DECEM &E R 30TH, l~J!,.

THE AUTOCAR S 30urnal publisbe~ in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcall\? propelle~ roa~ carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.

No. 532. VoL. XV.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30TH, 1905. [PRICE 3D.

Tff E A UTOCAR.

(Published Weekly.)

Registered as a new~aper for transmission in the United Kmgdom.

Entered as second-class matter at the New York (N!Y.) Post Office.

EDITORIAL OFFICE :

COVENTRY.

PUBLISHING OFFICES:

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

CUN TENTS.

NOTES: CARS AT T HE GENERAL ELECTION- THE T YRE

PAGE TRIALS-

MASTER PATENTS • • •

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USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS: 0N MAGNETO IGNITION THROUGH THE BALKANS 0:-J A MOTOR CAR (illustrated) ... GEAR-DRIVEN CARS-No MASTER PATENT-THE RENAULT

851-852 .. . 853 854-856 PATENT

PRONOUNCP-D INVALID . • • .. • • • • MOTORING IN LAKELAND (i1lustration) ... A CHRISTMAS CoMMUN1CATION ... . . • • . TESTS RELATING TO BEARING LUBRICATION (illustrated A TEMPORARY SHOOTING CAR FOR THE KING THE FRANKLIN AIR-COOLED ENGINES (illustrated} AGooo CAR ... .. . . . ... . . . OCCASIONAL Goss1P: By ''The Autocrat'' FOUR AND SIX-CYLINDER ENGINES • • • HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE

857-858 ... 859 . . . 859 860-861 .. . 861 862-863

C ONTINENTAL NOTES ANO NEWS... ... . . • • • •

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THE AEROS SUSPENSION (illustrated) ... ... . . . . . . . .. CoRRESPONDfo:NCE : AN ALL-BR1T1sa MoToR SHow-MoToa1sTs AND

863 864 865

865 866 ~66

THE LAW-AN ABUSE OF WARNING TRIANGLES-CHAUFFEURS' COMMISSION-RACING FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CARS-THE NUMBER OF CYLINDERS-ACCIDENTS AND C ARELESSNESS -FUEL ALLOWANCE IN THE TOURIST TROPHY RACE-MOTORISTS AND THE ELECTIONS- FRENCH CARS SOCIETY OF AUTOMOBILE MECHANIC DRIVERS-ARR MOTORISTS SUFFICIENTLY TAXED ?-Srx CYLINDKRS V . FOUR-SIZE OF TYRES AND WHEEL RIMS-INSTRUCTION BOOKS 1., -SUMMARY OF CORRESPONDENCE • • • ... • • • . .. .• • 867-871 I\ DocToR's CAR By R G. Wells 872-873 BACK SPRING HANGERS (illustrated! ... 813 How TO CALCULATE COMPRESSION SPACE ... • • . 874 THE Sums PARAFFIN VAPORISER tillustrated) 874 THE DRIFT OF DESIGN AT THE SALON • • . .• . 875 ONE NON·SKIO O~LY-A LOPSIDED MAKESHIFT 875 SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES .. . 876 FLASHES... ... . . . ... ... 877-878 ELEMENTARY L ESSONS ON MOTOR C ARS (continued) 879 A 5,000 MILKS TRIAL... 880 C LUB DOINGS • • • ... 880

''THE AUTOCAR" SUBSCRIPTION RATES: British Is les, 16s. Abroad (thin paper edition), 22s. 8d. per annum.

/ Notes. Cars at the General Election. Our readers are being inundated by requests from Parliamentary candidates , their friends, or agents, to lend cars for use in the coming general election . We lind that a very great many of the motorists who are being so approached are carefu l! y investigating the attitude of the candidates towards automobilism before deciding to place their cars at th eir disposal upon the day of election. This is quite right, and as it should be. At the same time, when a request is made to a motorist to lend his car we think he s hould , unless he knows the candidate personally and can positively vouch for his sentiments, ask him to give straightforward answers to straightforward questions.

With this end in view we have reprinted on a separate sheet the four questions which, after careful discussion and consideration by the Automobile Club and the Motor Union, have been agreed upon as covering the vital points. It should be clearly understood that it is not proposed that motorists should take these questions about with them and thrust them under the noses of Parliamentary candidates,; nothing of the kind . What is proposed is that when a motorist is asked to lend his car he shall, as he has a perfect right to do, satisfy himself that the candidate for whom it would be used is not an open or a covert enemy of motoring.

It is not suggested that the motorist shall vote against his politica l convictions or abstain from voting altogether. As a voter he will no doubt register his vote for his party candidate, but surely he need not go further than this. If he has a motor car which he feels must be p laced at the disposal of his party he should use it in some other constituen cy where the candidate happens to be not only of his party, but also in favour of automobilism. In all these things judgment must be used. For instance, although there a"te four questions on the form we publish, it appears to us that any candidate who will sign yes to No. 1 is all right, and a safe man to work for. Should any of our readers require more of the forms than the one which is printed as a supplement to the present issue of T he Aiitocar we shall be pleased to supply them on receipt of a stamped addressed envelope.

It would facilitate the work of the Motor Union if every automobilist who has a definite undertaking from his candidate wou ld advise Mr. Rees J effreys, the sec1etarY of the Union, at 1, Albemarle Street, Piccadiily, L ondon, W. This will enable a definite estima~e f our position to be made immediately after the ele tion .

The Tyre Trials. Two intending competitors in the Automobile Club tyre trials in February ha.ve written to us expressing the opinion that the tyres of different makes should all be used upon sister cars, so that every make of tyre should be subj ected to precisely similar usage. On the same subject it has a ls o been suggested tha t the number ot cylinders upon the cars to which the tyres will be fitted should be specified, and last, but not least, the most ardent upholder of the six-cylinder engine has written to us pointing out that in his opinion the tyres on the cars which are driven by six-cylinder engines will have a considerable ad vantage over those used on cars with fo ur- cylinder engines. We might go further than this, and point out that, other things being equal , the greater the number of cylinders the more constant will be t he torque or driving effort, and consequently the less will be the strain upon the tyres, while if double-acting steam engines are used the driving stresses will be still further reduced upon the tyres, though as no steamers with double-acting engines have more than two cylinders the gain in this respect as compared with some of the very smoothest running petrol engines is not so great