Evening Star Newspaper, November 29, 1931, Page 61

In the Motor World || BY G. ADAMS HOWARD. license tags will be mailed out starting tomorrow, do- ing away with the usnal rush that generally occurs dur- the coming month. Many certificates of title have not been obtained and, therefore, it is im- perative that those who would drive during the early part of next year delay no longer. The director of traffic is standing pat on the statement, “No title, no tags.” ! PPLICATIONS for thé™1932 Traffic Lane Rules. Most of the opposition to the present uniform method of ak- ing a left-hand turn has died out as. was expecied. But what is causing congestion and trouble is the fact that many motorists will not keep in the proper traffic lanes. It is the right time for a little police enforcement upon the subject. Those who will not abide by the regulations pertaining to the lanes should be made to do 80, and a small fine here and there will do a lot to bring this about. It is noticeable lately that many policemen stationed at interser tions either do not know or are negligent in the carrying out ot a most important duty The present regulations state that the motorist in an intersection desir- ous of making a left-hand turn has the right of way over through traffic that has not yet reached | the intersection. Many police- men pay no attention to this fact and keep waving through traffic on, even should some of the stragglers be half a block away. Police Negligence. If the policeman does not do the right thing and wave those awaiting a turn left, how in the world is the average driver to know what to do at intersections not controlled by policemen? A little better supervision of the of- ficers of the law is unquestion- ably needed. Out of one of the large en- gineering laboratories comes an announcement that the new au- tomobiles offering higher com- pression will be an aid in cutting down the number of accidents on the streets and highways. There is a lot of truth in the assertion. Many people think first of their brokes when trouble lies ahead. In some instances this thought is all right, but not always. Speed- ing the car up ofien will allow the driver to escape a mishap with no harm to any one else. The more flexible a car is the easier it will be to temporarily speed the car up. Advertising of this fact appears better than the mere statement that a particular make will make 100 or more miles per | hour. Anti-Freeze Costs. The warm weather of the past | weeks has made some warnings about radiator care appear fool- ish, but the cold days are coming, nevertheless. It has, however, held back, at least in this section of the country, a large amount of the anti-freeze business. 'That business amounts to a lot of money annually, for according to estimates ‘based upon statistics of | 1930 and 1931, more than $40,000,- 000 dollars was spent in the pro- tection of radiators. A depression in ‘his business | will be one of short duration for the cold weather eventually will cause motorists to buy arcund 35,000,000 gallons of denatured alcohol and other anti-freeze solutions in addition to a large amount of glycerin. Most_important along the au- tomobile horizon are the reports of the coming shows which are now beginning to filter their way into various minds at frequent intervals. * Auto Show Interest. With the automobile industry generally taking more interest in the 1932 national automobile shows than for some seasons past, aggressive effort from various sources_ promises to make these shows highly interesting to the public and industries allied with automobile production. It now is realized how important the shows are as factors in the return to normaley. With this thought in mind, producers, to a large extent, have made a determined and succes ful effort to offer to a waiting public car designs with greater eye-appeal, increased riding com- fort, greater operating and main- tenance economy, and also to de- velop an operating control which simplifies speed-gear shifts and clutch movement to almost a ges- | ture. There is no doubt that an array of much that is new will be offered at the New York show in Grand Central Palace, Janu- ary 9 to 16, inclusive, and subse- quently at Chicago in the Coli- seum, January 30 to February 6. Most Strikng Development. Perhaps the most striking de- velopment, as revealed by the early announcements of new models, is the assault on the clutch and its companion, the transmission or gearset. Just as the industry years ago centered | its effort in eliminating the lever- controlled planetary transmiss and substituted the clutch and MOTOR DON'TS DON'T PUT THE WRONG GREASE TRANSMISSION Using improper LUBRICANT IN THE TRANSMISSION OF p. A CAR WITH FREE-WHEELING MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTIES THESE COLD MORNINGS. A GREASE ToO HEAVY MAY PREVENT THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE ROLLERS: SEE THE DEALER FROM WHOM You BOUGHT| YOUR CAR- HE CARRIES THE GREASE YOU SHOULD BE USING. - changes by the mere act of touch- | body units. n, | Dess recovery, THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C.,, NOVEMBER 