The Washington herald., 1912-11-24

Almost everybody has their own pet
anti-freezing compound these winter
months" says DR.. Charles G. PercivaI
IN his new book, "The Trail of the Bull
dog" which deals with his 50,OOo-miIe
journey over all North America. Says
DR.. Percival: THE three most common
substances known to motorists outside
Of the many advertised compounds sold
ON the market are ethyl, alcohol glycer-
in, and calcium chloride. Each has its
advantages and each has its objectional
cffect on rubber hose and connections.
Glycerin is expensive and also decom-
poses at high Temperature with a most
unpleasant odor. Calcium chloride sets
up an electrolytic action on the metal
composing the radiator tubes and II the
mixture Is not chemically pure, as II gem
orally is, it has a corroding effect on the
tubes that means IN the long run new
radiator. Alcohol that Is Ethyl alcohol
or denatured alcohol Is harmless while
a onrroding calcium chloride solution VIII
often clog up the water pump. One part
of denatured alcohol to three Of water
VIII not freeze until the temperature has
dropped below zero and as the weather
becomes colder the mixture can be in
creased in strength. A little instrument
known SIS the pyrometer will aid in test
ing the mixture II the temperature runs
below zero to say 10 below, 81 parts of
ALCOHOL 10 SIX pdrIs water VIII pfOptTly
protect Wood alcohol Is not any cheaper
than denatured alcohol, has a most I'M
pleasant odor and softens the rubber con-
nections.'
'Hoch der Kaiser,'' the national God
Save the King" of Germany, is not one
whit more popular among the automobile
manufacturers of the fatherland than is
Down with American motor cars" Like
several other European countries. nota-
bly, England. Germany has taken up the
fight against the ever-menacing "Ameri-
can invasion" and automobiles manufac-
tured in this country are far from popu-
lar with manufacturers there. according
to II, B. Harper, export manager for the
Willys-Overland Company, of Toledo,
Ohio. who lately returned from a trip
of several months abroad.
"American-made automobiles are TO be
discredited at any cost in Germany il the
manufacturers of that country have their
way" says Mr.. Harper. Newspapers are
devoting both news and editorial columns
to articles calling attention TO the
Yankee peril and makers are devoting
almost as much energy toward keeping
out the foreign products as they are to
the development of their own cars.
Germany is as fully determined to
ouSt the American car as is England, but
the opposition there is even more viru-
lent than in the British Isles says the
Overland export manager. English engi-
neers unhesitatingly admit that the pop
ular-priced American cars are excellent
value, and make their argument against
our output by declaring that the English
are equally capable OF quality production.
But the Germans, fearful of losing pres
tige and business are stubbornly en-
phatic in their declarations that a good
car at a low price is impossible
~,
lesson that several American manufac-
turers have known for some time that
quantity production will allow of the
highest quality at lower cost. They can
not conceive of a single automobile fac
tory turning out 1000 cars in a season.
This can be more easily understood when
German statistics are seen. There are l2S
automobile plants in the fatherland with
a capacity for this year of only about
$4,000 cars, while the Overland factory
alone will make 1000 in the same period"
The camel of the Michigan deserts
is the name applied to an Overland tour
ing car belonging to E. F. Sawyer, of
Cadillac, Mich, by an enthusiastic wom-
an mOtOrist of Toledo, Ohio. THE car
made twenty-six miles in three hours
through some of the worst sand roads
ever saw, near Cadillac. recently"
writes the fair motor fan to G. w.
Bennett, vice president of the WHY'S
Overland Company. There wasn't foot
Of the journey that wasn't typical Mich
igan desert and any one who has seen
the jackpine wastes of this region knows
that this means sand to the hubs at all
times and occasional holes that resemble
nothing so much as the bottomless pit"
Seventeen thousand miles is the dis
lance l have run one Goodyear tire on
my car" said R. Parker Smith, of Fort
Wayne, Ind.
My odometer has registered 1900 miles
already, and ! candidly believe i can get
10000 miles out of the nonskid tire
The talk about the high cost of tires
has had my attention for some time
continued Mr.. Smith. II believe the cost
is due, in most cases, to the lack of at
tention of drivers. l always keep my
tires inflated to the proper pressure and
have never been bothered with underin-
fatioR troubles. There has never been an
occurrence of such q thing as a loose
tread or a broken side wall since the air
gauge has been faithfully used"
Just what the service" given by the
maker of a high-grade motor car to his
customers amounts to was illustrated in
New York not long ago when a purchaser
OF q 1913 Peerless ''60-Sx'' was about to
sail for Europe. \
The big car was hoIsted by a derrick
and swung over the deck. The fasten-
ings suddenly let go and the big machine
fell forty feet into the hold. Naturally
some repairs were necessary, and as the
ship was just about to SAN, it looked as
though the owned would be seriously in
convenienced. !
But telephone call to the Peerless
Motor Car Company of New York
brought to the dock in fifteen minutes
another '6o-Six" which was being used
as e demonstrator. So the purchaser took
with him an exact duplicate of his car
and two weeks later was motoring IN
the Alps as though nothing had hap
pened.
In order to make the new Grand Gem
trail Palace more attractive and appro-
pirate for an automobile show than ever
before, the entire interior, including all
of the floors, is to be redecorated for
the thirteenth National Automobile
Show, January IL to g next. SimuItan-
eous with the show In this building the
other section of the exhibition viii be
held in Madison Square Garden, and this
also will have an entirely new scheme
Of decoration. Louis r. Bogert, an ar
list of note, is supervising the paint of
numerous panels, depicting landscapes of
various places popular with motorists.
He made numerous trips to make
sketches and was also accompanied on
a number of these by Nathan Lazarnick,
who made photographs Of the various