The Washington times., 1928-04-25

2
people who are coming into pc
number of cars being turned on
A growing similarity In the me-
caanical features Of cars Is the
underlying reason for the wider
market FOR satisfactory service
available to every car owner.
Numerous makes Of cars use the
same pistons, the same valves-even
the same complete engines. Ignition
systems are virtually standardized.
a large number Of cars use the
Identical braking systems, while
one Of the latest developments has
brought TO q number OF cars the
same steering gear unit.
This. new development Is di-
rect result Of the rapid rise Of the
parto makers who are speclalizlng
on various units Tor cars. mus,
many different makes OF cars are
earrying identical parts and UNITS.
@ha service field for the car buyer.
{herefore. broadens to point where
IL ga Far easier TO obtain parts or
service with today's car than with
the machine Of yesterday.
Service Assured
IF one of the strictly assembled
cars went out OF business tofnor-
row owners would have no difficulty
obtaining service. Any part for the
car referred to can be purchased
direct from the individual parts
makers and many Of them can &c
obtained at factory branches ano
distribution points for these spe:
.oiaIists. Furthermore, owner OF
this car car obtain service at the
official service stations OF several
competing cars which carry many
Of the same parts.
a wear or two ago this situation
nnrIfed 0nly to cars OF the strictly
assenbIed type. Today, however,
TIE rnecialists have placed 50 many
Of their products with the large
nroducerw that there Is definite
ana unmistalxabIe trend toward
condition where groups OF cars carry
the same steering gear the same
complete transmission, the same
auglnes or the same braking
svstens. 1t has resulted In lower
first costs for car buyers, ana now
Tire modern 1notorist Is discovering
that ii means lower iiplkeep
Similarity Marked
It il not uncommon nowadays TO
hear owners Of different makes Of
carr. discussing, not the differences
between them. but rather the
similarity. IL steering. for instances,
4 the subject of discussion, three
~ four owners may find that
there. is the same steering gear IN
each car.
Praise for the easy clutch action
BE certain cars develops tlla fact
that each ii equipped with the
same make of clutch. Naturally
the repairmam has conae To have
q broader understanding Of cars 20
that he II no longer cramped In his
atvIs IL most of his experience has
been with any particular one q
them.
This condition is expected to be-
come even more pronounced before
the year is over, since . number or
1929 models will carry more units
ana accessories that are more or less
standardized. A good feature that
appears on one make Of car Is apt
to be adopted by the rest Of the
manufacturers. and since most Of
the latest improvements are pat.
ented OF controlled by specialists
the feature as It finally appears on
q number OF different makes turns
out to be surprisingly standardized
One factor that contributes to fhs
growing simplicity Of service is the
rush to get out new models. AZ
first thought this may seem Like q
paradox. for one is justified in won
dering why D. plethora of models
would not result In inability ~
service men to keep pace with con.
ditIons.
The truth Of the matter il. how
ever, that improvements are in such
sreat demand the manufacturers
find It quicker to buy the product
of q specialist rather than assign
to their own engineering depart.
ments the task OF working out
something exclusive and different.
Progress In Design
Instead o3 the automobile devel-
oping . number Of eccentricities Of
design Il rapidly Is taking on an
air Of Standardization which should
be very helpful to owners OF all
makes Of cars and to the repair
men who are called upon to service
them. This Standardization, how.
ever, does not interfere with the
progress OF design. The most sur
prising results in reliability, COM
fort, convenience. power. and per.
Torrance come through combina.
ton of standardized features Of de-
sign.
Take a simple L-head engine,
add alloy pistons, alloy connecting
rods, q high compression head, posi-
tive fabrication TO the piston pins,
an air cleaner, q better carburetor,
. patented intake manifold and so
on through the range OF engine i'm
provemenGs, and the result Is super
performance.
New results are achieved more
Through adding these specialized
parts than by changing basic de-
sign and building up the engine
with parts which can be used only
with that particular make OF
engine. These specialized parts
which make the conventional car
the constantly improved article that
t ts are, however, standardized
parts, since they are sold to
number OF car manufacturers and
are obtainable in a large number
or service stations.
Whereas in the old DAYS but
one repairman In each locality