THE 1934 MODELS
Death-Knell Of "Crash" Gear Box
What will the cars for the sea- son 1934 be like? What improve- ments will there be? aäks a writer In the "Sporting Life."
It is by no means too early to ask this question. Though the Olympia Motor Show, 13 eight weeks ahead-it opens on October 12.
་
Nineteen thirty-three, regards moter-ears, is finished. In every big factory production of 1933 mo- dels is over.
The experimental tests, carried out in deep secrecy of the 1934 cars has been completed, and now there only remains the question of production of 1934 to be arranged. Cars will be no cheaper. We - must reconcile ourselves to that
fact,
Wlder Springs
HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1933:
SPARKS
FROM THE PLUGS
been
COMFORT IN DRIVING
Goes A Long Way
મ
BAD VISIBILITY IN MOTORING HINT A LITTLE PETROL
MODERN CARS
Safety Sacrificed To Looks
CARS SEEN IN HYDE PARK
Census" Over Six
Months
In practically all modern cars It is a curious thing that econo- adjustment is provided for themy in petrol consumption hardly front seats, so that drivers can en
ever figures nowadays. in motor- sure a seat position that is at once car trials, although in pre-war During the past few months comfortable and safe, having re BRITISH ENTRY FOR ALPS gard to leg-reach and pedal loca- times it was regarded as being I have taken a series of six cen- tion. But many motorists, fall to quite an important feature: in- sus of cars seen and the results deed, the early Tourist Trophy of them all, added together, are TRIALS.
make the best use of the adjust races were run on a fuel consump rather interesting. Suspension systems have.
ment or adjustments provided.
tion basis, and the winners were Altogether I saw a hundred and improved by the fitting of longer
One sees short-legged drivers' generally those who contrived to and wider springs, though with
There are the existing, system it will always
some very beautiful stretching out their legs to an un- make their petrol allowance stayi seen--and cars to be
bought comfortable extent in order to the course. Naturally, the com- be something of a makeshift.
were impracticable, and Generally speaking the smaller nowadays, either standard pro- operate the clutch and brake pe-paratively low cost of motor spirit, setting. the car the worse is the springing, ducts of far-sighted manufactur dals, and tall drivers with their "and the ubiquity of the Billing sta-, the event was held under the Natal and some of the "bables" pitchers who realise what good selling knees "under their chins." An ad- tion, combined with the fitting o1strict supervision of the
gauge оп modern, Motor Club. Incidentally, the win- and toss like a small boat in a points, good looks and individua-justment of the seat position would a dashboard
ner of the motor cycle class aver- rough sea when the road is not of lity are, or the designs of the spe- cause these drivers not only to be cars have combined to make ex- billard-table smoothness.
cialist body-builders. Large and more comfortable but also more treme economy in fuel consump-aged the amazing figure of "200
costly and modest, all precise and safe in the control of tion, a less important matter than m.p.g.! small,
aesthetic their cars. Incidentally, incorrect formerly-in Great Britain at any classes share this new uplift. Unfortunately there is an leg-reach-too short as well as too rate. Overseas it is not quite the Increasing tendency to ignore com- long," but particularly the latter-same, and petrol parsimony is a fort and even safety in the eager is not Infrequently a contributory popular means of finding a win- ness for beauty.
cause of difficulty and noise inner. gear-changing.
The longer the wheelbase of the ear the better it holds the road; and really big cars are fairly well
sprung.
It is in rubber that we shall see the suspension system of the fu- turc every wheel being indepen- dently sprung on a cushion of rub-
ber.
In 1933 the motorists received
I rode in an experimental car too great value for his money, and
30 "Atted a short time ago and In the case of Britain's two biggest found it a revelation in comfort manufacturers there will be a slight Increase in price about £15 in the case of the small and "middle-weight" models.
Not Unanimous In the past few weeks" secret meetings have taken place with a view to obtaining agreement among manufacturers for a gen- eral increase in price.
These negotiations have failed, two Coventry arms announcing definitely that they had at present no Intention of increase their prices for 1934.
able riding.
We want better visibility. There are far too many cars in which the driver can see too little of the road and the kerb in front and at. the side of his car. He, and more particularly she, is made to alt too low, or the scuttle or wheel is too There are difficulties to be over-high, or blind spots are caused by come, however, and it is not cer- broad door plilars or wind screens tain that the system will be seen
too shallow or screen wiper motora at Olympia, although the expert- badly sited.
2. ments in this direction are being carried out by one of our biggest manufacturers.
column.
be
Detail improvements will many-dip-sticks placed in more positions, controls accessible grouped neatly on the steering Improved Bodies Coachwork has been further im-
and most important develop- proved for 1934,
although ment, as was the case last year, there will be no fully streamlined will be in connection with easy-cars, we are reaching the position change and self-changing" gear-where the saloon model is faster than the similar chassis fitted with open bodywork.
The
boxes.
