Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-21

of all other makes combined, the popularity
of the car is shown.
The old question of whether II is better
to own a four or a six-cylinder Is again to
he discussed at the coming show and the
answer will have to come from the users
of the different types OF machines. The
matter is still In the air and the future will
have to decide whether the six-cylinder car
will hold its own or not. At present the
demand of the public Or this class of cars
keeps the maker busy filling orders, and
there is noNletup in the demand. America
was the first to push this type to the front
and did this against the precedent of Eu-
rope. which had heretofore been looked
upon as the most progressive in automobile
manufacturing. There are now ninety-four
makers manufacturing six-cylinder cars, of
whom thirty-five are in America, twenty
five in England, twenty-five in France, six
in Italy, two in Belgium and one in Ger
many.
One company Of American manufacturers
thinks it can answer the question by the
statement that it has put out over j, 200 sizes
and all of them are running today and
giving the best of satisfaction. Another
argument put forward in favor Of the six
cylinder car is that there is not a record
ia OHS NhS dhlOHB lue l,uVU meHIiOUeu
above who has gone back to a four-cylinder
car.
The question of what becomes of the old
automobiles finds an easy answer in Omaha
at the present time. They are all in use.
The automobile industry is so young that
few cars have become so old and decrepid
that they are of no further use. II an
owner wishes a more luxurious car he
SimD1U fradac In b{a old for vpbat la AN
get and it is sold to someone who wants
to break into the list of users
at a small cost and is willing to buy a
secondhand car. These cars are also used
in the rent business, which, while profit
able, is hardly large enough at present 10
permit the auto livery men to buy the
higher priced cars for knocking over all
sorts of roads at ali times of the night.
Few cars are on the scrap piles in Omaha,
but there is little doubt but that in a few
years there will be quite an automobile
scrap pile.
Work for the Feet.
TIL show will show a growing demand
for an accelerator by which the throttle is
manipulated by the feet. One machine
shows a clever idea by which the throttle
is opened or closed by a lateral motion of
the foot instead of pressing down on the
pedal. The argument in favor OF this is
that it is less tiresome than keeping the
foot in a semi-raised position.
Another debatable point is raised by the
makers Of the cone and multiple disk
clutches and the honors seem to be about
even in the debate. If anything the disk
has gained in popularity during the year,
but the adherents Of the other styles have
so many arguments in their favor that it
seems to be a matter of personal prefer
ence.
Good brakes are always necessary on a
motor car and The designers are always
looking for some way to improve the
brakes. Many manufacturers nave In
creased the braklng surface and there seems
to be an inclination to get away from the
metal to metal friction surfaces and to use
such material as camel's hair betting,
leather raybestos, thermoid, etc. Double
brakes on the rear wheel hubs instead of
brakes on the driving shafts are also
popular.