The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-20
COMFORT FOR
 PASSENCERSIN
 CARS FOR 1917
Adjustable Seats, Better Tops and More Luxuri-
 ous Fittings In New [ Models.

Passengers have more comfort in 1917 bodies. Occupants can general ly sit as they please, and not as they have. to sit. There is also a greater choice in bodies for all purposes.
 Among the body developments of the year are the club roadster, the touring sedan, movable and adjust able seats, better upholstery, better arrangement of instruments and gauges, better! tops. windshields and tire carriers and more luxurious fit tings. An important improvement is a wider choice in painting colors and trim. Many makers are getting away from the. solid black and are offer ing instead blues and grays as stand ard or options.
 Most important of all the improve
 ments in bodies is the better arrange ment of seats. The front conpart-
 ment of. the touring car is now as comfortable as the rear, and is no longer neglected when the body lis laid out The close-coupled touring car has about passed out of existence, and in it's place is the club roadster, so that in the pure touring design there is always plenty of room in the tonneau.
 6tAV1lS HI 0Hc&NOs Two factors have been very i'm portant as regards room in bodies.
 The wheel-base is longer on most cars and the engine is shorter, due to the block method of casting This has allowed from five to six inches
 more space to be used in the bodies of a great many cars, and it has been used to great advantage.
 A great amount of ingenuity has
 been displayed during the year in the
 development of the roadster. The four passenger type, which has all the room of the small touring car and which still preserves the graceful
 lines of the roadster, has been the seasons popular development. These cars are seen around the country club and the shop and are often owned by
 people who have one or more other cars in their garage.
 The touring sedan, which was in- troduced three years ago, is now de- veloped to a higher extent than ever. Tn fact. the sedan has become the
 most popular type of closed body
 and has made the limousine secon- dary. The latter is holding it's own, however, among people who have chauffeurs, and probably will con- itinue to do so.
 Improvement in Top.
 When the one-person type of top was brought out year before last it struck popular chord. The develop ments for the year along this same line are worthy of note The big inn provement is in the use of side cur
 tains. which open with the doors
 With the former side curtains it was necessary to take them all down or to stoop beneath them in entering or leaving the car. The one-man top idea has also been improved in de- tail so that now this type of top is very easily put up in short time.
 Tn the arrangement of the instfu- menti board in front there has been some Improvement. Instead of being strung out in a long line across the cowl, board it is now placed close together so that it can be read at a glance, and also thut the electrical instruments are in unit. When the
 dash is assembled the matter of wiring becomes very simple. In some
 cases the instrument board and wiring are independent of the dash, so that the latter can be taken off without disturbing the electrical lay odt.