Evening Star Newspaper, January 31, 1932, Page 114

20 COMPETITION SEEN KEENER IN 1562 Industry and Public Will Be Equally Benefited, Says Sales Manager. BY J. W. LORANGER, General Sales Manager, Packard Motor Car Co. Competition is going to be keener in the automobile industry in 1932 than ever before. That is going to mean much to the industry naturally, It is also going to mean much to the public. Keen competition has had a big part in the progress made in the manufac- of automobiles. It has had a very considerable part in the development of the motor car to its present high state. | It has always characterized the in-| dustry Start of Competition. the manufacture of automobiles competition starts at the engineer's drawing board. It follows to the chem- | ist in his laboratory and to the work-| man at his machine. Not a small part lies with the heads of individual units in their decisions governing quality of the product. It is felt long before new models make their appearance and it | has resulte year after year in better | automobiles With markets narrowed by general | business conditions the competition of 1932 has made itself strongly evident| in the new automobiles now being ex- | hibited at the annual automobile shows The public will agree that the engineers have outdone the best efforts they have ever before shown The public need for new cars is present. The new products of the in- | dustry offer the greatest values in the | history of motor cars. The knowledge is universal that renewed buying of | automobiles can be a great stimulus to | general business. Some answer to the question of the public’s ability to buy might be found in estimates of $28,000,- | 000,000 held by banks in savings ac- | counts, of $1,000,000,000 in hoarded | money and in a big increase in avail-| able deferred payment buying credit. | Further Stimulation. Competition among the country's automobile retailers may still further stimulate public interest and turn loose a big part of the country’s potential buying power. That is going to mean much in the solution of the unemploy- ment problem. Competition, therefore, is not only going to give the automobile buyer more for his motor car dollar than he ever obtained before, but, in addition, is going to_give him the op- portunity of doing “his bit” to hasten the return of better business. In WIRE WHEEL TREND | 4,000 Miles of Wire Used Last Year | by One Company. The trend toward wire wheels last year is reflected in the tremendous mile- age of wire used by one wheel company to manufacture wheels of this type Last year more than four thousand miles of wire were employed by this one company for this purpose, according to the compilation of a statistically-minded engineer. Company officials said that more than 90 per cent of all motor car production in 1931 was on steel or wire wheels, and they believe the coming vear will see steel wheels maintain their dominant position, The new steel artil- lery type wheel is rapidly coming into favor, according to these experts, and should do much to intrench steel wheels even more firmly in 1932. | uniformity COUNT D ESTAING BENVAMIN FRANKLIN THE FIRST TREATY OF THE NEW NATION WAS MADE WITH FRANCE EARLY IN [778. WHEN READ TO WAGHINGTON'S SOLOIERS T WAS GREETED WITH CHEERS AND SALUTES FOR IT MEANT MEN, MONEY AND AMUNTION. COUNT DESTAING , THE FRENCH ADMIRAL LEFT IMMEDIATELY FOR AMERICA WITH TWELVE SHIPS . TNL INFLUENCE. OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IN SECURING THE AID OF FRANCE CANNOT BE OVERESTIMATED. JANUARY 31, 1932—PART EIGHT. Copyright 1930 by Jumes W. Brocks AN Righis Reserved By James W. Brooks ot WASHINGTON SPENT THE FALL OF 177 IN STRENGTHENING HIS FORTIFICATIONS. THE PALISADES OF THE HUDSON RIVER PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN HIS PLANS DURING THE WAR AND WERE CONTROLLED BY THE AMEQICANS MOST OF THE TIME. TNAT WINTER WASHINGTON® QUARTERS WERE AT MIDDLEBROOK, NEW JERSEY. THL BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR FOUND GENERAL AND MRS, WASHINGTON 1IN PHILADELPHIA, GUESTS OF THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. ally Correet Sketched y CALVIN FADER 'UNIFORM PROTE_CTION METHODS | NEEDED AT GRADE CROSSINGS iElimination of Danger Spots Held Physical ‘ and Financial Impossibility, Involv- ing Serious BY R. H. AISHTON. In the interest of increased the public, there is & constantl necessity for the bringing in the methods highway grade untry In Railway Association afety to growing about _of of pro- crossings addition, tection at throughout the ¢ there should be State supervision over | the creation of new grade crossings, and uniform laws and codes relating to safety on the highways Pressing Problem. How to bring about incre at railroad highway grade has been a pressing problem that has faced the railroads for years. Elimi- nation of such crossings would naturally solve this problem, but that is both & physical and financial impossibility and even elimination of the most important ones involves serious financial questions Due to the increaseed use of the highways by motor busses, trucks and private automobiles, railroad expendi- tures for protection at railroad grade crossings have constantly inceased in the last 10 years Class I railroads in to a special study just completed by the Bureau of Railway Economics, spent $33,070,708 for the protection or elimi- nation of such crossings. Of that amount, $30,218,124 alone were spent for separation of grades, an increase of $4.514,845 over the amount expended for that purpose in 1929, and an in- crease of $3.923,972 above the amount spent in 1928 In 1930, there were 465 fewer fatali- ties resulting from accidents at railroad highway grade crossings than in 1929, and reports filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission for the fi months in 1931 a. slight re- duction for that period compared with the same period in 1930. There are however, altogether t0o T as a result of such ac question of providing tection is complicated by the fact that more than 25 per cent of the acciden at railroad highway grade crossings result from motorists crashing into the sides of trains Reduction Shown. The fact, however, that a reduction is being shown in the number of accidents at grade crossings would indicate a large part of the driving publi 1930, according Questions. endeavoring to co-operate with railroad and safety organizations, which are urging greater care in approaching and passing over railroad highway grade crossings. Due to the fact that various phases of afety and protection at railroad high way crossings are being handled by many interested parties, such as Feder- al, State, municipal and local govern- ments, motor vehicle associations civic and business organizations, and by railroad managements, there is a lack of uniformity in meeting the situation and in providing protection at such points. In the interests of safety to the public at large, Nation-wide uni- formity in methods of warning motor- ists of danger at railroad highway grade crossings would be advantageous, so that motorists traveling from State to State will have no difficulty in recog- nizing these warning signals | There should also be a designated | authority in each State to pass on the construction of new grade crossings. At the present time many States exer- | cise no definite regulation over this matter while in other States such au- thority is divided. There is also a lack of uniformity on the question of divid- ing the cost involved in the elimination | of grade crossings. In many instances | the burden of the cost is placed on the | railroad, although such elimination is largely for the benefit of the users of the public highways. Serious consider- ation should be given to this fact in apportioning the cost of grade crossing protection Safety Question Studied. ‘The National Conference on Street and Highway Safety has thoroughly ed the question of safety in an to reduce the number of acci- s on the highways and it is of the that without appropriate and form legislation, satisfactory results. so far as safety is concerned, cannot ained in the fullest measure. It learly in the public interest that the recommendations of the National Con- ference on Street and Highway Safety be adopted by the several States In order to bring about uniform | ctices and understanding among_ the ious railroad organizations and to in a concise and positive the recommendations of the ilroads embodying the latest thought in highway grade crossing protection, | the American Railway Association has | details of the standard signs, warning |in complete harmon | adopted by the |LAW OF COMPENSATION HELD ENGINEERS’ BIGGEST PROBLEM Tire Noises Now Come Into Focus as Car Bodies and Motor Engines Are Silenced. Automobiledom still wrestles with the speeds, but difficult problems arose | old 1aw of compensation. Not since the | under other conditions. The company | introduction of balloon tires and four- | had to abandon the extra soft cushions | wheel brakes have the brains of the in-|bcause passengers complained of too | dustry been so consistently reminded of | much bobbing. It was impossible to get the fact that “it is the law.” a steady ride at higher speeds The motoring public little appreci- | The penalty for many & motorist who | ates the constant combat with this law. | bought & balloon-tired car was a trip to | Every engineer faces it daily. Every |the hospital, but through a skillful sales manager has it to cope with. It | juggling of compensations the automo- is the nightmare of the service depart- | live engineer has made it possible to ment. The law can be violated to a|drive any modern balloon-tired car with certain extent and often this is the|safety. In place of the element of only way toward progress. But what risk—the factor of shimmying—he has price violation! [ubstituted complication ‘and service. n order to enjoy the advantages of Solve All Problems. | low-pressure tires the motorist is E-mmg There isn't any problem the auto- |10 &Ccept this alternative as a step to- | motive engineer cannot solve—if you|W%ard progress. don't mind having some other probiem | When balloon tires first came into to take its place. Entirely effortless |the picture few owners found it neces- steering gears can be built, but you |SAIY to consider more than the correct can't drive a car with one attached be- | toe-in of front wheels. Today there is = Tty ~— | cause you can't feel the road. Power | & complete sclence of front-wheel ge- appointed a joint Committee on grade can be stepped up to any limits, but |ometry and service stations everywhere crossing protection consisting of