THE AUTOCAR B 3ournal publtsbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicall\? propelleb roab carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 685. VoL. XXI.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5TH, 1908. [PRICE 3D.
The Autocar.
(Published Weekly.)
Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom. Rntered 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. f he FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d., printed on specially light bank paper for circulation abroad.
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-------·--- CONTENTS. NOTES USEFUL HINTS AND TtPS (ILLUS1RATED) THE Hfo.ATING OF i\lQTOR HOUSES {ILLUSTRATED) . • ON ExPERIMENTAL \VoRK Ttth PARIS SHOW .. THE ALLl!:Y TYRE MANirULATOR MOTORING PHENOMENA , , THE NEW 16 H.P. STANDARD-DAZZLING LIGHTS , • MOTOR U~HON NOTES "THE AUTOCAR • • LECTURES • . THE ACROMETER (ILLUSTR~TED) THE AMERICAN GRA~D PRIX . .
PAGE . . 915-916
917 . . 918-919 . . 920-921 . . 922-925 . . 926-928
929 930 9Jl . . 930-933
933 . . 934-936
TROUBLCS l\lADE EASY .. CORRESPONDENCE .•
A MAGNETO FOR EASY STARTING (ILLUSTRATED) ON TH£ TRACK FLASHES (l LLU~TRATED} .. SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES ...•
936 941-946 . · 9~7-948
948 · · 949-9~0 . . 951-952
THE INSTITUTION OF AuTOMOBlLE ENGINEERS-TESTING A FouR-
CYLINDEk DELAGE
952
CHILDREN AND AUTOl\lOBILE~-AN lGNlTJON PROBLEM OF AN
Ar.tATEUR-R.A.C. FOUNDER M EMBERS' DINNER. .
953
AERONAUTIC NOTES
954
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f Notes. Motor ~ompetitions. As matters stand at the moment, there appears to be every indication that 1909 will be a year of semi stagnation from the competitions point of view, so far as this country i concerned. There seems to be a very strong feeling among the automobile party in the House of Commons that racing or any form of competition upon the road is so liable to be misunderstood by the general public, and is so certain to be seized upon as an excuse for attack by anti-motoring papers, that nothing of the sort should be organised or permitted by the Royal Automobile Club. Personally, we do not believe in self-denying ordinances. They are always misunderstood. If no races or competitions of any sort are held the anti-motoring public will simply regard it that such events are admitted by motorists to be wrong, but it will not be any less bitterly opposed to motoring. There is only one cure for the antimotorist, and that is to present him witb a motor car. Whether races or competitions are held or not he will be ju t as bitter against the motor car. This idea of relinquishing something in order to show opponents what magnanimous fair-minded people the relinquisher are is one of our great national failings, and we are afraid it can only be characterised as foolish, and in the long run it more often does harm than good.
This applies to great as well as small matters, and everyone knows that the concession which a House of ommons may regard as a magnificent display of magnanimity is accepted by the people whether they be British or foreign, as an admission of weakness, and in nine cases out of ten it is nothing else, as although it may not indicate lack of material strength, it too often shows lack of mental capacity and lack of knowledge of human nature generally, because these con-
essions have been made time after time, and they have seldom done the lea t good. Of course, the whole matter hinges upon the thing itself. If racing or competitions under proper conditions, such as those which have obtained in the Isle of Man races and in properly guarded hill-climbs, are wrong, it is quite commendable that they should be gi1·en up, but they are not wrong, and they are to be given up in the hope of ple.1sing people who pretend to think they are wrong.
The Only Remedy. Those who advocate the entire abolition of competitions seem to think that it is impossible to expect the general public to discriminate between racing and e1·eryday motoring, and that if all forms of competition be abolished prejudice against motoring will be le sened. \Ve 1rnnt to know why this should be the case, because the anti-motorist is not merely opposed to racing. He is opposed to motoring in general, and if we want to please him we should abolish that. What is wanted now is a clear pronouncement as to what the policy of the Club really is in this matter. So far as we understand it, it is in no way opposed to hillclimbing competitions on private roads or upon roads to which local authorities raise no objection and officially recognise the competition. We are, and always have been, entirely opposed to holding hillclimbs on public roads if the local authorities object in any way to such competitions, but when they assi. t in them there can surely be no reasonable objection to the proceeding, more particularly if cars of excessiw horse-power are barred. The objection to the use of 1-ery powerful cars is simply that they can climb . o fast, and if a crowd assembles upon the hillside some foolish person among the spectators might b.· injured. As to racing, that is, of course, out of the question till such time as the English authorities become as enlightened as the French, and permit the running of a road race on a guarded circuit; but the Isle of Man is, fortunately, both willing and able to permit a race within its jurisdiction, and we know of
