Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-03-21
THE REASON FOR SIX /
CYLINDER DOMINANCE

! to use anything but four-cylihder
motor. Cars of this class are not ex-
| pected to overcome the obstacles
which the larger. more powerful cars
are expected to meet without hesita-
| tion.
But the fact remains that the six
| cylinder principle has been proved
vastly superior to the four-cylinder
principle. just as the four proved SUI
perior to the twin-c cylinder motor. just
as the two-cylinder motor proved SUI
perior to the single cylinder motor.
The superiority of the six" does
not lie in the fact that it will travel
faster than a -Four" for this does
not necessarily hold. Practically any
-Four" will travel as fast as anyone
wants to go or ought to go. 1t is not
that the Six will climb hill any
faster. or will pull the weight of the
car through any deeper mud.
But the "Six" will do all OF these
things easier. with less wear and tear
on the machinery, with less effort on
the part of the driver and with greater
comfort to the passengers than any
-Four"
A well built six-cylinder car has the
fiexibility of the turbine. 1t will crawl
at two miles an hour through crowded
traffic and pick up in just few sec
onds to %, 80, 40 or, even so miles
A rightly designed six-cylinder mo-
tor is so vibrationless that even at
high motor speeds it is possible to
balance IA pencil on end on the
cylinder block. Such a wide range
of speed and such entire absence of
vibration cannot be built into a
-Four
And actual tests have proved that
six" rightly built costs less to own
than -Four" of the same size and
power. The presupposed high cost
of six" has been due to the fact
that "SiNes" and "Fours' haven't
been put on the same basis. 1t has
been customary to compare ''SiX"
capable of developing so horsepower
| with -Four capable of developing
80 horsepower. This is obviously an
unfair comparison.
| Experience shows that the differ
ence in the cost of gasoline consumed
by a Six and -Four" of approXi-
mately the same power amounts to
only $12 to SIS in 10000 miles of
driving. Compare this slight addi-
tional cost with the difference in cost
| of upkeep. The unceasing vigration
in Four means costly repairs. One
adjustment of the connecting rod
bearings more than makes up for the
difference in the cost of gasoline. A
"SiX" which is so vibrationless that a
pencil can be balanced on the running
motor is not pounding itself to pieces.
There are years of extra service in
the we'll built "Six" that cannot be
had in -Four" So in the long run
1t is cheaper to own a "Six" than to
own a -Four" of equal size and
power.
These are the principal reasons
why 81 of the leading manufacturers
in the United States are building
| ''SiXes'' in ever increasing numbers.
The -Four" is gradually being drop
ped, just as the single cylinder and
the twin-cylinder motor have been
dropped. Next season there will be
an increasing number principle will
be confined, I am inclined to think.
almost entirely to the cheaper cars.
The man who spends s1,S00 or over
for a car this season should certainly
buy six" In purchasing a "Six''
he goes with the rising market. And
if he pays s1,S00 or more for Il
-Four" he is buying against u declin-
ing market. The dominant produc-
tion Of ''SiXes'' among the forty lead
ing makers in the country is proof
that this is true.