1928-12-25 — Page 10

10

MOTORING NOTES

THE DANGER OF DAZZLE.

NEED FOR TEMPORARY CONTROL.

+

THE HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25th, 1928.

SALOON CAR VERSUS OPEN TOURER.

(CONTD.)

કાં

NEW MOTOR-CYCLE

CHAIN.

RENOLD MARK PATENTED CHAIN.

In the improved designs of motor

A GALE ADVENTURE.

bave been had he had nothing stronger than a leather hood and iron hoops over his head.

Strange to

he is more pleas By ed than otherwise by the accident. The engine and chassis are not damaged, and now he will be able to have what he has always wanted (except when yews are crashing), an open body. This, it seems, was his first saloon, and he didn't like it, which is unusual, Most con- verts, from the open to the closed form of body tell you that they would never dream of a tourer after the increased comfort of a

saloon.

THE USE OF THE OXY-ACETY- LENE PROCESS IN THE "MOTOR INDUSTRY.

It is probable that the average motorist has no idea of the extent, of his or her indebtedness to the oxy-acetylene process. In fact, the parcentage of those who are aware that the application of this process has been largely responsible for the cheap and efficient car of to-day is doubtless very small indeed.

Take, for instance, the body building side of the motor-industry. Here one of the most important features of the mass production ear of to-day's is the rattle-proof steel body. In the majority of factories these bodies are pressed out and welded up; while the more expen sive type of bodies, where alumin ium is used, the seams are oxy- acetriene.welded.

Tas

Motor car wheels are pressed out If in two halves and then welded to- gether; this applies to the artillers or spoke wheel And the welding process is also employed in the manufacture of the solid or dise wheel.

The gales of the past month in Britain have furnished a new argu- ment in favour of the saloon car as against the open tourer; when branches of trees and even whole trees are falling and flying about the saloon is the safer of the two. A man I know, writes a motor Few of the many problems con-cycle engines for increased speeding, correspondent to the Sunday nected with the safe and comfort- and power; the-transmission chain Times, who lives in what was an was driving home in the midst of able driving of our motor-cars have has had less and less margin for old manor house in the Chilterns, proved so dificult of solution as performance, and given the most the worst of all the gales, and as the counteracting of headlight extreme conditions-racing with he entered his front gate an an- and big in proportion, chose that When we used acetylene inadequately lubricated chains cient yew, at least 200 years old, It fell. fair moment to succumb gas- form of lighting which the inner links have had insuffi many of us sincerely regres, owing cient hold on the bushes, and their and square upon the car, pretty tendency to move outwards has well wrecking it, but its owner to its powerful yet diffused rays--| we did not suffer aquarter of the caused the inner links to spread, cruwled out of the débris unscath saloon, actually makes eight of manufacture of oxygen production | the, more expensive type of ear discomfort we feel to-day from und. by binding on the outer linksed, which he certainly would not even the cheapest and nastiest have given tight joint trouble. electric lamp, There were, of This led to loss of power and sub- course, not a tenth per a hundredth sequent roller breakage.

dazzle.

of the same number of ears on the i

Previous attempts to solve the

road in those days, but even so, I problem have followed such lines when we were faced with a pair of big lights, labelled, as was the

3,000 or! grandiloquent custom.

were not 10,000 enndle-power, we temporarily blinded as we are now, "It was no doubt the quality of

Phsriveting over the ends of the inishes. a procedure undesirable with delicate case 'hardened parts.

The firm of Hans. llenold. Ltd.. the inventors of the original Re- old Cycle Chain, have evolved a

the light itself rather than the de-ew motor cycle chain which they gree of its power or penetration which made it so much better,a driving light than electricity, hut,

we are now

the Renold; re marketing as "Mark 10" Patented Chain. This new chain incorporates in its con- struction "Keyed Bush" which solves the problem of fixing the bashes in the side plates.

In the course of practically two- and-a-half years exhaustive

re-

whatever the reason. left, for better or worse, with the latter as a universal illuminant-- A fact which has given occupation for all sorts and conditions of in- terested persons, from Government search, to find the scientific solu- tion to the problem, in the nature departments upwards, ever since the war, with, it lias to be conceded, of the keyed bush," a solution which is capable of being applied extremely meagre results. Devices of every imaginable description on a production basis, and involv

1

one

want to have tried thein-- of

have been invented, patented, put un the market, and forgotten. Al -most without...exception the only ones which have survived have been those which cost more money than the general public

I believe pay. every single or, at all events, of "those which have been for sale-except the dip ping arrangement which is hardly, in the strictest scrise, a dazzle-cure, although, if it were universally en- ployed, it would go far towards -making the

זי

roads safer

ing no undesirable consequential weaknesses, it was discovered that the spreading of the side plates was a secondary effect only, and came about after the bush had be Kun to turn in the side, plates.

1

The construction of the Renold Mark 10 chain incorporates method of farining keys on the end of the bushes which gives them such a shape that not only is the bush prevented from turning in the side plates, but is also locked against) The illustration end movement.. shows a photograph of a large key- ed bush and plate." Half of one and end of the plate has been cut away and the bush taken out. The key. ways cut by the keys are plainly visible, but of still greater interest are the projections in the bore of the plate holes, showing how the metal had, in fact, Howed into and been moulded by the depression in front of the keys on the bush.

pleasanter at night.

Special lamp-lenses, special bulbs, screens (very expensive these), dises and dimming gadgets have all been tried out on my own cars with varying degrees of failure and suc cess. Sometimes, as in the case of

The Renold Mark 10 Patented Chain marks another distinct step the expensive screens and in then driving chain manufacture, and case of one form of lans, the results in placing it on the market the have every con- have been promising enough, but manufacturers either because the things cost too fidence that it will not only main- much to buy or because the makers, but enhance the Renold re-

putation.

lacked the necessary capital to make them cheap enough to appeal to everyone, I found I was experi menting with something which had only a temporary existence and offered no real solution of the pro- blem.

