least, is caused by the failure of Congress to provide funds in its appropria- tion measures to carry on the program agreed upon by the di- {:c%or of traffic, William H. Har- nd. Many residents of the District of Columbia will rejoice in this news, for while the thinking mo- torist has accepted the signals as a necessity, the majority of them are believed to be of the opinion that even a good thing can be car- ried too far. Even a Christmas tree can be overdressed with lights, and al- ready a few bewildered drivers have likened Washington to that emblem of the Yuletide. But the work of looking after the management of the traffic af- fairs of a large city is not an easy one. Especially when the office is small and the salaries are like- wise. Comparison of Interest. An interesting comparison can be made between Washington and Philadelphia. In the National Capital the of- fice includes a director of traffic, whose yearly saiary is $6,000; an assistant director, at $4,800, and an office engineer, at $2,900. Three important offices with a combined salary of $13,700. The Pennsylvania city’s traffic is controlled by a traffic engineer, whose yearly salary is $7,500; an assistant traffic engineer, at $5,000; a traffic signal engineer, at $4,000; an accident analysis engineer, at $3,500; a designing traffic draftsman, at $3,000; a fleld investigation chief, at $2,500, and a traffic statistician, at $2,500. Seven important offices with a combined salary of $28,000. In both cities there is added clerical hire and the services of co-operating police officers. De- spite the differences in population it would seem that the local facili- ties are hardly adequate. Difficulties Simil. Traffic difficulties of the cities and urban districts generally of the United States are similar, it is found by the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety, and likewise the problems of the suburban or metropolitan areas are closely alike. These ills arise largely from the fact that modern vehicular traffic is being handled on systems of streets or roads that were designed for the require- ments of 10, 20 or more years ago. Uniformity of State traffic laws and municipal ordinances, and the most efficient possible use of existing streets and roads, is pointed out by the conference as promising the most effective re- sults in removing serious phases of the traffic troubles. Perma- nent relief, however, requires a systematic study of traffic condi- tions, and in many cases a re- arrangement and readjustment of streets and roads. The conference favors the for- Tms fiscal year recently en- mation of local trafic commis- sions, composed of public officials and citizens, acting with en- gineering assistance, for the pur- pose of making studies of condi- ‘tions and recommendations for their improvement. These studies and recommendations, the confer- ence indicates, should be based on data gained through traffic sur- veys, and such surveys should be kept up-to-date to meet changing conditions. Eight General Causes. Traffic difficulties of the cities, and also of many of the metro- politan areas, are found by the conference in substance.to be due primarily to eight general causes: 1. Lack of a common plan of highway improvement upon which all agencies responsible for road betterments can devote concerted action. . 2. Absence of centralized au- thority and responsibility for road improvement, due lmgely to division of authority. Under these conditions the development of a satisfactory highway system has been found in most communities to_be difficult. 3. Reconstruction of the prin- cipal arterial routes which were originally built for light vehicular traffic. 4. Existing arterial routes be- tween the cities and other ex- panding centers of population and traffic in the counties do not pro- vide a sufficient number of main thoroughfares for the proper dis- tribution of traffic. 5. Tendency of main-traveled roads to converge and unite as they approach the central sec- tions of cities, and creating serious problems of congestion. 6. Narrow surfaces on various sections of main arterial highways, and other obstructions to the free movement of traffic, such as grade-crossings, bridges and dou- ble parking. 7. Inadequately improved sec- tions of main arterial highways, and absence of improved connec- tions on important routes, result- ing in xpal’tmuy disconnected sys- tems of highways, and uneconom- ic, indirect movements of traffic. 8. Physical obstructions, such as rivers, railroad yards and in- dustrial plants, which prevent di- rect routes and connections. Almost every city in the coun- try, it is found, is faced with a problem of dealing with a traffic condition within its own bounds and of securing attention to the question in the nearby suburban areas, frequently in_another po- litical jurisdiction. For this rea- son it is pointed out that the gov- ernmental agencies in the cities and their surrounding suburban districts that have jurisdiction over highways and highway traffic can, with advantage, co-operate in the establishment of a general high- way development plan, and in car- rying the plan into execution when finished. Long Study Needed. In its consideration of the mat- ter the conference has found that an adequate study of a mu- nicipal area and its suburban dis- THE Bit of Glass Aids New York Police In Seizing Autoist Special Dispatch to The Star, NEW YORK, July 12.