The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-28
Automobile News

1
I1y approached the ideal Of efficiency,
comfort. and beauty. Very little IS
left to be desired. Harmonious lines,
based upon theories of wind resist
| ance, but emphasizing the statement
| that beauty and utility go hand in
hand; practically complete immunity
From mechanical difficulties or an
noyances, and a wealth OF provision
! for the small comforts OF It's Drospec-
1 tive users are it's outstanding CHAR
acterist1cs.
The motor car has passed from
| the sphere Of luxury to that of nee
essity. Yet in this there is a paradox,
for as it ceased to become luxury
the automobile has steadily become
more luxurious. An important factor
| in its evolution has been its rapidly
increasing convenience of man1pula-
ton, control and use. In the car OF
1915 there is no widespread mechan1-
cal Improvements such as the ap-
p1ication of the self starter, to mark
the present season, yet there are any
number of vital betterments in the
mechanical features OF the new cars
The Carburetor.
Poor Easoline! Say that and you
have called the name of the great
bug-aboo of all carburetor nanufac-
turers. Look back to the good old
days" when the ''six' was in its
swaddling clothes and the wise ones
were attempting to perfect it. In
those days carburetion was compare
| lively simple. High-proof fuel, tar
simpler engine and public less Ia
miliar with the possibilities of. the
motor and, therefore, less critical of
results and less exacting in their de-
mands. That was the day when car
burstion meant 8, mixing chamber
jet to inject fuel into that chamber,
and a passage to admit air to mix
with the gasoline. The fuel was SO
volatile that it would vaportze itself
A few drops on your hand would
vanish before your eyes and leave
practically no odor or trace Of Its
presence. Try it now You will have
to look again to see whether you
haven't been tapping the kerosene
can by mistake.
What does this mean? It means
that the gasoline that will not evapo-
rate on your hand will not vaporize
in your carbu rotor unless that car
buretor is designed to force vaporiza-
ton.
That is the first problem Of the
carburetor engineer, and, generally
speaking there are two methods of
solving this problem. One is the ap
pIication of heat to the air that passes
through the carburetor and mixes
with the fuel in the mixing cham
Der. The other is mechanical
method of breaking up the gas into
minute particles and scattering these
particles evenly through the fnrush-
ing air, SO that each small g1obuley of
gasoline has a particle of air to mix
with. Both methods are good. The
former is in general use in the form
of a flexible hot-air tube connecting
the main air intake of the carburetor
to a housing about the exhaust mani
fold, called a ..stove, through which
air is drawn by the suction Of the
ic he tod h on Of witt n
the outside of the exhaust manifold.
The latter method-the mechanical
disruption of gasoline into extremely
fine particles-has only recently been
brought to practical basis.
Two Million Automobiles
There were registered in the sew
era1 states last year 1,808.441 auto
mobiles, agains 15127, $40 in 1913. AT
this extraordinary rate of increase of
nearly 56,OO0 a month the country
will have two million automobiles in
use by early spring.
Two million automobiles represent
an investment for the buyers OF at
least 81, 500 100000. Placed end to
end they w9Iu1d form a double line
stretching clear across the continent.
Their upkeep and operation must cost
per year as much as the original cost
of the machines. But they evidently
pay, and more and more in COM
on increasing SO greatly in number,
regardless of Industrial depression
and war disturbances. And in the
great stimulus they have given to
good roads construction they have
had profound effect in improving the
economy of the country.
The Cooling System -
1.-The temperature of the water
within the cooling system of an auto
matte engine should average between
$50 and ITO degrees, If the engine is
to give the best results" declares a
certain automobile distributor Any
great deviation from this tempera-
ture range will produce a, very mark
ed effect upon the gasoline consump-
ton as we'll BIS the power of the en-
CINE. The proper degree of heat is
as essential in the economic opera
ton Of gas engine as it is in the
production of steam for steam en-
CINE. The gasoline now being sold
will not evaporate at temperatures
lower than five degrees above zero
unless heat IS applied, and if the
proper temperature is not maintained
in the cylinders the combustion of
the fuel is incomplete. The grades
of gasoline have gradually become
lower, and the problem Of maintain
ing the best W working temperature has
increased ccordingly.
'sThe effect of a low motor temper
ature is best demonstrated on a steep
hill. With the motor temperature
down to 80 degrees, it is very prob
able that the bill cannot be- taken on
high gear, though if the temperature
is brought up 10 at least $50 degrees
the hill could be taken on high with
ease. The radiator or cooling surface
must be designed to take care of the
most extreme condition in hot wealth
er to eliminate any possibility of over
heating There is an atmospheric tenn
the south to 140 degrees in the north
west sections of the country, SO that
it is not reasonable to expect the cool
ing system to retain the desired heat
at the other extreme of zero tempera-
-ture.
The most practical method of