THE AUTOCAR S Journal pubhsbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcall\? propelleb roab carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANE~.
-No. 676. VoL. XXI.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3RD, rgo8. [PRICE 3D.
The Autocar.
(Published Weekly.)
Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom. Entered as second-class matter in the Ne-,, York (N.Y. ) Post Office.
Three Editions every Friday.
The HOME EDITION, price 3d., printed on Art paper. The MOTOR UNION PENNY EDITION, printed upon thinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d., printed on specially light bank paper for circulation abroad.
Editorial Office :
COVENTRY.
Publishing Offices :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E .G., England.
CONTENTS. NOTES
USEFUL H1NT3 ANO TtPS (ILLUSTRATED) ~ 7HAT CONSTITUTES A HA~DSOMF CAR (ILLUSTRATED)
STORAGE AND INSUNANCE OF CARS AT HOTELS
So ME LESSONS OF THE FoUR I NCH RACE
PAGE . . .so5 - 50G
508-51 I
51 r
~ I ~-5 I 5
GAUDEAMUS !GtTUR
LA CouPE o'EvREUX (ILLUSTRATED)-THE CERTus GEARLEss C."R
THE NF.w KEMPSHALL TYRE (ILLUSTRATED)-A CHALLENGE
5 I 6-517
51 :
LORD CHIEF JUSTICE'S CAR (1LLUSTRATED)-TRIAL OF A r2- r4 H.P. S1~GER CAR AT BROOKLA~DS MOTOR UNION NOTES FouR THOUSAND~MILES ON A r4 H.P. SIODELEY END OF THE NEw YoRKTO PARIS ZusT SMALL CART ALK • • (QRRRSPONDENCE • • A RUN ON A 14- 16 H.P. LAURIN-KLE:\IFNT ON THE ROAD CONTINENTAL NOTES AND NEWS (ILLUSTRATED) USEFUL Co-OPERATION WITH THE POLICE FLASHES (ILLUSTRATED} • • \VESTWARD Ho CLUB DOINGS So~JE QUERIES AND REPLIES
518 519 520-521
521 522
527-53T
532 533 534-535
535 536-537
538 5.l9
Subscription Rates :
British Isles-Home < di lien, lbs.; M. U. p nny (thin par er) edition , 6s. 6d
Abroad (thin paper edition), 22s. Sd . per annum.
Notes. The Attack on the Club. i; For the past few 1reeks several prom'nent daily papers_ which disbelie1·e i!1_n~otor racing h 1e publishe? a contmuous senes of cnt1c1sms upon the Royal A.C. for not abandoning the Four Inch Race. These critici ms have been of the bitterest descriotion, and manv of them have been nothing short of violent attacks uprn; the Ciub for organising such a race, and still more for not declaring it off at the bidding of some of the papers. To put the criticisms in a nutshell, thev were based upon four main objections. The first 1rns that the race 1vas so dangerous and so likely to end fatally for a number of the participants that the risks were really too great. Second, that as the Club had set its face sternly against inconsiderate driving, it was inconsistent for it to hold a race. Third, public opinion was against the race, and therefore it should not be held, and the fourth objection \\'as based upon the statement that nothing more was to be learned from racing.
To take them in the order in which we have given them. So far as the first objection is concerned, the race itself has proved that the danger was not excess i1·e. Of course, any fo rm of high speed racing is dangerous, and the whole question is ll'hether the Four Inch Race was so excess ive ly dangerous that the risks to life and limb were out of all proportion to 1rhat one might call fair sporting risks, and that therefore the race should not have been held. However, littl e neerl be said upon this heading, as the race itself has shown that the risks were nol excessive. We do not propose to discuss the question as to whether any form of competition should be abolished if it is dangerous, because it would practically mean the cessation of most manly games and sports. When the majority of EngEsh people come to the conclusion that everything which is dangerou. should be abolished it will be a bad day for the nation , Surely the handling of high speed car5 upon a course which requires the exercise of judgment, nerve, and skill is a competition which should be admired rather than discouraged. Racing on motor cars is a strong man's sport, and to attain success the man must be a strong man indeed, as the call for nerve, pluck, and endurance through a 337 miles race on a trying course with fast cars is a real test of what a man is made of, and unless all such risks are to be declared unrighteous we cannot ee why occasional races on a ]'l~~trly guarded course like the Manx course should noJ ue he! d.
Unfair Criticism. As to the alleged inconsistency of the Club being opposed to inconsiderate driYing and yet holding a race, we can only say that this is absurd. There is a time and place for everything, and it might just as reasonably be urged that a person who attended a place of 1rnrship on Sunday could not consistently use a motor car on that day. The outcry about the race being held on the wad is absolutely ridiculous. It was held on the Manx roads, which were properly guarded, and the 1vfanx people regarded it in its true light, that is, as 1 great race that was worth seeing. Hundreds, nay thousands of them, followed it with a keen interest, though to have read the criticisms uoon the event one woul d ha,·e imagined that it was to be held in a crowded thoroughfare, or, at the very least, upon an ordinarv highway with ordinary traffic and no policing, and in face of protests from the ,rhole of the islanders. Surely the critics of the race can understand the difference between a race and ordinary driving. It really almost seems as though they could not see the difference, though we cannot believe this. They simply refused to see the difference, but if they had spent one-tenth of the time and space they devoted to urging that the race should be stopped to urging upon their readers that the Club, while it organised and held the race, was firmly opposed
