jUH 20TH, 1908,

THE AUTOCAR B Journal publisbet' > in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcaur propellet' > roat' > carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STAN EC{.

No. 66r. VoL. XX.] SATURDAY, JUNE 20TH, 1908.

[PRICE 3D.

The Autocar.

{Published Weekly.)

Registert:"rl !IS .:. newspaper for transmission in tht- United Kin':"do-n.

Entered as second-class matter i:i the New York (N.Y,) Post office.

Editorial Office :

COVENTRY.

Publishing Offices :

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

CONTENTS. Noms IN THE HOUSE OF CoMMO,¥S .. USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS THE 21000 MILES TRIALS (ILLUSTRATED) • , ON THE TRIAJ..S. Sol\-tE OssERVATrONS. Bv H. C. LAFONE MOTOR CAR ACCIDENTS • • THE (LAUDEL-HOBSON (ARBURETTER (ILLUSTRATED) A SET OF POLKEY ELECTRIC LAMPS (ILLUSTRATED) THE KLINGER AUTO-LUBRICATOR (ILLUSTRATED) • • THE PRINCE HENRY MOTOR CoNTEST THE ROYAL A.C. HEREFORD MEET .. BROOKLAN'DS AUTOMOBILE RACING CLUB • • AN EFFECTIVE FIRE EXTINGUISHER • • CoRRESPONDENCE • • THE DRURY-MEDHURST TYRE (ILLUSTRATED) DROPPED FRAMES (ILLUSTRATED) THE MANCHESTER M.C. TRIALS AN ATTEMPT TO ATTAIN CAR SPEEDS ON RAILS 121 MILES AN HouR RoTcARY ENGINES. Bv PROFESSOR C. SMITH THE NEW PICK LIGHT CAR (ILLUSTRATED) . . FLASHES (ILLUSTRATED) • • CLUB DOINGS {ILLUSTRATED) , •

P,,ce 903-904

90-1 905 . . 906-915

916 . . 917-919 . , 920·921

921 922 923 923 924 924 925-929 930-931

931

932 933 933 934-935

935 936-937 938-940

IV ith each copy of "The A utocar" this week is presented a special pictorial supplement illustrating the Austin cars which will compete in the Grand:~Prix Race this year.

Sub6cription Rates :

Erltisb Isles 16s. Abroad (thin paper edition), 22,. 8d. per anrum f Notes. The-lz,ooo Miles Trial. A number of critics have spoken lightly of the 2,000 '.\Iiles Trial, maintaining that 2 ,ooo miles is no test for a car. This is perfectly true. This distance i no test for a car under ordinary conditions when properly kept and looked after from day to day, and when any little attentions are bestowed as required. What the critics have not realised is that no adjustments are allowed to be made to the cars during the 2 ,ooo miles without the loss of marks, except adjustments to the brakes on certain days when the routes are very hilly. This means that nothing is done to the cars till it becomes absolutely imperative, and therefore the 2 ,ooo '.\1iles Trial is a very severe test of just that quality which is most necessary in a car. As we have said before, all other things being equal, the best car is the one which will run for the longest distance without attention. Any car not absolutely bad can be made to run fairly well, and even very well if it is constantly adjusted and tuned, but one of the great differences between a good car and a poor car is the fact that the good car runs so very much longer without the necessity for attention.

Another matter which makes the trial so severe is the dust. On one dry day, when forty odd cars, not to mention doublP the number during the Scottish portion of the route, are running in close order, more dust gets into the mechanism than in weeks of ordinary driving. This, again, finds out weak spots, as any cars which are insufficiently protected in their working parts, or which hav~ parts of the wrong material, will unquestionably suffer badly from the dust, and even the very best cars will be unduly worn simply and solely on account of the dust which will find its way into the ,rnrking parts. An entrant of two of the best medium powered cars in the trials said to us the other day that in his experience nearly all the cars which he had made which had given trouble had been found to be neglected by their owners; and it is neglect of the worst sort which the cars in the 2 ,ooo miles are called upon to endure. The extreme severity of the Scottish portion of the route can only be appreciated by those who know the roads. Nothing outh of the border approximates to it except, perhaps, some parts of Devonshire; the stiffness of th'is route is well shown by the belated arrival of many of the cars· at the destination for the night. Last, but not least, after the 2 ,ooo miles of neglect the cars are raced on Brooklands for 200 miles.

All things considered, the trial is one of great severity, and there is no doubt that the entries for it would have been very much larger if its severity had not been recognised by a good number who have abstained from taking part in it. They will go through the Scottish portion alone, but the combination of England, Scotland, twenty miles of timed hill-climbs, and racing on Brooklands is more than they will face, because they look upon the test as an unduly stiff blend of neglect, long distance, and of hard high pressure racing uphill and on the track.

Whether those who have shirked the trial are wise or not is beside the question. The fact remains that there are a number of makers of thoroughly good cars who have decided not to have anything to do with the 2,000 Miles Trial simply and solely because they consider the ordeal is too severe, and, good as their cars may be, they do not feel they would do justice to themselves on Brooklands after 2,000 miles of neglect. We feel for this reason that those who have had the enterprise and pluck to take part in the trial deserve special commendation, because they have knowingly undertaken a test so severe that it is more than likely in many instances their cars will not perform up to their usual standard. The people for whom we have no sympathy are those who not only abstain from taking part in the trial, but who are doing all they can to belittle it.

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