l SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, 1909.

THE AUTOCAR :.a Journal publtsbet > in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcall\? propelleb roat > carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANEC!.

No. 729. V OL. XXIII.] SATURDAY, O CTOBER 9TH, 1909.

[PRICE 3D.'

The Autocar.

(Published Weekly).

Registered as a Newspaper for tra nsmission in th e United Kingdom. Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) Post Office.

Three Editions every Friday.

The THREEPENNY EDITION, printed on Art Paper. The PENNY EDITION, printed upon thinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d. 1 printed on thin paper £or transmission a broad.

Editorial Office :

COVENTRY.

-Publishing Offices :

20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., England.

CONTENTS. NOTES AXIO:\IATIC P RINCIPLES : HIGHWAYS AND l\I 0T0R CARS . • USEFUL H INTS AND T IPS u The Autocar League " . . THE NEW 17 H. P . MAUDSLAY CAR ( I LLUSTRATED) . • T HE TIMKEN R OLLER BEARING (l LLUSTRATED) S:\tALL CAR TALK .. THE 12- 1 4 H.P. ARMSfR0NG-\VHITWORTH Os THE TRACK SOME £VER-READY Z\0VELTIES {ILLUSTRATED) Two DusLoP DEVICES {l LLUSTRATED) SHOULD ).l oT0Rts.Ts BE II CAPPED" ? .. T HE STATE OF AFFAIRS I N SURREY . , :\lo:oR UNION ~0TES '.\iOT0RS AT l\IANCEUVRES . • MOTOR CARS AND T HE I NLAND R EVENUE TAX ON T H E ROAD BODY DESIGN AXD COSSTRUCTION (ILLUSTRATED} . • ROYAL A UT0M0Bll.E CLUB TESTS CORRESPONDENCE .. (LIJB DOINGS {ILLUSTRATED) • . T HE CONSU~IPTION OJ: MOTOR SPIRIT . . FLASHES

PAGE.

543 544 · · 5+4-545 , , 546-549 . . 550-552

552 533 · · 554·555

55b 557 558 , , 559-560

560 561 .. 562-563

563 , · 564-565

565 566 , , 571-576 . . 5n-578

578 · · 579-580

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Index to Advertisements appears on pafle 38.

Notes. Incorrect Information. All along 1\'e ha,·e maintained that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been bad ly misin fo rmed on a good many points in regard to motor matters. We referred particul arly at the time to the fa ll acy on ,rbich the increas~ taxation had been based; if the Chance ll or of the Exchequer had been 1re ll posted in the subject he ,rnuld ha,·e knoll'n that the great requirement in road making ro-cla,· 11·as not more money, but more brains. Hm1·e,·er, 1\'e need not go o,·er this matter again at the moment. \\° e are concerned rather 11·it h the la test utterance of ~Ir . Lloyd George a fe,r days since 11·hen the De,·elopment and Road Bill was under discussion in Parliament. In referring to t he propo. d petrol tax Mr. L loyd George said that in France there 11·as a considerably higher tax, and it was not fo und to interfe re with the industry there. This i. a particularly good example of the imperfect manner in 1rhich ~Ir. Lloyd George's advisers haYe dealt with the motor car question.

In the fi rst p lace the motor industry in France as a whole is by no means prosperous. In the second, there are not half so many cars in use in F rance as in England. I t fo ll o11·s: therefore, that ~Ir . Lloyd George ·s statement that the petrol tax does not interfe re 1ri th the F rench ind ustry cannot be substantiated, because facts prm·e the exact opposite. There is not onlv a ,·astir infe rior number of cars in use in F ranee -as compared ,rith England, but if the Chancellor's contention be accepted as true that the F rench motor industry is prosperous, it is evident i ts prosperity is not cl ue to the high petrol tax, b1..:~ to the fact that th cars have been exported, and mainl v to England.

\Ve do not 11·ant to touch on questions of political economy at a 11 , but ,ve are a fraid there is no getting a,rny from the fac t that ~Ir. Lloyd George's statement that the French motor industry is prosperous, and has not been interfered 11·ith by the petrol tax, is a statement ll'hic-h arF a< h-ocate of Tariff Reform 1rnuld regard as an argument in favour of a tariff , as the French prosperity can onl y have been due to the F rench cars which have been sold abroad, and mostly in England. It has obviously not been due to home consumption. \Ye introduce this argument in no politica l sense, but merely to show ho11- thoroughly Mr. Lloyd George has been misinformed in r garcl to motor ca rs. Those ,rho have stood at his elbow appear to hal'e gi,·en him onl y hal f the facts, as we do not bel ie,·e he 11·oulcl merely remember those whic-h bolstered up his case and fo rget those which 11·ere of no use to him, more particul arly as this imperfect acquaintance 11ith facts has led him to make statements, or ll'e should say misstatements, which put him at the mercy of his political opponents.

" The Autocar" £500 Prize. );° 011· that flying feats are so much d isc ussed and so many a,·iators are contemplating an attempt on the London-Manchester aeria l journey fo r the Daily ~Mail pri ze of £ 10,000, it may be 1\'e ll to call to mind The A utocar p ri ze \l'hich ,ms offered in r 906 at the same ti me as th~ magnificent pri ze of the Daily Moil ,ms put up . The Daily Mail offered its p ri ze to encourage fl ying and interest in it , and we announced our £500 pri ze to encourage the motor car manufacturer to take a part in the conquest of the air. He it ,ms who had b rought flyin g within the region of the po. ibl , as with out the I ight high speed petrol engine as used and perfected fo r ca r propulsion thing ,rnul cl not ha,·e come in our generation. The terms on which our £ 500 p ri ze c-a n be iron are simply that the maker of the engine of the flyin g machine 1\'hich wins the Daily 111 a,il prize sha ll be a re_cognisecl British motor car manufacturer as defi ned by the Societl' of Motor Manufacturers and T raders. - •