1935-10-01 — Page 2

Notes From Everywhere

It's curious how a lot of people Become all hot and bothered whenever some one makes a pro- posal Like the proverbial son of Erin, they are "ogin it" eveh be- fore they know what "It" realy means The Minister of Trans- part is believed to be considering the issue of regulations controll- ing the use of radto sets installed or carried in motor vehicles.. It is only

a contemplated regula- tim, yet many interested parties have been screaming at the top of their highpitched voices about the iniquity of St.

Opinions are divided on the question of" whether a working wireless set operating within a motor vehicle in a bult-up area is likely to add to the dangers of the highway, and, of course, the radio trade maintain that it does not. Many responsible motorista, however, and at least the Auto- mobile, Association, think that a Loudspeaker blaring away In car is bound to affect the con- centration of the driver on the Job he has ir hand, and that he w therefore be more llable r

accident.

..

1

A FULL-TIME, JOB I have travelled in a car Atted with wireless tuned for broadcast reception and, as the passenger ir. the front seat, I regarded it as an unmitigated nuisance. Many people may be able to listen to a crooner and concentrate on the problems of the crowded highway with perfect safety. but I am not one of them. When, I am driving a car the car demands my un- divided attention; and I try to. meet the demand. 100 per cent.

I do not see the slightest ob- jection to wireless being turned on when the car is parked in the middle of a field-a very big field -but I do not require to lose sleep in thinking of objection to thousands of "crooner-crazies" parading, the streets of our towns and villages in ears which will drive sane people mud...

I followed such car the other day. In it were a couple of young things (one female and the other not quite manly), and as the car aped along they swayed from side to side in time with the so-called music. And yet many folks think Mr. Hore-Belisha a needlessly meddlesome fellow!

MEDDLESOME FELLOWS Writing of meddlesome fellows reminds me of those drivers" who try to regulate the conduct and actions of every other road user. I have met a lot of them recently. As a rule they hug the centre of the road and wave their arms at everyone who dares to pass within shouting distance. With- out confidence in themselves, they assume that every other driver s incapable of placing his car in a position to pass in perfect safety, and they are constantly pointing to the near side of the road and cowing at the approaching car. It is impossible to indulge in retaliatory action except in very rare instances. Not long ago a rather elderly and irascible-look- Ing. gentleman waved me out of his way and yelled most unkind and forcible words into my ear as I passed.

Conscious of doing nothing wrong I turned about and caught him up quickly, just as he was stopping by the roadside. I asked him if he wanted to speak to me: apparently he did. His reply was that he thought I was going to run into him head on. My retort was that the road in question was over 40ft, wide, that I was within 6ft, of the kerb on my own side and that he was rather over the centre on the same s'de. After a not unpleasant moment or two on my part' I invited him to keep cool when driving and not to take it upon himself to be a mobile policeman. I then took my departure.

14

I am satisfied that he did not anticipate that anyone would fol- low him and demand an explana- tion of his conduct

There are times when any driver is justified in rebuking fel-· low motorists.. The food who always parks his car round a bend in the road and deaves the offside door open as well deserves to be, treated to more than mere words. Again, the party who "pulls up at the narrowest part of the road and calmly-proceeds to have a meat on the grass should be prosecuted for causing a public mischler,

In such cases the defence is that there is a good view from the spot and that there is no lace to get the car off the road. Such a defence merely aggravates. She oftende

CIDENT-PRONE DRIVER

trip recently. I In an 8 h.p.

Ford salcon driven by a gentle- man of mature age. It did not take long to discover that I was

a for the thrill of

life. my Within half an hour of the start he passed red signal lights, struck". a heap of rubbish on the road- side such a whack that I thought the front spring must go, chang- ed his mind three times about passing locries in front, and had te-stand hard on the brakes to avold hitting oncoming cars head on. Fortunately. his maximum speed was 30 miles an hour, and his conversation was solely on the subject of how to drive cars with consideration and safety.

After lunch he invited me t take

wheel. the

Within minute of my doing so he Was

ir a

state of nervous col- lapse. The speedometer had reached 55... miles an hour, and the ttle car was bowling along nicely. He besought. me to drive safely.

He was certain the car. would overturn. that it would not take bends without running off the road, and, fina ly. I would I was unkind wreck the engine.

enough to stay at the wheel until I had icrmed an opinion of this Ford car with 30,000 miles to its credit.

