The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-07-26
WORLD TOURING
BUICK TO REACH
BISMARCK TODAY

Inc BUICK car Wnlcn mas ALREADY
completed trip around the world
and which is now calling on every
Buick dealer in America will reach
Bismarck this afternoon, it is an.
nounced by the Fleck. Motor COM
pany, local Buick dealer.
According to J. A. Fleck, the
! globe trotting Buick circled the
world entirely alone without a per-
manent driver or mechanic, making
the trip in less time than that con-
sumcd by the round-the-world ily-
! ers. The car was passed from the
hands. Of one Buick dealer to the
next entirely around its big circle
some 35O drivers taking q turn at
it's steering wheel before it return
ed to New York, its official start
ing point. The car, a standard six
touring model. also completed the
trip without needing o repair or
replacement, of any part en- route,
though it had the assurance Of
Buick authorized service during all
Of its journey. Every one of its
nearly 10000 land miles was with.
in the sales and service territory of
some Buick dealer.
Had Many Drivers
The trip around the world was
planned to demonstrate that
Buick will stand the driving of all
kinds of drivers and. the punishment
of all kinds of roads. All Buick
motor cars have their Operating
parts, including the engine, seal
ed" to protect them from road dirt
and grit.
Another thing it was desired to
prove, according to Mr.. Fleck, was
that Buick can 60 clear out to the
fringes Of the earth and still be
safeguarded by the overseas service
facilities of Buick.
The only special preparation for
the trip was the installation of two
extra spare tires on the running
bOards--four spare tires altogether
and then the installation Of sup
Elementary oil, gasoline and water.
tanks also on the running boards.
These were to carry supplies for
the desert miles where filling sta
tons are hundreds Of miles apart
instead Of every few hundred
yards.
Has Right Hand Drive
An interesting fact about the
round-the-world Buick is that it is
q right hand drive. Nearly all
Bucks used over seas have the
drive on the 'starbOard" side be.
cause overseas traffic reverses it's
position on the road, keeping to
the left rather than to the right.
The right hand drive was an adj |
vantage to the car while it was
passing through the hands Of it's
drivers in the eastern hemisphere,
but when it returned to America
this turned out to be a considerable
disadvantage. American drivers
are accustomed to the left hand |
drive with right hand gear shift
ing. Even the best drivers place
q considerable strain on gears and
clutch when they are forced to shift
gears with their left hand and op-
crate the clutch pedal in its UNI
position.
One Of the most difficult parts
Of the trip was the long run COM |
pletely across the continent Of Aus
tralia. Many Of the roads on this
leg of the trip were almost i'm
passable-mere sheep trails.
The globe-circling Buick, however.
disembarked one afternoon from
the ship which carried it from
Ceylon to Peru, Australia (on the
west Australian coast) and was
on its way early the next morning
for Melbourne, nearly $500 miles
awav on the east coast. Across
the mountains and the Great Vic
torian desert it held ia its schedule
and arrived on the dot in Mel.