The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-11-07
or MOTOR VEHICLES TO COME

d
the primitive and rugged type. built for
the ardent and strenuous sportsman, to-
ward the upholstered coach, built for
the luxury loving classes; but while, for
J the most part the changes along this line
I have been so gradual as not to attract
/ much attention, the notifications now
being made, and those presaged in this
same direction, are particularly notice
able.
/ 1t is a far cry from the early forms of
the fifty designated "horseless carriage
| which looked like a doctors chaise from
which some one had stolen the ttills, to
the big touring car of the present, with
its engine under the formidable looking
| hood in front, its roorny tonneau with
six inch cushions and its canopy top and
adjustable plate glass shield in front;
yet it is quite apt to be further cry
/ from this huge, open family service that
/ will frequent the streets and highways
| in the near future AS yet the sporting
| edge OF automobiling has not worn off,
but it is dulling perceptibly. The en-
thusiasm that led the pioneer users Of
/ the motor vehicle to consider almost
| anything that combined a motor with
| wheels and seat over them acceptable
| has cooled enough to permit of fastl-
| dious considerations entering into the
/ demand for car. To the sportsman
spirit that gloried in the strenuousness
| demanded by automobiling has been
i grated the demand for personal COM
/ fort brought about BY a more extended
/ use among all classes and the gentler
sex. The stiff springed, jolting, hard
| seated, noisy and high odored run-about
/ with its back-to-back seats, gave way
rapidly TO the smoother running, quiet
er, becushioned run-about with flexible
| springs and bigger pneumatics, and it in
| turn to the upholstered tonneau car with
| its canopy or hood, its protecting front
and seats with doubly curved backs. |
Yet now further details of comfort and
ease are being demanded.
In this march from the severe to the |
sumptuous which is experienced by ma
lions as we'll as individuals in the swing |
from the stage of pioneer toward the |
effete, the automobile IS but following |
the history of other vehicles and other
implements, which after being lntroduc-
ed as accessories of sport have become
articles of utility. A somewhat similar
At first it was a thing which only ore
irnbued with the spirit of a sportsman
could care for, and the old high wheel
was one that called for the qualities OF
the true athlete IN its rider. With the
extension of use among both sexes and
all classes permitted bv the production
Of the easier running safety came de-
cline of the enthusiasm evoked when
cycling was sterner sport, but came
also a wider use of the vehicle as one
of utility and demand for greater COM
fort from those who continued to pursue
its use as pastime Then came the up
turned handlebars, padded saddles,
spring forks, cushion frames, coaster
brakes and two-speed gears which are
in demand TODAY for pleasure cycling.
The automobile appears as going
through much the same course at pres
ent, but there is the great difference that
the element of athletic personal exertlon
cannot be wholly eliminated from the
bicycle, while the automobile may be-
come as stately in its invitation to the
INDECENT as is a prlma donnas private
parlor car.
1t was in the nature of things that the
pleasure loving and leisurely inclined
after a first furry of athletic fervor over
the novelty of bicycle exercise should
surrender it to the true devotee of athle-
tics and the utilitarians. So also 1t is I
in the nature of the case that a large
percentage of the wealthy automobile
enthusiasts shall tire of crawling In the
dust or mud in order to lie on the back |
under car and inspect its bowels of
cogs and shafts, that they shall tire of {
being all-around mechanics with grimy {
hands, and of sitting in constrained posi- t
lions at the steering wheel. 1t is but
1a,-r cl
be willing to surrender the ardors of I
operating to hired man and conspire I
for roomier seats with thicker cushions {
and more protection from the elements i
for the women folks-and themselves. {
1t is in natural sequence also that they +
shall be content to race by proxy and let S
salaried chauffeurs eat their way through | a
the dust clouds of competitors and take c
the risks of being MANNED or killed.
Early last year the tendency toward a
preference by the public for touring cars, +
as the larger vehicles with .tonneaus on t
are known, was perceived by the auto
mobile makers, and it was predicted a
that the bulk of the demand would this ?
year be for this type and that 1904 would Q
be touring car year. This has been c
wholly justified and it is being now Q
forecast that 1905 will see still further t
demand for the touring car, the four h
cylinder engine and more comfortable
bodies all around This is not all, how V
ever n
The demand for comfort and ease has ii
grown with what it fed upon and there D
are other demands making toward the v
production OF far higher type of vehi- d
lie. These demands are being heard Il
ard the move of the makers toward D
meeting them is working the most note f
worthy changes yet in the general char is
lcter of the motor vehicle. First among ii
hese demands has been that for the c
abolition of the back door entrance to c,
he tonneau and the substitution of a n
tide door, in order that the automobile n
nay come up to the curb and the car
Rage stone for its women passengers O
ike respectable family vehicle, in W
stead of backing up for them, as does al