The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-07

ments during November and Deem
Der were $6S7,710.
I'VE are so busy at home we don't
talk much about what we are doing
abroad" said f. W. A. Vesper, as
sistant general sales manager, but
we are averaging about 3,500 export
cars year. Buenos Ayres and Bahia
Blanca, Argentine; Sydney and Mel
bourne, Australia; Invercargiu, New
Zealand; Cape Town, South Africa;
Kingston, Jamaica; Honolulu, Ha-
wall, and other places / can't even
think of, much less spell for you, are
sending in good-sized orders and COM
ing back for more. We seem to be
the strongest where the going is the
toughest"
Mr. Vesper says that trainload ship
ments from the factory during 1912
totaled sl,50O,00o One OF these
trains. going to San Francisco, was a
mile long and carried 375 Bucks,
representing s431,925 in money. Two
trainloads went to Minneapolis within
a period of two weeks during De-
Cember There are more than 5000
men at work in the Buick shops, and
the payroll is about 100000 a
month.
British speed Marveis.
When one hears of fifteen horse
power and twenty-five horsepow er
British racing automobiles turning out
marvellous and altogether extra
ordinary speed performances at Brook
lands track. the first impression Is that
this country is being left far behind in
the production of automobiles. This Is
more 80. when for instance a twenty
FIVE horsepower" Talbot ON the Brook
lands track did 1903 miles 1,47o yards in
a single hour. ecIipslng record made
by Hernery in what is called by the
British a zoe horsepower Lorraine
Dietrich last year. Hemery did 81
miles ], 027 yards in an hour then, AT
so far Guido the work 81 200 horse
power machine looks like enormous
superiority Of the British product.
However. 1t is Just worth while to
look at the dimensions Of that motor
and thereby discover that rated horse
power and actual horsepower are two
Talbot car which Lam bert drove at this
remarkable speed at Brooklauds has a
four~cylinder engine. with 1913 MILL
metres bore and 40 millimetres stroke,
or about 3s5 inches by 5.4s inches.
This motor at 2.5e0 revolutions min
ute develops I05 horsepower. II must
be remembered, too, that the latest
British racing machines turn up some
thing like 3.0Q0 revolutions a minute
and that when they begin to turn as
slowly" as 2.5oo r. ?, ~. generally
drop down TO an INTERN ediate speed.
The car, with the driver, had total
weight of 1850 pounds. which Is Ger
( tat0iS not heavy. II Is an interesting
thing to think of ton Of weight being
i~hUIla9 continuously .aEpainG "a track far
sixty minutes al an average rate OF
better than 103 miles an hour.
Therefore. although il is certainly
true that the British speed cars, such
as the Talbot 256 and the sunbeam 1879
are wonderfully fast machines and no
doubt better than anything else OF
omparativeiy small engine dime nsion
that now Is on the track, 1t is also well
TO remember that these horsepower de-
nominations are apparently just mat
ter OF choice on the part of the enEi-
neer or manufacturer. fr ia good
deal like the old 39~s0 denomina-
ton that was once popular thing
heLf That told the man who wanted
q Ww powered car that here II was and
Il also informed the fellow who after
high power that II was there for him,
too,
The successful effort that Percy
Lambert made on February 18th 10
beat the hour record was his second
in the month. On February Sth he
went 10 Brookiands and with about
FIVE laps leGt to 20 one of the driving
tires burst He ran for some distance
on the rim before he could stop and
then II took Si4 minutes to replace
the wheel. He covered 81 miles 23l
yards in the hour al that and as with
In seconds OF the record. HE figured
naturally that he had the record at his
mercy II he could keep the car going.
In his successful attack on the record
he covered so miles in 5000 2-5. far
better than Christiaens's mark of
-. is IS made last November in an Elk =
ceIsior car OF rated forty five horse
mower