29, 1931—PART FOUR. Hzear”x, so has the engineer this | season turned his attention to | the clutch and transmission. Al- \ready one ,manufacturer has |adopted as standard equipment on his models what is, in brief, |the “automatic” clutch. The sim- ple operation of this enables-gear ing a button with the foot. For those experts who delight to ex- hibit their skill in clashless shifts up or down, the new clutch will !be a revelation The automatic type or devices |of a similar nature for clutch vontrol, .was a logical answer to the demand of the driving pub- lic, particulsrly women, and to the ultimate trend toward sup- plying the torque required to | start and move the car without |effort on the operator's part. | With the new controls, the en- |gineer is approximating the | smooth, high-torque getaway of | the steam engine and the electric | vehicle. i Mounting Advances. { The new engines will | marked advances in mountings | Already one or more manufac- | turers have made novel use of rubber for obtaining a “floating” power plant. Other similar a | plic are quite likel | least, there are rumors in the | dustry of new methods for mak- ing the engine vibrationless. | There should be some surprises in this line at the show. One of the many features of the 1932 models will be the newer provisions made for riding com- fort and roadability. Among the former is adjustment of the shock absorbers from the seat. This is a step in the right direction, since all roads are not as smooth |as billiard tables. With practical control, plus marked improve- ments in riding comfort, the day’s mileage can be stepped up appreciably with no discomfort. | Several of the companies at the shows will exhibit partly dis- sected or cutout chasses, showing how these improved features op- erate. There is an indication that wheelbases will be slightly in- creased, and this lengthening probably is more marked in the popular or low-priced fields. The argument that the short wheel- base car is ideal for city use— that is, parking—apparently has lost its appeal, and longer wheel- bases on the low-priced cars in- dicate the public’'s demand. Im- proved steering gears and link- age permit easy parking of the new models. Advance Information. Advance information indicates a lower center of gravity in the new car and that larger tire sec- tions will be favored. The drop base or drop center rim will be seen in greater numbers. Generally speaking, the new designs of bodies will be longer and wider, affording more gener- ous seating accommodations than in the past, although last year’s bodies were generous. Better streamlining will ‘be revealed, as well as new treatments of exterior The trend is for these to flow into the outline of the car. Elminating wind re- sistance is a problem the body designer has been giving eareful study during the past year and innovations may be expected. Rumor has it that some new twelves and sixteens will be un- covered at the show. Eights doubtless will predominate and of these it can be said that the new models will give greater mileage the gallon of fuel, due to better vaporization and control, and to improvements in engine components having a bearing on fuel consumption. Similarly the new power plants will be more economical to lubricate. Automatic Starting. Another new feature is auto- matic starting. Years ago a well known American manufacturer brought out a form of automatic starting, but it was not generally adopted. The device provided for restarting the engine if it stalled in operation or in traffic. Provision against stalling will be seen on several of the 1932 mod- els, another example of the in- dustry making the automobile safer and requiring less effort and, perhaps, skill on the part of the operator. There is every reason to be- lieve that numerous innovations and improvements will make 1932’s product highly desirable from every viewpoint, and visito: at the New York and Chicago e: hibitions will find much that is {highly interesting from the standpoint of appearance, econ- omy of operation, comfort and smartness. CONGRESS T ACT ON BUS CONTROL| Need for Federal R;u]ation Seen | by Association of Op- | erators. With maximum efficiency of all trans- | | portation agencies essential to busi- the forthcoming Con- gress is expected to take up in earnest | the need for Federal regulation of in- | terstate bus lines, according to the | National ~Association of Motor Bus Operators | |~ The bus association pointed out that while intrastate bus lines are now con- trolled by the State and the District | | of Columbia, there is an unhealthy condition as regards interstate lines. “Proposed legislation,” said the or-| ganization of bus operators, “provides for control of interstate lines by joint | | boards of the commissions in States| involved, with right of appeal to the Interstate Commerce Commission _on disputed points. Such legislation has the approval of the I. C. C. and is sup- ported by operators of all important| | bus lines. ! |~ “At the present time, some bus lines cross State boundaries solelv