Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1910-03-18
The Car and What it will do.

OrlgnC, calm, crisp autumn morning on Oc-
tOber rs, 1909, forty-seven automobiles left Her.
aid SOU re with Atlant, the center Of the awak-
enlng South, for their goal. Of these cars thir-
ty-eight were contestants and nine non-contes-
ants or officials.
Among the contestants were nine cars in the
$6, 600 Glass; four in the $4 600 class seven in
the $3 900; thirteen in the So 900 class and five
in the 81 ,25O class. Each passenger was we'll
prepared, for he knew that it meant a ten-days
struggle with late fall weather and battle with
roads of the best and worst, and all the inter-
mediate varieties.
PIONEERS OF PROSPERITY.
Unusual in touring contest of this sort. and
indicative of the interest and enthusiasm with
which the South has taken up the good roads
along the route and by their boards of trade
Atlanta, Lynchburg, Va, Charlotte, N. c., Roa-
noke, Va, Moultre. Co., Anderson, Ca, Spar
t2abrrg, S. c., Winston-Salem, N. C. and Com
merce, Ga, all were represented in the chug
ging caravan. All became forerunners of an
era of prosperity and activity, and of free intel
course with the neighboring states.
The route covered l, 100 miles through New
York, New Jersey. Pennsylvania, Maryland,
West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina and Georgia The remotest sleeps and
wids of the Blue Riege Mountains were scaled
supremacy Of the American built cars on rough
and rugged American roads might be main
tained And, might be expected from brave.
hardy and big-hearted people, the worse the
erous were the cheers of the inhabitants of sun
ny Dixie.
A word about the motor relabity side, and in
the final analysis, this, after ALL is what the 1910
buyer Of motor cars is essentially interested in
Under the rigid rules of the contest and owing
to the severe tests made of all competing cars
only twenty-sX of the thirty-eight starters fin
lshed with a perfect road score, twelve contes-
tants having either withdrawn from tee contest
or having been heavily penalized This is nearly
at ratio OF one car failing to every two cars
which finished with clean road score.
Among the cars in the $4,000 class that with
drew reluctantly from the strenuous contest was
a big s. due to a broken steering gear and other
mechanical troubles. An o. was heavily pen
allied for miscellaneous road troubles.
In the $4,000 class T withdrew because of
broken steering gear and other mechanical
troubles A p withdrew early from the con-
test on account of mechanical troubles.
A big. K IN the $4,000 class withdrew be-
cause Of broken throttle rod and miscellaneous
road troubles, and big o. in the same class
withdrew early in the contest because of various
complications.
Other cars in the $4,000 class either with
drew or were heavily penalized for broken axles,
including other serious defects, thus proving the
car-wrecking test to which every car was Tut
IN the ten-days' grind of l. 100 miles.
THE CLEAN SCORE CARS.
A word about the rs clean-score cars Many
OF these cars limped into Atlanta with broken or
injured springs. Others had either strained Ak
les, Wobbly wheels, dilapidated bearings and
gears and various other mechanical blemishes.
The new model $1,25O four-cylinder REQ was
awarded perfect score at the finish, but more
than that, it in perfect mechanical condition.
1t made the entire of 100 miles, through nine
Mr. Shannon had MIR. E. E. Jacoway expert nachini.
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