—Credit for @ plece of astute sleuthing goes ‘to State troopers of New York, who traced & small piece of glass from the headlight of an 'automobile which struciz and a4 man re- cently. The bit of found in the roadway after the in the arresi of a resident of Island Heights, N. J. Police combed garages all over city until they discovered that an t plece was from the headlight of the car, is one case, according. to the '-rwg:n. where shatterproof glass would been a detriment in hit-and. run_suspects. tricts requires a period of years and engineering guidance in or- der to observe the effect that the execution of a plan has on the distribution of traffic, and the ef- ficiency with which it is served by a modern highway system. Regulation alone will not solve the traffic problem, in the view of the conference, but long-range planning is nece: to relieve existing conditions of congestion and prevent future ones. A sound city plan is not a hap- hazard performance of designing streets, parks and other necessi- ties, but a co-ordinated design, adjusted to the requirements of future expansion. In most cities new subdivisions are springing up and crowding closer together. With the annual increase in the number of automobiles in use, the parking question is worrying the cities and towns more and more every year. But traffic regulations, essential as they are, do not, it is golm.ed out, produce more and wider streets, and do not stop the increase in the number of auto- mobiles. Of 24,000,000 passenger automo- biles registered in 1929, about 18,000,000 were centered in and around cities. The conference estimates that the blockade of congestion is costing in time and business loss a sum of $2,000,- 000,000 a year. Co-operation Needed. Co-operation of State, county and city authorities in making thorough studies of traffic condi- tions, and planning to prevent fresh traffic troubles and conges- tion in the future, is pointed out by the conference as a pressing need. Traffic commissions, acting un- der official direction, and com- posed where necessary of repre- sentatives of more than one po- litical jurisdiction, is one of the practical means through which the conference believes the prob- lem can be effectively approached and handled. Elimination of congestion will go a long way toward eliminating accidents. The work of the con- ference is indeed meritorious. How Not to Exhaust Battery, The ammeter needle should indicate “charge” when you are driving at more than 10 miles an hour with the lights off. If it doesn't, have your electrical system inspected, so that your battery won't be worn out. —_ e ‘There are 650,000 private chauffeurs. Two suits aplece equals $104,000,000— prosperity for the tailors. SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JULY 13, 1930—PART FO Frank Bock | |VARIOUS IMPROVEMENTS SEEN DOWN THE ROAD—Life’s Little Disappointments, —B; ELMER...! GET RIGHT DOC’S FIRST CALL IN HIS NEW CAR___THE ONLY ONE IN TOWN. MILADY’S MOTORING BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL It may be more of a confession than @ boast when a newcomer at the wheel says she can drive all over now. A woman with a new car has asked for some suggestions as to how to in- crease the gas mileage. She feels that the results to date have not been satis- factory and is inclined to believe the car is never going to live up to mileage expectations. e fact is, however, that during the breaking-in process, when a richer mix- ture was used, gas mileage was neces- sarily lower than average. When the carburetor was adjusted for a leaner mixture the owner went on a long trip anli drove at a comparatively high av- erage of speed. This, too, wasted gas. ‘With the normal mixture and normal driving the mileage will doubtless tm- prove of its own accord. Among the most emphatic “don’ts” in handling a car is the werning against coasting by slipping the gear shift lever into the neutral position. The danger isn't so much that the engine is then unable to assist in checking the lgeed of the car, but mainly the fact that there is no opportunity to use the engine’s power to pull the car out of an emergency. Women who travel extensively by motor would profit by looking into some of the new travel luggage, which is of- fered nowadays as the answer to how to carry a maximum number of changes of clothing with & minimum of luggage space. Thousands of women are put- ting up with the annoyance of mussed ralment just because the commodious car holdss the bulky grips of yesterday. ‘Two of the newest inventions in hand luggage provide a ial rack on which dresses are hung before being folded. Because this makes a special compart- ment it is ble to remove shoes or other articles from the case without disturbing the dresses. A new case de- signed for women who travel by plane 40 miles on a gallon of gas @ 1,000 miles on*5.75 worth of gas & oil ® ' 20,000 to 40.000 miles on a set of tires ® is unusually compact and especially suited to motor touring. One of the trade magazines carried a cover showing a woman of decided tastes holding Fido up against the in- side of a door to make sure the car’s upholstery tones in properly with the canine’s coat. A worrled salesman stood to one side thinking intensely about some of the newer forms of sales resistance. An automobile man won & m"rl:d for titling the scene “Pup-hol- stered.” by giving the car all the protection available, women naturally show keen interest in the ymeeu of waxing the fin';h. Many of them, judging from letters received, are a bit puzzled over the variety of charges made for this sort of work. Some of the lcading garages are now waxing on a strictly time basis, which seems to be the logical solution. One of them will