for the | purpose of escaping State regulation as | intrastate lines. The res: 2 | State commissions have little ¢ i over these companies in ¢ ding rig enforcement of the fartors which have mace busses the sa‘cst means of high- way transportation.” While a definite program for legisla- | | tion to be submitted to the forthcoming | | Congress will probably not be drafted | | until” early in the session, members of both the Senate and the House, who have been impressed with the need for Federal regulation of bus lines, are al- ready giving considerable thought to the problem, sald the association. Sl reveal THE ONLY DRAWBACK TO A 0 THANKSGIVING DINNER AT GRANNYS WAS THE LONG BUMPY RIDE HOME. U 27,0 LTSN B193) M.y TRIBUNE , 185C . CONGRESS T0 HEAR HIGHWAY PLANS Road Expansion Programs for Unemployed Will Be Presented. Expansion of road-buflding programs | for the relief of unemployment, as well | as to relieve traffic congestion on the | highways and reduce accidents from | motor vehicles, will be proposed to Con- | gress in numerous measures as soon as | it meets, according to W. R. Smith, president of the American Road Build- ers’ Association. Radio Address Planned. “The use of road building for unem- ployment relief will be emphasized in 40 radio addresses delivered by leading Lighway authorities in all parts of the | country on December 8,” declared Mr. Smith. “These talks will accentuate the fact that road building for unem- ployment relief was tested during the past year and it has been found most cffective in putting men to work promptly. More than 1,000,000 men were employed directly on road and street work and 2,000,000 other men were kept busy furnishing supplies, raa- terials and equipment to workers. Road | building for unemployment relief has | a tremendous advantage, in_that it | brings a job to the worker. It is the | most widely distributed activity in the country. “Roads and streets can be bought at a bargain now,” continued Mr. Smith, “and the low cost tends to offsct the interest charges. ‘The increment in national wealth due to good roads will remain long after the depression is for- gotten.” Road Needs Apparent. “The need for highways is apparent to every man who drives a motor ve- hicle,” states the head of a Washing- ton news service in close touch with national opinion, “and it will be diffi- cult to convince a man who gets in a traffic jam every Sunday that there are anything like enough roads. More than cne-fifth of the country's population owns motor vehicles and the other four- fifths drive with them. “As to the needs for safe roads, a highway journal recites: “‘The curfew toils the knell of part- ing day. A line of cars winds slowly o'er the | ea, A pedestrian plods his absent-minded wa; y. And leaves the world uncxpectedly.’” Convention Topics. Details of low-cost highways to con- nect the main traveled roads with paved byways, as well as to relieve un- employment through a wide distribution of jobs, will be the principal subject at the meeting of the Association of As- phalt Paving Technologists on January 15 during the Twenty-ninth Annual Convention and Road Show of the American Road Builders' Association in Detroit in January. This association of asphalt experts is composed of leading asphalt chemists and engineers in the United States and Canada. New machines that make posgible the construction of low-cost roads at & con- siderably reduced cost and at & rapid rate will be featured. These machines will be on display during the exposition and opportunity to examine and study them will be afforded every one. In addition to a study of machines, many committee reports will be pre- sented. Mineral fillers, the cracking of ravements due to weather changes and modern improved paving practice will be considered by committees. Addresses will be heard ‘on low-cost plant-mix construction, simplification of tests for liquid asphalts, the surface relation be- tween asphalt films and mineral ag- gregates, surface treatment of earth roads with asphaltic ofls and the adap- tation of the stability test to coarse asphaltic paving mixtures. PRODUCTIONV IjEEI:INES Natural Gasoline Records First Annual Fall in 1930. The trend of natural gasoline pro- duction, consistently upward sincc its beginning, showed 'a marked reversal | in 1930, when the output failed to sur- pass the 1929 total. The production in 1930 amounted to 2,210,494,000 gallons as compared with 2.233688,000 galldns in 1929, a decrease of 1.0 per cent, ac- cording to the United States Bureau of Mines, Department of Commerce. In spite of this decline, the United States still ranks far ahead of the other na- t'ons in natural gasoline production. In 1929 the latest vear for which com- n'ete world figrres now are available, | United Sttes produced 91 per cent Johnny Powell, connected with the aul.omobli’le radiator, fender and body repair business in Washington, an- nounces that on December 1 he will enter business under his own name. This new enterprise will be located &t 1118 Twentleth street northwest. LARGE PURCHASING HELD AHEAD ON AUTO INDUSTRY'S HIGHWAY Next