APRIL 20T H, 1907.

THE AUTOCAR a 3ournal-publisbet: > in tbe interests of tbe mecbanirnll\? propellet: > roat: > carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.

No . 600 . VoL. XVIII. SATURDAY, APRIL 20TH, 1907.

[PRICE 3D.

THE AUTOCAR.

(Published Weekly.)

Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom.

Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y. } Post Office.

EDITORIAL OFFICE :

COVENTRY.

PUBLISHING OFFI CES :

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

CONTENTS.

PAGA

Nous . .

.. .. .. .. .. . . . . 557-558

UsEFUL H1NTs ANo T1Ps: To T1cHTEN AWKWARDLY PLACED

SCREWS (ILLUSTRATED)-RUNNING ON Stx VOLTS-PISTON RINGC AND THEIR TREATMENT-CLEANING ACETYLENE LA~1P BURNERS . . . • . • 559 MOTORING IN BVRMAH (ILLUSTRATED) . . • . 560·561 To BARNBY 1\looR ON A StDDELEY CAR . . . . . . . . 562 THE VAPOUR EJ\11s; s10N AwARos-lN THE HousE OF COMMONS. . 563 M OTORISTS' MF.ET AT LINCOLN . . . . 563 ECHOES OF THF. SHOW (1LLUS1RATED) . . 564 ~HE 1907 5~

10TTISH R1;;uBJLITY TRIAL ~

1 HE NAME DAIMLER . . . . . .

THE N'EW 40·50 H.P. ROLLS ROYCE . .

565

565

5b_i;

:f HE ~ IDE·SLIP T.R,IALS (ILLUSTRATED) . ,

566

fHE GRAPHIC fROPHY..

. . . , . . . . • , 566

A MOTOR MAIL SERVICE IN NEW ZEALAND { ILLUSTRATF.D) .. 567·568 CONTINENTAL NOTES AND NEWS (JLLU'iTRATED) . . 56cJ·57J THE HEEL OF ACHILLES (ILLUSTRA1ED) .. 572·574 TECHNICAL AND OTHER OFFENCES . • . . . . 575 LONOON·i\lONTE CARLO RECORD BROKEN (ILLUSTRATED) . . 576 INSTITUTION OF AUTOMOBILE £NGl~EERS 576 CLUB Dorncs .. .. .. .. .. 577 CENSUS OF THE AGRICULTURAL HALL SHOW,. . . 578 CORRESPONDENCE . . . . . . . . , . . . 578 • 583 VAPOUR £M ISSION COMPETITION (ILLUSTRATED ) .. 584-_:85 THE ROADS' 1MPROVEMEN1 ASSOCIATION 585 THE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION . . . . 585 FLASHES .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 586-588 TH E H ORSE·POWER OF THE PETROL ~·lo1on . . . . 589 ·591 TESTS OF ::\IooEL FLYING MACHINT.S . . . . . . . . 592 THF. STRENGTH ANO STRUC1URE OF ALLOYS (CONCLli DEIII . , 593-594 THE AUTOMOBILE' MUTUAL PROTECTION AssOCJATJON 594 THE GLIDDEN TROPHY TouR • • 594

, TOCAR" SUBSCRIPTION RATES:

Abroad (thin paper edition ), 22s. 8d. per annum.

Notes. The Diffic'ult y. A good deal has been said of late in our columns about the chauffeur difficulty, and both masters and men h::i.ve ::ti red some oLtheir grievances. Among the aspects of th e quest ion ,,·hi ch have been neg lected is one of importance . \ Ve know of many instances where one man is engaged to look after two ca r s. H e not only has to look after them, but he has to clri,·e th m. The idea seems to be that because there are t ,rn ::i. rs it is perfectly easy for one always to be in the pink of condition and ready for instant use. This ,,·ould be a re::i. onable assumption in the ordinary 1rny, except in the cases of serious breakdowns, if the motor man had nothing to do but to look after the cars in th e motor house, and there were another man to d rive them. It ne,·er seems to strike some owners that if their man is occupied for th e greater part of the day in driving one or other of the two ca:s thc~e is very littl e time indeed for him ~o kee~ either. m proper adjustment and to do those little thmgs wh1_ch are so necessary if a car is to be thoroughly well mamt ::i.ined. The fact of the matter is so many motorists do not know enough about their cars . They think that because their man is driving about the greater part of the day he is having a magnificent time, and they do not appreciate the work which must be clone in t~e motor house if the car is to be kept not only sp1ck and sp::i.n in outward appearance, but with every mechanic:al part, including the tyres, properly looked after. As the Q\rners do not know wh at the actual work to be clone upon a car in regular use amounts to, th ey m many instances do not give their man time enough to keep the car in thorough working order.

We hear a great deal about the lazy chau ff eur, and there is no doubt that some ::i.re abominably lazy , but th ere are ::i.t least as many ll'ho ha,·e :i. Yery hard fone of it indeed, and who try their utmost to keep their cars in thoroughly good order, but ,rho know they are m::i.int::i.ining a hopeless struggle, because of the number of hours they have to be upon the ro::td eve ry day. It seems to us it ,rnuld be a good thing if the Society of Automobile Mechanic Dri,·ers were to draft a few suggestions, which, if reasonable, would no doubt be accepted by the Royal Automobile Club. For instance, every car ought to haYe a regular shed clay, as is given to all railway locomoti,·es. On its shed day a locomoti,·e is not only more thoroughly cleaned than is possible in the intervals bet,reen its journeys on other clays, but a number of repairs and adj ustments are always made, many of them by th e d ri ver himself, the more serious matte rs being attended to by the regular repairing staff attached to the run ning shed . Then, again, some suggestions might be made with regard to the daily time to be set aside for washing, cleaning and adjusting, attention to tyres, and other matters. Iany owners are perfectly reasonable in these things , because th ey understand them, but it is quite obvious from the condition of the cars which we see in repair shops that many others have not the faintest idea of what is really necessary.

The ca rs which are always in the best of trim a re tho se which are driven and looked after by an amateur owner who does practicall y everything, incl ucling the rough c leaning, himself, or else by the owner ,rho has learned to do everything himself, though from lack of tirrt e or inclination he employs :i. man to do it. The simple reason for this is th e owner who knows what is necessary, if he does not do it himself, employs a man who is c::tp::tble, and then takes care to a ll ow his man time enough to do th e necessary work. The competent owner knO\rs a good man by his work, so that mutual confidence is established . The master ne,·er refuses a reasonabl e request for time to do a needfu l adjustment or little repair, and the man knows th at his master appreciates the situ ation, and will not reg-wi his request for time as an excuse to slack. Each