1927-03-16 — Page 8

Overland "Whippet” Cars.

THE HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16th, 1927.

Unequalled in either Quality or Price,

See them at

THE DURO MOTOR CO., LTD.

132, Nathan Rd., Kowloon.

or Apply

To the Distributors

GILMAN & CO., LTD.,

Hongkong Bank Building

Teleph. C 290.

MOTORING NOTES

A Weekly Review dealing with Matters of Interest to all Local Motorists.

"His Excellency's Vision-The Sleeve Valve Engine-Electric Vehicles-Tanks and the Future-H.K. Automobile Association

DUNLOP

THE STANDARD by which

DUNLOP'S DEPOT

ALL TYRES

HONG KONG

THE

"

are

JUDGED

16, Des Your ROAD. PHONE: 0. 4554.

CONSULT THE MAKERS FOR TYEE INFORMATION.

[BY AN OWNER-DRIVER}

HIS EXCELLENCY'S VISION. The speech which His Excellency the Governor made at the annual dinner of the Institution of Engi- neers and Shipbuilders was duly reported. It contained an interest" ing vision of the future in China, especially with regard to matter of transport.

41

Sometimes the most optimistic among us become depressed about China There are such wonderful possibilities for transport and there so often hope deferred that we scarcely know what to think of the visions of those who peer into the

future.

THE GREAT LESSON. So it was in England in the early days of the steam engine sad the loccinative Always the ignorant have tried to sweep away the on- coming waves with a broom but nechanical transport will come to China as it has come to North America and to Europe.

Sir Cecil Clementi suggested that there might be evolved & new type of vehicle especially suitable the conditions of China. What will it

Overland "Whippet" Cars.

EASY TERMS TO SUIT ALL FURSES.

5 Seater Toner .......

*A16 J.P.

Cylinder 6 Cylinder

13.6 H.P. G$.875

1 Seater Roadster... G$ 955

3 Sestor Coach G5 973

5 Seater Sedan (4 door). Ģ$1,100

5.

Seater Brougham ... G41,125

GILMAN & CO. LTD.

Distributors,

FONGLONG BANK BUILDING.

G $1,050

G$ 1,100

G$ 1,175

G $1,950

G $1,375

SHOW ROOM:

DURO MOTOR CO., LTD. NATHAN HD, KOWLOON.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES. TANKS AND THE FUTURE.¡ considerably developed. Tanks and There is a general belief in Flong The great objection of many American Erins was that the Knight Kang that electric batteries deteri complete orate more rapidly in this climate engine would require a change of manufacturing equipment in order to produce it. Capital expenditure on such a plant is a very ericus matter.

In those days the writer knew the man whose name is now very famous in regard to all motoring inventions The name is Lanches ter.

A SPONSOR

A curious contrast between the English and American point of view was noticed by night soon after his arrival in London.

The English public, slower to buy, wanted an improvement in the then current design of cars.

than they to in Eagland. Possible it may be, that "people in England pay more attention to their main- tenance. One enterprising local engineer brought out na electric vehicle some years ago, but it was not a success In the meantime any improvements have been made in connection with these vehicles but it is not likely that they will be popular in Hong Kong for some time.

A great expense is the cost of changing the battery with electrical energy. It is, however, practically certain that the cost of electrical energy must be reduced in Hong Kong for it is not easy to justify It is not too much to say that the present charges. In any case were if there were a big demand for car- the English manufacturers really more absorbed upon turning rest for charging batteries of elec- out the best possible niachine than tric vehicles the local Automobile they were in making the biggest Association might be able to ar range better, terres than those in possible profit.

force just now.

In America the outlook was rather different. In that country they got hold of the idea that mass produc- is meant big profi:s. Everything in the automobile business was look

e like? After looking at the Argused at from the point of view of big profits" and there can be no doubt we may expect any change of shape. The narrow tracks that are such that they made the profits because feature of South China seem to of the genius shows in mass produc- suggest eomething like motortion. bicycle as being the mest suitable type of machine.

J

Someday we may expect a won derful shock absorber which would uake it possible to ride a motor-

He hike over the present tracks. would be a bold man who would try the journey without some special, arrangement Probably a tractor motor bike will evolve.

PETROL DIFFICULTIES. As for the discuity of petrol, the

The English Daimler Company, one of the leading English firms, took over the Knight proposition on terms which allowed them to hurry slowly. They built the new Tamous Daimler-Knight engine. It is, perhaps, twenty years ago that the Directors of the firm made up their minds that the Daimler Knight engine was the best thing in the automobile power plant world. On a touring car the engine in those lays did 2.000 miles over the Brook

'ARISTOCRAT" OF LIGHT CARS calma ees only two poslanis track at an average speed of

9/20 HP.

Humber

4 Seater

£240, 0. 0.