The road performance of this ear astonished me. It was by no means in what I would des- cribe as the best condition, yet its acceleration was comparable with many new "tens" I have driven.

found the I

steering rather strange at first owing to Its dirertness, but that must

a fault, not be adjudged

the steering on my own car being on the low-geared side.

GOOD BRAKES

Although I could not see the tip of the nearside wing I found the visibility good and the con- trols nicely placed. Brakes were adequate, but on this car they need relining. When this is done the stopping distances will be

good indeed.

The car held the road well on the straight, but required some care when cornering fast, Again, this feeling may have been due to my strangeness with the direct steering, Petro consumption "n the run

38 was approximately m.p.g. and ok worked out at 900 to the gallon. The suspension struck me as being rather hard. and the upholstery could have been softer:

In brief, this Ford "eight,” some two years old and obviously neglected, impressed me favour- ably in its road, performance. In the hands of a

competent and unfettered driver it would make many larger cars look rather tor- tolse-like on the road.

་་

which

THE NEW MODELS

The models for 1938 have beer. announced indicate that we need not look for any-.. thing startling in the new pro- gramme. Prices incline to rise, but quality appears to be better. This al to the good. Most knowledgable people are sick of shoddy parst slung intò their cars in order to keep down the selling prices,

STANDARD CARS FOR" 1936

On the 15th August, the day that details of the new season's programme were announced, over 1,000 Standard 1935 models had already left the works at Coven- try, thereby enabling deliveries to

commence at once.

while pro- duction had reached a" ngure * over 100 cars a day.

As in former years, the range consists of five types, the Nine. Ten, Twelve, Sixteen and Twenty horse-power models, prices show- ing a substantial reduction over those

last year. qf

Perfor- mance figures the new cars are above the average, the smal- est in the range being capable of 60 m.p.h. Increased engine " power has been obtained by carefully redesigning the cylinder head and induction system, in conjunction with the down- draught carburettor. Four-speed synchro-mesh gearboxes and 12 volt lighting and starting sets are nitted on all mode's and tele- scopic steering columns on af, ex- cept the Nine and Twenty (long. wheelbase).

Without resorting to the added complication and weight of in- dependent. aystems, a good riding car rasa been produced by care- fulty arranging the weight dis-. tribution on the front and repr axles and designing softer front springs. At the same time, this rearrangement, of weight has allowed the front of the car fo

th

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HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1935.

MOTOR JOTTINGS THE TAIKOO DOCKYARD & ENGINEERING

CARS OF 1936

AN OLD BOLLEE

New Austin Models

The Austin models for the com- ing season comprise the Seven, the Ten-Four, the Light Twe.ve- Six with 15.9 or 13.0 engine, the Sixteen and ghteen and the Twenty. It was expected when the company introduced last year the Ruby saloon and Pearl ca- briolet on a dropped chassis that the Seven would increase its po- It is stated that sales pularity. during the past year have achley- ed a new record.

the The braking system of Seven has been improved, and the range now includes a new Open Road four-seater tourer. similar in line to the Ruby saloon, mounted on the same dropped chassis, and embodying a spare- wheel compartiment and disap- pearing luggage grid. The two- seater has a new frontal design to bring it into line with the other models: Prices of the Seven run from £102 10s. for the two-seater to £143 for the Nippy sports two-seater, the Pearl ca- briolet being X128, and the Ruby saloon, £125 or with fixed head .£118 The Open Road tourer costs £112.

TEN-FOUR

IMPROVEMENTS

And Its Inventor

My companion » was quite ob- viousy a bad map reader. We had turned and twisted down miles of narrow lanes, and there seemed no prospect of their in- ishing. However, wa at last sighted a house tucked away ni- most out of sight of the road,

At the front dor we were greet- ed by a hammering and clang- ing, and, incidentally a litle, very ittle, unclassified English, which proceeded from an outhouse "at- the side. To our repeated knock- ing the door was at last opened by an individual who was wear- ing a pair of oliy overalls, and, indeed, was excessively only him- self."