Eye-Protectors.

"

.

The Crux of The Problem

That, in fact, is the erux of the whole tituation. Within reasonable limits it dose not matter what form of dazzle-diminution is adopted, provided that it is universally em- Even blacking out," Better results have been achieved ployed. with various kinds of eye-protec- switching off the driving lights-a tors, either in the form of shields practice greatly to be condemned attached to the windscreen or of in existing conditions may serve

as a temporary solution, if every spécini spectacles. I have had ex- perience of a variety of these, and body does it. I do not believe in it in one or two cases I have found myself, because the sudden change relief from the searing glare of on- from blinding light to inky dark- Hess means that, for safety's sake, coming headlights. Yet these are, from their very nature, by no you must reduce your speed to a means infallible. A great deal of crawl, or even stop-as so many of their success depends on the dis-is do now, Yet if we all blacked tance at which they are fixed from out," without exception. I have no the driver's eyes, in the case of doubt English roads would be a glare guards, and on the nature of deal safer on Saturday and Sut- the road, in the case of the spec day nights than they are now. tacies. If the road is winding the driver may very easily be caught blinded, and once he has lock ed straight into the eyes" of headlights the rest of the world is black to him, and its occupants in- visible. This question of focussing is all-important, as I discovered the other day when I experimented with square of metal gauze, rather like fine meat-safe netting. At a distance of thirty inches from my eyes"it was only a little better than useless, but held fairly close

01.

For obvious reasons the problem. has never been so serious as now, and will get worse month after month. It is torture to drive along any main road within forty miles of London or in the neighbourhood of any big towns, for at least five hours after sunset, and when the several thousand fresh cars belong- ing to the 1029 class of owners are added to the traffic, our roads after nightfall are likely to be among the most dangerous in the world. It is a matter of the gravest urgency

up it was. distinctly successful, not that the use of high-powered lamps only in quenching the dazzling should be placed, temporarily, rays but in abling one to see the under official control. I say tem near side of the road. (where the porarily advisedly. It would be unseen cyclist of our nightmares is calamitous if the responsible au- always believed to be), level with thorities were given powers to limit the lamps of the oncoming car. illumination, but I feel sure it Another glare-guard device, how would hasten the solution of the ever, seems perfectly successful problem if some temporary com when attached to the screen 30in. promise were reached.

i mean, As an example of what "What is needed is something on I should be glad to know that for the lines of the French Code de la a definite period only, say one year, Route, a dodge by which the blind- no car, could be licensed unless it ing rags are killed, for the moment were provided with means for of meeting, their place being taken either dipping or dimming its by a sufficient driving light, incor-headlights. Neither of these at- parated compulsorily in the light tacks the trouble from the right ing system of every car. Nothing, angle, but while experts were en- wilted to the lame themselves, Rared in the search for the ideal unless its universal adoption is en- fpreed:

(Continued on next Column).

slight extra cost, drive in comfort and comparative safety. Jómé 1 PRIOLEAU in the Sunday Times.

Some interesting facts concerning the use of the oxy-acetylene process The Beat Compromise. in the British motor industry have The devotees of the open car are been supplied by Liquid Air Ltd. nowadays in a small and rapidly who specialise at their works at out of every four cars turned out wide range of equipment and ap- decreasing minority. Nearly three Wembley in the manufacture of a from the Morris factory are closed,pliances for the oxy-acetylene weld- an exceptionally attractive little applications, in addition to the and the Riley firm, which builds ing and cutting process and their

plante. them for every one tourer.

As regards the back-axic, the

two picces and welded together. differential housing of many mass- production cars is pressed out In Practically every type of silencer is the oxy-acetylene process; and in now manufactured with the aid of

welded petrol tanks are used.

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Local Companies desirous of taking ap farther Agencies will let n know the Lines in which they are interested the information will be forwarded to London, and passed on to interested parties as op portunity offers

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The Required Information should be

11, los House BTREST HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, LTD 'Hong Kong. at to the

TILL BREAKING

SALES RECORDS

GREATEST YEAR IN WILLYS-OVERLAND HISTORY

The impressive forward march of Willys-Overland continues uninterrupted. Following the most successful first half of the year in Willys-Overland's 20-year history, with sales exceeding those for the entire year 1927, came July with tremendous increased sales over any previous July. 165% more Whippet and Willys-Knight cars were shipped abroad than during July last year. The public is casting an overwhelming vote for Willys-Overland's policy of superior quality at lowest cost.

There can be no more convincing evidence than this, that Whippet fours and sixes and the Willys-Knight double-sleeve sixes offer a degree of comfort, economy and durability never previously available at such low prices. We invite you to see and drive these cars without obligation.

4-cylinder

Whippet

Tourer H.K. $1,550 Sedan H.K. $1,950.

Distributors for Hong Kong and S. China GILMAN & CO., LTD.

HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANK BUILDING. TEL. C. 290.

WILLYS

OVERLAND

Whippet Six

with

BEARING CRANKSHAFT

Tourer H.K. $1,950 Sedan HK. $2,350

WILLYS-KNIGHT

DOUBLE SLEEVE VALVE

SIX

From H.K. 2,850.

All prices and specifications are subject to change without notice.

Service:

“DURO” MOTOR CO., LTD.

NATHAN ROAD, KOWLOON.

TEL K. 226.

FINE MOTOR.

CARS