Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
MOTORING
BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.
The rapidity with which the
deal do with the efficiency of

regulation is we'll known. There is,
however, one phase of motoring that
is almost as old as the motor car
itself, the progress of which is being
looked upon by many car owners
with increasing skepticism.
That i. public garaging.
There is not much doubt about
the improvement in the physical
structure of the great automobile
storage plants, with their fine eleva-
tor and ramp systems, their efficient
equipment for washing and grcasing
cars and the like. but, motorists ask
in increasing number. is the service
one gets improved? Is the car
stored with greater care so that
Tenders. running boards, bumpers and
even bodies themselves are not
married, denied and scratched? Is
the car washed and polished with
that degree of perfection that has
been made necessary by the super
latively fine finish its manufacturer
has provided? Is the excel mt oil
ing and grcasing equipment rcd to
reach every vital part of the mocha
rism thoroughly. and. At the same
time, with the neatncss with which
it may he used:
In short, is the man who owns a
motor car in which he takes the
greatest of pride able TO find stor-
a9c quarters where it will receive
the attention it deserves, the service
he desires ard for which he is more
than willing to pay:
Thousands OF motorists every
where answer this question with
short. emphatic No Others, seem
ingly mare accurate, it only because
they are less acrimonious. declare
that it may be done, at the same
time admitting that it is task that
requires considerable patience, and,
as one big figure in the automobile
industry declares. lots of experience
most of it bad"
Analysis of the complaints against
scores of public earaees-and there
are complaints against those that ap-
pear to be the best as we'll as the
worst-reveals that the thing mo-
florists most resent is the careless
ness with which their cars are
handled. Tourists who patronize the
hest of hotels and who garage their
cars i'll establishments recommended,
if not actually operated. by the hos
telries at which they stay. are par
ticuiarly bitter in their protests on
this score. And even the city mo-
torist who stores his car in the neigh
iorhood garage is not far behind in
the harshness of his complaint i'll
many hundreds OF cases
Here is an illustration of the lat
ter individuals point of view:
The man had fine car, wildly FIN
ishcd. He wanted it always to ap-
pear at its best, gliStenng and un
married. Cost was no object; the
service WAS what he wanted. SO he
stored his Car in one OF the finest
looking and most expensive establish
mcnts in the city in which he lived.
Within two months the car took on
the appearance of age and disrepute
that can come only from denied
tenders. broken running board edges,
nickel shattered and broken on the
front bumper and one of the bumper
cites on the rear and the glossy,
black finish scratched and streaked
as result of the dirty. gritty rag
used by attendants in cleaning it.
Perhaps this case is an extreme
and does not represent the fate of
the average individual who stores his
car in this type of establishment. but
it does show the extent to which
carelessness will 60 and. as its victim
says the need for a rieht-about-face
on the part of the public garage.
Explaining the condition, one mo-
tor car owner, who has had wide and
often unfavorable experience with
public garages. asserts:
Such establishments lose sight of
the cardinal fact that their patronage
comes from individuals who want
their cars kept in perfect appearance.
If owners were not discriminating
and proud of their cars. they would
not mind leaving them in the street,
and the public garage would have
much less to do. Ny experience in
cludes that at home and en- tour, and
although the latter has been the
expectation at all times.
"A great many of the cars so ga
ragged are good cars. expensive ma
chimes. But they will not stand being
bumped against other machines, pill
lars and walls. They are finely FIN
ished, but dirty and gritty rags used
IN cleaning soon will mar the finish.
Now. these establishments have the
facilities that would permit them to
give the finest service. What they
lack, apparently, is careful. intelli-
gent stats to man these facilities"
This point of view is typical among
those who condemn many of the
practices of the public garage. The
employees. among whom the turnover
in several cases investigated is
known to be great. variously are ex-
coriated as careless" "smart-alecks,"
Alp" and playful" The charge that
they ioy-ride in patrons cars is heard
less and less, but that they harm
them by carelessness in putting them
away and in washing still is an active
subject in motordom. In addition,
owners have found that expert
nents" conducted by the employees
Of the garage have resulted in mai
adjusted carburetors. variously Grip
pied ignition systems and other me-
chanical faults.
As result the thought is grow
ing that the time IS ripe for genuine
progress in the garaging field, prog
res. that is IN step with that re-
corded in other phases of motordom.
Various suggestions are offered. They
include a demand for--
More permanent stats composed
of older more substantial men
More thorough supervision Of every
single department. with particular at