j A NUARY ~OTH1 1909.
THE AUTOCAR B 3ournal publtsheb in the interests of the mechantcau~ propeUet, roat, carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 693. VoL. XXII .] SATURDAY, J ANDARY 30TH, 1909.
[PRICE 3D.
The Autocar.
(Published Weekly.)
Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United K ingdom. Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) Post Office .
Three E d itions every Friday.
The THREEPENNY EDITION, printed on Art paper. The PENNY EDITION, printed upon thinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d., printed on specially light bank paper for circulation abroad.
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CONTENTS. NOTES USEFUL HINTo:; AND TIPS (ILLUSTRATED) THE I4-16 H. P . HELSIZE (ILLUSTRATED)
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LONDON TO EDINBURGH RUN (OFFICIALLY OBSERVE D BY THE
R.A.C.). . .. • • .. .. .. . .
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PAGE q3- r44
145 146-149
P0PULARi o:;ING BROOKLANDS • • A COMFORTABLE CAR A FEW NOTES ON C AM DESIGN ( I LLUSTRATED) THE LIGHTING OF M OTOR H OUSES EVENTS OF THE \VEEK (ILL USTRATED) • , ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE • • THE A UTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
{ILLUSTRATIO NS )
. . 150-15 I
15r 152-154
154 155 . . r56-158 HILL CLI MB
MOTOR UNION NOTES • • ON THE TRACK THE PRINCE HENRY TOUR-THE IRI SH RELIABILITY TRIALS-
THE A UT0RETTE SPANNER TH E EDINBURGH SHOW • • CORRESPONDENCE • • Mo,oR UNION Bus1NEss..
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THE HALFOR D L EVER SPRING SUSPENSION SYSTEM (ILLUSTRATED) Is A..1.coHOLA S u r-rABLE FuEL FOR MOTOR'-?-TH E SLIDE VALVE
ENGINE .. FLASHES CLUB DOINGS THE RAY CARBURETTER (ILLUSTRATE D)-ERECTION OF DANGER
SIGNS-AERO EXHIBITION AT OLYMPIA
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161 162 167-r 71
172 I7 3 l I
174 . , 175 -176
177
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I Notes. False Economy. At the pre~ent time automobilism is suffering from a~ undue desire for cheapness, which, if not checked , will do a great deal of harm. To some extent th e tenden~y is a reaction from the earlier days, when everythmg from the car downwards was with few exceptions, much more expensive than n~w. There unquestionably was a t endency on the part of some makers and dealers to charge what was nothing less than a fanr,y price for their goods . This started the idea amon~ mo~orists that huge profits were being made. This not ion strength ened with time, and has led many to buy on pri ce and price alone. It should be cl e~ rly understood that we do not assert that the most expensive article is always the best, but, after all, when one carefully looks into the matter, it will be found th at this is the case nine times out of ten, in the motor world at any rate, and the axiom holds true whether applied to the car as a whole or to its accessories or p a_rts.
So far as the car is concerned, we cannot do better th an give instan ces which have lately come under our notice to illustrate what we mean. Two cars of practically identical power and weight came into the possession of different owners. The cost of one car was nearly £550, and the cost of the other a shade under £ 400. After two years' work the cars were complete ly dismantled for a thorough overhaul. The dearer one had run over 16,000 miles, and the cheaper one less than 4,000. The cheaper one had been very ca refully-almost lovingly- tended by its owner, and only used on fine week ends in summer, while the dearer car had been only moderately well looked after and driven daily, with ve ry little consideration for it as a machine, in all weathers all the year round. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the dearer car required very little attention to keep it up to concert pitch, but the cheaper car really needed the fostering care of its owner to maintain it in fair running order, and even at its best it never ran with the sweetness and certainty of the other. It was always developing trouble some little a ilments , none of them ve ry serious, but most of them more or less of a bother to C'Jre. In short, th e more costly car was practically always in tune, and th e 'Other was rarely at its best, and could only be kep t up to pitch by constant attention; one thing was no sooner rectifi ed th an somethin_g else went wrong. The one virtue the cheap car had besides its low price was a rather mor economical carburetter, though this economy was obtained at the sacrifi ce of fl exibility and quietness.
1 .Vhen the two ca rs were taken down for overhaul it was found that the signs of wear upon the working parts of tbe more expensive car were practically nil. The big ends required a little taking up, and the cc >ntral m a in bearing of the crankshaft also needed adjustin g. Beyond this and the fitting o f new felt washers to the gear box to keep in the lubricant , there was nothing to be done, and despite its 16,000 miles of hard work the car was practically as good as new. On the other hand, the cheaper car, which had only run a quarter of the distance and had been much more considerately treated, was more or less in a bad way a ll over. Despite the fact th at its engine had been down for adjustment at half distance, all the main bearings showed more wear than those on th e other car exhibited after four times the distance. In fact , one of the main bearings had to be renewed entirely. The state of the engine was a good example of the state of the chassis as a whole; everything was pretty badly worn. a nrl adj ustment throughout was required to put thine-s right, and several new parts were necessary .
When the more expensive car was overhauled it wa~ runnine; as well as eve r, and the overhaul was under-
