San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-01-14
rotor CAR Of
TODAY CALLED
| CRUDE AFFAIR
iobIems Indicate Automc-
; bile Industry Still in
Infancy.
AMY CHANGES DUE
!gineers Over Country De-
vote Talents to Design
ing "ldeal" Car.

Ihe automobile we are driving today
crude ramshackle affair compared
II the ideal toward which engineers
striving.
l'his, despite the fact that one ir
|sry six grownups in the United
lies Is driving a car and that the
=asbie industry is the third largest
he country.
|ihe last % years have seen won.
ful developments in automobile lGGn
Future and design, but a list of ITS
Reflections today places this quarter
FURY OI advancement" IN the stage
Infancy. Such list would include O
Hill Of practically every part of tue
|bmobile OF this, here axe some of
n more important probe rs the auto
|slneers are tackling:
Fabrication.
Friction.
|tooling.
N,ngine design.
Transmission.
h uel consumption.
NhasSis construction.
Simplicity.
The order in which these are named
IS not denote their order of import
|ie, for they are all equally absorbing
4 interdependent. The matter of en-
r design, for instance, cannot be
len w without consideration Of all.
|bpt the or two, of the other prob
is mentioned.
Differ as to Engine.
IN developing the perfect engine.
Fever, engineers find then opinions
" more than on any of the other
lblems. What will the perfect en-
Il me? Small or large, compression
fgnit;Cn, air-cOOled or water cooled,
m or gasoline? No expert will dare
|jphesy, but all agree on this one
bt-that the gasoline engine Of to-
\ is far from the finished product
10 will give the least trouble to the
Yer srd will-they hOpe--keep the
\ goias good for 100000 miles, or
N more.
In their search for the perfect en-
e the engineers are trying ut the
be time to solve the fuel problem, cut
I'm losses by friction. Minimize car
iizatioH. reduce weight and strive for
lplicity. Three types of power sources
e pitted their claims for this ideal
iinst tie modern automobile engine
aSe arr the Diesel, the air-COCled and
steam engines.
3'he drawbacks against the Diesel,
! high compression, engine has been
lack of flexibility-a necGful re-
.rement in automobile driving. But
Diesers promise of immense power
low fuel cost and complete abolition
| the troublesome ignition system If
principle is adopted, make it an H.
,tant competitor for the honor of be.
hing tie perfect engine.
Changes i'm Cooling System.
'he cooling system of the air-cOoled
inc and the overcoming of friction
Fes by the steam engine are the Of.
i thess types make for the future
fleet car. In consideration of AZ
be, the OyershadOwing point is this:
he modern water cooling system is
.ularity of the air-cooled and steam
+, even today, point TO this.
Ignition also will be simpllfied to an
RENE degree, if not discarded entire
with the adoption of the Diesel, or
/ he steam engine, principle.
md in the improvement Of the en-
+, besides these two important de-
bpmeuts, carbOnization will be min
zed-i+ can hardly be completely
'rcome-fuel consumption reduced,
nkshaft fabrication perfected, light
S ana speed attained and a great
I of power that is now lost through
|tion regained.
.Oss by friction is espec ally notice
e in the modern transmission sys.
}. and it will be toward correction
this that engineers will try to sim
" the present system of control The
del for their efforts will probably bs