Practically every car, with the exception of the very cheapest, will have this device in one form or
another.
The fluid-flywheel. ploneered by the Dalmler concern on Daimler, Lanchester, and B.S.A., will be added to by similar hydraulic clutches.
this type.
From what I have seen of the experimental cars, there will be no freaks at Olympia
Unorthodoxy has never appeal ed to the motorist and the 1934 differ, very cars will accordingly little from their 1933 prototypes. Earlier in the year a Morris car
The 10 p. class la still the most was seen fitted with a device of popular in Britain, and a number of firms who have never produced A number of manufacturers who anything but high-powered (and have atted the Wilson self-chang-high-priced) cars have been at ing gear-box as optional equip tracted to this market. ment will standardise it, and 1931
The day of the really big car is will see the demise, to all intents done, and we shall see, in the next and purposes, of the "crash" gear-few weeks, at least three
Springing has received a great "Tens." deal of attention in the experi-k mental workshops.
box.
BRITISH CARS OVERSEAS
Handicap Of The Horse-Power Tax?
new
I
Comfort or Looks? Here is a specific instance of
comfort is being, how practical sacrificed to looks. I cannot men- it was a special and not a stan- tion the make of the car because dard specimen, but I may add that it had won prizes in more than one concours d'elegance.
Sitting as upright as the driving seat allowed, my shoulders were below the level of the window frames. In the old days we used to like to rest an elbow on the top of the door; here it was trouble- some even to extend an arm to signal. A combined doorpost and screen pillar 2in. in width made a nasty blind spot Just where a pedestrian stepping off a central refuge would be hidden.
Astonishing Results
Adjustment of Pedals
Some really astonishing results "Many cars have adjustable pe- were given in the report of trials dais, though this feature is one recently held in South Africa, and а course from Durban to that is rarely utilised; and yet it is over one that strange as it may seem Maritzburg and back-110 miles-- may have marked effect up- the winner (who drove a Hillman on steering ease and precision and Minx car) averaged no less than "arm tiredness" on long runs. The 59 miles per gallon! A time limit reason is that adjustment of the was imposed of 4 hours for the pedals, in conjunction with ad-round trip, which means that 27). justment of the driving seat, will m.p.h. had to be maintained, so
that freak driving and carburetter, | often bring the steering wheel to
(Continued on next column). a better position relative to the driver, as well as enabling the leg- reach to be correct.
Adjusting the seat alone to suit the individual driver's leg-reach may bring him too close to or take him too far away from the steer- ing wheel and give rise to unduly bent elbows or outstretched arms. both of which are tiring on a long run and not conducive to steering precision.
ciently pliable to adapt itself to the curvature of the existing up- holstery. It should always be leather covered; cloth "sticks" to causes the driver's clothing and the cushion to move out of posi tion during the course of a drive, especially if and when he leans forward for any purpose, such as Where both pedal and seat ad-gear-changing. justments are available, the seat should be set first to suit the arm- reach and the pedals then length- ened or shortened according to the leg-reach of the driver. Neverthe- less, correct leg-reach is the more The top of the gracefully curved important if both this and arm- scuttle came up to the level of my reach cannot be arranged precise- mouth, so that half-left I couldly as required. If no pedal adjust- see nothing on the car beyond the ment is available and is clearly de- bonnet and nothing on the ground sirable by a short-legged driver, within 10ft, of the car's near-a similar effect can sometimes be wheel. I could just see over the secured by having shaped wooden rim pt the steering wheel straight blocks of the required thickness bolted to the clutch and brake ahead.
pedals, and the accelerator as well. If need be.
Then there is the eagerly-awalt-tem. ed Bentley to be revealed.
A PICK-ME-UP FOR MOTORISTS
Adjustment of the steering co- lumn angle is provided on some cars, but as a rule it is to be view- ed as a facility for the body-build- er rather than the car owner.
. Nor was this all. During the week-end the car developed an air leak in its hydraulic braking sys- That meant "bleeding" the brake "of each wheel to get rid of the air bubbles, and to get at the rear brakes the rear wheels had to be removed. It was impossible to get the ordinary garage jack un- der the rear axle; the beautiful, A makeshift substitute for an ad- low-swept tail could only be clr-justment found on only very few cumvented by lying down on one's cars-viz., provision for varying back and pushing a small upright the cushion angle of the driver's Jack into position.
