Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-12-02
In the Motor World
BY q. ADAMS HOWARD.

| the headlampS are dimmed, or
when the vehicle is coming over
the brow of hill or under other
circumstances which would throw
the full beam upward so as to pro-
duce glazing or dazzling lights"
Cowl Lights Within Law.
Mr.. Eldridge said that under
this provision he construed coWl
lights to be within the provision
of the law, and perfectly proper
for private cars to use them.
From advance information
cleaned by the National Auto
mobile Show headquarters from
various automotive manufacture
ing cities, it is revealed that the
forthcoming shows will demon
strate to a marked extent that
what the American public wants
in an automobile is carrying ca
pacity. Looking backward a few
years, it will be recalled that the.
keynote Of certain shows has
been: One year, furore over the
number Of cylinderS-SiXes, Fights
or twelves; another season, low
hung bodies or brilliant lacquer
colorings; more recently, higher
speed obtainable from light cars,
and so on. For 1929 factories ap-
parently are providing for the de-
mand for carrying capacity in a
more generous fashion than ever
before. At the National Show in
Grand Central Palace, New York,
January 5 to IL, and the Coliseum,
Chicago, January 26 to February
2, the majority Of exhibitors plan
to show either completely rede-
signed or improved sedan and
touring bodies.
Slightly more than a year ago
something of a tempest in tea
pot was raised over the impending
invasion of the American market
by a flock of those tiny vehicles
which have become characteristic
of England and France. But the
invasion did not materialize after
all, and probably will not, because
the average American motorist
wishes room for five in his car and
demands a certain amount of
weight to give stability and riding
qualities. Foreign cars to be
shown for the first time in a ma
tional exposition at New York, for
the most part will not be the
"baby" cars that one sees scurry-
ing about the boulevards of Lon
don and Paris. 1t is true that
there are half dozen American
makes Of So-called small" cars.
but if their sizes are compared,
the American average of 2,400
pounds against the 1,0O0-pound
weight, or Whereabouts, which
serves for England's midgets.
shows a marked difference. These
English cars get along very nicely
with engines that are from z to
10 horsepower, a wheelbase of 80
inches or so, and a tread scarcely
more than the width of an infant
perambulator. AS a matter of
fact, the smallest American five
passenger sedan weighs a little
more than 1000 pounds, and has
a wheelbase Of slightly more than
100 inches.
Foreign Cars of Interest.
Nevertheless, that part of the
metropolitan show devoted to the
exhibit Of foreign cars will hold
much of intense interest for Wis
itorS. Some of those little British
products will be exhibited as the
best of their type that the English
and some other foreign makers
produce and these are of interest
to a number of Showgoers, to
whom the excluSiveness and diff
ferent appearance of these models
will appeal. The display should
demonstrate to what extent new
things our foreign cousins prod
uctS have developed to a point
ready for adoption by American
buyers.
In inspecting the foreign cars at
the Palace, it should be borne in
mind that body designers abroad
are accustomed to producing for
individuals rather than for the
masses, and much of the fine
coach work that seems to be the
last word in comfort and con-
venience comes under the head OF
"cuStom-made." A few of the
foreign makers are getting into
mass production with their bodies
(on comparatively small scale)
and in any event what they have
to show will be interesting.
AS for the bulk of the American
car exhibitors, it becomes evident
upon very minute examination,
that many Of the improvements
made on the new seasons models
are hidden under the hood and
hndV