1927-12-21 — Page 9

MOTORING NOTES

(CONTD.). AN AUSTIN FOR: SEVEN.

THE HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21st, 1927.

nald greatly to the comfort of the driver.

À BRITISH CAR IN A HOT COUNTRY.

At one time doubts were express- rd as to the ability of British

FOLLY OF OVERLOADING. Motor Manufacturers to build cars

SOME POINTS OF THE 1029 MODEL

Austin Sereas seem to be gaining in popularity. not only in Hong Kong, but all over the world. At home one sees them on every road, and their sales are growing in- creasingly large in the Colonies. Now we hear that the company are opening works in the United States, in order to build there and avoid the almost prohibitive duty on the imported British car.

capable of performing satisfactori- ly under the arduous conditions of the tropics.

That however is no longer the CRDC, and an interesting proof of what the up-to-date British car will do in such circumstances is found in the following extract from a letter to Rootes Ltd of Devonshire House, Piccadilly, Lon- don, W., world exporters of the ear in question, from the private owner of a Hillman Fourteen who uses it in Tanganyika Territory, Central Africa.

THE MOTOR-CAR HABIT.

VAST EXTENSION.

PRICES AND TYPES,

[BY JOHN PRIOLEAU.]

The news,

that the Förd factory is about to produce a new car, to take the place of the old and de servedly famous "Lizzie" is s reminder of the fresh

near

approach of the day when this country will have as high a proper tion of cars per head of population as any other.

NEW FORD IN MANILA.

SELECTIVE TRANSMISSION, FOUR WHEEL BRAKES.

UNUSUAL SPEED FEATURED, A new Ford car with selective transmission four-wheel brakes and unusual speed will be seen da Manila streets soon, obording to an announcement made last night by the Manila Trading and Supply Company.

The local Ford distributors made public a cablegram received from Edsel Ford yesterday: The cable follows:

New Ford car designed for modern condition with unusual speed and acceleration, not merely refined model but entirely new chr from radiator to rear axle. Noth ing quite like it in quality or price. Four cylinders, forty borse power, unusually quit at all remaritable acceleration speeds,

Whether the new Ford will turn out to be a type of car likely to sell in large numbers in this coun- and speed, four wheel brakes, try remains to be seen, but the standard solective gear shift, mul tiple dry disc clutch, four hydrau "I have done my first long anouncement of its arrival is a lie shock absorbers, irreversible sign of the times With Austin steering gear, ignition simplified A ear as small as this is severely Safari" on her, 2500 miles, from and Morris alone asid to be pre-system battery angle coil, and die tested on the hills of Hong Kong, Kilosa to Newala and back. She ducing something like 150,000 new tributor, new startar generator. but it seems fully capable of all the first car ever to have done cars for next year, the majority of Combination pump splash gravity. it is asked to do, and sometimes this trip. The stiffer the hills be which will probably be sold at lubrication Combi masion thermo- home, the marketing in large quan- syphon and pump cooling system. Unusual of a good deal more than it is cams and the deeper the sand the tities of a car from a factory like Beautiful body lines.

Ford's is significant. It is evident economical fuel consumption, dow

Six meant to do. A few days ago cné 'more she seemed to rise to the co-

passenger that manufacturere on this scale centre gravity. of these cars passed through thecasion. She did not boit once in have decided views on the question types roadster coupe phaston tour- town with seven up, "one for each the whole journey. Que hill in of the saturation point. They caning, tudor fordor sport coupe all

not see it very close as Fet

in four colours. New modela re- horse-power," running without any particular" was approximately an

The choice of cars, or rather I present result of Ford experienes apparent difficulty. Still it is obs-mile pull. No car had previous should say the range of prices, a in building over fifteen million viously bad policy to overload and ly gone up this without boilings enormous, and the differences vehicles. Will be sold on quality strain a car in this way, and an I have proved that it is the finest between each prise so small, that basis and prices will be low. As- Austin Seven should never be made engine one could possibly have for the battered old phrase, à car sembly plants preparing for record

for every purse," rings truer than production. to carry more than three grown up a really hot country."

it has ever done before. We are persons except in an emergency."

not yet told at what price the now Ford will be sold, but at home we

which The bent and lengthened gear

making CLTS

practical machines lever of the 1928 model Austin will

thoroughly

Only last be greatly appreciated by owners

from £150 upwards of this car, as will the slightly

week a preliminary announcement was made of a new car to be built in this country at that price. It greater leg room. Both these items

is not only, however, due to the wide range of prices and the low- acas of those at the bottom of the scale that more and more people are buying cars, and more in ex- sequence considering taking the plunge, but also to the now almost universal system of really easy payments, extended over a number of years.

This British firm has seriously studied motoring conditions over- seas, and, as the above shows, has lost no time in modifying itd. de sign so as to make it suitable for tropical use.

WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO

The only way to realize the great values offered in FISK TYRES is to look over the line. Every one of these tyres has earned its reputation for QUALITY and MILEAGE.

FISK REGULAR BALLOON-Standard Quality...

FISK EXTRA HEAVY BALLOON-A Super Tyre for Super Service.

FISK TRANSPORTATION CORD-For Commercial Cars,

THERE IS A "CIRCLEMADE" FISK RED TUBE FOR EVERY TYRE

GILMAN & COMPANY, LTD.

4e de Your Read:

THE FISK TYRE EXPORT COMPANY, INC. 250 West 47th Street, New Yorką. U. S. A.

