The New York herald., 1922-01-08
OF
COACH DESIGN
The Modern Closed Car Repre-.
sents Many Years of Hard
Work.
BY CHARLES CLIFTON,
President National Automobile
Syh.,cher cf Tam I'M erCa


Chamber of Commerce..
We are prone to accept progress as
matter OF fact. AS man creates new
comforts. new conveniences. new utili-
ties. they become part Of our everyday
life, and we regard them without sur
prise or wonder.
But imagine nur establishment if we
were to awaken to-day after q pro-
longed slumber such as Rip Van
Wrinkle experienced! Picture your
amazement If you were to gaze to-day
for the first time upon a machine which
speeds through the air at q pace OF
moro than $50 miles an hour You
would be dumfounded. Yet when you
read few weeks ago of the shattering
Of airplane racing records. you accorded
1t only passing interest.
You would be equally amazed II you
were to see for the first time a modern
inclosed car. Yet you have become so
accustomed to them that you give them
only fleetirg look of admiration.
But think back a few years! II is not
difficult to recall the days when the au-
tomobile was fair weather vehicle.
Only a hardy adventurer would motor
In rainy weather. Winter driving was
unheard of in those days. Even in fair
weather. motorists suffered discomfort
If brisk wind was blowing. for there
we're no windshields to protect one.
Tops were a rarity. And enclosed cars
were crude and ungainIy experiments.
Most of us remember the early auto
mobile endurance contests and the Gid
den tours. The cars which participated
in those events represented the latest
word in American motor car and design,
yet the contestants were subjected to
every conceivable discomfort. Exposed
to mud, rain, sleet and wind, the drivers
were exhausted after days travel.
The New York to Pittsburgh eight day
run OF 1903 still is a vivid picture to
me. The description of the finish of that
contest by a prominent writer OF that
time serves to emphasize the hardship
endured by the tourist less than two
decades ago.
Eight days after the start OF the
rum" he says, ION the morning of
Thursday. October Is. beyond High
Bridge. I'm Pittsburgh. throng OF people
and a concourse of Smoky City autos
gathered on Ridge avenue and waited
in the fog and drizzle. The whistles
were blown twelve minutes before noon
when a mufiied noise like the vibration
family. II grew to raucous honk-honk
away back somewhere In the lmpenetra-
BILE fog. The crowd answered with a
shout and footing OF horns. As they
shouted. out of the fog came a car.
gnostiike IN it's mud streakings and fog
enshroudings.
''The occupants were clad In leather
and rubber with their heads hidden In
helmets and goggles. They sat huddled
down and holding fast"
What a contrast Is the motor journey
OF the present time under similar con-
ditions We may drive for hours through
pelting rain. or through driving bliz-
zard. or through raw. chill winds. and
step from the snug security of our closed
car. warm and comfortable. Imagine
your wife or daughter driving to an
afternoon function or on a shipping trip
I'm inclement weather in the days when
the only protection was an Intellectual
windshield or an awkward buggy top !
And then picture the comfort they enjoy
to-day!
Yes. IL we place these pictures side by
side the change Is remarkable one
indeed. and yet the progress has been
so steady that we are apt to forget the
tremendous advances that have been
made.
The automobile body designer OF
twenty years ago had little 10 guide him.
Ho was cropping. He was contending
with q new problem. Horse drawn car
riage construction furnished his only
precedent. and II was worse than none.
Here was a new vehicle which attained
speed OF twenty. thirty or even forty
miles an hour. and the question OF ex-
posure TO the elements became vital.
Attempts TO gain satisfactory protection
from rain. snow, wind and cold encoun-
tered engineering difficulties
At first buggy tops were affixed 10 tho
light automobile bodies, but vibration
and strains proved too much for them.
Better methods of braclng. stronger bows
and more durable top material eimi-
mated these troubles. but the tops still
remained awkward in appearance. Wind
shields were devised. but they ratified
. loose from the bodies and had to bo
braced by long brass rods which offended
che eye.
Then came attempts TO construct
closed cars They were only partially