The Washington herald., 1912-05-12
AUTOMOBILE NOTES
oontInned from Pase Two.

Continued from Page Two.
some 70 per cent Of all users Of CONNER,
cial cars, in every line of business
throughout the United States, are unan.
imous in the opinion that the motor.
driven truck 1t not only past the expert
mental stage. but ranks with the tele'
phone. telegraph. electric light and trans
portation lines. Numerous quotations OF
letters from men in all kinds of bust.
ness, were given, showing conclusiveiy
that commercial cars are considered
more economical than former methods.
In fact their use has opened up new
territories. increased business. and pro-
duced satisfactory customers-while with
horses or even by rail, these territories
were either inaccessible. or too expensive
10 bring within reach. Several instances
were also given in which the trucks ac-
tuaIly compete with the railroads and
show a resultant saving.
Mr.. Foljambe expressed the belief that
although the commercial car will un-
doubtedly do all of the heavy hauling In
our large cities, and gradually be ac-
cepted throughout the country. as have
the railroad telegraph. telephone. and
other space annihilating inventions. yet
the horse viii never be entirely displaced.
He said II is a mistake TO assume that
the horse will entirely disappear from
our streets, as there will always be cir
cumstances which will retain this faith
ful friend in the service of man.
To the advancement of the automobile.
more than any other industry. We owe
the present high rate of development
and high grade Of new form OF steel
In the past, when one desired more
strength. the designer simply added moro
material and more weight This is not
so to-day, for If anything he must
lessen the weight, while doubling the
strength This was not possible to do
in the construction of the automobile,
for weight was one Of the most potent
factors, and through the experiments
made necessary to- cut down the weight
of the automobile have arisen many OF
the most important discoveries in the
treating of metal II the automobile de-
signer desired to increase the strength
of a certain part of the car, he set about
changing the molecular structure of the
steel so that its elastic limit was in
creased three-fourths. This he did by
heat and the addition Of other metal
like chrome. nickel or vanadium. few
years ago these metals were little known
or used in the industries, and were to
be found only in laboratories. To-day
they are a staple product and are used
in springs, shafts of almost every auto
mobile These and other alloy steels will
stand strain OF ZfuVVVlu pOuNuS pcI
inch, and can be bent and twisted to an
extent never dreamed Of. Aluminium
solder is now a realization. Autogenius
welding has been a common practice
through the advent Of the automobile. |
These and other advancements are all the
result OF automobile development
Prospective automobile owners often |
ask why so many different kinds Of one
metal-steeI for instance-are used in |
the different parts Of the motor car.
The obvious answer is that because one |
kind has proved better for one purpose
and another kind for another purpose.
The pecularities Of the different sorts
Of steel are not very generally known
however, even among people who are
more or less automobile enthusiasts. The
earliest attention was given to the special
characteristics OF the different metals
in the Stevens-Duryea factory, where, |
from the beginning, twenty-one years
ago the fundamental idea has been to /
make a car that should be strong, but
light; that should be as safe and sure
as & horse-drawn vehicle and much |
speedier and more comfortable.
Every bar of steel used in Stevens
Duryea cars is analyzed and tested be-
fore IL is accepted, and every Stevens
Duryea frame is made with a small
extra piece of steel on each side, which
is cut on ana SuDleCIeO 10 tensile tests,
while the frame itself is tested for hard
ness. BY going over both the raw mate
rial and the finished product in this
way, the result is made perfectly certain,
for anything that fails to pass any one
OF the tests is thrown out-even the
entire frame after IT is completed.
Chrome nickel steel is used for the re-
sponsible parts of the Stevens-Duryea,
because it combines the greatest degree
Of hardness with a high elastic limit.
II makes gears and gear shafts, for in I
stance that will stand extreme pressure
without cracking or losing their form,
and for the same reason the rear
axle driving shafts are also made Of !
chrome nickel steel In
The steering spindles of Stevens-Dur- ,
yea are of specially tested metals
proved by chemical analysis and tensile :
test both-for the safety of the car de- !
pends on them not a little. They are :
treated steel The crank shafts are Of =
~. per cent nickel steel that has 1000 i
pounds tensile strength and an elastic !
limit OF 5000 pounds. This is a COM :
bination of strength and give" that :
makes a broken shaft very rare in these !
cars. q
The valves, which must withstand ex-
treme heat without warping or burning, :
are made Of high-carbon steel. The CYL :
inders are especially tested for hardness. :
II the bores show any appreciabIe wear I
when the micrometer is applied. they are z
rejected. Uniformly hard cylinders will II
wear indefinitely and have good COM
preston after many years service, so
that the motor will always deliver its V
fun power, while soft iron in the cylin- a
ders means rapid wear and loss of power. D
A new automobile company was launch b
ed in Indianapolis yesterday afternoon c
under the name of the Henderson Motor q
Car Company, with a paid-up capital p
stock Of $4,000. The company will manu-
facture pleasure motor cars. Their fac
tory will, in all probability, be located in g
or so near to Indianapolis h
that the executive Offices can be located Il
there. 81
The officers of the new company are h
L Carter, of Jessup, Ga, president; r "
?. Henderson, vice president; L. s. 7;
French, secretary and advertising direct Il
Or; c. K. Share, treasurer. The directors ol
are L. Carter, c. P. Henderson, R. P.