New-York tribune., 1911-01-08
VALUE OF AUTO RACES
Great Strain the Test for Aver
age Car.
IMPROVEMENT THE RESULT
Gruelling Grinds Have Revealed
Defects and Led to Great
Changes.
BY HARLOW HYLLE,
Of the Bosch Magnetic Company.

America in 1910 saw a brilliant success
sion OF marvellous automobile races and
contests. Moreover. although these races
we're magnificent as spectacles and sport
ing affairs. their instructive value 10 car
owners and intending purchasers was still
greater The 1911 car you can buy is a
better car because there was such brill
lant season OF long auto races and speed
way and motordrome events.
II you consider racing a non-practca
sport and a shilly-shally game of excite
mentpromoted for the benefit OF scatterorain
speed maniacs you have another guess COM
ing II you think that manufacturers planfor
their cars campaign Of racing and con-
tests with the intent of gaining cheap pup
licity by some hook or crook you have
made another faulty guess. There was a
time when the overzealous automobile
maker entered contests with doctored up
cars and attempted TO gain meaningless
victories which he could capitalize into
sales
To-day nearly every manufacturer who
enters cars aims first 10 honestly de-
serve popularity by building car that
can travel powerfully and endure strains,
and so win victories and thereby popular
ity and sales II may not be abstract
ethics that actuate all the hard-headed
manufacturers TO strive and build so hon
estIy, but when a dozen or so of your COM
petitors build real cars with power and
stamina you must do as we'll or stay on
the side lines and claim that 1.-The game
snt worth the candle
The very popularity and prevalence OF rae
l. Nf he CT
for better 1911 and 1912 cars. and so for
better values for the auto buyers money.
Glance over the year. observe some of the
results and see if your opinion of automo-
bile racing doesn't go up few points. Inc
simon pure stock car came into its own
this year and in practically every great
free for-all contest. ran away from the
speedier but more fragile special racing
machine. The Alco which won the van
derbilt; the Marmon, which was second 20
seconds later, and the majority ot the
ten cars that finished were stock cars, ana
the special racing machines which contest
cd. though some of them were swift While
they lasted. were never dangerous con-
tenders Thus this historic race, which rs
stil a free-for-all contest, shows the su-
periority of the stock car, which Is the
sort the average motorist owns. Ana tms
race is typical. There were many other
victories OF stock cars over speed machines
at important road and speedway events.
You see. when the maker builds in guam
titles he must build for endurance as well
as for speed. for endurance is what the
average motorists use calls for. Besides,
when a manufacturer races constantly ne
tests his car more severely than any owner
could i'm two or three seasons. Testing, OBJ
serving. looking for possible Improvements,
drivers and mechanicians often discover
defects that can easily be remedied. and
the designs OF the next years stock model
may have from three TO twenty such i'm
movements which were worked out on the
racetrack one contesting maker told the
writer of two Improvements which didn t
cost an additional % cents q car and
vet these new aids 10 the endurance of the
car did more than anything else to trans
form that new stock model into great
victor. We're there space we might fll this
column Nth. incidents. such as thts, show
ing how the stock cars which race and
succeed are studied and improved during
A racing campaign. The drivers, mechani-
clans and the engineers in charge OF such
racing squads are often the livest men or
the whole factory outfit, and they apply
themselves industriously.
II the average owner looked more care
fully behind the scene at the speedway