mem- | you would need to own a filling station. | are speclalizing in the sort of inspection bers representing the operating, safety, Ignore the law of compensation and the and service which the front end of the engineering and signal departments of automobile simply jumps out of the|modern car needs. the railroads. This Committee was| frying pan into the fire | Were it not for the need of watching instructed to recommend and to co- In an effort to provide the ultmost camber, caster, trunnion springs, front ordinate the activities of the railroads | in riding qualities engineers developed | end stabilizers and the numerous fea- I eomforming o the principles adopted, | & car that was unusually long. It looked | tures of front end science, car owners and to. provide @ medium by which | like the last word in comfort, but when | would be obliged to choose between giv- nblic_ authorities can be acquainted | it was tried out over the road the front | ing up low-pressure tires or the risk of Dith the most modern thought of the | Springs were found to exert peculiar|shimmy Tailfoads In these matters. It has|action over the rear ones. On concrete recently issued a manual on railway :\ligrgnge!hfo‘;nud—*&f e C:‘::!T(rd”';: 0 r ike crossing protection measures giving | STLEE b E Engineers continually struggle with the law of compensation when design- ing brakes. A system that was re- markably efficient at high speed. and | out being troubled by what it doesn't which looked to be the Utopia in brak- | want. This has been illustrated by ing, proved to be very troublesome for several different types of motors. ordinary stops. 5 One of them, for instance, develops orsepower sufficient to provide super- (TeeiMuchiEcbbior performance. According to the law of One company designed its car with |compensation. this meant either high extremely soft springs and soft-seat | gas consumption or complicated design cushions. Comfort was most satisfac- | The designers selected the latter. The over ordinary roads at ordinary! result is that the engine is not unrea- JOSEPH B. TREW, Second in command of the Washington Automotive Trade Association Seek & Safe Course. Engineers endeavor to pick a safe course between extremes and whenever and other devices. These are ‘def\mu]\' violating the law, they are with the standards National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. This joint committee offers its co-operation to any State. Highway or Railroad Commission, State Legislative Com- mittee or Automobile Association and will aid such organizations in any practicable way to bring about recom- mended practices in the interest of pre- venting accidents at railroad highway grade crossings. signals carefu! to juggle the compensations so that the public gets what it wants with- sonable on gas, but it so ingeniously constructed that the manufacturer has | to charge a high price for it. | " Another engine is relatively simple. It But it eats & lot of gas. It is built for people who don't mind how often they visit_the filling station so long as they can keep away from the service station | "'Some manufacturers have been reluc- tant to mount their engines on rubber, | since such mounting means & sacrifice |in front end rigidity. One company that has avoided the more flexible type | of mounting has been able to get over | the compensation hurdle by substituting | a new stabilizing feature is adds to | manufacturing costs and to the ultimate cost of the car to the buyer The designers cannot_always tell in advance what the public wants rather what it will stand for by way of the necessary compensations. Within the past few years the demand for something new has been so insistent that there have been a number of un- fortunate instances in which the law of compensation has not been skillfully handled. The public gets just what it pays for because it costs just so much for so much. Understanding Needed. If more motorists would understand what the engineer is up against there would be more satisfaction in car owner- ship. Every piece of mechanism, bit of design, every car for that matter, has its advantages and disadvantages Cater to the disadvantages and the ad- vantages will be more outstanding. Because there have been such great strides in silencing cars many persons entertain the notion that cars will soon be entirely The law of compensation sa If the engine is quiet you he and all the noises in the body. the exhaust and body and you he the tires. When an engine has no tap- pet noise all the deeper ones become more evident. Through some skillful | substitutions the engineers may be able to solve the silence problem as they have front end difficulties, but it will mean some sacrifice on the part of those who demand the utmost in quietness It is & constant battle. If the engi- neers could rst determine what the public doesn’t object to, he could work back from this point and offer the fea- tures which fit the situation. But the public is not one in its deman does it demand the same thinj year to year. So the battle goes on The law of compensation exacts its pound of flesh Copyright, 1932, by the Russel! Service Service Oil Filter. After 10,000 miles of driving, the filter element of the ofl filter becomes filled with dirt, sludge and other foreign mat- ter and should be serviced in order to function at