The New York herald., 1921-11-13
LONDON SHOW WAS
A RECORD BREAKER
A General Trend Seen Toward
Small, Light, Well Built
Cars.

The London automobile show was
great success. The fact thats the ex-
hibition was the fifteenth of the series
might be thought to argue that by this
time the British motor industry could
have nothing fresh to originate and
would have exhausted Innovations But
such was not the case, as the number
of cars displayed represented not prog
ress alone but developments of merit
and importance in q score of directions
The great growth in automobilsm in
England was revealed by the fact that
the number OF cars in use to-day in
Great Britain totals at least 245,00O,
an increase of 10000 in little more than
half year. And these figures show
every indication Of maintaining a steady
growth and even of augmenting in num-
Der rapidly, since the great tendency to-
ward the use of light cars is being so
admirably catered to by manufacturers
Contrary to what was the case q few
years back, this years show was marked
by the limited number of models pro-
duced by the average individual manu-
facturer. Where once there were six or
eight, and occasionally ten or eleven, the
average to-day is round about three.
And q happy number, too, in view of the
relief to the factories and saving of capi-
tai and reduction of the number of spare
pdA 10 llldL nave necessarily 10 De stocked.
Equally undeniable is the rems rla BILE
efficiency of the modern motor car. De-
signs that are continually progressing,
reduction of the weights of reciprocating
parts and more thorough knowledge of
thermo-dynamics, of the underlying prin-
ciples of carburetion and a greater abil-
ity to translate the theoretical into
everyday economic practice, all these
and other factors are combined in the
majority of 1922 British models to pro-
vide power units that develop the energy
of a mammoth to the cubic capacity Of
an eggshell.
But IL is perhaps in the Influence OF
the recent high taxation Of horse power
J on design that the motor vehicle offers
its most striking lesson-the heavy inn
post on cylinder bore had the perfectly
natural result of leading manufacturers
to provide the user with all the power
he requires at the lowest cost. Hence it
is noticed that the stroke bore ratio of
the majority of this years exhibits is
not far from to 1. In particular British
and French cars both reveal the tend
ency strongly. Italian cars also carry
this impression, but America is an ex-
ception, many of the transatlantic ex-
hibits approximating to what Is termed
the square" engine, !. e. equal bore and
stroke. 1t Is a common sidelight on
eEOlutlOn, lOr elBnt or ten years ago
Britain found many advantages for a
bore approximately equal to the stroke.
Yet the objections raised at that period
no longer appear to exist, modern de-
signs having completely eliminated it's
alleged drawbacks.
Another trend in the 1922 exhibit is
the increased accessibility Of working
parts. To-day, as never before, It is the
day Of the owner-driver. Chauffeurs are
comparatively few-indeed, the ever in
creasing number of the low-powered
cars, particularly the two scatter, in itself
bars the employment OF paid driver.
The keynote of this years exhibits
may be said to be economy. While one
section comprises the luxury cars that will
ever be in demand, another and numeri-
cally larger portion is devoted to cars
that cost from a trifle more than $500
to $4,000 or $2,500. OF the latter there
is n very wide choice, an ever-increasing
one, the more so since the modern light
car is sold complete with every access
sorry. on the other hand the luxury cars