FULL PARTICULARS OF THE FAMOUS

HUMBER CARS, FROM-

LANE, CRAWFORD, LTD.

EXCHANGE BUILDING:

SOCONY

MOTOR OIL

MODERN OILS FOR MODERN MOTORS"

REFINED UP TO A Standard NOT DOWN TO A Price.

HOME

ON

LEAVE!

A CAR is the Ideal way to get about and SEE the COUNTRY A

All Makes FREE TUITION NO TROUBLE Two seaters from £145 Four seaters from £165 MAY WE MAIL YOU LISTS,

Buying is cheaper than FFORD

hiring, semper and more commettent, when we guarantee lobuy the car back from you.

"A CAR READY ON ARRIVAL

SONS S

94 GLOUCESTER ROAD,

"

LONDON, S.W.7

sible solutions.

Small electric trucks are used at railway stations in Britain bat labour is cheap in Hong Kong as compared with America and Eng land but it would be interesting to see what an electrically driven truck could do on the local wharves. SOME INTERESTING RESULTS.

In this connection some useful figures showing the power consumed by a electric vehicle have been published from sime to time. An unladen electric vehicle (commercial type) weighing just under 17 cwt. took about 8 brake horse power to draw it along a level road. Mount- 10g & not very steep gradient of 1 in 20 it took over 14 brake horse power at about half the speed.

speed of the Either you must

40 miles per hour. That made the matomobile experts "sit up." for then it was a marvel.

find a substitute for petrol or you must produce an invention that will greatly reduce petrol consumption. My own belief is that it was the Every year cars are becoming genius of Lanchester that made the more and more economical as the Daimler people take up the "Silent, remarkable results with the drive Knight engine, but that is only a it yourself" trials on more than

guess Anyhow the tests on Brook- 3,000 cars of the Whippet make have fands showed that the power plant shown. Those 5.200 drivers return-

of the car actually improved with d an average of 48.5 miles to the Imperial gallon.

THE DEMAND.

Economy figures are most import tant. They are of great interest to those of us who have to pay the monthly petrol bill. In the end, however, the demand for cars greatly exceeds all expectations. The total petrol consumption of the world increases each year.

Just think of what the petrol consumption will be when

aero-

planes are frequently dying to and

fro bútween different cities.

There will be no problem' of tracks and road building then.

Hong Kong is to have its acro drome Some of us who are keen motorista may decide to turn our attention to aero-transport. It will be a local hobby before some of us realise the fact..

་་

THE SLEEVE-VALVE

* ENGINE..

use.

A ROYAL COMMAND. - The inventor, Charles Y. "Knight, of Chicago, must have been satisfied with his efforts when in 1914, King George selected a Knight engined car, built by the Daimler Company. ef Coventry, as the official royal car. Since that date Knight has seen the engine win every test for which it has entered.

In the characteristic manner of a genius for things mechanical Knight goes on with his work. In the experimental rooms of the greatest builders in the world and in his laboratories, Knight still seeks to improve his engine. His ability is as great as ever his vision for improvement is undivided.

By a chance meeting on a steamer John W. Willys came to know Knight The latter offered Willys the use of a Daimler-Knight car in But England during his visit, Willys declined and obtained a Knight engined car! The upshot of The development of the automo- the whole affair was the Willys- bile is the outstanding romance Knight power plant for automobiles. of the mechanical era in which we To day in the U.S.A they call the live." That fact is being recog- Knight engine the engine you'li rised more and more as the facili-never wear out." In 1825 more than ties for transport progress.

50,000 Willys-Knight engines were In the evolution of the modern built in the Willys shops in America. automobile the unstinted labours.

men of colossal genius have been enlisted. Financial experts also There are o poppet valvesir. had the vision to see that money the Knight engine mechanism. The invested in well managed plants poppet valve in the ordinary petrol would yield good returns. It would engine is noiry and noise must be, of interest to know how many fortunes have been made by the automobile.

WHY IT SUCCEEDS.

always be paid for. There is no noise with the Willys-Knight engine, There are no valve seats in this engine to burn. Therefore there is

THE SILENT KNIGHT. It is now many years ago that the leakage of gases past the valves. writer heard about a new invention There is no loss of compression. called the sleeve-valve petrol engine, pression lose power and they eat up Engines that have a reduced com- An electrical engineer in London said to him one day. There's a petrol Curiously enough any car. man called Knight hawking round bon deposit from the petrol actually

EL

C

the drawings of new kind of improves the working of the cagine. He's covered the In the ordinary petrol engine with petrol engine.

de-coking" is a thing with patents, but I think he'll poppet valves, lose his money."

nuisance and has to be paid for. What's the idea 1" was the an-

One owner of a Knight engined

This auto swer and then we went into details. car wrote as follows:

The first impression that the ex- mobile has been driven one hundred planation and sketches gave me was thousand miles I have not had that the very ingenious Williams any engine trouble and the engine steam engine had formed the baxis has never been gone over for any of Knight's novelty. Every inven- mechanical adjustmedta."

tor gets his inspiration from some

THE FUTURE.

other piece of work.