Business Boom Probably Will Find Public Disposed to Enjoy Spending Rather Than Investing. Prospects of future sales running to unprezedented records are giving the motor industry new impetus. Recently it has become apparent to many stu- dents of trends that while the imme- diate future holds promise of a re- placement demand of proportions never before known to the automobile | trade. there will be entirely new and | significant demands of other kinds within the next few years. It is said that there would be a market for at least a million more cars if present safety measures were more effective in curbing accidents. New Groups of Buyers. An entirely new group of moneyed people will grow to impressive pur- chasing stature with the next major rise in the stock market. As a certain stimulant to new sales the manufacturers always have their engineering departments to rely upon in the creation of wholly new types of cars. That_this stimulant has not beon more effectively used in the past is due largely to the industry's desire | to retard obsolescence, or at least hold it in check, ownership from becoming an extrava- gance. The disposition at present is to as- sume that the major buying will come with a return of the former purchas- ing power of the present unemployed. One trade journal estimates that tnc unemployed sacrificed a possible in- ! come of $5,000,000,000 during the first half of the year. Old timers, however, are pointing to the fact that the au- tomobile achieved its popularity be- cause of the buying of the wealthy i first, and foresee the impressive de- mand of the near future stimulated largely through the buying behavior of those who want the newest and best and who can afford it. Hunger to Follow Suit. When better automobiles are built, and bought by those who can afford them, many will acquire a natural hunger to follow suit. People work harder to earn enough to enjoy such possession. Automobiles always have been a powerful stimulus for joining the parade of the prosperous. Accelerating the enormous _antici- pated replacement demand is the fail- ure of many millions of owners to buy sufficient service. While the service stations are reporting an_increase in repair work, it is felt that not one owner out of 25 orders as much service as he needs. This is accelerating car wear. The idea many have of making the old car do still another year may not work. Perhaps the most interesting com- mentary on the predicted buying is that contained in a recent editorial in which the theory is advanced that in the next business boom those who make money will invest it in mink coats and 16-cylinder cars, rather than in in- vestments promising future financial security. Too many people have dis- covered that they could have had & good time with their money. Important Factor. Another important factor which on first thought seems to run_contrary to the belief that there will be an inevitable return to extravagant ten- dencies is the realization that the mod- ern car is anything but Engineers know it and are straining at the leash in an effort to put on the in order to prevent car | economical. | | market numerous new ideas in design. It would be an easy matter for the industry to justify the offering of wholly new types of cars using economy as the excuse. Offer of*such cars in either good or bad times would greatly swell _sales. A poing which only the economists comb are able to discover is the effect of the year's trend toward purchase of lower priced cars. If the old rule that you get what you pay for holds, bought this year ready for replacement. It is not to be expected that a crop of, let us say, 2,000,000 cars of the $900 or under price class are going to machines in the $1,500 category. Potential Buyers. No estimate has been made of the number of potential buyers. This would include the millions of persons who now do not own cars of any description. When are they going to ‘buy? One answer is that they will come into the active market when the industry discovers who they are, individually, and makes the necessary sales appeal. A survey of one high-priced apart- ment revealed that there were many occupants without cars. The reasons were interesting as well as varied. Three persons in the building were beyond the age where they feit they | should undertake to learn to drive, but had no one to drive for them. | While able to afford a car they were not able to afford paid chauffeurs. | Two women, widows, were planning to buy cars in the near future but had | not been asked to buy. They had not taken the trouble to do any actual shopping and were on no automobile dealer's mailing list. ‘There were in the apartment a num- ber of young people who desired cars of their own. Two of them could have persuaded their elders to sign on the dotted line had there been some as- sistance from automobile salcsmen. The other minors were either graduating from college in a few years or were pre- | paring to embark upon the business yworld. They were already thinking of | ears of their own, purchased out of | their own income. On one street in a typical