1931-04-21 — Page 2

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1931.

SPARKS

FROM THE PLUGS

NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE.

"MISS ENGLAND 1.” ON

EXHIBITION.

* England 1," Lord Wake- feld's Motor Boat in which Sir Henry Seagrave raced at Miami and Venice in 1920 so successfully, iv now "exhibited at the Science Museum, South Kensington, Lord Wakefield has presented it to the Nation. (M. Boat.)

BEAUTY AND TYRES!

Grenter beauty in design is notable trend of the present-day motor-car. The higher speed now generally travelled on all ronds and in. all countries has niso caused the. motor designer to lower the centre, of gravity of the modern car. Consequently, even the largest limousine has an air of streamlin

ing in its outward appearance.

Another factor which has given the 1931 cara greater stability at higher speeds is the use of tyres of smaller diameter, but largor cross-section. These also have add. ed to the appearance of the cars as well as increasing their safety.

The smaller diameter wheel has done much to lower the centre of gravity. When the halloon tyre first equie, juta usu ear wheels were large, and the cars were higher and inclined to be top heavy,

Agents:

be a vehicle stabiliser, an anti-skid device, and a coachwork "steady" to prevent rolling,

equalis, the load on the rear wheels, keeping the car always on a level line. These crossed arma ara at-

These virtuns are obtained by In 1994 balloon tyres were manu- means of a pair of crossed springa factured up to 23 inches rim diame-which, in their scissor-like action, ter. Gradually the sizes have been roduced and the crossection in creased. To-day the 20-inch size has been practically discontinued, leaving tyres of 17in. to 10in; to be. the prevailing diameters in use, At the same time, while making the diameter smaller it has been necessary to pay greater attention to producing a uniformly stronger section in order to give proper care to the weight of the car and its increased speed.

BERLIN SHOW.

The Berlin Motor Show showed that Germany is also entering for

the small car-buying public. The

inched to the chassis frame, and to the back axle itself, so arranged to open and close in the monner of scissors, and are additional to the usual springs of the rear axle.

CARS PER MILE.

An interesting, classification of cara on the highways" in America and in Great Britain was adopted by the delegates of the Industrial Transport Association, which re-

cently visited the U.S.A. to report

on transport. This takes the form

twenty-three millions passenger cars! The total amount of taxa- tion raised from both classes, chief. ly by patrol tax, was about £188,000,000. The fuel tax varied} from id. to 3d. a gallon.

At a time when many drivers are

A "CARE "-LESS CAR.

worrying about the new offence of careless driving it is a joy to try a car in using which the minimum of care is necessary. This is the new B-libre Bentley, one of the

most impressive of the models ex-

hibited at the last Olympia Show, After an all to brief experience of its performance I would sum up my impressions of its running by saying that it presents one of speed which I have ever experiene- the best blendings of luxury and

of "cars per mile" of highway, exed. Henes I call it the "care". less car-one ean drive at over 100 mit) and one on which one can dawdle down to the theatie or the club in the most sedate fashion,

the accelerator and there is no doubt about the result. Similies are useless in this case, but the twang of a bowstring may; serve.

Stopping or slowing up means merely pressing the pedal, Simple

ix it. not?-but on how few cars can one brake heavily and be per stop as and where one wants, with- fectly confident that the car will

out swerve or uncertainty

Steering, "springing and comfort are up to the same high average One of the Bentley's peculior at- tractions is that, while it is never intrusive, ons is always conscious

of the latent power. It is a 017 of which Bentleys may well be

proud.

A STREAM-LINED SINGER

SIX.

An altogether new and exception

duced by the Singer Co., of Coven- ally handsome car has been pre try. Mr. Kaye Don, the famous racing motorist, working in con- junction with the company's Artist

T.T. RACES AND WORLD

TRADE.

FOREIGN MACHINES ENTERED

THIS YEAR.

"It is very satisfactory," says Motor Cycling in the current issue, "that already there have been

nominations of three foreign makes of motor-cycles for the Tourist Trophy Races to be held in the Isle of Man on June 15, 17 and 18. The value of the races will be greatly enhanced by this strong

international Bavour. It is also good to see that overseas riders

will be numerous.. The business value of the TT. is very largely its influenco abroad, and the more scaliered the corners of the globe from which riders are drawn the greater will be the world interest in the result of the races.

LUXURY OMNIBUSES.

WHAT LONDON IS DOING.

The London service of buses ** is alvendy one of the best, in the world. Steps are being taken con-- tinnally for its improvement, and recently a new scheme has been

evolved to provide the metropolis with a fleet of 6,000 new buses which will be not only the largest but the most comfortable in oxistenco anywhere. They are of the cover-. ed in, double-decker type, with a

spacious gangway and a straight stairway leading from the lower to

the upper deck. The seats are beautifully sprung and upholstereð, and each one provides ample room. for the passenger to travel in com- fort. Some of these buses will be six-wheelers, but the majority will have four wheels, this being a teore convenient size for London traffic. This schome is likely to develop into, a permanent institution, “and the company which is building the 'buses is making preparations to erect dwellings for its employees near the works.

