South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-04-07
New Studebaker
Finishes Well In
Speedway Tests

OAuS anu IeldDlillN tours nave oil
come in for their place in the test
ing Of automobiles. 1t remained
however. for Studebaker engineers
to put on one OF the most remark
able endurance runs ever conceived
10 test out new models.
In the early part Of last Deem
Der. f. NJ. Zeder. chief engineer of
1.-THE Studebaker corporation. char
tered the Chicago speedway. scene
of many a thrilling brush between
the worlds foremost speed kings
for the Inauguration of new kind
] OF automobile test of his own con-
cOction. He anticipated the rigor
of the December weather with its
zero temperature-even though he
did not reckon on the coming of the
worst billiards known TO the middle
west in half a century.
With everything in readiness al
the speedway, Zeder left Detroit for
! Chicago with experimental models
Of the three new series 10 Stude-
I baker cars and a picked crew of
drivers. mechanics and pitmen- With
the three cars on the track, one car
of each new model, Mr.. Zeder in
structed drivers and relief drivers TO
keep the cars running regardless of
everything until their speedometers
registered a full 10000 miles. This
admonition, although it meant days
of nerve-racking grind, was cheer
fully received by testers. They had
! helped TO build these experimental
cars-they drove them on their first
road test-and they had answering
| faith in their ability to finish the
mighty test with colors flying.
After these experimental models
: had completed 9O-day S0,000-mile
/ test on the speedway, and were
driven over the roads TO our De
troit factories. we tore them down
completely for a thorough inspec-
ton" says Mr.. Zeder, in comment
ing upon the unqualified success of
the test. I'VE expected to find con-
siderable depreciatiOn-but to even
our own establishment, an examina-
! ton of the parts of the disassembled
cars actually revealed less wear than
would ordinarily be found in cars
that had been driven but two or
three years. And, it must be re-
rendered, this 3O,O00-mile test on
the Chicago speedway. where the
cars were run day in and day out at
an average speed of As miles an
hour, is equal to anywhere from five
to eight years service in the own
er's hands.
Flowing through drifts of snow
! that had all but obliterated the great
two-mile oval that forms the Chi
cago speedway, and enduring wealth
er that kept the mercury lowering
around II and 20 below zero for
days, the drivers OF these test cars
gamely stuck to their task Of run
ming up a mileage OF 10000 miles.
The great blizzard that struck Chi
cago early in January, Gripping ev-
cry transportation facility and bury
ing the city beneath a heavy blan-
, ket Of snow, stopped our cars tenn
porarily-but not for long. After
two days OF hustling, drivers and
mechanics dug their cars out of the
drifts and resumed the grind, keep
ing to a daily schedule of approx
mately 500 miles.
Before putting the new StUde-
baker cars on the Chicago speedway,
and long before preparing 10 turn
out the new models in quantity pro-
duction, the experimental cars were
driven and pounded over the worst
mountain roads of Pennsylvania,
New York, the New England states,
Northern Michigan and Canada
! These road tests consumed al
most 10000 miles of grinding.
gruelling work. We tried to break
theHl-but we couldn't do it. Every
symptom and move was noted by
members Of our engineering staff
and every necessary change to give
them added strength and rigidity,
or greater stiffness of springs, was
thus determined under the most ex-
treme conditions.
IT believe, and the performance
of our cars bears me out in my as
sertion, that any automobile which
will stand the rigOrs of such a win
ter as we have just passed through
and run right along for 90 days.
averaging 500 miles each day. and
do it for 0,00O miles. must be OF the
right sort Of stuff for average own
ArShin %