suburban | district where there are no homes selling | for less than $25,000 there are only two out of seven families with more than one car. Each family can afford two cars. In each there is an extra person | who' could learn to drive. In several | of the homes there are two persons be- | sides the owner who can drive and who | could use cars to good advantage. One | of the homes cost $60,000, is occupied by people of means and has but two cars, 11928 models, in a three-car garage. | Nation Only Half Sold. | With an increasing realization that America is less than half sold on auto- mobiles the fear of the saturation point | becomes less of a factor in checking sales_aggressiveness. There is & grow- ing disposition to view th= future with new confidence and a belief that im- proved roads, fewer hazards, better cars and a greatly increased desire to travel will combine to open up new domestic markets counted in terms of millions. Easier operating cars alone will bring into the market hundreds of thousands of women, semi-invalids and even cripples. Big buying is ahead on the automobile post_road. (Copyright, 1931, by the Russell Service.) OPPOSITION TO LESSENED BUS SPEED IN MARYLAND Automobile Club of Maryland Offi- cial Holds It Unfair to Differeutiate. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, November 28.—Strenu- ous objection to the proposal of Harold E. West, chairman of the puBlic servicd commission, that passenger busses and other large commercial vehicles be limited to a speed considerably less than that of private automobiles was expressed this week by the president of the Automobile Club of Maryland and by the director of the Baltimore Safety Coumcil. H. N. Abercrombie, president of the Automobile Cluh, said: “I don't see how you can differentiate between the two classes of vehicles as to speed limit. It is better to place them all under the rane restriction and see that they obey it. “The day is com.ng when the ques- tion of speed wili be ninated in the consiaeration of traffic prcblems, and the driver will be placed under the obligation of determining for himse!f what he considers a safe rate of travel.” John P. Rostmeyer, director of the Baltimore Safety Council, made similar protests against Mr. West's proposal. Mr. Rostmeyer declared that compe- tent driving, with automobile, bus and truck operators “safety-minded,” is the best way to eliminate accidents. |ALWAYS RIGHT TO KEEP TO RIGHT, SAYS DEALER In Going to Left Around Circles Motorist Igncres Funda- mental Principle. ‘Washington motorists frequently wit- ness the phenomenon of tourists driv- | ing confusedly to the left around the | city's many circles. This occurs, says Oscar Coolican, local automobile dis- tributor, because tlg' stranger has un- thinkingly ignored a fundamental rule of the road, an error which the Wash- ington motarist might commit under the same cftcumstances in another city with which he was unfamiliar. If every motorist always bore In pmind that it is always right to keep to the right,” says Mr. Coolican, “this dis- | concerting, confusing blunder would | not be made. It is not always easy to |sce a sign warning the driver to keep to the right at a circle or a_square. | However, if the driver goes to the right | he never will be wrong. “At squares there may be times when it is permissible to go to the left, as at the point where @ixteenth street runs into H street at Laiavelie Square. But even under such conditions as this, if he has the slightest doubt, | stranger should keep to the right until he knows the way.” . Gasoline consumption in 1930 in- creased 5.3 per- cent as compared to 1929, according to the D. C. dmflm of the A. A. A, who study trends with a fine tooth | then 1933 will find many of the cars | last as long as the same number of | the | A A A BANS AID T0“GUEST RIDERS Motoring Body Opposed to New Transportation Idea. At its recent annual meeting here the Advisory Committee on Touring of the American Automobile Association unan- imously adopted a resolution urging member clubs of the A. A. A. not to lend aid to persons seeking transporta- | tion in privately-owned automobiles or | to automobile owners seeking passengers. The resolution was adopted following | an extensive discussion of the growth of | the “guest suit” racket, which has of | 1ate received an impetus from the ac- tivities of so-called “travel bureaus” | offering tc secure more or less free transportation in private cars for per- sons willing to pay a fee to the bureau Reasons Explained. Explaining the reasons behind the ad- | monition to A. A. A. clubs, Willlam G. | Bryant of Detroit, Mich., chairman of | the National Touring Board of the |A. A A, sald: - | . “Motor clubs affiliated with the Amer- | ican Automobile Association cannot af- | ford to be in any way connected with practices that may aid racketeering in | ‘guest suits’ and which may well in- | volve viclence to passengers carried in | strange cars, or to the owners of cars carrying strange passengers. “Our clubs have as a matter of pol- | icy looked with disfavor on the prac- | tice of secking