Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-06
BY FRANK j. CARMODY.

How many cylinders? This is a
question that has been asked In auto
motive circles almost since the day
the first carriage ventured forth
without it's conventional equine escort,
thereby causing a great deal Of head
shaking and misgiving among the
Nations more substantial citizens.
Since that day. of course, even the
least substantial citizen has become
accustomed TO the automobile. but the
| passage of time does not seem to have
brought any definite answer to the
question. There have been. at various
times. two. four. six, eight and twelve
cylinder cars The twos have been dis
carded and the twelves have been
cast overheard.
The tours, skies and Fights have re-
NAMED At first the four held almost
complete sway In 1912. when the in
dustry began in earnest to burst out
of its swaddling clothes. 50 per cent
of the ma nufacturers were making
four-cylinder cars. Twenty per cent
were making skies. There were, of
course. no Fights.
In that same year. however. the
| four began to recede in the estimation
of the motor car maker. The rise
| Of the six began. In the Summer of
! 1915 the six. on its way UP, met the
| four coming back. Then, with the
| trend toward a greater number Of
cylinders definitely established, the
| eight zoomed over the horizon.
Six Begins Drop in 1924.
The six continued its upward swing
until, in 1924, 20 per cent of the manu-
| facturers were deVoting themselves to
| production of this particular type.
| Then the six, like the four. began its
! recession. At this point the eight be-
gan to gain. Today 80 per cent of
| the motor car makers of the country
are producing eight-cylnder automo-
| hies, 81 per cent hold to their convic-
| ton that the six is the ideal power
| plant while per cent are making
| tours.
From these figures it is quite APP
parent that the industry frequently
| changes it's mind regarding cylinder
| number. 1t also is 10 be inferred that
| the six and the four have had their
| successful innings and that the eight
| Is preparing to step confidently into
| a larger share Of the spotlight.
| There are approximately so pa ssen.
| ger car producers who have survived
| in the keen race to determine the
| fttest in their particular line. IT Is
| worthy of note that the name plates OF
powered by eight cylinder motors
| Many of these. ii is true. also are
borne by skies. but the fact that one
may choose ones eight from so large
a group is of real significance.
Fights in Every Price Tier.
The Fights sprouting at the moment
| have many characteristics that are
| different from those of their prede.
cessors. In a majority of cases, they
| are more compact and lower priced
| The first Fights, as every one remem
| bers. were associated with bank
accounts that, If not fat. were at least
"f1eshy." One can acquire an eight
today from around 81 400 to far, far
up into the thousands.
Since the first of the year, nine new
Fights have been put on the market
Those which came in al the New York
show included the Flcar, Kissel
| Auburn, Gardner. Chandler. Stearns
| knight, Paige and Marmen. The last
week saw the La Sale. companion car
to the Cadillac. make it's debut in the
| Spring salon held in every Cadillac
| showroom in the country.
| From any angle this trend is In
| teresting. 1t also can be confusing
| There has been so much talk of
light" Fights that nearly all of the
| new eight-cylinder cars are regarded
as falling into this category. Light
| Is decidedly relative term as applied
| to an automobile. The newest Auburn
| for instance, is light" in one sense
| of the word. The little Marmon is
heavier, but it is light in its relation
TO the big Marmon.
The La Sale is not Tight" wher
| measured by some standards, yet it is
lighter than the Cadillac. it's com.
panion product The Stearns- knight
certainly is not light" eight
Neither is the Paige. However, the
| Gardner is--and SO is the Elcar So
1t obviously is lacking In precision to
classify the trend as altogether the
light" ear.
Power Plants Efficient.
But, whether light or heavy, these
| new ears are striking certain reso-
nant notes Whether they are large
or small, they are powered by engines
that are powerful. fast. zestful and
smooth. All claim to have overcome
!