The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-21
CADILLAC TEST CAR RUNS
 24 HOURS EVERY DAY

Automobile manufacturers as a rule, subject their cars periodically to dr1v- ing over the roads for several weeks or a. month or so But 1t is doubtful if any other car has, ever cOrne in for test quite as gruelling and contin- uous as that which falls to the lot of the Cadillac Eight "twenty-four hour car"
 This car is operated by the factory at at Detroit--not only tvVenty-four hours a day. but every day-winter and summer in fair weather and foul. through sand and mud and snow: through dust and pouring rain. It knows no rest; and the object of the drivers is to see how much punish ment and abuse they can give it. Such car has been on the roads of Mich igan for the last two years. Four ex- perimental drivers, working in pairs each pair driving 12 hours, pilot the car on it's ceaseless grind. The failure of deliberate attempts by the drivers to break and wear out various parts constitutes a source of daily reassur- ance to Cadillac engineers
 A Detroit newspaper reporter who spent part of a night in the twenty.
 
 as follows:
 ''The top was up, the side curtains were down, for it was raining, and the whole car was covered with mud And when I say covered, ] mean plas- tered.
 My first impression was that I was not alone in the tonneau. There was something lying on the floor in front of me. I kicked it, and it did not move. Then I touched it, and it felt cold and clammy. I recoiled squeam- ishly.
 If those sand bags are in the way just kick 'em around any way you please said one of the experimental men. Ten of 'em, 75 pounds apiece. Same as five 150-pound people,
 We soon reached the concrete out side the city. Although it was wet and slippery, the size, the noise'ess- ness. and the smooth running of the car gave me sense of absolute se- curity.
 'The concrete ended abruptly, and we were upon a treacherous clay road. The windshield was so sp..ttered with dirty water that it was occasionally necessary for one of the men to sozzle off a portion of the glass with his glove.
 some other reckless voyageur of the night had apparently preceded us, for tire tracks corkscrewed from one side of the road to the other It.was appare1t tly a lighter car, and every thing indicated that it was having a rough voyage. And ours was by no means sn oth. Thirty, thirty five, forty-fve miles an hour
 T lunged from one side of the ton neau to the other. If the car had been anything but Cadillac Eight, and the man at the wheel anyone but a master, I should have, given up all hope. Mile after mile of lunging, buff feting, ram1ning.
 Presently we saw the tail light of the other car and we soon passed it with swish. As I. had guessed, it was. a smaller, lighter car As they saw us roll past them with such un- swerving power, an expression of ad- miration must have passed their lips
 All the time the men had been si- lent except for such occasional re- marks as:
 "Never saw these roads so treach-. arous.'
 Say, but this car has'-bump into e.
 At about four o'clock the one who was not driving began to sing-an at tempt at grand opera. It exasperated me because I wanted to sleeH, In spite of the grand opera and the threShing round, I finally did doze a little.
 When I'awoke the rain had ceased and the roads were nearly dry. We swung along more steadily than be- fore, and I was able to sit back com fortably. We removed the side cur tains. The musical one began hum ming ragtime. An ungodly hour for ragtime, l thought. As we passed a farmhouse, we saw man with a lan- tern on his way to the barn. Morning was coming.
 At one point there was a bad sandy stretch beside the road. The stoical gentleman at the wheel seemed pos sesses of a sudden facetious mood We left the road completely and plowed through the sand-on high gear.
 Ut was, beginning to become light We pulled up long, hard hill, and from it's crest we caught the first glimpse of that days sun. The hor- TOTS of the night faded from my mind l It seemed like an old legend in whicl, one comes upon a beautiful enchanted valley after a perilous trip through a dark forest, best with dragons.
 :" Beautiful isn't it? And see. thai little river over there,' said the mu- sical one.
 Uh huh,' grunted he at the wheel l I guess we'd better stop at the next town for some more gas.'"