My companion, since it was he who hua lost our way, asked the person now to get to-, our des- tinated. This was answered by the wave of an olly had indicat- Ing the direction from which we had come. The man was silent for a moment, then he said, "You must have a car outside, then " My companion answered "Yes," which reply was not exactly con- ducive to conversation. Anyway, the man continued in the same vein with, “One of the new self- driven ones, I suppose?" "Yes," I said, "It's one of the new Dorsets, Atted with a 'ten moving paris' water engine." Shaking his head sadly, the olly one solemnly con- demned these modern engines. Then. brightening up, he asked us if we could spare a little time to see something he thought we

might be interested in,

The Ten-Four has also finish- ed another year of record sales. An improvement noticeable in this model is the provision of Lu-- vax hydraulic shock absorbers in place of the frictional type for- merly arted. Maintenance, 15 further simplied by the Atting self-lubricating of

carbon thrust, thus climinating the oil- ing point for the clutch with-

We followed him into the shed drawal thrust race. The lines of whence we had heard the ham- the Lichfield saloon and the Col-

mering and there, surrounded by cabriclet ar: improved by wyn

a ring of tools, was an old Bollee. the adoption of the swept roof Every part had been pollshed like line with a windscreen with cur a new pin, and reflected the love ved top and corners, as introduc- of is owner.

"There," ed on the Seven last year. The

sald the person, Open Road tourer now has a rear proudly. We both fired questions panel design which encloses, the at him. nyhere did it come wheel and provides a luggage frum?" *What was it doing in platform. Prices of the Ten-Four this out-of-the-way place?" "W723"

£158 for the Open range from

It in running order?" He an the Clifton two- Road tourer,

swered a cur questions in detail sealer, or the Lichfield fixed-white be fell to examining the head saloon, to £215 for the Rip- ley sports tourer.

The Light Twelve range con- tinues to be available with either a four-cylinder engine of 11.9 h.p. or a six-cylinder unit of 13.9 or 15.9 b.p. A1 these models have a down-draught carburettor, and "and the Light Twelve-Four has in addition a combined Intake silencer and air cleaner. A new type of steering gear works with an hour-glass warm and sector. The range now includes an Open Road tourer having the distinc tive lines of the Ascot" salcon. with a spare wheel compartment" and luggage p'atform. A new form of the Elon two-seater has the latest frontal design. This model costs £188, and the 11.9 h.p. Ascot salon £208.

THE HEAVIER MODELS Perhaps the most important Improvements for 1986 are shown. in the Sixteen and Eighteen mo- dels, for which the Girling type braking system has been adopted. Other improvements are the cam steering gear, and one which the owner-driver will welcome is hydraulic Jacking which is easily opérated from the driving seat. A combined intake silencer and air cleaner is fitted to the car- buretor, and the road springs, have anti-friction disks between the main leaves to preserve sup- pleness. These cars can be had with the Hayes Self-selector transmission at £50 extra. The Hetford saloon costs £298 with the 16 h.p. engine, or £313 with the 18 hp. unit. In this range there is the Chalfont saloon with division, costing £328 and £338 with the respective engines; and the York saloons which are £10 less, The Highest priced model is the four-light Westminster sa.com. £348 with the 17.9 h.p. unit.

The Austin Twenty, can be ob- tained as the Mayfair limousine

vehicle. We soon found that the Person had 'endurèd all. modern improvements to cars for a time; but he had reached the end of his tether when steering became almost all it was necessary to do when driving a car. So he decid- ed to move, to the country and devote his spare time to his Bil- tee. "

name.

Thanking him for a pleasant and an interesting half-hour, be- fore departing we asked him his "Mr. Blank," he said. I gasped. He was well known as the inventor of the Dorset ear. and all the latest devices incor- porated in it!-in "The Autocar"

'AMERICAN CAR PRODUCTION

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En Britain the average motorist, when he thinks about American car production, is apt to assume that all the well-known Ame- rican cars are turned out in hundreds of thousands as com- pared with thousands made in British factories. It will, there fore, come as a considérable sur- prise to him to learn that this year there appear to be only five USA: cars which are built in large numbers than 1s our own Morris. They are the Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth. Dodge and Oldsmobile, of which the respec- tive outputs for the first six "months of 1935 were 488,468, 312,-

164, 213,057, 96.923 and 80,440.

For all the remainder the half- year's figures are considerably below the 50,000 which, according to the sales director of the Morris Company, is a conservative esti- mate of six months production from the Cowley works.

