Arizona republican., 1909-06-21
ELECTRIC RUNADOUT
 MODEL TOWN AUTO
Central Garage Has a New Machine With Ideal Characteristics.

The smoothest article in the way oi
 runabout automobile that has ever
 been seen on the Phoenix streets. made
 it's maiden trip around town Saturday
 from the Central garage. In fact il
 made several of them for the pro-
 prictorS felt just a wee bit chesty over
 the machine and couldn't help letting
 their friends know about it and try it
 out. Their pride is not the pride oI
 vanity that goeth before a fall but the
 pride of having q gooc thing of which
 they hope to sell a dozen or two in the
 fall.
 This machine is a Columbus run
 about and in its class is certainly an aristocrat. IL is not a touring car or a mountain climber for it has neither
 the weight nor the lungs, but for use about the city streets or for any sort of run under eighty miles on decent roads it is a gem. The car is light, has large tires. and being electric it of course has no big engine pumping on it's insides or throbbing and jerking. It is almost noiseless and unlike the big cars it can go by a cemetery with out disturbing the dead There is no NAdhhAAl6 Ap hp AlAuN blAtll tltldN Niit game, to say nothing about the work, nor yet does it perambulate in an at mOsphere of gasoline or burning grease.
 Another fine feature of the machine is that it's operation is by a lever in front of the driver instead of bis wheel that takes up all the room. The speed is regulated by a single lever at the left side of the driver, which when pushed clear back serves as a brake. while to reverse, one merely lifts an other lever and operates as in going straight ahead. A very desirable fea- ture of the car is that unlike most machines it is consistent with the rule of the road. The operating machinery is at the left end of the seat and the driver sits on the left side of the ve- hicle. The rule of the road is to keep to the right. yet on most cars the driver has to sit on the right side SD he cannot see when he is safely dis tant from the vehicle he is passing un- less he leaves the breach between them so wide he needs a telephone to pass the time of day With this machine one could clip the hair off a dog without touching him.
 It is not intended for a racing car or to satisfy the whims of a speed ma niac. though if necessary it can run faster than the law allows and that ought to be facts for law abiding peo- pie. while on the contrary it can slow down to the gait of the fattest old lady who happens to be crossing the street nt- ali al I,a hceled cop on the trail of a pickpocket One can go just as slowly and safely as he wants to and control the ap- paratus as easily as he could a hobby horse, though if he is really murder ously inclined he can get up death dealing movement and slip upon his victim unawares and run over him and kill him before he knows it. For that reason only people of responsibility and character should be allowed to buy them, though at the worst the Columbus is the least murderous of any of them.
 The batteries are located in the COW catcher, or that front end construction where the carburetter of the ordinary stink wagon usually turks The Co., ID SdlNl Np dSSlllllldlt dDDul SIX dollars worth of chain lightning a month including the electric proven der. This though will require an in itial plant in the owners private gar age at a cost of s25O or $500 for charg- ing the batteries by attaching an ord mary electric light wire, the runabout itself costing about $500 But if one prefers to keep the machine in gar age as he would his horse in a livery barn the charge for the machine will about equal the livery bill. That in cludes grooming and keeping in order just as the liveryman would be ex- pected to keep the horse in order and hitch him up when wanted.
 The runabout does not take the place of the big cars for heavy work. but many people who have big cars and use them for light work, would save time and money by keeping the runabout and hiring the big cars on the special occasions when they are needed. It is an ideal machine for physician. a lady or in fact for any person whose driving is chiefly around | town or to nearby points in the valley. | One charging of the machine is suffi- | cient for eighty miles of travel An l other feature of it is the electric light | ing. the lights being turned on by sim | ply touching a button.