Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-17
NEWS OF INTEREST
TO THE lists

sThere is a keen interest throughout
| India In all kinds. Of motor vehicles. and
| this interest Is growing rapidly" writes
William H. Michael, the American consul
general at Calcutta. Last year the I'm
portations of all kinds of motor vehicles
into India amounted to 81 $685. 666, and deal
| ers in Calcutta look for large increase
during the year 19O6-O7. American manu-
| facturers should have their share of this
| trade. Speaking of automobiles, 1t will not
| be out of place to speak of them In a gen.
| eral way as the vehicle for this country.
and India has not been backward in find
Ing out this fact. Every tourist comments
| enthusiastically upon the splendid roads for
motor travelling In India. roads that form
a network over the face of the country
We'll kept roads Of easy grad16nts are
found everywhere. and nowhere found
any disagreeable municipal restrictions that
worry the motor tourist In so many coun-
tries. In Bengal and other parts of India
where the climate Is very trying on horses
and persons. the motor is found to be
Just the thing, not only for quick transpor-
breeze made by the motor car affords re-
lief to the traveller from the heat, and
there Is not that exhaustion that comes
from morse and garry riding 1t would
OF the amateur in motoring. Her timdity
In the use of the automobile Is a thing of
the past, and her princes rajahs and young
me men or business want something better and
raster than runabouts."
~
The present status of the automobile in
dustry was thus described recently by
Ralph Temple, president of the Chicago
Automobile Trade Association: THE auto
mobile trade IS now entering into what I
would term its third decade. The expert
mental decade is past. for successful OPERA
tion Is an accomplished fact. The decade
OF pleasure vehicles Is at its zenith and
the use OF the automobile has become n
necessity, equal alike to city and country
users: we are now entering into. the com
merclal decade that broad field upon which
the sun never sets. How important Is n
then, that we who grew up with this in
FAINT of self-propulson should nurture its
growth. which cannot be done better than
by organized interest"
There are two distinct types of forginrs
used for steering knuckles on automo-
pies one type being that of the complete
Knuckle made in one forging, the other of
Two distinct forgings securely bolted to-
sether and forming a complete knuckle.
Just as" distinct as the two types are the
grades of cars on which they are used,
the Whole-piece' knuckle being used on
the two-piece knuckle, or spindle, on the
hlgh grade and OF course, higher-priced
cars. There is a distinct saving so far
as initial cost is concerned. IN the one
piece knuckle, both as regards labor and
material: there is less machining to it. and
practically the only finishing required or
considered necessary for the type of car
IN winch 1t Is used is the spindle on which
hn
bearings of the vertical part of the knuckle
and which are generally plain, unadjust-
abie bearings-and the eye to which is at
tached the rod connecting il to the other
knuckle- In the two-piece knuckle there
Is, OF course, the same amount of machin-
ing for the same relative parts; but, in
ADDITION, the steering arm is finished In
the form of a cone and a CORRESPONDING
cone-shaped cup for its reception in the
steering spindle proper. These are made to
drive fit and the end of the steering arm
threaded 1t Is then locked into position
and held there by castelated nut. It's con-
struction entails the use of at least 50 per
cent more material, but it insures a factor
OF safety in vitality important part that
the one-piece knuckle does not provide.
~
The unobtrusive fan used in practically
every multi-cylinder engine of today has
doubtless drawn as little attention to itself
as any part of the machine, and yet in no
other part is there probably so much vari-
ance in efficiency. They may be seen of
shapes, mountings and style of
drive, and yet moments thought would
reveal the fact that there must best
in this part as in every other 1t il the
of this variance that leads one
TO wonder how much of the present-day
motor car is left to chance and how much
OF II Is good design: Cars of apparently
the same cylinder volume and horse power
use fans of not only different shane and |
form, but containing a different number of |
blades The science of pneumatics presents !
no lack of formula and data on this sub |
Ject, and it would seem, therefore, that the |
first theory of much being left to chance in |
the construction of motor car is correct |
Several We're recently shown the results |
of comprehensive series of tests made by |
Mr.. e. II. Cutler of Massachusetts along |
these lines, and they present such a vast |
discrepancy between the work done and |
the result accomplished that one wonders |
why they were not made before. Fans of |
practically every known form, mounted as |
they are generally upon the four-cylinder |
engine, were used in the test, a dynamom-
eter being used to show the expenditure of |
power, and the usual methods followed for
measuring the volume of atmosphere
moved and the pressure obtained Some |
of this apparatus was most delicate but |
1t has resulted in a peculiar form of fan
being adopted by several of the manufac-
turers. This is mounted upon a ball bear
ing, so that friction is almost negligible,
and is driven by a belt from the crank
shaft and is kept IN tension by a coil |
spring. That there could be no possibility
Of future error, the fan, after its proper
form was arrived at and proved by the
tests, was cast solid, the annular ball bear
Ing being pressed into the hub of the fan
The difference in the volume Of air moved
by this fan on different speeds of the engine
was little less than remarkable, the fan
showing a very high efficiency when run
1t low speed, and it is now used In vary
ng sizes upon different automobiles.
In regard to the Grating Of automobiles