transportation for people or passengers for cars, but the tremen- dous dimensions assumed by the ‘guest suit’ evil, the frequent instances of hold-ups and violence and the commer- cializing of the business of securing transportation for strangers or passen- gers for strange cars calls for even greater caution on the part of our clubs. “As a general rule, the statutes of the various States and the attitude of the courts is still such as to place the driver or owner of a car on the de- fensive in damage suits arising out of accidents involving injuries to guests. Action of Eight States. “To date eight States—namely, Cali- fornia, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon and Vermont—have taken legislative action looking to the more specific determina- tion and limitation of liability in ac- cidents involving guests or _persons transported free of charge. The laws in these States are generally to the | effect that no guest in a motor ve- hicle shall have cause for action against the owner or operator unless injuries received ‘shall have been intentional on the part of the owner or caused by his heedlessness,’ to quote the opinion of the United States Supreme Court in upholding the Connecticut lJaw on own- er liability for injuries to guests. “The laws referred to have not peft haps been sufficiently long on the statute books to permit definite infer- ences as to thelr efect in coping with the ‘guest suit’ evil. While the laws should be extended to other States, the important thing at the moment is that j motorists should realize the financial hata;d to which they are being sub- jected. T Racket Abetted by Bureaus. “The ‘guest sult’ racket is abetted by the large number of agencies and bu- reaus with high-sounding names that are engaged in the business of securing transportation for passengers in private cars and in aiding motorists to secure passengers. Oftentimes these concerns assume little responsibility and the mo- torist who lends the use of his car to further their activities takes a double chance. Not only does he face the pos- sibility of a suit for damages in case of | Injury to nis passenger, regardless of the cause of the accident, but also the danger of robbery or violenct LOS ANGELES PROTECTS CHILDREN BY TUNNELS |Reduction in Accidents Seen as Subway Construction Is Com- pleted Near Schools. Last year some 15,000 people known as pedestrians were killed through va- rious combinations of aimless and careless motoring and pedestrianism. | What the toll will be for 1931 is not entirely a matter of conjecture, for records of recent years show that the | figures for the previous year may be taken as a minimum. Los Angeles several years ago reco | nized the responsibility of a city to s | school children and after experimental | work 48 pedestrian nels were in- stalled under busy streets near s-hools, | Last Spring money was made available | for the building of an additional 50 of | thes> underground passagew: | Since the installation of the first tunnels there has been a gratifying reduction in motor vehicle accidents to school children, according to infor- mation received from E. B. Lef manager, public safety department ‘Auwmobue Club of Southern Cali- ' e e e e T e e e |TRANSMISSION CHANGES HELD MAIN STRUCTURAL ADVANCES 1932 Models to Be a Combination of Synchro-Meshing and Free- Wheeling Principles. Special Dispatch to The Star. DETROIT, November 28.—Combina- tlon of synchro-shifting or meshing with the free-wheeling principle rep- resents the main structural advance in the transmissions of forthcoming 1932 models. Union with “syncro” is being made with the aim of eliminating cer- tain hazards resulting from careless driving for which free wheeling has been blamed. Concessions Made. Proponents of both syncro-mesh and the free wheel ideas, thereby are mak- ing mutual concessions to each other in the acceptance of features which up to now have found individual favor. United in single ensemble as the 1932 cars are to embody them, silence and smoothness in deceleration will be joined to ease and simplicity of shifting in the forward gears. To compensate for the changes, the braking of the 1932 jobs is to be more positive in operation and will require brake lining better able to withstand added friction, together with larger drums to give the shoes more grip. One plant in the Michigan area is being turned over to the production of a new type of drum lined with cast iron, which is said to combine the advantages of iron with the lightness, smoothness and strength of steel. It is to be built for cars in which free whedfng is standard. Enhanced by Steamlining. Syncro and free wheeling operation in new models is to be further en- hanced by steamlining both bodies and parts. In the parts it will apply to such small items as door and hood handles, with the object of saving en- gine power. Such economy distributed over the entire exterior of an automo- bile becomes effective around 45 miles an hour and upward —no longer un- usual speed for the average machine. Removal of visors from windshields gives a like result and owners are