Evening star., 1926-10-03
1927 MODEL CAR REFINED.
WITH NO RADICAL CHANGE
improvements Something to Be Experienced, Rather
Than Seen, Critics Say-Innovations Consist in
Alterations in Design and Equipment
By WILLIAM ULLMAN.

BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.
Never were there fewer new fea.
lures to be seen on a new array of
automobiles. but never were there
more innovations to be experienced in
the actual driving and ownership Of
cars.
This Is the conclusion reached by
automotive critics fortunate enough
to have driven the latest models.
The 1927 improvements have been
discovered as something to be expert
enced rather than to be seen.
There are no radical and impressive
innovations such as the motorist wit
messed with the advent of balloon tires
and four-wheel brakes. He does not
linger over a front wheel equipped
with lot of brake rods, toggles and
things 1t never used to carry. He does
not press his finger into the side walls
OF the pudgy, low-pressure tires. He
does not even get a kick out Of seeing
more than SIX cylinders in q line. But
he has never been more agreeably sur
prised. more amazed. nor more slim
ulated.
Improvements Really Important.
When he climbs aboard the new car,
he finds that it performs in a remark
ably new way. He carries an extra
supply of unexpected luxuries. 1t is
the easiest car to take care of. 1t
Is the most economical to operate.
These improvements-theya are real
ly revolutionary-are the result Of nu-
merous changes in design and equip
ment. Some of them are minor, but in
the aggregate they are more impor-
tant than a half dozen Of the greatest
of automotive improvements
Against the six major automobile in
novations-the self starter, vacuum
feed. inclosed bodies. full pressure lu-
brication. four-wheel brakes and bal
loon tires-weigh the six innovations
for 1927:
Twenty-Five miles to the gallon with
an eight-cylinder engine!
Oil change only four times year.
Closed car ventilation in a rain
storm.
Collisions without injury!
Air-cushioned upholstery!
Evidences of the coming of the
greaseless car.
Nothing quite so revolutionary ever
has been discovered in any previous
automobile. And yet, in inspecting
the 1927 models that have been an
nounced and that are shortly to be dis.
played, on the surface one sees moth
ing but more attractive color schemes
and more pleasing lines.
These six great 1927 innovations
have been achieved by the adoption of
q long list Of ingenious and practical
appliances as well as through better
design all around. Not all of these
features are to be had on any one
make Of car; but the distribution is
generous enough to make every buyer
Of the new models an enthusiast.
Gasoline Mileage Increases.
Great improvements in gasoline
mileage have been made possible by a
number Of engine developments.
Oddly enough. In many engines the
cubic inch piston displacement has
been increased to give more power
and quicker acceleration, but without
interfering with the march toward
greater gas mileage.
One reason for the increase in gas
mileage is the use of oil rectfiers and
r ~crankcase ventilation systems. In the
case Of rectiflcation the gasoline that
used to stay in the crankcase to con-
taminate the oil is now boiled out and
passed back into the carburetor as
useful fuel. In one crankcase ventila-
IlnB system d tIlTu VI tIlO dAt Nt q " IA
into the engine through the car
buretor comes from the crankcase.
Naturally it uses much gas vapor
that passes the rings and which
otherwise would be wasted.
Another manufacturer has gone
back to aluminium pistons. For time
aluminium seemed useless as a piston
material, but this was due largely to
inJudicious design. Several manufac-
turers have met with singular sue
cess with aluminium alloys for pistons
and, by degrees, manufacturers are
learning how to use this lighter metal
In this critical position. Lighter pis-
tons reduce the burden Of the heat
units in compressed and ignited gas
vapor. They make for quicker &C
celeration and less vibration.
Ventilation and Rectif1cation.
Through some Of the crankcase
ventilating systems and the recdhca-
ton planm, the vapors that are passed
oil to keep the valves, upper cylinder
walls and pistons better fabricated.
Valves that never stick and that al
ways close tightly and promptly save
power and gas.
Better distribution Of gases into the
cylinders. particularly into the
straight eights. has made for great
increases in gas mileage. Thermo-
stats in the cooling system. automatic
radiator fronts and carburetor heat
controls make it possible to start the
engine promptly without depending
on a rich mixture for the job.
Infrequent oil change is the rule
with the new models rather than the
exception. Keeping gas and water
vapors out of the engine lubricant IS