i do not for one moment aug- gest that all these faults are com mon to many of the modern "sporta coupes" and "sports 52- loons," but it is a fact that many have at least one or two, and they
Angle of Seat Cushion
seat, is a piece of square-section wood of suitable length to be fit-" ted under the front edge of the cushion. This is very useful" at times, especially on. long when the additional tilt of the cushion may prevent leg-tiredness and cramp. It is an expedient
runs,
Recently I recommended sherry as a suitable pick-me-up for mo- torists, and I am pleased to learn that several readers endorse my remarks. Mr. J. Dyke, of Bath writes to tell me that one winter, arriving at an hotel "very cold and Perak fed up." he asked the proprietor are all wihout exception unneces- worth testing, too, when in no A correspondent from FM.S., writes as follows to a Lon for a hot innocuous drink and he sary, even in the cause of beauty. other way can a long-legged dri- dom motoring paper:-As an over-suggested Bovril and sherry. Mr. Even the thick door-post, which ver feel comfortable. seas reader will you kindly allow Dyke tried it and it worked, and has the excuse that it must take me to express the opinion tha; has since tried, it on other occa- the windscreen frame, British Car manufacturers have slons, and he sees no reason to frame, and door edge, is proved little chance of capturing the believe that it is anything but unnecessary by saloons like the world markets from America until good. I am passing it on now be- new. Armstrong-Siddeley. The rest the horse-power tax is abolished cause I may forget to do so when are pure forgetfulness of every- The present export boom, welcome the winter, comes. Make a note in thing but the designing board. as it is, has come about as a re- the diary somewhere among the engagements for November:-"The sult of the depreciated value the pound sterling, an" advantage Autocar.". which is fast disappearing. Ninety nine per cent. of those who hav driven cars of high horse-power:
are unwilling to give up the surge FROM":
of power which one always fees
beneath one in such cars, and their.
ease of running.
I have owned a Pontiac (origin
THE AUTOCAR” LONG AGO
ally Oakland - Motors, ang nov M. Jenatzy had the van under General Motors Corporation) for admirable control, insinuating the five years, and have nothing but heavy vehicle through the traffic the highest praise for it. It is a' in a way that made the cabmen source of great amusement to me, look green with envy.
to see British manufacturers ac- vertising new features which were Incorporated by the Americans on my 1928 Pontiac (price approxi- mately £240).
June 17, 1899,
ایایی در
of car has never appeared in Eng
land.
window On some cars motorists of ap- preciably less than average arm and leg reach are compelled to drive with a loose cushion behind them in order to reach the pedals or steering wheel, or both, with any degree of comfort or safety in control: Buch cushions should not, however, be wedge-shaped, as is often the case, for it is unde-
DEARER MOTORS sirable to alter the effective angle
SOON
PROBABLE ADVANCE IN OCTOBER
of the back upholstery: all that is wanted is to bring the support for the driver's back, farther forward at the same angle. A cushion of uniform thickness is wanted; suff Continued on next enlumn).· ́
that many improvements in gen- eral design will be seen in most of the medium priced cars. For ex- ample, easier gear changing will
London, Aug. 16.. It is practically certain that the prices of most of the best makes of British motor cars will be ad- be the rule, petrol, tanks will be vanced by about, 10 per cent., after generally in the rear, instead of In the Motor Show to be held at front of the dash board; and four Olympit in October. As the cost wheel jacking systems will be at- of most of the raw materiais em, ted in very many models.. Rated at 25.35 hp., with a maxi- mum speed of over 70 mp.h., and I have done nearly 40,000 miles ployed has increased in even Finally, it is anticipated that, in a cruising speed of 46 m.p.h, an in-it, the greater part of the dis greater proportion, one cannot many makes, engines of alterna- average petrol consumption of tance over much worse roads than blame the manufacturers, who, on tive horse power will be available about 23 m.p.g. (adjustable Jets by yours in England, without any the contrary, are to be praised for for the same chassis the more hand screws), and having fuel trouble or expensive repairs, The their determination not to sacri- powerful engine, perhaps with pump, heat adjustment for sum six-cylinder engine is very silent, fice quality to cheapness, alterence, being for, the benent of only of two horse power APLASIA
Although the makers are jea the owner who prefers a little lously preserving the details of more speed and power and does
mer and winter running, theroll consumption is negligible. The mostatic control, crank case ven- engine has never been dismantled, Hlation, and the T-Ray Head apart from decarbonising kump... system with foot-operated Overseas Reader, dimmer, it is a pity that this make
Perak FMS.
their 1934 productions, it is known
Tot mind the slight extra taxation. (Continued at foot of next colume," and running cost
ten different makes, but as the more popular makes are the ones of exceptional interest I am emit-.. ting all but the first twenty or so. All the observations were taken in different parts of Hyde Park.
1st. Austin (1,138); 2nd, Morris
Wolseley (272); 5th Standard (921); 3rd), Rolls-Royce (322) 4th, (248) 6th, Humber (240); -7th, Daimler (231);.: 8th, Armstrong Siddeley (200); 9th, Chrysler (163); 10th, Hillman (157); 11th, Rover (156); 13th, Ford (149); 13th, Riley (126): 14th Buick and Talbot (124 each); 15th, Vauxhall (123), Sunbeam .(119); 17th. 18th, Singer (106); 18th, Essex (87); 19th, Lanchester (81); 20th, M.G. (88); 21st, Packard (58),..
M. M. Hitchin. London. W.11.
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