FISK

arc

are

Not only is there now no reason why nearly everyone should not own a car, but the choice of types is so wide that, within reasonable limite, the would-be motorist who is least blessed with wealth can choose his car from a range which only three years ago would have seemed impossible. For less than £900 he can have salcons and coupes, and even a form of what

:

"

FIJIAN. TAXI-CABS, PROGRESS IN ISLANDS OF HAPPINESS.

MONTREAL Canadian money is to play an important part in a new meat-pack- ing industry in the Fiji Islands, where there is a law insisting that' all enterprises must have a certain percentage of British capital.

One of the chick officials of Suva, who has been holiday-making here, tells me that progress in the islands is rapid. As yet there are no rail- ways, but there are over 300 taxi- rabs and privately owned cars, 60) per cent of which are of British or Canadian manufacture

"There is not the least semblance of disloyalty" stated my inform- ant; "the entire group of islands is whole-heartedly. British, although there are only 3,000 Englishmen in the islands, as compared with 84,000 Fijian natives and 73,000 natives of the East Indies,

He describes the islanders as the

is known as the Sunlight, saloonhappiest people in the world. Un-

A number of these were shown at fortunately, tuberculosis is spread- Olympia, and, to my mind, it was one of the most remarkable features of that show. It is only a short time ago that anyone who was buying a really "cheap car was compelled to put up with some- thing in the open tourer line, with, more often than not, extremely seanty protection from the wea ther. Remarkable progress has been made in coach-building, and one of the most useful results is this new production of light, cheap closed bodywork:

ing, and some people account for this by blaming the law which com.. pels natives to clothe when they come to town,

Not only has the once expensive saloon and other forms of closed care become attainable by practi- eally every buyer, but for those to whom the mechanical side makes a real appeal, there is a wanderful. The choice of types of engines. Kix-cylinder light engine of from twelve to fifteen horse-power" is rapidly increasing in popularity,

and

a number of old-established firms are, producing it for prices which would have been undreamt of three years ago. I do not say that for this reason a small six- uylinder engine is necessarily bet ter than a well-tried light four- cylinder. Before the new type be- comes worthy of being called universal, I fancy it will have to go through considerable modifica tions in contain examples. While one welcomes the appearance of the really cheap six-cylinder car be cause it is a sign of the coming universality, to coin a word, of the motor-car, it means that while there is any amount of quantity, the question of quality is begin- ning to receive proper attention.

It is notoriously more difficult to build a successful small six-cylin- der than a successful four-cylinder, and the fact that so many makers are entering this highly competi tive market shows not only that they have the courage of their con victions, but that they are willing to risk their good name.

The eight-cylinder engine is still} some way from being what is call- ed popular. I have no doubt, how- ever, that before very long it will. rival the six-cylinder, and that within two or three years it will he possible to buy a decently made, well-proved car of this type for a price not far removed from that charged for the cheap six-cylinder t-day,

Apart from the immense choice of cars which can be reasonably considered by the modest buyer, one of the most encouraging sigat of the times is the all-round, ex- cellence of the orm themselves. 80 Jong as cors are made it will w

ways be possible to find faulte in their design or -construction, but the conscientious, critic undoubted-

ly finds it more difficult year by year to discover anything serious in either direction.

for

Economical Transportation

CHEVROLET

IS HERE!

PRICES DELIVERED HONG KONG

G8610 G8720

Present Equivalent

"Do."

EL.K.81,220 H.K.81,440

Half-ton Truck Chassis One-ton Truck Chassis

Roadster Tourer Coupe

Sedan

G8770

Present Equivalent..

H.K.$1,540

770

Do.

1,540

930

Do.

1,860

1,000

Do.

2,000

All Prices include Spare tyre and tubes.

DISTRIBUTORS FOR SOUTH CHINA

THE HONG KONG HOTEL GARAGE

25, Queen's Road Central. CABLE ADDRESS :

Tel C. 4759

"KREMOFFICE," HONG KONG.

CANTON DEALER: H. C. LEE Western Motor Car Company

CABLE ADDRESS :

Shakee Road..

LEESHAMEEN," CANTON,

Here They Are!

OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS

OF THE

NEW FORD

FOUR

WORTH WHILE WAITING

B MOTOR-FORTY HORSEPOWER.

SELECTIVE SLIDING GEAR TRANSMISSION-STANDARD SHIFT, MULTIPLE DRY DISC CLUTCH.

BATTERY SINGLE COIL AND DISTRIBUTOR IGNITION.

IRREVERSIBLE TYPE STEERING GEAR

NEW TYPE STARTER-GENERATOR.

COMBINATION PUMP, SPLASH AND GRAVITY LUBRICATION:

FOUR WHEEL BRAKES...

COMBINATION THERMO-SYPHON AND PUMP COOLING SYSTEM. FOUR HYDRAULIC SHOCK ABSORBERS.

LOW CENTRE OF GRAVITY.

EXCEPTIONAL SPEED. BEAUTIFUL BODY LINES,

SIX DIFFERENT PASSENGER MODELS.

OBTAINABLE IN FOUR COLOURS.

ANDREW HARPER & SON

AUTHORIZED

FOR"

LINCOLN Ford FORDSON

CARS TRUCKS TRACTORS

DEALERS.

4A,Des Vœux Road Central.

Tel 4895.