wax at the rate of $2 an hour, with $10 worth of work as the minimum’ um ‘Women who go to the service station for a check-up of the front wheels of the car will doubtless hear a lot about three rather confusing terms—camber, toe-in and caster. One of the easiest ways of understanding tho matter is to “act-out” the scene in the following manner: Hold up your hands about a foot apart with palms facing and the thumbs pcinted toward your body. If front Wwheels of an automobile ran in true line with the frame they would be in this position for straight ahead run- ning. But now watch your hands as you change their pcsition in accordance with directions: First make the tips of your ay little s0 as to produce Knowing the value of saving trouble [ (oS a gathering effect at the bottom. Then bring the far sides a little closer to- gether than the thumbs. Next push the wrists forward a little so that the lower end of the hands will be far- :’her from your body than the finger ps. And there's your camber, toe-in and :‘lmrm:n h?h our:etr’o given! Camber ives the whee! w-legged appear- ance, while toe-in makes them run slightly pigeon-toed. Caster gives them the familiar appearance of the front wheel of a bicycle. Should your mechanic say that the toe-in is satisfactorv, and thus pro- nounce front wheel alignment correct, {ou will profit by asking him to-check he camber and see if the toe-in is ad- justed to match, since the two have a counteracting effect. If doesn’t matter, or is a bit puzzled, 80 to an expert at the first unity. Many wheels are out of al ent even though toe-in meas- ures “correctly.” Smoking around the gerous under any con tank is dan- adding fuel. Somehow many motorists overlook the fact that the partially filled tank leaves more room for gas vapor than the one completely filled. th- nearly empty tank after the car has been agitat and the tank heated by the exhaust pipe. (Copyright, 1930, by the Russell Service.) Many Busses in Use. 1,032 communities in the United States having more than 10,000 population, according to the District of Columbia division of the American Automobile Association. N Automotive exports are the major | tonnage of American steamships, ac- cording to George E. Keneipp, man: ager | T8 | of the District of Columbia division of | consist of a chamber mounted cutside | the American Automobile Association. itions, but espe- | clally so when removing the cap before | The most dangerous vapor rises from | Local bus service is now provided in | IN NEW AUTOMOBILE MODELS Special Dispatch to The Btar. DETROIT, Mich, July 12.—Engine design changes that will characterize seasonal new models are being revealed. Details will continue to be made public for three weeks, in the course of which the same number of new lines of cars have been scheduled for introduction. Virtually all of them concern new straight _eights on which production is going ahead. Summed up they bring to car opera- tors greater pcwer from more cylinders, added fiexibility in driving, faster ac- celeration w:r;:ill'educt.l«:ml'l of el?(‘lne noisz, ther with longer engine life. m"l"!l':e improvements are calculated to eliminate certain faults that have been charged to eight-cylinder power plants. One i difficulty of carburetion in cylin- ders No. 1 and No. 8. ause “eight” power plants use two cylinders more than the sixes and are therefore that from carbon accumulation and “sooting up” at each end New Carburetion. From this, the models of the present year have been largely freed the adoption of improved manifolds. The new motors coming now, however, and some that already have appeared with changes in them, have gone another step ahead in banishing it. This in- volves use of “duplex” or dual carbure- idon, which virtually means two carbure- tors in one. This mechanism has two outlets for the fuel mixture, each of which car- ries it to a separate intake. One intake feeds the inner group of four cylinders, while the other supplies the remaining four. Thus, the one carburetor is given what engineer: call a “double throat.” and :30" uniform distribution is achieved. Combined with the “downdraft” principle, whereby gravity is made to expedite fuel combustion, certain en- | gineers claim that fuel efficlency is im- proved from 12 to 15 per cent. y What has been termed “power roar in straight eights also has been under research by the engineers. While not an_unpleasan' noise, power roar made itself audible during spurts of accelera- tion and also at speeds above 35 miics an hour. Experimental work in the lab- oratory and on the highway locaied the cause of it not in exhaust, where most noises of this nature have origianted, but in the intake. Noises Eliminated. Accordingly, intake silences or muf- flers have been devised. As now ap- plied, these devices dampen out the noise and keep it from “telegraphing' through the chassis to parts of the body that in some models have ampli- fled it until it became offensive. With all-steel type bodies, the silencers will have a real job. A third progressive step that engi- neering will bring into practice on new- | car designs is oil cooling or tempera- ture regulation. The extensive adop- tion of oil coolers this year was fore- cast at the recent Summer assembly of the Society of Automotive Engineers at French Lick, Ind. In one address delivered during the sessions, it was predicted that oil cool- ers will be as popular as ofl filters in | the near future. “Meantime,” this engineer added, “dependence will be | placed upon aluminum crank cases and oil pans with maximum ability for