its highest efficiency, C. W. McKinley, research engineer, advises. SPECIAL E | | MERSON & ORME achievement. B m | m m Celebrate Their 22nd ANNIVERSARY This is the twenty-second anniversary of Emerson & Orme in Washington—twen- ty-two years selling and servicing good automobiles to the public in Washington and vicinity. Throughout these years we have endeavored to increase and improve our fa- cilities as Washington has grown. A visit to our building will convince you of our This year more than ever successful automobile merchandising will be based on Value, Service and Reliability. We have always been proud of our reputation for these things in particular and we have done everything to maintain this enviable reputation. May we invite you to stop by our convenient store on your way either up or down town and renew your acquaintanceship with Emerson & Orme and Buick? EXTRA! turer in the industry. SPECIAL EXTRA! . too, develops an abundance of power. | ASKS SLOPING CURB FOR GITY TRAFFIC Auto Leader Says Replace- ment of Old Type Needed for Safety. leading advocates for expansion of our highway system to properly take care of ever increasing demands of the mo- torist, H. H. Franklin, president of the Franklin Automobile Co., also is devot~ ing considerable attention to city trafe problems. In this connection, Mr. Franklin fos- ters a proposal for the sloping curb to replace the vertical curb, and points out the advantages of the latter type. Replacement Welcomed. “I am certain that every motorist, especially those who do the major part of their driving in the cities, would more than welcome the replacement of | the present type vertical curb with the or | more modern sloping type,” Mr. Frank- lin said recently in an interview “The sloping curb has definite ad- vantages: in fact, splendid results have been attained in England where the sloping curb has been tested. This type of construction enables the driver to fairly hug the abutm rather than park some inches therefrom as is neces- sary with the present type of curb. With each driver parking his or her car close against the base of the slop- ing curb it provides more street room for moving cars, and this acts as & distinct aid in keeping a clear way for traffic. Another Good Factor. “Another excellent factor is the great- er safety when a car skids into a slop- ing curb with consequent less damage to tires and wheels. Still another argu- ment in its favor is the protection of running boards. In many instances the present type of vertical curb, which was built before the modern, low-swung car came into vogue, has proved a menace, not to mention the damage re- sulting when the running boards are ‘sprung’ by the driver who approaches too near a curb and jams the footboard over the upper ledge “I think municipalities would do well to study this type of curb in planning reconstruction of streets or widening of such thoroughfares.” ACT AS PREACHERS Sunday al oppor a chance to appreciate the mysteries of high compression, if a plan adopted by Erie, Pa.. automobile men becomes uni- versal. For eight weeks Erie motorists 2nd churchgoers are being offered a se- 11es of “automobile sermons,” the motor orators working in co-operation with & lcal church organization. The business angle appears to be stressed in spite of possible objections to commercializing the church, no_camou- age being used to cover the business , as would be the case were the sermons devoted to safety exclusively. Objectors to the plan are being re- minded that motorists need a good talk- g to these days and that Sunday ight 1s a logical time for it night may be Broke All Records~* « OVER 70% INCREASE! During 1931 the Chevrolet dealers in Washington sold 6,711 New Chevrolet Sixes—-representing the biggest year in Chevrolet history—an increase over 1930 of over 70 per cent. Leaders the world over in 1931 Again the world’s most popular motor car is the six-cylinder Chevrolet—because—during 1931 the Chevrolet Motor Company manufactured and sold more passenger cars than any other manufac- Ouwing to Limited Space at the Auto Show We Will Be Unable to Exhibit Our Entire Line There, But All Models Will Be on Display at Our Salesroom FIRST IN VALUES FOR 1932 The new six deserves its place of honor. It is such an outstanding example of quality at low cost that it easily represents the GREAT AMERICAN VALUE FOR 1 SEE THIS SPECIAL 1932 EXHIBIT SEX THE COMPLETE LINE OF 1932 MODELS AT ANY ONE OF THE DEALERS LISTED BELOW. EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR OPEN 24 HOURS A Complete Selection of High-Grade Used Cars on Display at All Times EMERSON & ORME Home of Buick --- Sales & Service Seventeenth and M Streets N.W BARRY-PATE MOTOR CO. OURISMAN-CHEVROLET 2525 Sherman Ave. N. W. SALES CO,, INC. 610 H St. N. E. OWENS MOTOR CO. 6323 Georgia Ave. STOHLMAN CHEVROLET CO. 3307-11 M St. N. W. DONOHOE CHEVROLET, INC. 1620 M St. N. W. R. L. TAYLOR MOTOR CO. 14th and T Sts. N. W. MANDELL CHEVROLET CO., I 13th St. and Good Hope Rd. S. E. Anacostia, D. C. BOYER MOTOR SALES Capitol Heights, Md. WOLFE MOTOR CO. AERO AUTO CO. Silver Spring, Md. 1101 King St., Alexandria, Va. LUSTINE-NICHOLSON MOTOR CO. Hyattsville, Md. C. ie=———lolc——lale———n|——|al—a o[8[ 8| [n| = [0| ——=] | [o|e——nja|l——=alale——n|o|c——la|e——njc—t[o]c———a|o|——— o] ——=3[a|—=3|a| —=[a E E fl fl | | Lfl |