The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-20

toward the making of motor cars of
moderate size and weight a conserva-
tive medium being sought in cars large
enough and strong enough for their
work but not so excessively bulky as
to be a burden to themselves in getting
about.
Light weight is gaining increased
recognition as a merit in a motor car,
and this is having an effect upon the
design of all parts Of the automobile.
including body, engine and chassis
frame. The tendency in body design
has been to a considerable extent to-
ward the straight line, which is special
" adapted to certain kinds of material,
but with the use Of sheet alumina for
the construction Of motor car bodies
there is no gain in the abandoning en-
tfrely of the beauty Of the curve The
aluminium, in addition to being easily
formed into a shapely body, is both light
and strong, and it holds its shape with
out warping or cracking"
The flag to flag endurance run for the
Wahlgreen trophy is a certainty. The
route from Denver to Mexico City has
been laid and marked by the Chalmers
Detroit go" which entered into the
City of Mexico last Thursday at mid
day.
Inc course ldlQ VIII ne Iutl OF new
things in the way of roads for motor
lists, but as mapped viii be devoid of
the hard experiences met by the path
finding party. The scout car approx
mately covered something over 2,4OG
miles, while the course which will be
followed next October will be about
1909 miles. This variation is due to
the distances Travelled by the pathfind-
ers in search for a roadway. The con-
testants will not have this to bother
them.
President Diaz, in his welcoming
speech to the pathfinding crew, prom
ised to have that part of the course
which is laid through Mexico patroled
by armed ruTales. who will not only
guard the way, but will mark a road for
the contestants in the more remote re
giOns He said it was not necessary
that the guards be armed, but the mi
iitia commanded the same respect as the
regular army, and that he would ad-
wise their carrying arms
An additional promise made by the
Mexican president was that all cars
that entered the contest would be
passed through the Mexican customs
house with the greatest facility, and
motorists would have no difficulty on
that account.
X \
Entries for the Glidden tour contests,
at the regular fee of $500. closed June Is.
with Chairman F. B. Hover, 76O Main
street, Buffalo. After that date, and
until July 1, the entry fee will be $500.
The condition of the lists at the end of
last week was eminently satisfactory;
in fact, it has been so from the start.
On July 1 of last year, when the tour
started on July 8, there were only TWEEN
ty-nine entries in hand, and this year
there were more than that many paid
in before June 1. While entries will
probably arrive in every mail during
the last few days, it is not unlikely that
quite a few makers will delay deliber-
ately and pay the added fee This is
because they are now too busy to plan
for contests a month ahead. The sue
cess of the tour has been assured for a
month and more, and there is a good
field of contestants for both the Glidden
and Hover trophies, but the new tro-
ply, the handsome cup presented by
the city of Detroit for the car with a
miniature tonneau that makes the best
score, is as yet at the mercy of single
entry. This trophy is much finer than
was at first projected, and the prestige
of ii will nearly equal that of the Gid
den trophy, as the sole difference ofcon-
ditions for winning is in whatever diff
ference lies between a full touring body
and the slightly smaller body know as
a miniature tonneau." With a small
field entered for this trophy every car
will have a fine chance, SO that the COM
petition for the Detroit trophy, with
only one entry, is just now the most
inviting feature of the tour.
AUTOMOBILES FOR HIRE.