It is always difficult to get at the. As an engineer, the writer is true facts of the case with regard always interested in. looking ahead to the history of ап

invention un-aad the future looks rosy for less the inventor publishes the story Charles Y. Knight. He must be himself. The tale told in London some more and more famous and the in those early days was that Knight use of his engine may become world- was ready to sell his patents for wide. On the other hand his genius low figure. He had taken the may produce some other remarkable drawings to various, people in invention which will redound to his Anyhow he has made, a America who would have nothing credit.

In valuable contribution to the auto-

mobile industry.

to do with the thing as all despair he went to London.

steps cr

The argument that the advocates of electric vehicles use is that the car or wagon is automatically adjusted by the gradi at or the load, They say that the driver of a petrol engine the gas when he comes to a hill and, in his endeavour to maintain his speed, strains the working parts of the machine. That is not a very sound argument because engines are usually built to stand that sort of strain.

What engineers are really seeking is a very light storage battery and when that is invented the electric vehicle will have a great future. It is easy to manipulate but any bat ter demands careful attention.

Power

The outstanding features of the recent estimates for the Fighting development of tanks and sero- Services are those relating to the planes. Lord Curzon, who knew as much about the inner history of the Great War as any Cabinet Minister, said that "the Allies floated to victory on a sea of dil or words to that effect. Mr. Lloyd George, in the early days of the tank said

this is an engineer's war."

2

aeroplanes are entirely, dependent on internal combustion engines and Great Britain has maintained the The inventera and designers have done lead which she had in 1919. splendid service during the last decade.

*

THE THREE ARMS.

The

It is

The army is becoming as depen-

been for the last sixty years. dent on machinery as the Navy has It is now nearly nine years since tank many consider the decisive the tanks demonttrated that the weapon in military tactica.

that the conservative war, would be brought to a finish amazing because the enemy troops could be, cavalry officers, who had a certain driven out of the trenches which bad contempt for anything mechanical, hitherto been considered invulner abould have been allowed to retard able. During that nine years the the development of the tank. internal combustion engine has been

(Continued on page 3.)

MORRIS

1927.

ROADSTER TOURING COCFE SALOON

"THE WHEEL OF THE WORLD ',

PRICE LIST

.1927 Delivored in

MORRIS-COWLEY 11.9 H.F.

Londor. £

Hong Kong.

2 Seater.

160

190

205

12

125

235

MORRIS-OXFORD 13.9 .P.

ROADSTER

2/3 Seater......

220

955

TOURING COUPE SALOON CABRIOLET

4:5

240

930

2/3

243

290

285

310

295

340

325

370

“ LANDATLET

(All models are equipped with 4-wheel brakes)

OWN ONE OF THESE

Economy Car-·

Backed up by Local Repair and Parts Service.

THE HONGKONG HOTEL GARAGE (THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI HOTELS, LTD.) BALIE AND ACCESSORIES: Queen's Road Central. Tel. C. 4759.

SERVICE AND PARTS: Stabba Road, Te. C. 4607.

Tower beyond normal needs

The New Whippet eliminates much gear shifting on hills and in mud

The revolutionary new- type car gives you a

high-torque", 31 horse-power motor of tremendous power. It is a top-gear car--pull- ing you over steep hills and through deep mud and sand with ease, yet with surprisingly small power cost.

The Whippet is only 5 feet 9 inches high... not as salt as the droerage stan. Yet it provides more roam and comfort than you's ever found is any motor car of this class before.

The engine of the Over- land Whippet actually develops more horse power per cubic inch of piston displacement than any other light 4-cylinder car. It will travel over 55 miles an hour in perfect comfort... pick up in 13 seconds from 5 to 30 miles an hour.

.more

This new car that will go 35 miles on an Imperial gallon of petrol. than 1,000 miles on a gallon of oil.

Beauty of Design

This new-type car has a long low body of modern design, finished in durable

OVERLAND

Service Representative:

"Appenine blue lacquer, with black beading and gold stripe.

4-wheel brakes are an integral part of this new car's chassis design.

With the introduction of the Overland · Whippet, it is folly today to consider the purchase of an old-fashioned, obso lete light car.

Come, see this car you will find no car comparable to it in the light car class.

Whippet

World's New-Type Light Car

GILMAN & Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Bank Building, Hong Kong.

Mr. A. AHWEE. WILLYS OVERLAND.

FINL

Canton Distributor:

MOTOR

Mr. F. PELD.

CARS

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