The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-15

of marking the 1913 show. Among
hyphenated features there Is nothing
that quite comes up to the electric
gasolene car. Electricity in itself
long ago gave UP the unequal fight
with the gasolene car for popular IA
vor But electricity has come into
It's own as an adjunct to the gasolene
car for lighting and starting pur-
poses. The motor car of today that
Is not electrically lighted is conspicu-
Gus for the lack of this convenience,
and the electric salf-starter has tri
umphed over its competitors, AT the
previous show there were four kinds
Of self-starterE--the compressed air
type, Of which notable examples were
those on the Winton and the Chal-
mers, the electric as on the Cadillac,
White and Interstate, the spring
starter, fitted to several makes, and
the acetylene, which was graspd by
the industry at large to meet the I'M
mediate demand that many manu-
facturers discovered too late to pro-
vide for by other means.
Electricity, however. has prevailed.
and by far the larger number of cars
have combination electric starting and
lighting equipment, sometimes IN con-
junction with the ignition and some
times separate. In the majority of
cases electric starter and lamps are
regular equipment, though there are
makers who, IN order to keep down
the price. list them as optional equip
nent. The list of cars using one sys-
tenn is formidable as showing the
sweep OF the electric type. on this
list appear such ncsaes as Alec, APP
person. Fiat F'iandts. benox, Lozier.
National, Norwalk, Paige Detroit,
Pathfinder. Peerless. Pope Hartford.
REQ, Stearns, Stoddard Dayton, and
others. The Chalmers and the Win
ton. which have their own compress
ed air starters. have electric lamps
operated by this system, The white,
the Bergdoii the Interstate, the Ram
bier. the Packard, the Locomoble. the
Oakland, the Stevens Duryea, are a
few of the many makes that use 9TH
er systems of electrical starting and
lighting.
The electrical system lis a cycle A
storage battery supplies the current
that operates the starter either
through gearing on the fy-wheel or
by connection with the cam-shift
When the engine Is running. II IN
turn charges the storage battery
through a generator, Electricity for
such auxiliarfes as tire pumps. and
vacuum cleaning plants Is newer
development In the gasolene-e1ectric
car. As the larger mum Der of cars are
now equipped the driver has every
thing under his hand at the steering
wheel. He can start and stop his car,
turn ON the lights. regulate the igni-
ton, the flow OF oil. and the richness
~ his mixture and need not move
from his seat And SO automatic
are all these operations in the ordl-
nary course Of running that the driv-
or has literally nothing TO watch
but the road"
Reliability Run for Trucks.
The executive committee Of the
American Automobile association at
It's meeting yesterday passed a reso-
luton favorirg some sort OF RELIABLE
ity contest for commercial vehicles
on the lines presumably Of a national
tour for business vehicles. Laurens
Enos, the president OF the A A. a.,
was empowered TO treat with the
National Association Of Automobile
Manufacturers to learn its idea In
regard to this. The president also
was authorized To arrange for the ma
tioual tour for the Glidden, A. A. A
and Anderson trophies
both President Enos and John 4
Wilson. frst vice president. were alb
sent the former through Illness Mr.
Wilson is in Europe Or, II NJ Rowe,
second vice president, presided A
watch and fob were given 10 ex-
Proc 'Ant Robert p. Hooper The
committee accepted an invitation to
hold the serni-annua1 meeting OF the
association In Philadelphia.
Seven Gibbs were added to the
membership. The association now
has 4S7 clubs IN the forty-four State
bodies In it's list