to find that the steamlined models will cost less for fuel because wind resist- ance is less at almost every point. An innovation new to America is to be shown for the first time at the au- tomobile salon opening in New York on Sunday. This is a door which can be opened two ways. With two han- dles on it instead of one, it swings out either from the front or the rear on hinges that latch and unlatch auto- m::ilcfllly whichever handle may be used. The new type of door has been built into a Brunn custom body on & new Milady’s ‘The accelerator is one of those things that can stand a depression without slowing down. Not many people seem able to re- member just what happened immedi- ately prior to an accident, so the | woman who recalled that the horn of before she crashed into another ma- chine has done motorists in generdl a real service. She has brought to light the fact that often two approaching motorists sound their horns at identi- cally the same moment, so that the warning effect is neutralized. If the horn doesn't sound just right when you toot it at a crossing maybe you hear a blell?d with another warning. Watch out! One of the latest devices is a time switch to snap on the garage lights at a certain predetermined hour. drives home from the theater alone and instead of entering a darkened garage 1 she meets the cheery assurance of the protection which light alone affords. It is also possible to use the switch to turn j Off the lights after you have driven out of the garagc—a double challenge to prowlers. ‘This recalls the policy of one woman who never parks her car at night with- out leaving the tonneau light on. She claims it is a comfortable feeling to know that when you return to the car there isn't any chance of some one hid- | ing away on the floor directly behind | you. I don't know just how much need there is for such protection but I re- member a number of times switching on the light after taking the wheel just | to make sure I did not have any un-| wanted guests. So many filling stations are offering new and novel services a woman natu- | rally feels a little perplexed at times. The other day an attendant offered to | pour the contents of a can of rust pre- | ventive into_the radiator, but the cus- | tomer objected. “I have anti-frecze in | the cooling system now,” she argued, | “so you had better not experiment. It so happened that she was using | an anti-freeze that already contained rust preventive, which is simply oil that mixes with water, but in many cases the addition of the special oil would be | a decided advantage. The best policy | in a case of this sort is to consult your car dealer. There's a campaign under way to en- courage all service men to wipe off the steering wheel with a clean cloth before turning the car back to the customer. So far so good. But there's another thing to watch out for and I can explain it best by citing an actual experience, Just because she had work done only underneath the car a woman owner selt that it was not necessary for her to b2 particular about her clotaing when d ing to a dinner party that cvening. Arriving at her destination, however, she was chagrined to find that there was a bad smudg> of greas: on ths front of her best evening gown. The dress had touched the aluminum edge of the running board which the mechanic had grasped with his greasy hands when get- ting under the car. If the brakes become decidedly worse as you use them through the day but are all right in the morning, especially if the morning happens to b> damp, the indications are that the brakes need ad- justing. A woman who took this up with a service man learned that since drums expand away from the brak> shoes with increase in heat it is natural | that internal expanding brakes tend to | become _less effective’ as they are over | used. The way to overcome this is to !/ have the shoes given a closer adjustment. Speaking of the changes that have come about in feminine motoring an official of a motor company refers to the old days when “a woman was con- tent to take her place behind the steer- ing lever of a staid, old-time electric and pursue a calm, dignified course through the less crowded thorough- fares.” Very good, but let's check some of the unsuspected thrills the woman fl;iver of yesterday met in her motor . Do we stop to realize that she free wheeled? There was no compression braking with an electric vehicle. The car virtually coasted whenever momen- tum was built up and she switched off |current. Do we realize what a thrill it was to drive a top-heavy conveyance which could be upset easily if she ;pushed that stecring lover a little mo} —_— | Authorized Distributors | Delco Batteries BY FREDERICK C. her car seemed a bit discordant just| Milady | 145-inch Lincoln chassis, which is to be among 16 others in the salon ex- hibit. The door mechanism was found in Italy by Hermann Brunn, dean of the custom body builders, whose cosch- work is famous both in America and Europe. The body on which it is shown in the salon is a sport cabriolet type, which has two doors of unusual width, Other Lincoln cars