air- | cooling the oil.” | Improved Cooling. New oil coolers soon to be seen will More Power, Added Flexibility, Faster Acceleration and Reduction of Engine Noises Are Noted. W water in the radiator will . By this be possible to reduce engine tempera- tures, with less wear on bearings and less heat due to high crankshaft speeds and high compression. The general engineering attitude is that because of the extra power at Eoing o drive. e Tastey S hes ol lve em faster did the sixes. Therefore, they are fore- stalling the need for improved cooling to give the new engines maximum use- iclng Wi posini reptacumens of parts Ic with possible repl t of parts through destruction by heat. As to fuel economy ‘in the eights, the engineers say the munft obtain- able from one gallon of gasoline should compare favorably with what the sixes show, if the extra power and capability that t:l!‘d ::llhll are bullt to develop much longer, there used to be trouble | is figu (Copyright, 1930. by North American News- paper Alliance.) — AUTO DISTRIBUTOR WARNS AGAINST UNCLEAN CAR Oscar Coolican Says Machine Must Be Kept Free From Dirt. “A clean car generally is an efficient, satisfactory car.” This axiom is gmpmmded by Oscar , automobile distributor, who is convinced that there are plenty of available facts to sustain it. “Trouble hides under dirt,” Mr, Cooli- can says. “Every mechanic and every shop foreman knows that many a car ailment, or tmwntm ailment, is buried beneath a thick layer of grease, mud, or ofl—cakted‘ m ‘This is true about every part of car, but especially so with regard to the motor. “An engine that is caked with grease and dirt is a splendid breading place for mechanical troubles. Wires become rotten, carburetor and ofl lines become wner's eye, and even a slight crack ir the block is not visible. “These are but a few of the tl the owner of a car whose engine is dirt-encased should think about. The same principle applies to every other portion of the 3 it is to any other high-class machinery, or to a human being. In fact, every axiom extolling the virtues of cleanliness with regard o humans will be found to have a_ meaningful application to the motor vehicle. “No more practical advice could be given to the motorist of today than to keep his automobile clean, inside and out, and from front to back, if he wishes to derive from it 100 per cent of service and satisfaction. 42,800 School Busses. There are now 42,000 busses operated for students in 16,500 rural consolidated schools, according the District of Columbia division of the American Au- tomobile Association. s No Insurance for This. From the Wheel “I hear that Bill is suffering from an automobile accident.” “Yes. He got an earache from his | the crankcase, through which all the | wife's back-seat driving A lower price now buys a seTTER IDE SoTo Six @ @ It was characteristic of De Soto engineers that even while the famous De Soto Six was enjoying unprecedented popularity—in fact, setting a sales record for a first-year car ==they were working to improve it. And it was characteristie 810 AND UP~F. O. B. FACTORY Roadster, $310; Phaeton, §830; Busi- ness Coupe, $830; De Luse Coupe, $860; Four-Door Sedan, $875: Conversible Coupe, $945. All prices f. o. b. factory. WITH THESE FEATURES Chrysler-designed, high-compression engine, using any grade gasoline. of De Soto manufacturing genius that factery efficiency The bantam car is here! You who thrill to smartness, the sleek beauty of efficient design, the thrift of econemical peformance—by all means see this jaunty bantam car. It is now on exhibition—note the kept pace with engineering advances. As a result, the finer traffic, turns completely around with one swing on the average city street and parks in spaces that other cars despair of. More than 500 cups and medals, won in eight years of competition with cars De Soto Six—a better car at a lower price—is eo able in performance, so attractive in appearance and so econom- address below. It will surprise you that so much motor car efficiency could be assem- bled in so small a space. In here is not only room but comfort — even for six footers and two hundred pounders. The springs are long and ‘with piston rings of tongue and groove construction. Internal four-wheel hydraulic brakes, Pallpressure lubrication—rubber insu- lation of engine—counterweighted —camshaft driven by silent chain —thermostatic heat control — ical in operation and maintenance that it not only outstrips everything in its price class today, but anticipates the future. .. MHE FINER supple. There are four-wheel brakes —an ample compartmeat for pack- ages— everything that you expect in a car. Yetwith this difference—the Austin is far friendlier to your pocketbook. Its cost is but % of a cent a mile for gas, oil and tires! You can actu. ally save money by keeping an Austin along with your larger car—it costs s0 little to run. And what a car! It speeds to forty in second—does better than fifty in high. Small and adroit it darts through chromium-plated lamps—fuel pump— fuel filter—air cleaner. Steelweld Body—no joints—utmost solidity—a distinct advance in body CHRYSLER MOTORS PRODUCT of all classes the world over, testify to the soundness of Austin’s mechanical de- sign.We now present it for your approval. See it—at the address below. | | ) E BRILLIANT B orTo SEX SOTO® lla’i'l‘ Cagrright 1998 br Do Sote Moter Corparntien THE AMERICAN uste <+« come and bring your prejudices with you! WORTHY COMPANION CAR TO T DISTRICT MOTOR COMPANY 1337 14th St. N.W. 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