THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1931.
1932 MODELS.
Too Many Types in Popular Market.
of
A motoring correspondent writes to a Home paper September 12:-
Most of the motor car manu- facturers have now announced. their
season programmes for 1931-32. The few which re- main to be made public are those) of factories which are not con-: cerned with mass-produced cars, but rather with the relatively small luxury and semi-luxury market.
Between now and the opening of the Olympin show early inj October there may appear one
two new small cars from inanufacturers who have want-i ed to keep something up their sleeves, so to speak. I refer to the new Hillman, the air-cooled Rover (which is a very doubt- ful starter, I understand), the' 9 h.p. Crossley, and probably one or two others It would not surprise me, for instance, if Vauxhall were to enter the "baby" ear market.
So far, this company, which is under the control of General! Motors, has produced only medium power cars of from 17 to 25 h.p. Yet with its great re- Hourees it might become a form- ilable competitor in the small car market.
..
Then there is, of course, Ford. No one knows what Ford is go-j ing to do. Dagenham, the great; new factory on the Thames es- tuary, is not nearly ready for vehfele production to start — I am told it will be another year before operations begin in earn- est. In the meantime, however, it is not likely that the Ford Company will be content to play a minor part in the British auto- mobile industry, and it is safe to assume that some step will be taken to keep both the car and the truck in the public eye dur- ing the next twelve months.
I do not believe there will be a new Ford model, in this country at any rate.
Fads and Fancies.
To my mind the most dis-j appointing thing about the new season's announcements has been the tendency on the part of nearly all manufacturers in the variety of models. In Home! eases as many as half a dozen popular market to turn out a big different chassis are produced,į and several of these chassis are available, with different sizes of engines and with different wheel- bases, and so on. Then on each chassis there are at least six body types and sometimes event
more.
Each manufacturer is at. tempting to produce a range of cars which covers practically the whole market, and passing fads! and fancies are exploited, to the full.
"DON'TS" FOR DRIVERS.
To the inexperienced motor-. ist practically the whole dic- tlonnry seems to be full of "don'ts," but there is little doubt that the longer one motors the more one realises the importance of this little- word.
The following collec
tion of don'ts," varying from the safety first aspect to the welfare of the car and better driving methods, are worthy of the altention of all motor- ista.
Don't try to get too great a mileage out of a gallon of oil. It won't pay you. One often hears and reads of drivers who get anything up to 5,000 miles out of a gallon of oil, and this without changing the No- Jubricant in the sump. thing is said, however, about the wear which takes place in the engine under these cond!- tions. If the motor is to have It reasonable. chance of trouble-free life the oil should be changed every 1,000 miles, and, for city driving. every 500,
Don't be tempted to buy cheap, unbranded oil; It will probably turn out rather ex- pensive in the end.
Don't neglect points that need lubrication. merely be- cause they are almost in- accessible,
Don't be afraid of genr changing. If you have not the knack of getting the lever neross silently taken couple of lessons and get it. It will save you money, and will add materially to your driving
pleasure.
Don't forget that you owe ft measure of consideration and all reasonable courtesy to
all other road users. Don't
drive in such a way' as to splash pedestrians or other rond users with mud if it is at all practicable to avoid do- ing H By keeping your wheels out of the worst pot holes and going slowly in muddy pinces you can avoid a lot of inconvenience to other prople.
Don't revera without pre- viously giving yourself the "all clear."
Don't forget that your per. sonal comfort is an important factor to your safely as road-
using unit.
Don't drive on ane brake only. Use each alternately and gently.
Don't abuse the use of the horn, or imagine that ta warning gives any automalle right of way at eross roads. All the best drivers иве п minimum of such sounds, emergencies Excepted, of
course,
Don't overtake on corners, even if some one woven you on, or until you know from your own abservation that the road is clear.
Don't play with the adjust- ments on your car unless you know how to do it.
CUT DOWN COSTS.
Do Simple Repairs in Your Own Garage.
(By Norman W. Rae.)
THE
CHINA MAIL.
Many owner-drivers must be: giving serious thought to the cost of motoring in view of the further additional tax of two- pence per gallon on petrol.
Several motoring friends have! (been casting up their bills of ex- penses and they made a surpris-' ling discovery - surprising, that is, when looked at from the viewpoint of the average owner- driver who goes to the nearest | garage whenever there is a nut; to be tightened up, a brake to be adjusted, or a sump to bel !emptied. They find that as much is paid in a year to the ronside garage proprietor for "little jobs" as is paid in the] way of taxation.
Adjustment Work. Hundreds of motorists are! now faced with the fact that they must either do certain minor adjustment work themselves or curtail their motoring.
I know one motorist who never empties a sump himself. He runs his car to the nearest garage and has the job done by a mechanic who even when. no actual charge is made for the work - is tipped at least shilling.
one
He has his sump filled with new oil at a cost of approximate- ly 88. I have often pointed out to him that by doing the job; himself the cost of the oil would! [he roughly 68, The difference i represents the petrol tax on
early 100 miles - surely very important factor.
There are at least a score of
the ways in which
average owner-driver can economise.. By going over tyres at least once a week, removing all small stones embedded in the tyre surface and filling up small cuts with tyre compound, anything from 1,000 to 5,000 miles may be added to the life of a tyre. This repre- sents a considerable saving,
Brakes.
There is no great difficulty in adjusting brakes in one's own. garage. Many garage proprie- tors charged as much as 5s. for this job. All that is required as jequipment are four blocks of wood and the ordinary car jack. The car should he jacked up so that all four wheels are clear of the ground. It is easy then to carry out adjustments.
