The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-11-22
Football Motoring, General Sporting News
Motoring News.
Good Roads Notes
and Trade Matters

Flanders, etc.-as to just what VIII
happen when Walter E. Flanders takes
hold OF the reins of the reorganized
United States Motor company. MIR.
Flanders states as follows:
while | am not yet ready, and 1t
would be premature to announce the
new sales policy in detail. I will say
that the general policy will be to leave
matters just as they are so far as
dealers are concerned. The sales like
the manufacturing policy, viii be one
of expansion. not of contraction.
II have never seen any great sue
cess achieved by cutting down. The
way to make profits is to increase
output. And. that being our plan 1t
goes without saving that We will need
every good, every competent man of
the old organization, whether in the
field or in the factories.
ut seems TO me logical that men
who have been trained to sell Maxwell
or Stoddard cars in the field. who are
imbued with loyalty and enthusiasm
for that product, are the ones to con-
tinue to represent those lines. And
that will be the policy.
while the general administration
Offices will be moved to Detroit, our
New York Office win continue to be
an important one"
Continuing. Mr.. Flanders said one
OF the most gratifying incidents con-
nected with the proposed reorganiza-
ton OF the United States motors, and
his considera ton of the offer of the
presidency was the receipt OF large
number of kilograms from Maxwell,
and especially Stoddard- Dayton deal
ers and distributors, expressing APP
prevail Of the plan and policy, and
stating that If he would assume con-
troll they would continue to handle
the line and give enthusiastic sup
port.
Briton Crfticizes Car.
British anxiety over the American
invasion cannot be Gained by ordi-
nary means apparently. Having
crushed the American small car time
and again by weighty arguments and
having battered this machine until
apparently nothing was left after the
vigorous knocking the British are
at stiii more trouble to prove what
n very bad thing 1t is to buy low
priced American car
Not long ago, before the Birming-
ham section of the Institution of Au-
tnmobile Engineers, Douglas Leech-
man, a British engineer. read a paper
en- the kfffuenee Of low productive cost,
on quality or otherwise. an examina-
ticn of the design and construction
of an American car selling in England
at about 81 600. The car, which was
new and had covered only 500 miles.
performed well on the road, Mr.
Leechman admitted, up to speeds OF
twenty-five or thirty miles an hour
The springing WIS fair. and the body
moderately comfortable: but when the
rnachine was taken apart its road
behavior surprised the critic.
Here are some of the things he
found:
Evidence of hasty and penurious
| construction was plain at every point.
Thus there was but q single set screw
| locking the gudgeon pin in each pis-
| ton. The mark of the boring tool
| on the interior of the cylinders re-
NAMED sensible to the touch after
| soc miles running, showing that the
cylinder had not been ground after
boring. The interior of the combus-
tfon chambers was rough and plainly
invited preignition from carbon de-
| post. The coring of the water jack
cts was 80 inefficiently dane as to
| invite Turing and needless obstruc-
j ton TO the circulation of the water.
The live axle shafts are simply
| lengths of ordinary pulled steel bar,
very slightly tapered to carry the
| wheels. Where ball bearings are
! used they are of the cheap cup and
cone type, and soft roller bearings
| are provided for the driving shaft.
| A note on the brakes is worth quot
Ing. as showing the quality of the de-
| sign details. On the brake joints,
either In the brake brackets on the
axle itself or on the bearings or other
functions. there are no means for
| fabrication, whatever. not even IA sim-
| pie drilled hole. In fact, to lubri-
1 cate any brake drum il would be
| necessary to take II down, grease ii
and reassembie it-that Is, of course
at first--but one would imagine that
with ordinary usage they would soon
| be slack enough to allow oil to be
! got in
! The body work of this car APP
| parently was equal in quality TO that
. OF the chassis. 1t is stated to be
weakly framed with immature wood.
| and the methods of uphalstering can
| be Judged from the fact that the but
| tons usually fitted In quilting were
substituted by steel pins black en-
/! amelled to match the leather. and
presumably driven into the wood
| framing behind. In order to detach
/ the horn. ii would have been neces-
sary 10 have taken off the dash
| bard first
lore is Mr.. Leechman's final sum
ming up: The car has been cheap
ened through the design by the re-
duction to an absolute minimum OF
/ surface which need machining. Fur
Their the machining Is excessively
rough where 1t has not been elimi-
mated as on such parts as the uni
versal joint nuts. 1t Is obvious that
! the minimum number OF cuts have
been employed TO. enable, the ssa-
| chine to be turned out in such a con-
ditien that 1t win run at all. do
| not believe that more than one cut
| Is taken on any of the facing opera
| tons. and am doubtful as to whether
more than one cut is employed In
boring the cylinders"
| The cheapness thus seems to be
! due partly to designing and partly
/ to rough construction. Made really
WE'LL there Is no reason why such
| a car should not live long and give
satisfactory service. 1t would never
be an efficient car. 1t would always be
respects inconvenient. but
1t would have no really bad faults.
However this may be, there still re-
mains no doubt at all but that II
would be quite impossible to market
the car at its actual selling price
\ Ga, - a.