APRil. IOTH. 1909.
THE AUTOCAR B Journal puoltsbet > in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicall\? propellet > roat > carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
1\o. 703. VoL. XXII.]
SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH, 1909.
[.t'RICE 3D,
The Autocar;
(Published Weekly. )
Registered as a Newspaper for transmission in the United l{jngdom. Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.} Post Office.
Three Editions every Friday,
The Tl'IREEPENNY EDITION, printed on Art Paper. The PENNY EDITION, printed upon thinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d. , printed on specially light bank paper for transmission abroad.
Editorial Office :
COVENTRY.
Publishing Offices :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E .C. , England.
CONTENTS. NOTES
USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS
I 2 ·I6 H.P. I909 PEUGEOT (ILLUSTRATED) . ,
R.A.C. INTER-CLUB MEET. VISIT TO THE NEW FOREST
HOLIDAY POLICE TRAPS . .
ON THE ROAD
BROOKLAN OS A.R.C.-SCOTTTSH A.C. AND COAST DEFENCE
P AGE
493-494
495 · , 496-497
497 , , 498 -499
500
501
AN AMERICAN BROOKLANDS (ILLUSTRATED)
ON THE TRACK ..
ANOTHER .MOBILISATION EXPERIMENT-A LONG T OUR ( ILLUS.)
M OTOR UNION NOTES • •
502
503
504
505
THE SMALL CAR IN THE MOUNTAINS (ILLUSTRATED)
. • 506-510
CORRESPONDENCE..
. . 515 - 5 1 9
AERONAUTICS
FRENCH ROADS AND ROAD MAKING • .
SOME DETAILS OF THE GERMAIN (AR (ILLUSTRATED) • •
. • 520-5:?I
. . 522-524
524
FLASHES (ILLUSTRATED)..
C LUB DOINGS
50)1£ Q UERlES AND R EPLIES . .
525 -526
52 7
528
Subscription Rates :
British Isles-Home Edition. 16s.; penny (thin paper) edition, 6s. 6d.
Abroad (thin paper edition) , 22s. 8d per annum. Index to . Advertisements appears on page 3 6.
f Notes. X. Carless Holiday. There is no doubt that a good many motorists will be disappointed this Easter for the simple reason that their new cars will not have been delivered. They sold their old cars weeks, or perhaps months, ago, and then the difficult task of deciding upon the paiiicular makes and powers which should rep lace them occupied so long that they placed their orders so late that the makers could not guarantee delivery before Easter. Others ordered in good time, but the makers h a,·e not delivered yet, though de live ry was expected as ea rly as the middle of February. This is a weak point with some makers. They get out new models in good time for the show; but in some cases serious manufacture of them is not commenced till early in the new yea r, and they remain weeks behind in their deliveries till, say, the middle of May. This 1s terribly disappointing for those who reasonably expected th a f', as they had ordered in good time, they would receive their new chassis or cars as the case might be, in good time also. Though this be the case, they should not blame the makers unduly, as a good fi,rm will not issue a chassis unless -it be absolu.tely satisfactory, and, despite every precaution, it is- often found that certain alterations are necessary when the cars begin to come through the factory in numbers.
As an instance of this we may cite the case of a certain new model which was on the road as early as J11ne last. It passed through a period of searching ,test, and by October everything was believed to be . fil'\ally corrected, and arrar_1gements were made- for starting manufacture in quantifies . A bat~h of a dozen . or so was put. through for the show and for giving trial drives to likely purchasers. The new car was just what a · number of people wanted, and a great many were ordered. At this point the makers ' troubles began . A certain vital part which had never given the least trouble in the experimental and trial models was found to be wrong in the cars when turned out in quantities. It was not seriously wrong, but to keep it right meant constant adjustment and "niggling "-not in themselves diffi cult , but likely to cause any but the most expert of amateur users an xiety , and therefore to give the new -model a bad name. A less conscientious firm would have let the chass is go, as it was rectifying the matter in later cars, but the firm in question would not consider such a line of action, and in consequence all its deliveries of the new model have been behind time till within the last week or two. To say the least of it, a ll this is very ~oying for those who orde re d the cars, yet they shoul not unduly blame a firm which is determined at al c0sts to send out nothing except the best.
A oyal Remedy. However, most motorists who will find themselves without their new cars for the Easter vacation have only to blame themselves or the circumstances which prevented them from ordering earlier. None the less, they have our sympathy, as th e Easter tour is such a delight for those to whom it is the first opportunity of the year for a cessation of work and a change of scene, the more because a man who has once owned a car feels lost indeed if he be forced to spend a holiday without one. He may have other recreations and bobbies, but even these lose their zest when he is thrown back on the train, and robbed of the delights of the open road and the inde finable cha rm of it as seen from the seat of a good car. There is a royal reme dy for this, but it is, alas! one which many cannot afford to take, simple though it be. The way to secure one's self against a motorless holiday is never to sell the old car till the new one is delivered; but that is a plan which is too much for the pockets of most of us, but to those who can afford it we commend it heartily.
What seems so strange at first sight to the man who,.
