The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-02-19
BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE
CREATION OF AN AUTOMOBILE.

car would surely meet difficulties, he
thought.
SO over this terrific stretch he shot
the New Hudson "57" at mile min
ute speed not once, but a dozen times,
The passengers could stay In the car,
so awful was the pounding only by
maintaining a tight grip upon the
robe rail. In the supreme test the
record between the two cities was
shattered.
Driver Tries Again.
Then winter came. One of the hard
est winters in years still not salts
fed with the abuse the car had had.
the race driver was again sent up
into the Afleghenies. This time he
went through to Philadelphia. Each
year at Wilkes Barre. Pa, a famous
event is the Giants Despair Hin
climb, For Giants Despair In a hill
failed to build cars which can sur
mount it satisfactorily.
In winter it is icy and covered with
and dangerous to
climb. The New Hudson ST. mount
ed Ii with the speed OF G. race horse.
Here was the passage from the
guide book which stared the driver
in the face when he plunged into the
Rocky mountain passes: This In one
Sl the WOTst routes tii&
States. No rnotorist should attempt
it without good brakes. new tires and
a carefully tuned up car. No mex
perienced driver should, under any
circumstances. attempt 1t, for ii is
full of dangerous passes and diaboiical
turns"
That cheered the fearless one.
Surely those stony passes and the
fearful strains OF the hairpin turns
will hraal no - "A thnnUht And
against the guide book warning he
plunged the car over the short cut TO
Philadelphia.
Purring sweetIy. the mechanism
working perfectly the car came out
unscathed on the other side OF the
Alieghenies.
From Philadelphia on he tried to
discover fabrication trouble. He
drove to Elmira, New York. thence
to Rochester and Buffalo. N. Y; Erie,
Pa: Cleveland. o.; Toledo and De-
troit
Looking Fer Trouble.
over the smooth New York roads
an excellent opportunity to find such
trouble, II 1t existed for better than
mile-a-minute speeds were possible
But there was no such trouble to
forestall, for none developed.
Then spring came and with ii the
car was driven through the treach-
erous sands OF Michigan, the mud of
Illinois and Iowa. the sticky gufnbo
of Missouri, and the clay of Southern
Canada
One mud trip was notable It was
approximately 1000 miles and was
made over awful Michigan roads
The car carried Ave heavy men, and
the entire trip, including the first
hour or two. was made in a heavy
downpour; this added to the rain of
the day before flooded the roads
which ordinarily would have been
considered impossible,
One of the worst stretches of road
was encountered Just outside the city
limits Of Detroit. The boulevard was
cut or on account of repairs and the
racing driver was compelled to use
an ordinary dirt road, which had been
cut deeply by the heavy hauling and
recent rains. This stretch OF about
two miles of heavy. hard pulling was
made at between thirty and forty
miles an hour, many times the cars
jumping into deep holes. pounding
the passengers jolts let alone the
strain of the chassis
Stretch OF Bad Road.
The road after THIS bad stretch was
fairly good but gradually became
worse till the mud became SO deep
that at the speed, mud and water was
thrown clear over the fences on either
side OF the road, The car would
sometimes approach fifty miles an
hour with the roads in this condition.
The road was often lost in a.
shower of mud which compelled driv-
ing most Of the time with the wind
shield down. The holes along the
road were filled with water and never
was their depth known till the driver