:
"INEXPERIENCED.”
jon
Jury's Altered Verdict.
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PRODUCT OF
GENERAL MOTORS.
The 8 as
Bu
Builds it.
THE DRAGON MOTOR CAR CO., LTD.
All adjusting points should first of all be washed with paraf- fin mixed with a little oil or with
The jury at a Southend in- a cleansing oil. The brake ad-:
quest made a. mistake in the justing nuts should be pulled up phraseology of their verdict, and until the brakes begin to take effect.. This can be tested by trying to turn each wheel by hand. Then slacken off the ad-proceedings for manslaughter. justing process.
The Inquest W08 on Mrs. Florence Emily Morris, and the
a verdict jury first returned
the coroner's direction re- turned another, absolving 4 woman motorist from possible
It is necessary to obtain the services of an assistant who will sit in the car and depress the that her death was due to culp brake pedal about half way able negligence on the part of With the brake pedal so depress- Mrs. Dorothy Coleman, describ- ed it should be possible just toed as of The Ridgeway, Westcliff, turn each wheel with a little the driver of a motor-car which
effort. The assistant. can next
depress the brake pedal a little knocked down Mrs. Morris. further. The wheels should
The coroner, Mr. H. J. Jeffries,
What generally happens is that one manufacturer produces | a new model which makes a wide appeal at a popular price. It is probably a very good car. But that is no reason why every other maker, catering for the impressionable class of buyer, will be able to duplicate the success of the original car by tempted to plan his production then be locked. It is remarkable told the jury that such a verdlet bringing out one of similar size on similar lines I find it difficult how quickly one can gauge the might result in Mrs. Coleman being committed for trial on a to explain, The Hillman com- exact adjustment required to charge of manslaughter. On his and horse-power.
A final advice they returned an altered At the moment we see a boompany, with their Wizard with give uniform braking.
alternative engine sizes, appear test is to take the car on a quiet verdict of death from negligence in "Twelve Sixes." Following to be working on the right lines. road one with a loose surface due to inexperience on the part the Austin success there is a
of the driver. stampede to catch this market. But even they have a larger for choice. And one of the most unsatisfac- chassis, the straight-cight Vortic,
It was stated that Mrs. Cole- tory features of the position is and now they contemplate pro- to adjust the brakes until they man had driven a car only four or five times by herself. She that instead of deleting a chassis ducing a small car.
It may be that the taxation This is a mistake. The effect on denied a suggestion that she had from the range to make way for the newcomer, the latter is add.bugbear in this country forces the life of the tyre of even the put her foot on the accelerator manufacturers to take a differ slightest mis-adjustment of ent line of action, but it seems brakes is remarkable. unfortunate that large-scale pro-
ed.
I draw attention to this de
velopment because in, my opin ion it is not A1 economical
Many motorists do not trouble
find a definite pull on a wheel.
Lubricating a Car.
duction has not been tried with Lubricating a car not fitted
a minimum of chassis models with centralised lubrication is
method of making motor cara. which will appeal to the motor-not a pleasant task, but it can be out the cars they are now mak-ist both at home and abroad.
If our manufacturers can turn
ing at prices which, in the view of every motorist, ere strictly competitive, what could they not do if, instead of producing five or gix different models, they were
WILLYS IN ALGERIA.
made easier and much cheaper
if the lubrication points are wip-
In mistake for the brake,
BENTLEY MOTORS.
Winding-up Notice.
ed over with some thin penetrat- The London Gazette of Sep. ing oil, say, half-an-hour before tember 15 announced that at ́a the actual grensing is to take meeting of Bentley Motors Ltd.. on September 9 the following re-
to concentrate on one or two the Willys distributors in Algeria Instead of having various nuts solution was passed:-
work?
To announce the 1931 models place.
"That the company, by reason organised a celebration to which and bolts, renewed at roadside. with standard types of body-members of the African Press, garages at an average cost of 1s. of its liabilities, cannot conduct owners of Willys cars and pros-ja time, it is better to buy an as- its business, and that it is advis- One Model the Only Plari, pective owners were invited, sortment at an average price of able to wind up the same and The secret of the success of The whole function was a 1d. or 2d. and by going over the that the company be wound up the Ford organisation has al-great success, and there was car at frequent intervals make | voluntarily," ways been concentration on the great enthusiasm for the 1931 certain that no unexpected hold- A receiver was appointed for chassis. Even the alternative models. The new range was con- up will be caused by the failure Bentley Motors in July last, and engine" size was an innovationsidered to be the best ever put or rusting of some important negotiations were understood to which was not adopted, I believe, on the market by the Willys bolt.
be in progress recently for the.
without very great reluctance (Overland Company and judging| These are only one or two car purchase of the company by D. and some misgivings.
(from the interest shown by those tasks on which money can be Napier and Sons, Take again the Chevrolet, the present, The Palais de l'Auto-saved. most popular car in the United mobile, Algiers, Willys distribu- States at the present moment. tor in Algeria, anticipate a good| Cylinders of the Oldsmobile Both felt and rubber are used Only one chassis is made. year's trading. They are to be engine are triple gauged for size to insulate the bodies of Olds- Why no British manufacturer congratulated on their novel and shape to assure absolute ac-mobiles to keep out drafts and producing in quantity has at-'plan.
curacy and uniformity.
road dust,
Telephone 30228.
33, WONG NEI CHUNG ROAD, HAPPY VALLEY,
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