THE HONGKONG. TELEGRAPH,
MOTORING SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1928.
WILL THE FUTURE CAR BE ANYTHING LIKE THIS?
[By Israel Klein]
South Bend, Ind., Aug. 16.-K we were to get a gift of an auto- mobile "that was 100 per cent omclent, we wouldn't want to be
seen in it!
W. B. James,
For of all con- trivancos this would be the freakiest and most unusual ever deviacd..
A suggestion) of what such an automobile might look like was given to me horo by W. B.. James, chief en- gineer for The Studebaker Cor-
poration who was formerly in the)
nutomotive engineering labora- tories of the U.S. Bureau of
one of the leading automotive engineers in the country.
First of all, I gathered from James' review of requirements for the perfect automobile, the car would have to assume the shape of an arrow.. The engine would be over the rear axle, and the driver and passengers well over the front axle.
An artist's conception of a 100 per cent, efficient automobile as described by W. S. James,
chief engineer of Studebaker...
faces, wo have an aeroplane pro- peller in front, acting as the driv- Ing force, and so do away com- plutely with the transmission. In this case, however, the motor would be in front of the car, directly behind the propeller and the driver and passengers in the rear.
gas
Furthermore, if we didn't mind [tance alone. It takes only ton lost through friction. But who Standards and who' lo considered the strong wind blowing into our horsepower to push a modern car would have the wind from that through a vacuum. The rest of propeller blowing into his facet the car's power is there to over. So wo sacrifice efficiency to ex- come wind resistance. Wind re-pediency, sistance is the greatest factor to "Take the matter of the steam combat in designing an automobile, engine, too. It has never been Yet try to put out a car that would shown definitely that the entirely avoid wind resistance, and engine is decidedly better than the the public wouldn't have it,
steam engine. But if you have a steam car and something goes wrong with it to-day, where ean you get someone to fix it? We'd to the steam engine and we'd have to change almost over night have to make steam engine experts just na fast, in order to make such cars fensible. Since we can't do that, we can't have that kind of propulsion."
But there wouldn't be any axles at all in this car, each wheel re- volving, freely, with the rear
wheels connected directly to the motor.
Hendlights Above Driver, The headlights would be up at the top, shining down from behind the driver so as lo afford him most illumination and still be safe from glare against approach ing drivers.
And in the rear, sticking up and away from the nostrils of those coming on behind, would be the exhaust pipe.
No Rights on Road,
At any rate, the 100 per cent efficient automobile, conjured up by James makes so queer a picture that we wouldn't have it, he saga
Inefficient But Satisfactory.
The mechanical difficulties in designing an automobile are 18 nothing compared with the mental the headlights, for instance, difcallies to be overcome, would give best results if placed above and a little behind the driver. But who would have them "In feet," he adds, "the average there? Weight could be reduced person-to-day assumes the automo-effectively by reshaping the car bile he is getting is mechanically and placing the engine in, back perfect. He doesn't bother much directly at the wheels. But public with the mechanical details nown convention can't make se abrupt a days. He leaves any difficulty to
change. the service man, and there's less and less of that, despite the fact that from an engineering stand- point the muttern automobile is only gaven per cent efficient.
"Take the matter of wind resis-
Propeller Drive Best.
"I can conceive, of an aeroplane propeller driving an automobile, rather than through gears and wheels, where much emciency is
So, James concludes, the word ethelency" has lost. Its meaning. What we mean, when we talk of a "perfect" or "efficient" automobile, rather, is one that strikes an eco- nomical balance, one that is prac- tical artistically, economically and mechanically for modern, use.
The 100 per cent efficent auto- mobile is only a myth.
Chevrolet's Start.
to vehicles, and the footpath to when traffic has been stopped. FROM SMALL SHOP. pedestrains, and ench must keep Where there are no crossings they to his place. Pedestrains are for- must give way to the drivers of New rules drawn up in France bidden to stand on or walk on the vehicles, and they must not stand for the guidance of pedestrian roadway without necessity; they on the roadway while waiting for traffic will be of great interest to must not cross diagonally; they trams. Motorists are ordered to Hongkong. Latest advice shows must make use of crossings where give way to pedestrains at street that in Paris the roadway belongs these exist; they must cross only crossings.
JOHN I.
THORNYCROFT
THE LEADING EXPONENTS
of
& CO LIMITED.
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NOW BIGGEST MÅKER,
WAS
The first Chevrolet car built in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet, after two years of experiments, in a small shop in Detroit. Four more Chevrolets were bullt that
yenr.
The Chevrolet, Motor Company, a division of General Motors, is now the world's largest manu- facturer of motor cars. Chevrolet production is now at the rate of more than a million cara a year. Its fourteen great factories 'are operating at capacity to meet the demand.
Huge Quantities..
Raw materials necessary for this gigantic production are used in astounding quantities. For in- stance, more than 2,500,000 square inches of rubber matting were used in 1927-enough to cover a roadbed 20ft. wide and 160 miles long. Approxmiately 7,000,000 in- candescent-light bulbs were in- atalled last year-enough to light all the homes in a city of a million people.
It required more than 20,000,000 square feet of upholstering ma- terial to upholster the Chevrolet cars built in 1927. Present pro, duction is sufficient to supply a new motor cur each working day to every family, in a city of 20,000 Jinhabitants. ...The company's freight bill during the year ́ junt Ipast was in excess of £6,100,000, and the volume of business handl ed was approximately 245,000 freight cars equal to more than 4000 trainloads of 60 cars each.
More than 250,000 tons of coal jare required to run Chevrolet fac- tories for one year, and approxi- mately 210,000 kilowatt hours of electricity are consumed annual- ly. In 1927 775,000 tons of steel and 150,000 tons of castings were usod. It requires 100,000 people to produce, sell, and service Chevrolet cars." -
Before June 1, 1928, Chevrolet produced more than half a million cára, showing that for the first half of the current year the volume was considerably in excess of that for the correspónding period in 1927,
BABY'S FEAT.
1584 Miles a Day.
A remarkable feat for a "baby": car has been achieved by an Austin Seven at Montthery, France, where |Captain Chase has beaten the 24- hour record; hold by a French car, of 40.38 m.p.h.
Captain Chase averaged 66 mp.h, for the 24 hours, thus covering 1584 miles. Over the last four laps the Austin was given full throttle and reached 80 m.p.h," Many other records were broken during the run..
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