Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1915-05-19
SMOKING AUTOMOBILES.
No Excuse for Smoking Cars Either
on Race Track or i'm Hands of
Private Owner.


will enable officials of an automobile
race meeting to cope, on a definite
basis, with the smoke nuisance which
has prevailed at virtually all the
California race meetings during the
winter will undoubtedly be the func-
ton of the authorities of the sport
at no distant date.
Smoke from the exhaust of racing
automobiles has been long a stencil
in the noses of the spectators and a
source of accident to competitors. 1t
arises from the incomplete combus-
ton of gasoline and from the sur
plus of lubricating oil with which
some drivers insist on drenching the
motors of their cars.
In the early days of the sport, this
smoke was accepted as a nuisance
which could not be avoided That
the time is now ripe for engineers to
design cars which will not smoke
or else to suffer the penalty for inef-
ficient motors and carburetion is a
view which is taken by many racing
authorities.
This was, in fact, the stand taken
by the management of the recent
Venice, Cal, Grand Prize Race. The
course at Venice is only three miles
in circuit and contained several mar
row stretches, on one of which the
grand stand happened to be located
The turns were sharp in several pla-
ces and the danger from smoke es-
pecially great.
Acting on the power conferred by
the American Automobile Associa-
70 hn Of
tators and the general safety of con-
teStants, the Venice authorities,
backed by Chairman Kennerdell of
the Contest Board, announced before
the race that any automobile report
ed as smoking, either on the course
or on leaving the pits, would be flag
ged 10 stop and the crew compelled
to drain the crank case. This pre-
caution worked wonderfully in re-
ducing the amount of smoke on the
course. While several drivers COM
planned bitterly over what they pro-
claimed a hardship, and although
the restriction may have eliminat-
ed a few cars during the race, it was
generally voted that the experiment
had been success.
AS a matter of fact, the offensive
smoking is, to great extent, driv-
ing trick, used by the crew of a car
that is being overtaken to prevent
the car following good enough view
OF the roadway to enable it to pass
Hitherto such tactics have been
deemed semi-legitimate. The more
advanced school of engineers and
racing experts united in predicting
the elimination of the smoke nuts.
ance.
There is really no excuse tor a
smoking automobile, either on the
race track or in the hands of pri-
vate owner on the road declares
Maxwell Motor Co., whose cars have
been prominent in all the recent
speed competitions for their consis-
tent performance and their economi-
cal needs of gasoline and oil. Per
feet carburetion and a correct lubri-
eating system are all that is neces-
sary to prevent excessive smoke"
AS a matter of fact, we believe
that the lubricating system of any
car-racing or touring-should be
so designed that excessive smoke will
be impossible. A we'll designed mo-
tor does not need to be drenched
with surplus oil, even at the highest
motor speeds. Our racing expert
ments have proved this beyond a
question. We will welcome any
reasonable restriction regarding
smoke from our racing cars. | have
never seen them smoke in any of
their recent races and don't believe
1t possible for them to become Of
fensive or dangerous, nor have ever
heard a competitor complain about
them on this score.''