The Washington times., 1916-08-12
Care Is Economy With
Car, Asserts Radiator
Good Driver Can Get 7 Miles Per Gallon of Cas-
While Speedster Is Lucky If He Gets II,
Says Local Dealer.
By MONTE soHN.


Gasolene In these days has reached
what Is probably the zenith Of ex-
pense. Whether the next year or
two sees decline In price Of this i'm
portant fuel is immaterial. Even
though 8asolene does not come down
In cost. mechanical genius-progress-
Ing steadily In that direction--will
produce automobile engines of a type
that Will eliminate fuel as a vital
equation In the upkeep problem.
~ must always be present. II Is
necessary. But the fuel question will
soon De on par with that of lubri-
cation. No one Is perturbed over in
creases In oil prices, because lubrica-
uon % not real expense. The ulti-
no greater sum Of money for upkeep
tnan the present one does for oil.
Today. however. all motordom Ia
absorbed In the topic of gasolene
Dealers are driven to distraction by
pective purchaser. 'sWhat'l she do
on gallon Of gas?'
Ihat Inquiry is troublesome be-
cause no dealer can answer that
question definitely.
The writer talked several days ago
~
nrm which sells a car costing siight-
ly over $1,000.
Up Against It.
You don't know what the auto
mobile dealer is up against" said he,
when the matter was broached.
Il have taken the car out on
the road and gotten twenty miles to
the gallon OF gas with ease. could
drive II every day In the year, never
leaving the District, and my aver
age would be better than sixteen In
spite Of innumerable stops and
starts.
But can't guarantee the - to
do that much In the hands Of anyone
else, though I could name a dozen
owners here who get from sixteen
why? Because no two men drive
a car alike, and only q regrettable
rew give a car half the attention II
Here" he said. and reached for a
chart on his desk: Il prepared
table on which 10 the name Of every
- owner In WashinRton. / get In
touch with most Of them about once
a month. and this chart tells me
sxactly the kind OF care taken by
much average tire, gas and oil mile
age they are getting"
He pointed to the chart. Here's
smith. He's getting an average OF
fourteen miles to the gallon of qas
and his tires average $500 miles.
or trv to scare the ladies in his car
by running through the country at
ffty-ffve or sixty. He doesn't try to
climb every hill on high. He uses
second" He doesn't run his car In
the car tracks. and I would het a
or bumps at full speed nor turns
corners without cutting down speed.
His record shows that ne doesn't.
He couldn't do these things and
have that kind Of a record.
Poor Jones!
ION the other hand. take the case
of Jones. He has been in here a
dozen times in the last two months
for one reason or another. Every
time he's been In he has camplained
about his low gas mileage. 7 per-
sonally tuned up that car two weeks
year old: and ! got seventeen miles
on a gallon. Yet .kones never gets
more than eleven miles: Look at his
tire mileage-under z. 400 miles. I've
ridden with him. He takes turns with
out let-down In speed. and he tries
to burn UP the road.
1--WE told Jones time and again he
can't cut his gasolene bills II he
plays cops and robbers with the
Maryland .sheriffs and motorcycle
policemen. But II doesn't make any
impression on him, All I get In re-
ply Is that the car wasn't right In
the first place
Which just about covers the case.
There are few simple rules that
motorists who have a care for
maintenance expense must observe
or pay the consequences and the
supply dealer.
Attend To Details,
Every motorist may not be an ex-
pert. But with some attention to