The Washington times., 1918-01-06
JUST PRESS
BUTTONSAND
LET ENGINE
DO THE WORK

That the automobile of the next
generation will be far different from
the type in use today ia the predic-
tion made in an interesting article in
a recent issue of the Scientific Amer
lean The entire control OF the ma
chine will be simplIfied and perhaps
located in a set of push buttons. A
recent invention makes possible the
opening and closing OF garage doors
by this method, and the application
OF the theory, 1t Is prophesied, will
be applied to the automobile itself.
The article. which is entitled THE
Motor Car of the Future" says that
the car will be weather-tight and
weathsr-proof, and that the sides.
front rear, and roof will probably be
made of glass. II warm weather
these sides would come down, while
inside curtains including one for the
roof Of the machine, would keep out
the sun and glare when shade is de-
sired.
Change In Engine.
The writer then says:
THE power plant of the car OF the
not-too-near future will be under the
body and on or near the rear axle.
"a thousand gasolene engineers
are about to arise and call me wick
ed names and tell me it can't be
done. I dare say 1t can't-with a
gSsoIene engine. But who said the
car Of the future had to have a gaso-
lene engine?
There is at least one brand-new
development in the steam-car field.
which does this very thing-puts the
power plant where It belongs, close
to the rear axle, thus dispensing with
the long shaft. the universals and
their likelihood of breaking and
Electric automobiles of the present
all have their power plants on or near
the point OF power application
'Tf. as seems reasonable {. sup
pose, the greatest of all power prob
leme IL finally solved-if we ever
learn to develop the power in gaso-
lene, alcohol, kerosene, explosives.
coal-wherever latent power is-di-
rectly into electricity, then there can
be no question as to where the pow
er plant will be. And-mRke no mis-
take about it-that development will
one day be made.
& RevolutiOn Going On.
rhe means Of control, of a mo-
tor. he continues" are Undergoing
= revolution right now-and the end
is far 10 seek.
The first automobile had an en-
gine to pull the car, a man to start
the engine, a man to stop the car,
a man to pump the gasolene, a man !
to turn down the oiler, a man to !
pump the tires, a man to fill the /
oil lamps, a man to light them-oh, |
il was the same man, but the point
IL the engine didn't do anything but
pull him around. He had to attend |
TO all the rest of It himself.
To-day the engine supplies power
for lights, power to start itself, power
10 pump UP tires. power to pump its |
own oil, power to pump its own gaso-
lene
What is next? Power to stop itself, !
Of coursei And here we are on solid |
ground. for the vacuum brake, which |
uses engine power to create suction |
and air pressure to apply brakes, is |
already on the market. So is an cleo |
trical brake, which uses the stored /
engine energy in the battery to wind |
a cable or q drum and puts so much |
pressure on the brake bands that the |
best practice is to keep them thor
oughly oiledi
''The car of the future won't leave
anything to be done by man power
'1f the engine starts and lights
and pumps and stops itself, why,
shouldn't II steer the rar?
"And in the future the car with
the steering wheel will be as obso-
lete as the car with the hand pump
for gas or oil is today.
The car OF the future will have
no such thing as a drivers seat All
the seats in the car save the rear one.
VII be movable Driving will be
done from a small control board,
which can be held in the lap. 1t will
be connected to the mechanism by a
flexible electric cable. A small finger
lever, not a heel, will guide the
car. Another will attend to speed
changes, buttons will light and warm
the car, blow the horn, apply the
bTakeE-everything. The driver will
ST right or left as he pleases or even,