The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-10-29
CARS AND THEIR COST.


 | regarding the number of cylinders, some will sell at $2,O35, $500 less than | the 1914 car. It's engine will be small
 CT than that of the 1914 car, being | 3.85 bore and 5.13 stroke, as against 1 4.12x5.2S engine of the present season; | the wheelbase will remain the same 1 tires also will be the same size, 34x4. 1 Based on the body model which forms | the largest bulk of the sales, the price l would remain much lower than. the
 general average where all the bodies are taken into consideration. On l basis of touring car and roadster bod l les only, the 1915 car will sell at an 1 average price of $1,850, according to 1 the present statistics 1 Not in every case has the lower
 cost of the car taken shape in an ac- I tual reduction of the list price. In many instances it occurs in increased amount and quality of equipment. In some cases not only is there reduc- ton in the price, but added or better equipment also Is supplied. In two 1 instances the list price of the cars l have been increased.
 1 It is quite significant that of the new makes of cars announced to date, all are built on the singIe-chas-# sis principle. This is in line with the l trend among the older makers to- wards concentrations on but one or kwo chassis, thus making for lower production cost.
 There are a number of mechanical features about the cars, so far an- 1 nounced which show change. Among these may be mentioned the very great increase in the fitting of one-ma,ns tops as stock equipment. at least twenty five, or nearly one-han of those an l nounced so far, will be equipped with these easily operated tops.
 Another feature is the increased popularity of the pointed or curved radiator.
 Municipal restrictions of glar1ng headlights have resulted in the ma jority of manufacturers fitting some method of dimnaing the driving lights In most instances this has taken the form of the use of two sets of bulbs in the headlight, and doing away with Side lights. One set of bulbs in such cases is in the proper focus and size for driving searchlight, while the oth- er is smaller and placed out of focus for city use.
 The ignition question seems to be in a somewhat unsettled state at the mo ments as there has been more change in the ignition equipment this year than has occurred in a. number of years. This state of affairs is due to the fact that with the ever present source of electric energy provided by the generator and storage battery of the electric cranking and lighting sys- tems, many of the manufacturers 1 have questioned the need of the added expense of the magneto.
 I Heretofore. the magneto had the l field almost undisputed on account of l the fact that it automatically increas- ed the heat of the spark as the engine l speeded up, and in some instances ad- I vanced the spark with increase fn en- l zine speed. Within the past year or | two there have been developed bat tery distributors which automatically l advance and retard the spark so that | 1t occurs at the proper time no mat l ter how great the variation of engine speed. This ito certain extent, takes
 the wind out of the sails of the mag
 neto in the minds of some makers. It accounts for the fact that of the
 new models announced for 1915. sew
 eral discarded the nagneto and are using the current supplied by the cleo Il tric lighting and cranking system
 which the automatic advance feature 4 IS incorporated. 40 offset this, how sl ever, two concerns at least are fitting T magnetos for the first time. [
 Wire wheels as a. feature of stock
 equipment have not shown the rapid I Increase in popularity that was ex- l lpected a year ago. So far announc- I ed, only six manufacturers will make
 this type of wheels stock equipment Il Of all the features or mechanical rd equipment the one that has taken
 hold most rapidly is the new com bina-
 tion of vacuum and gravity fuel feed
 system by which the fuel may be car r1ed in a tank at the rear of the car
 but no pressure system need be in
 stalled to get it to the carbureter. This
 system has taken hold only within
 the past six months, but even in this short space of time ten different car
 makers have adopted it for 1915.
 Cantnever springs have shown 9
 slight but healthy gain in popularity Il Though worrn-drive rear axles are
 not seen on many more Of the new
 models than there were on the 1914
 cars, a. new type of final gear reduction
 IS employed in three instances among the gasolene cars, and in one Instance with the electric. This has the quaI- T ityl of silence and even wear that is
 one of the advantages of the worn
 drive, but is of less expensive con
 struction.
 When 1t comes to body construction
 there has been a great deal of i'm
 provement in appearance and in com
 fort In nearly every case, body lines
 nave been vastly bettered. Instead o1 the promo unced curves that were < found to- a certain extent in the 1914 Il bodies, straight lines have become the style and instead of having the upHlo1 stery extend above the sides of the
 body it has been carried below so thai a side view of the car shows nothing but the panel edge which reminds the motoring critics of the cockpit of 2
 fast boat
 l Running boards, of course, are
 clean, even to a, greater extent than 1T
 the 1914 cars. Tires are carried al
 ways at the back and in general are slightly larger and more usually non. skid for the rear as stock equi pment. Power tire pumps are one of the 2 chief ways in which the equipment has been increased, and others in the fitting of extension lamps, cigar light CTS, and similar minor comforts abou , the car.
 Single compartment bodies have made their appearance in the touring car field Last year these bodies were l frequent among the inc1osed cars, bu ? the type now has stepped over into | the open one. By sing1e-conpartme l l touring bodies is meant the separatioI