Oza-ER 21ST, 1907.
THE AUTOCAR B Journal publtsbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicall\2 propellet' > roat > carrinoe.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 635. VoL. XIX. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21ST, 1907. [PRICE 3D.
(Published Weekly. l
Registered a'3 a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom.
Enlered as second-class matter in the New ~ c,rk (N .Y.) Post Office.
ED:TORIAL OFFICE ;
COVENTRY.
PUBLISHING OFFICES :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., ENGLAND.
CONTENTS.
)iQTFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . 1003-1004 USEFUL H1ri.Ts AND T1Ps: NEw TUBES 1N NEW CovcRs-Two
M AGXF.TO TIPS-SECURITY BOLTS C LOSE TO VALVE . .
THE RtVETT SCREEN (ILLUSTRATED)
100.i
1006
THE BERLIN AUTOMOBILE ExmBITION . . . . . .
COOLING WITHOUT WATER-THE 1908 SCOTTISH TRIALS
A SPARE TYRE CARRIER (ILL USTRATED)
THE M OTORISTS' DEFE~CE fuNo
M OTORIN G IN MALAYA (CONCLUDED)
. .
A N ELECTRI C BRAKE TESTER ( ILL USTRATED) . .
B ROOKLANDS RACING CLUB RECORDS (ILLUSTRATE D ) . .
To THE ALPS AND BACK (CONTINUED) . . . .
A TEW HYDROPLANE MOTOR BOAT (ILLUSTRATED)
THE 1908 PHCENIX S,\IAL!. CAR (ILLUSTRATED)
LIABILITY FOR SERVANTS' NEGLIGENCE . . . . . .
1006
1006
. .
1007
1007
. . 1008-1 009
. • 1010.,.101 l
1012
. • 10 1 3-r o q .
.. 1015 - 101 6
1016
10 17
TH E GROUVFLLE AND ARQU F. MBOURG T YRE PUMP (lLLUSTRATED)
10 17
CoNTINENTA:.. NOTES AND N EWS llLLUSTRATE-D) . .
FLASH ES
• . 1 0 18-1020
10'1 l
C LUB D O I NGS , . . . , . . . . . . . . , . .
THE PRINCIPLES OF CARBURETTING AS . , ETERMINED BY EX-
1022
HAUST GAS ANALYSIS.. . . . .
. • 1023- ro2 4
THE I NSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
TH E R .A.C . AND M.U.: DRAFT A GREEMENT
. .
ATTEMPTS ON R ECORDS AT 8ROOKLANDS . .
THE R.A. C. 2,000 MILES TRIAL
10:.'.!4
1025
1026
1026
CoRRESPONDENCE . . . . . • . . . . . . . , 1027-1 033 SPECIAL ROADS FOR l\10 TOR (Al<S IN FRANCE (ILLUSTRATED) 1034--1035 IMPORTS ANO EXPORTS . . . . . . . . 1035 TOOTHED GEARS AN D GEARING ( I LLUSTRATED) . . 1036 R OBERT THE PEACF.MAKER .. , . . . . , 10)7-1039 A N UP-TO- DATE VtCTOl~Y ( lLLUS1RATEO) . . . . t o40- 1 0 4.2 A FABL E IJF MODERN TIMES- THE WHY AND THE \iVHEREFOR E 104 3 TH E SONG OJ:" T H E SOUTH-BOUN D CAR 10 44
"THE AUTOCAR" SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 8ritisb Isles , 165. Abroad (thi1 1 p<:1per eciition) . 22'i. 8d. per annum.
( Notes. The Banning of Hill-climbs. The notification of the pa sing by the Competitions Committee of Mr. J. Lyons Sampson's resolution affecting the holding of, or granting permits for , a ny open competition on the public highway, and the furth er resolve that the Club should not support any close d e1·ent of the kind, must ha ,·e fallen like a bombshell on man,· automobile clubs who exist more or less for, if they ·do not depend upon , the promotion of one or mo re such e1·ents during the umme r. If open competitions. such as hill- climbs, a re to be tabooed , as th ey a re, and if closed competitions are to lack the support of the parent body, which is equi va lent to a 1·eto upon them, what is th ere left th at an energetic club desirous of doing . omething for automobile sport can do ? Let us say at once that the clubs ha1·e our ea rn e. t and fullest sympathy ; but. ha1·ing made c lose enquiry into the unstated reason underlying th e passage of this pa rticular resolutio n through the Royal A. . committee, we a re bound to acl1·ise them- nay , we asse rt- that th ey must bo11· to the ine1·itable .
The hill-climbs of to-da v are not as th e hill-climbs of five or s ix years ago. 'fhen the competing 1·ehicl es we re lucky if they got up at all, and those that ,,·ere successful sca le d the hill at an in offen ive speed. Can the same thing be said now? One know 11·e ll it cannot , and it 1rnuld be futil e to make any . uch preten ·e. :\' or is it th e actual e1·ent as carried out under th e a uspices and care of wel I quabfied officials which prornkes the feeling that has culmin ated in the resolution to which reference has been made . The feelings ot whole neighbourhoods ha , ·e been outraged aga in and agai n by the 11·ild , indescribabl e, and irresponsible practi ing 1Yhich has taken place up e1·e ry ad,-ertised hill for weeks and weeks before the el ate of the trial itse lf. ~or does the annoyance to th e neighbourhood end 11·ith the trial, beca use for some time afterwards disappointed competitors turn up with irresponsible jo urn a lists aboard to testify, for wh at such testimony is worth , to th e encomp as ment of a better performance th a n accrued to that p a1ticul a r car upon the day . The res ult of all this has been, and is , not onh· intense !ora l irritation , but the receipt by the Cl ub executi,·e of dozens of epistolary complaints, to say nothing of a wh lesale stirring up of loca l and gm·ernmental bodies, a nd en" n questions in P arliament only too eagerly put by obscure members of Parliament, who can apparenth· obta in a mean notoriety in no other way. -
With legislation yet to come, with all the potent po sibilities of an adverse majority in th e Hou se of Commons, with a motorphobist fee ling abroad, as st rong and as scathing as e1·er it has bee n, automobilists as type fi ed b)· th e Club in th e eyes of th e world at large ca nnot a fford to enge nde r a furth e r acces of bad feel ing by conniving at competiti o ns upon th e public high way . \\"e admit that upon first perusing the resolution it struck us as a somewhat unnecessa ry and arbitrary step , and 11·e 11·ere fain to as k "Why no more hill-climbs? ·, But enquiry into th e reasons underlying the draft and pas. age of this resolution has brought us to th e viell" that , all circumsta nc es onsidered, .it is right and proper-indeed, it is th e only ,my. That it will be a se1·ere blo11· to th e popularity and usefuln ess of ma ny clubs, 11·e cannot doubt. But the few die that mam· ma,· I iYe, and so it is in this case. ·
if a utomobil e clubs are wishful to continue th e promoti on of hill-climbs , eithe r open or c losed, they must fain to t read in th e footsteps ancl follow th e exampl e o( th :Mid land a nd Southe rn automobile clubs. The,· must find suitab le a rena for their competitions in th tprivate grounds of th eir patron , presidents, or oth er local landmrne rs suffi cie nth- inte rested in automobiles to foster the sport by such c'ourt esy. Suitable spots a re doubt less fe11· and far bet11"een, but as hill -climbs have been in the present year at least quite too numerous e1·en for the average motorist , and most certainly for