The new buses cost About £1,500)

without being aware that there is Engineer, is responsible for the de- dec. One thing seems fairly cereach, and they will be constructed

200 hp. under the bonnet ready

outstanding exhibits of that discluding city, streets. The Amerienam.ph. (when road conditions per play were the open two-seater figure is 8.17 enra per mile, while D.KW, car, coating £84; the Ope! in Great Britain the figure is 7.23. (a branch of General Motors Cor- The difference is not so great as poration), costing £09; and the most people would imagine, al | front-wheel driven Stoever, with though" in Ameries there is one articulated front and rear nxles motor vehicle to every 4.0 perso38, and a four-scáting saloon body, in England one to every 30, in listed at £178,

Wales one to every 38, in Scotland one to every 41, aud in Northern Ireland one to every 51

Over three and anc-third million motor lorries were registered in the U.S.A. last year and over

In accessories the novelty-në Ber- lin was an anti-skidding device. It is called the Schleuderfrei, and can be fitted to the rear axle of any motor carriage. It claims to

W. R. LOXLEY & Co.,

YORK BUILDING.

Telephone: 22285.

for instant action.

On some cars care is always no. Cessary in driving. One must know how quickly one can stop and how swiftly owu can get away. On the 8-litro Bentley there is no need to worry about such things. Push

LOOK FOR RED RING.

Insist on India Super Tyres, and see that you get them. The red ring where wall meets tread is a guarantee of quality Bud service.

MILES...

THE FINAL TEST

When all is said and done the tyre that the discerning motorist. eventually chooses is the one that answers bis demand for yet more mileage.

i

The best answer to this demand to-day is supplied by India Super Tyres,

You want super-mileage. We offer you the tyre that gives it. Its service is guaranteed on a generous scale, but in actual practice India Super Tyres outlive their guarantee many times over.

INDIA SUPER TYRES

sign and the car is known as the Kaye Don Singer Six Saloon.

The overhead-valve engine has dimensions of 05.5x 96 mm., with a cable capacity of 1020 cc and Treasury rating of 16.9 h.p. A four-speed gear-box is built in unit with the engine, and the clutch is of the single dryplate type. Marles steering is employed and the brakes are operated by Dowandre vacuum

servo motor.

The new Singer is definitely not intended for racing purposes, but it has been built with the degres of precision which rasing neces- ates. As a full sized, saloon it is capable of speeds approaching 70- miles per hour.

The bodywork is particularly in- teresting, for it is stream-lined wherever possible and, whilst being in no way freakish, is of altoge ther new appearance. A sloping "V" shaped sereen is used and the visor peak is rounded off neatly. The same sweep is carried out on the radiator, nose, the filler cap being found beneath the bonnet.

THE OWNER DRIVER?

Far too many small car manu- facturers have put the cart before the horso in the matter of seating necomodation, says The Light Car and Cyclecar. They have "spread themselves" on the back Beats whilst being ponny wise and pound foolish on the front seats. The man who signs the cheque for a email car in the driver; the man who sits beside him is his honoured guest. The rear coats-when they are used, which is not very often- are reserved for casual passengers for whose comfort he rarely feels geat conos17. The primo need of every small car owner is for better front seat accommodation and less and concentration upon the ameni, ties behind.

'MODERN TYRES.

The most powerful truck-in-tho- world, a special built twelve whe eler, trailer type, French make re-, cently at the Circuit des paveen," France, successfuly carried 25 tons on Michelin tyres, at an averago speed of 18 miles per hour on hilla and 31 miles per hour on level country. This is £ remarkabic dent and shows what tremendous weights the modern tyre will hold up under:

THE “BABY CAR" OF THE

WATER.

During the past few months British motor boat builders have : beea developing a new type of small cruiser, which is comparable in many respects with the modern baby car.

Details of the 11 standard evalt available are given in the annual Fitting-out Number of The Motor Hoat." "These are all between 10 ft. ins, and 22 ft. in length, having a speed range of from 7 to 23 m.p.h., whilst sleeping accommoda. tion and cooking equipment is pro vided for two or four people... ---The-prices-of-the-bonte-vary- from £ios to £340, and four of the cruisers are equipped with Austin Beven engines, similar to those in- stalled in the wellknown baby car of this make.

"At the moment, it is too early to prophesy with certainly concern. ing mechanical developments which this year's races are likely to pro- tain, however, namely, that super in batches so as to allow room for charged multi-cylinder engines are continual improvement. Already a likely to make their first public apexperiments with a crude oil en- sum of £40,000 has been spent on peasance in the Isle of Man. Ifgine. The initial cost of the 'has they are raced with success and enn with this type of engine is £300 in offer a serious challenge to the

excess of that of the ordinary type ever-popular single, the 18:1 T.T.

at this sum will be quickly coun |ter-balanced by cheaper running raees may well prove to be a most costa. Over 300 transport experts important milestone in the historydom assemled to witness special from all parts of the United King- of motor-cycle development. One tests of the new husas, and it is thing is certain, viz., that a TT.probable that, as a result of the Buccess would give the multi-eylin- London scheme, many transport very substantial systems elsewhere will be reorganis- der engine a ́fillip."""

ed on similar lines.

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