NT,i-IE AUTOCAR B 3ournal pubhsbe~ in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicalll? propelle~ roa~ carriage.

EDITED BY H. WAL TEl't STANER.

VoL. XIX. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND, 1907. LPRICE 3D.

TIIE A UTOCAR.

(Published Weekly.)

Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the ~nited Kingdom.

En .ered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) Post O!fice.

E!: >ITOkiAL OFFICE :

COVEi~TRY.

::: >UBLISHING OFFICES :

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

CONTENTS.

NOTES . , . ,

USEFUL HINTS ANO TIPS.. . .

THE 24 H.P. ALBION CAR (ILLUSTRATED)

, , 663-66~ ~

. . 665

{: • , , 666-668

ON THE ROAD, BY OwEN JOHN . . .·• • •

1908 RovER CARS-THE AuTo~oSlLE S,TUATION ui'IAM'.ER1CA

669

670-

THE IMPROVED DUNLOP DETACHABLE RIM • • .... j :~i , . . · 671 , ENERGY. BY CHAS. STREET. • • ' . . ' 672 , THE NEW 18 H.P. DARRACQ (ILLUSTRATBD) • • • ! ":" . . . . 67~-674 THE MOTOR LAW A TIGER , . • 67,4 ROAD DusT AND AUTOMOBILE ENGUjES • • 675 THE 16--10 H.P. LANCIA CAR (1.LLUSTRATED.).. • • 67(-677 HIGHWAY OBSTRUCTION.. . • • • • , • • . • • 677 CONTIN"ENTAL NOTES AND NEWS t lLLUSTRATED) • • • • 678-680 THE LATES1 CHALLENGE • . 680 Two PATTERN5 OF DEASY CARS 681 THE AUSTIN CAR • • • . . • 682 WHERE THE GRASS GROWS IN THE STREET~. . 683 THE P03ITI1..1N OF THE FIAT COMPANY.. 683 THE 18 H.P. ENFIELD CAR 684 REPORT OF THE FUELS CoMMITTEE . . . . 684 CoRRESPONDENCE . . , . , , 685-690 A MOTOR CAR EXPEDITION IN j APAN !ILLUSTRATED) , , 691-693 THE KENSINGTON HOOD (ILLUSTRATED) 693 THE LATEST BEESTON HUMBER CARS.. . • 694 FLASHES (ILLUST&ATED) , • . . 695-696 THE HOTCHKISS RELIABILITY TRJ.4L CERTIFICATE.. , • , . 697-698 DusT PREVENTION CoMPSTITION. REPORT ON J'AR TRrALS . • 698 SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES • , ... . 699 SOME RECENT PATENTS • • 700

· THE AUTOCAR '' SUBSCRIPTION RATES: British Isles, 16s. Abroad. (1hin p,per editio ,1 ). 226. Bel per annu111,

/4~tes. The ~rains of Braking. From time to time we have referred to the fact that the strains set up by vioJent use of the brakes are more severe than those which are imposed by the engine . This is one of the reasons why comparatively lowpowered cars with tyres well up to their power and weight, nevertheless in the hands of some drivers, make short work of their tyres-far shorter work than they should do, considering the power and weight and the apparent adequacy of rhe tyres for thei r work. The matter has been brough , up again by Mr. C. R. Garrard in a very interesting letter to us upon the subject. He has been making calculations, and the re sults are, to say the least of them, most interesting.

Mr. Gi1rrarrl fin~s that, for a car weighing 30 C\\·ts.

running at thirty miles an hour and st<; >pped i_n twenty yards, a brakiqg effort of 67.3 h.p: 1s required. A car of the same weight at forty miles an hour and stopped in fifty yards requires 63.6 h.p. Then he takes a 35 cwt. car moving at sixty miles an hour, and co bring this mass to a standstill in one hundred yards represents 126 h.p. To do the same thing in five seconds equals 172 h.p., and in fifty yards 252 h.p., while in the impossible distance of twenty yards no less than 630 h.p. would be necessary to bring the moving mass down from sixty miles an hour to a dead stop in what is roughly under five car len_gths.

Although it will be seen that the energy 1s much less at comparatively low speeds, it is equally obvious that in the case of the second example the car must exceed ·63 h. p. if it is to be possible for the en~ine to induce as great a strain as the brakes. That 1s to say, _the engine must be equal to driving th~ car at forty miles an hour in fifty yards from a standmg start. We may ignore for the moment the fact that slightly more pm~er w,0uld be required in accelerating thaJ? woulp be dissipated in decelerating, as of course m one case. the ai r resistance is increasing and in the other decrea?mg. Wi.thout taking up any other of the examples given, we have only to ask, "How many cars are there on the road to-day weighing 30 cwts . and developing over 63 h.p . ?" It will, therefore, be seen at once that Mr. Garrard 's contention is a perfectly sound one.

We desire to drive this matter home to our readers, because there is no doubt that many motorists use their brakes with unnecessary violence. There are times when a sudden stop must be made and when the consideration above ali others is to stop as shortly as possible, but these sudden arre·stations should never be indulged in except when absolutely necess~ry-and _the vast majority of them are not necessary 1f the dnver handles his car with proper restraint-and we are sure that if it were generally realised how terrific are the braking strains, how th ey racked the car and de_stroye_d the tyres, motorists would be much more gentle m their use of the brakes than many of them are to-day. As we said in connection with a recent hill accident , there is no doubt that too many people do not realise the tremendous amount o~ stored up energy they have in their cars_, especia)l~/n the heavier and larger varieties, when moving at h& speeds.

The Effect of Police Traps. lt is sometimes suggested that the existence and virulence of police traps in certain districts exert a deterrent effect upon the would-be purchaser of a motor car, and even upon present poosessors, who in a few isolated cases have actually contemplated the abandonment of motoring because of police persecution. Now, the average Englishman is a law-abiding person, imbued with the fullest respect for the authority which he sets over himself, and prone in every walk of lffe to regard the policeman as a guide, philosopher, and friend. That respectable and more or less well-to-de section of the community whose means permit them