OCTOBER 26TH 1 1907.

THE AUTOCAR a Jonrnnl publisbeb tn tbe tnterests of tbe mccbnnicall\? propelleb roab carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.

No. 627. VoL. XIX. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26TH, 1907 . [PRICE 3D.

TIIE AUTOCAR.

(Published Weekly.)

Registered as a new~aper for transmission in the United Kin,dom.,

Entered as secend-class matter in the New Ye1k (N.Y,) Post Office.

EDITORIAL OFFICE :

COVENTRY.

fU.c3LISHING OFFICES :

2.J, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., ENGLAND.

CONTENTS.

NOTES .. USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS THE 20-J0 H.P. WESTINGHOUSE CAR (ILLUSTRATED) ON THE ROAD. Bv OwEN JOHN .. THE NEW NtLMELIOR MAGNETO (ILLUSTRATED) .. WARNING SIGNPOSTS ON THE HIGHWAYS .. THE EFFECT OF SPEED OS FUEL CONSUMPTION (ILLUSTRATED ) ARMY MOTOR RESERVE. A Busv MONTH THE 24 H .P. ALBION CAR (ILLUSTRATED) . . THE NEW COVENTRY HUMBER CARS ( II.LUSTRATED) .. THE SUSBEAM CARS .. CORRESPONDENCE HALF-AN-HOUR WJTH A ROTHWELL CAR (ILLUSTRATED) A FOUR-CYLINDER REX CAR .. THE ID EAL MOTOR Hoo D (ILLUSTRATEDi CONTINENTAL NOTES AND NEWS ( ILJ.USTRAT ED ) THE VEXED QUESTION OF MUDGUARDS (ILLUSTRATE D ) ARIES , LTD . A SAFETY GEAR LEVER LOCK ( ILLUSTRATED) .. FLASHES .. THE ELASTES DETACHABLE RIM (ILLUSTRATED ) .. SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES .. A USEFUL TYRE REPAIR - RUN ON A 24 H.P. A LBION .. SOME R ECEST PATENTS

PAC&

625-626 . . 627 628-630 . . 631 632-634 . . 634 636-637 . . 637 638-640 641 ·642 . . 642 643-647 . . 648 . . 648 . . 649 650-652 653-654 . . 654 . . 655 656-658

659 . . 060 . . 661 . . 662

"THE AUTOCAR" SUBSCRIPTION RATES : British l• les, 16s. A brood (thin paper edition), 22s. Sd. rcr arnm.

/ The Improvement of Highways. On page 634 we publish a copy of a circular which has bee n sent by the Local Government Board to th e clerk of every county counci l throughout the country. This circu lar deals with th e que tion of warning signs , such as those erected to signify hidden crossings, dan­ gerous corners, and so forth. It also reminds th e county councils of their po11·ers to alter dangerous roads. No doubt the circul a r wil I raise the usual storm of indignation from p eopl e oppo ed to progress. Th ey will ask indignantly why the beautiful hedges of th e country roads should be removed, and so on. They do not seem to understand that no one wants to remove the hedges, except for a few yards at places where th ey mask corn ers or c ross ings. As to the question of warn -

ing signs, the way these are placed by those county councils who use them is another argument in favour of the desirability of a central department to control the roads. In one county we may find the majority of the signs very intelligently placed. In another, and perhaps adjacent, county they are put in most ridiculous positions. For instance, we find a warning of a village which stands on th e summit of a hill a quarter of a mile away at the bottom of the hill. Then perhaps a mile or two away we find warnings of a blind crossing erected so close to it as to be almost useless. There are many places where the signs are absolutely unnecessary, and then perhaps some really dangerous spot is left absolutely without a sign. As to the way th e signs are dotted about indiscriminately on one side of the road or the other it is usel ess to say much.

We are glad to note, however, that matters are gradually improving in these respects. In some counties the signs are of some use, as th ey indicate what is to be expected, and a triangle on the top of a pole is not used alike to indicate a village or a hidden crossing on a sharp bend. However, quite half the crossing signs erected to-day would not be required if the simple plan were adopted of putting the sign or direction post in a prominent position where it could be seen by all travelling up and down the main road and along the cross road . Of course, there are many crossings which are so indicated, but we should say there are a t least as many at which the signpost, instead of being put well out like a lamp post, or a telegraph pole, is placed inside th e hedge and perhaps half enveloped in the foliage of a tree . In fact, there is no doubt whatever that a littl e intelligent attention to these and other matters would re ult in a great improvement in the safety of the roads without entai ling any appreciable expense. It is mainly a question of commonsense, and 1Ye hope that the Local Government Board circular will be taken to heart by those county c~m s whose action or in a tion shows that they are, ev though they know it not , in need of exhortation F ·om Above, as Kipling puts it.

Steel-studded Tyres. We do not often find ourseh·es opposed to Colonel R. E. Crompton, but his recent proposition that the members of th e Motor Union should be urged to use steel-studded tyres only on th e paved or asphalted surfaces of streets in towns is, in our opinion, quite an impracticable suggestion, for the simple reason that there a re thousands of cars which a re used for both town and country 11·ork, and 1t i quite impossible for the owner to arrange to be continuall y changing their tyres . Besides that , what is th e tourist to do? It does not matter how ca reful he may be he has found by painful expe ri ence th at it is a lmo. t impo sible to drive his ca r in towns through whi ch he may pass on, say, a hundred miles dri1·e unl ess he has non-skid tyres. It may be urged that he should use detachable nonskids, but this is not 1rnrkabl e, as it would mean putting on and taking off his non-skids every time he came to and le ft a town. In fa ct, we might go on to