The Washington times., 1915-02-13
ELECTR|CS IMPROVED
/. AND SOLD CHEAPER
Manufacturers Of Cars Attain
Partial Standardization and
; More Cooperation.

Electric vehi,le manufacturers, have
been working toward and nave 10
great extent attained partial Standard
ixation Of electric motor cars. follow
ing to some degree in the footsteps of
the builders Of gasolene cars.
, There has been marked progress made
by electric builders. and l9l5 points
toward greater production by some ~
Der cent, more cooperation petw"eh
maker. dealer, and user. lower prices
and q general betterment Of the cars
struction.
In the main, the 1916 electric passen-
ger cars are quieter, due to the greater
use Of worm sney to are Bodies
they are cheaper on the average De-
cause Of the, introduction Of new low
priced vehicles. and they are hner "
appearance because Of the general ten
influencing factor coming from the gas
While the progress in design has not
been by any means radical the puuoe,o
more for the dealer and the owner by e
system Of corporation attained by Or
ganization. The Electric Automo6ile
Manufacturers' Association. while II mas
has been 80 active as it is at present:
better corporation and in preaching
better selling methods. This associs. "a
field in helping the dealers become
more familiar with ideal selling meth.
DDS, thereby ultimately gaining what all
seek. a minimum Of loss through sales
and service.
While this organisation has been very
active the local electric vehicle associa-
tions have shown their extreme willing
ness to bring the electric vehicle indus
A.~ % - - NsrH ntn In nNA 81 N0wf
Of these associations have kept the car
owner in mind as much as they have
their own interests. since the car own
er's welfare means much to the dealer.
Earageman, and all connected with the
The makers N tho field during 1914
have turned out approximately 5000
cars. and II present plans are adhered
of 1000 vehicles over the 1914 figure.
With this number on the list the aver
age per company will be about 900 cars.
The list Of manufacturers Of electric
vehicle makers. while It changes from
borhood Of twenty. each season seeing
the coming in Of new concerns and the
passing Of older ones. The past five
years years has has witnessed pro- production. ,!sio .,.py by
there was q falling of Of old and a
proportionate addition by new makers.
until now about twenty remain.
Aside from the progress In the busf-
ness side Of the industry. enhancement
the greater use Of the worm drive prob
ably comes in first place. There has
been an increase Of over 30 per cent
n arSs tse on the Of t1st ss s
gears have come into use on electric
cars. Both worm and the spiral-bevel
have been adopted because OF their
straight bevel and auietness in inclosed
electric cars is an asset. The use OF
worm drive also has resulted In elintna.
ting gear reductions between motor and
rear axle. The use Of spiral bevel gear.
probably has been caused by the use OF
this type In gasolene passenger cars:
Second In Importance to the method o
drive comes springing and for the frs
time electric vehicle makers have con
sidered the cantiiever seriously. a sum
mary showing that four makers are US
ing this type. These are the Baker ant
Buffalo. which use cantilevers IN tn
rear only. and the newcomers. Milbur1
both front and rear Semielliptic. iron
and three-quarter elliptic rear is tn
usual construction. although PRACTICAL
every type. such as elliptic and plat
form rear. are to be seen: One rathe
unusual method Of spr!nging has bee
incorporated in the Woods cars. In thi
the springs rest not upon the axles. bu
UPON radius rods and instead OF faster
ing the springs outside the frame the
are attached inside the channel.
Electric motor deve}>aTnent for thes
vehicles has tended toward greater CO
pacity to care for overlooking and til
use OF square-section wire on the arms
ture and ribbon for the fields Is
greater use than ever before. This col
struction allows OF more copper bein
used and hence a more powerful moto
without increasing the overall dimel
sions. These changes have helped
make the electric more efficient In hi
climbing.