Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-03-16
Boston Auto Show.

With the same gorgeous setting that
delighted and charmed over two hun
dred thousand persons who attended
the Automobile Show during the week,
the Boston Commercial Motor Vehicle
Show will open Tuesday evening in
Mechanics Building and will continue
until Saturday evening, March u.
This is the only national Commercial
Power Wagon Show that is scheduled
for 1914.
In all there will be about 40 differ
ent manufacturers showing trucks,
with something like $50 models on ex-
hibition. Every representative maker.
showing the very latest designs i'll
motor trucks will have a display. The
motor truck show is not a place for
the morbid curious. 1t will be of alb
sorbine interest to the business man
who has to deal with transportation
methods, for there will be a truck
suitable for every purpose OH display.
Everything that is new and praeti-
cal viii be found in the equipment and
construction of the trucks that will be
on exhibition. The motor truck, in the
few years that it has been developed,
has come faster than the pleasure car
because the manufacturer of the conf
mercial power wagon has had the ad-
vantage of noting the mistakes made
in the construction of the lighter Ne-
hicle. While there Will be few radical
changes shown in the construction of
the very latest models of trucks, yet
there will be i number of improve
ments that all tend towards greater
endurance and life of the truck
greater economy and power and great
er ease in operation.
Every type of truck will be on ex-
hibition. They will range from the 1900
pound delivery wagon to the huge
ten ton caravan with its massive steel
body. with automatic hoists. In fact
there will be a truck for any use that
one might require in transportation.
The various mechanical hoists that
automatically operate the massive
steel frame dumping bodies have been
greatly improved and a number of
these devices will be shown. There
Will also be a number of improved
bodies on exhibition. Perhaps the
most radical change that will be not
ed Will be in the number of trucks
that will have the left-hand drive.
OF course there are still a number of
manufacturers who still make trucks
with the right drive, but the experts
state that most of the new models
that are now emerging from the fac
tories are built with the left drive.
The consumption of fuel is another
problem that seems to have been more
or less solved during the past year.
The designer realizes that the bust
ness man regards small gasoline con-
sumption as big talking point.
Most of the new models in commercial
trucks for 1914 will have the short
bore and long stroke. This gives a
greater milaee per gallon of gaso-
line. There are also a number of Inn
proved carburetors which the makers
claim will offer more power with added
mileage TO the gasoline consumption.
The thing that will impress the mo-
tor truck wise more than anything
else is the method of construction.
The manufacturer, while he has not
perfected the perfect truck, has gone
a long way towards adding to the
stability and life OF the commercial
wagon. The truck is more strongly
put together and will stand the hard
knocks that il gets in it's daily use.
Despite the fact that the great ma
jority of pleasure cars are equipped
with electric or mechanical starters,
yet very few of the commercial wag-
ons have adopted the self starter A
few of the light delivery wagons are
equipped with them. The motor fire
apparatus should attract considerable
attention as there will be quite dis
play Of them. This no doubt will at
tract municipal authorities from all
corners of New England as the motor
driven apparatus seems to be more
popular in the smaller cities because
of the fact of its ability to reach
isolated spots with a degree of speed
that was never attainable with the
horse drawn vehicles.--Adv.