The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-17
DIFFICULT POINT
 FOR AUTO NOVICE Tendency to Use High Gear at
 Wrong Time
SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD
What Leading Automobile Magazine Has to Say About m Important Feature That VIII Interest
 Young Motorists

It is a peculiar fact that one of the
 most difficult points for the novice in
 motoring to understand, and one which
 even experienced autoists frequently do
 not always consider, is the tendency or
 desire to use the high gear when it
 should not be. There is often difficulty
 in explaining that the reason the trans
 mission is necessary is because the very
 nature of a gasoline internal combustion
 motor makes a speed reduction a re- qurement, and that to develop power the motor must be rotating at a rela- lively high rate of speed continually. In a recent issue Motor World comments editorially upon this proposition and ex-
 tracts from the views there expressed will undoubtedly be of interest to all automobilists, as follows:
 Unless motorists are carefully in- structed in the proper use of the ma chine,. it is possible that the develop
 ment of the motor which is characterized by high torque at low speed may be- come not an unmixed blessing. Just at present, with the long-stroke proportions in high favor and slow rates of car speed demanded on high gear this type of engine is very much to the front; or,
 rather, designers are striving very hard
 to develop this particular quality in their
 products. Nor is there any real question
 as to the real merit of the principle in-
 volved. The danger is that as a direct
 result of the general publicity which it
 receives and the ambition of the aver | q ge owner to put his machine through | it's best paces upon every possible occa- sion, the long-stroke. slow-speed engine | may be subjected to undue abuse.
 Unwise and Expensive
 AS we pointed out a year or two ago, when Continuous running on high gear first became prevalent it is always un- wise and expensive, from the mechan- ical point of view, to operate the en-
 zine under overload conditions mere ly for the sake of keeping the speed lever in -a certain position which hap pens, for the moment. to be fashion, able. And this Is about all that high gear running amounts to in many cases Abuse of the engine under such con- ditions tends to cause excessive wear of the connecting rod bearings and with the average car may tend to de- velop looSeness in the crank shaft bearings, and to rack the car from end to end. Such abuse occurs whenever 1t is attempted to force the car to
 climb too steep a grade on high gear, to force it's way through deep mud on high gear with the engine partially throttled when the transmission is set for direct drive, or whenever unduly rapid accelera tion is attempted on city streets under similar conditions
 Another point to be considered in the same connection Is that of fuel economy-never one to arouse much in- terest, but a point which, in the ag- gregate, Is of vital importance to the industry and the trade. As may hap pen when any single feature Is given excessive prominence, there is some chance that it's development may lead to the neglect of others. Automobile design involves so much of compromise that to make a decided departure in any direction is pretty apt to lead to equivalent compensation in another This Is not the same as saying that the long stroke motor is not econom- ical; merely that is slow speed and a powerful turning moment are made to appear the only desderata. there Is some chance that, among other things, economy may be sacrificed.
 Question to Consider
 Largely the question is one for the operator to consider. Motorists should learn that the advantages of the high
 gear are as readily subject to abuse as any other advantages which may be available, Several years ago practically
 every car produced was supposed to be capable of making SO miles an hour on
 the road. Little Is said of the maximum attainabl speed at the present time, for the reason that the public has learned that almost any car will go as fast as the inclination of the average driver will require under normal cir cumstances The present tendency among manufacturers Is to advertise the slowest speed which the car will make on the high gear But until the public learns that, like the maximum the minimum speed Is for use only un- der special and favorable conditions, there is likelihood that abuse of that feature will prevail to some extent, and that high fuel and maintenance costs will result in certain quarters What is necessary above all else Is to teach the operator to favor the engine under all circumstances"