With the possible addition, of the Pontiac, of which 45,124 were produced between January 1st and June 30th this year, our Aus- tin manufacturing figures are

or landaulette, each priced at also well ahead of those for

4680. The innovations on the Twenty chassis include the adop tion of hydraulic Jacks and the Girling braking system. It will be seen that, the range for 1936 is wide and that values are. good. Additions have also been made to the sports models.

have a bolder and more stream- lined appearance, while giving greater body accommodation

4

American cars other than the "big ve" already mentioned.

These figures are, we think, en- couraging to those who wish to see British car exports com- pete successfully on a price basis in overseas markets with those from the US.A. Admitted- ly. selling prices must be depen- dent on production costs, and the latter are materially affected by numbers produced, but.it is good to know that, whatever advant- age in this respect the "big: five"

WOLF!

Mass production of components has resulted in several side-tracks not directly connected with the mechanisms themselves.

One of them is the dearth of mechanics, the really skilled sort of men who can come up to the standard of a pre-war man I knew who claimed that he would make anything used on a çar. from a cylinder block "to a crown wheel, "with a knife and fork" If he had no other tools.

Then again the suppliers of ac- Lesseries are inclined to regard all renders D.S unmechanically minded (if no is charitable), or, to take the uncharitable view. they are determined (a) that a defective part shall be scrapped and a new one be bought, or (b) that only their own "service" sta- tion shall do the repair.

Service station needs those quotation marks.

DEFINITION OF "SERVICE" "Service," according to one of those prominent citizens of Zenith, so adequately portrayed by Sinclair Lewis, "is what you give away after you've sold an article, so that the thing needn't be as good as it would have to be if you didn't give the service."

And even the service stations of some of the most notable firms are not above charging for a complete overhaul of a compon- ent when, obviously, the mud is still in the threads of screws that would have had to have the nuts run off if the "complete overhaul" had been done,

The knowledgeable owner is not encouraged. Once, at a cer- tain maker's 'service depot I ask- ed that three words be Alled in on in assembly diagram that I had seen prepared. We can't go it," said the manger, if we did you would go and do the job yourself."

That point of view left me speechless! A garage proprietor would have been justified in say. ing that, and more, to me if I had the effrontery to ask him, but for a reputable concern's own Service depot to take that line destroyed once and for all any bellef I might have had in "ger- vice" as ordinarily understood.

There is now growing ten- dency to rivet parts together (a) for cheapness of production, and (b) to ensure that the owner can. not dismant e them without re- vealing that he has done so. Some of these riveted assemblies eun- tain lots of next-to-nothing, but which, in the official book of words, we are often told · "must on no account be dismantled as special jigs and tools are required for reassembly."

VALUE, 3D.

"

Not long ago I took one, such item to places because of a fai- lure in working, and found with · in a most elementary přece at mechanism worth 3d. at a gener- CUS estimate. But would the makers supply a spare? Not like- ly!

They pointed out the great dir- ficulty of fitting, the special ilg needed-(one bit of wood, li neces- sary at all and so on, and pre- ferred to send the complete ap- paratus if I sent the defective one back. Two icts of parcel postage, and correspondence twice both ways (29. in all), and two me- chanisms selling at about 155. each, out of use for several days (capital charges against them, please!)

What the device was I needn't say, but there is one on ninety- nine out of every hundred mo- dern cars on the road, Thus I incline to disbelieve warnings 'sealed-up against dismantling parts. But if you have no parti- cular skill with tools, don't blame me if you share by disbelief and then find yourself in a worse case than when you started.-D.H.S. In "the Autocaz."

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American machines may have over our own largest producers, is not shared by our other transatlantic competitors, many of which are well known and 'popular among motorists in this

country.

I', with high wages prevalent in the US.A., American factories with lower outputs than those of our own biggest prodücers can offer their ''wares in our Empire markets at prices that appeal to the prospective purchaser, there would seem to be no insuperable obstacle to our doing the same. at any rate, the position is not as bluck as it is sometimes paint- cd.

COMPANY OF HONGKONG, LIMITED.

BUILDERS OF ALL CLASSES OF SHIPS. BUILDERS OF RECIPROCATING STEAM ENGINES. BUILDERS OF MARINE AND LAND BOILERS. BUILDERS OF TURBINE MACHINERY

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PICTORIAL MAPS OF THIS COUNTRY

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AT

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