entered for salon display include a coupe and two-win- dow Berlin by Judkins, a town cabrio- let and convertible roadster by Le Bafon; a stationary coupe, convertible sedan and sport Berlin by Murphy of Los Angeics. a town car by Bediston and a victorrs hy Waterhouss. On the Pierce-Arrow chasis there will be four Le Baron body types and one Brunn town car with a new roof conversion feature, providing an en- closed drive limousine transformation. The Pierce-Arrow models are to be mounted on the new 147-inch wheels base chassis, which has the 150-horse- power 12-cylinder engine. Engine Construction. A detail of engine construction - neered in one General Motors model of 1931 is to be utilized in other new models to be revealed prior to the Na- tional Automobile Show in New York early in January. This is a General Motors development, which consists of :::ctro»plafing cast iron pistons with Tin, of all the metals, has had only a slang application up to the present in reference to motor cars, but its use in the new way is nevertheless definite and by all accounts effective. The plating process is credited with giving the driving members in the en- gine longer life and improved perform- ance. The plating material is a soft alloy that makes possible hand-fitting of these parts more closely by thou- sandths of an inch than formerly. These pistons also provide a self- lubricating surface that is protection against scoring and piston slap. In case an engine overhaul may be neces< sary, they can be replated by dipping; making the surface as good as ever, even if it has been worn out of true shape. Pistons with tin-plating and of cast ircn material are an alternative for other pistons of aluminum alloy, which are lighter and therefore less noisy, although their durability as compared with iron is a debatable point among the engineers. 4 (Copyright. 1931, by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) Motoring RUSSELL. | far ahead? Apparently we have forgote ten how her heart beat when there was | a question as to whether she was going to be able to make the weakend battery last until reaching her destination. ‘The lady in the electric was a pioneer |in every sense, and & radical as well. | Men preferred gas cars. Today a woman at the whesl is just one of the crowd.. She isn't even ecr(nt{m ‘Topsy of the stage duo, the Duncan sisters, says that when she -goes to | heaven she desires just three things: | Two horns and a propeller. The jok» | of it is that most of her earthly sisters in these United States already have two horns and plenty of propulsion. The combination is indeed fast and furious, unlees wis2ly used. i 18 o Some people use the dual horns to give greater expression to the car’s | pswer and speedability; others use the horns to camouflage insufficient per- formance. In the one case the driver is always going too fast for conditions, relying on the advance notice the horns may give the street public to get out of the way. In the other case the excessive | horning is just a plain nuisance and occasionally a means of scaring persons who would not be unduly alarmed if allowed to judge for thomselves the | danger of the approaching car. LEFT-HAND TURNS CAUSE MORE ACCIDENTS | Three Times as Many Occur, Acs [ cording to Automotive Statistician. That three times as many accidents occur to drivers making left-hand turns as to those making right-hand | ones, is one of the findings reported to the Society of Automotive Engineers by Vietor W. Killick, California high= way statistician. “In making a left- hand turn at an intersection, a driver may put out his hand in the proper way and look backward to some ex- tent, but the angle of his clear vision is such that he cannot conveniently see very far backward and he frequent= ly does not observe the rapidly ap- proaching car following him. This is a primary cause of a large number of intersection accidents,” declares Mr. Killick, “and one which should be ob« viated by standards set up for defining the safe dimension of side and rear windows in all cars. In cars where window openings are inconveniently high. the driver is unconsciously com- pelled to give a right-hand turn signal when he intends to give a left-hand turn signal.” An analysis of 41,000 traffic accidents reveals that the largest percentage are collisions that occur at railway inter- sections or highway crossings. Chemicals Combat Ice. Several States where there is consid- erable snow or ice on th§ highways have adopted the use of cliemicals in conjunction with the sand-or cinders used heretofore to prevent skidding. Calcium chloride mixed with the sand or ashes causes it to imbed itself in the ice and prevents it from blowing away or being swept aside by passing cars. St g There are 2,000,000 motor cycles in the world, Controls carbon—keeps car- bon deposits from piling up in your cylinders. With Awutocrat, you have a perfet miston ring seal, you loss 1ess power through carbon. Try Autocrat the mext time you need oil, and judge its advantages for yourself. CREEL BROTHERS 1811 14th St. N.W. Decatur 4220 BAYERSON OIL COLUMBIA 5223