Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-27
MILADY'S MOTORING
BY Frederick G. Russell

Women,s influence on motoring may
be very pronounced, but you still can't
take the car back and exchange 1t.
The fad for rolling EN- down may be
slipping, but the girls are still rolling
'em back. Watch the average driver
as she starts to 60 ahead on . slight
grade and you'll see the car roll back a
little before it gets down to the BUSH
been q male fad for years, but this Is
how experienced drivers avoided It:
Hold the car with the hand brake,
leaving the right foot free to press the
accelerator. At the signal to go" grad
ually let the clutch pedal come up and
feed gas with the aceelerator, mean
while slowly releasing the hand brake.
Thousands of men are so new at the
business of motoring @ woman may md
difficulty obtain Sir Walter Raleigh to
crank over her engine some cool Fall
morning when the battery is low. The
gentleman who has the strength for the
Job and the desire to assist, but who
fears o broken arm, should be advised
that the ignition switch will be off"
Such cranking should be supplementary
to use of the starter and merely to lin
Der up the stir engine.
When you note some trouble with the
car always give your repair man
demonstration, but don't let him drive
the car until he has noticed the sykhp-
toms while YOU are at the wheel. The
trouble may be simply something you do
in driving. some little mistake that can
be corrected merely by turning over a
new leaf
These sudden stops for traffic lights
are q problem at best. but 1t may help
some to remember that the rate OF de-
celeration increases as the intersection
Is neared. In other words, it isn't nee.
essary to apply the full force OF the
brakes Immediately. Press on the pedal
with enough vigor to get action and
then press with increasing force as the
cars speed decreases.
No theory Of psychology is required TO
prove that q cars performance Is closely
geared to the way the driver feels:
There are, in addition. q number Of
simple things about ones dress that In
fiuences the behavior Of the car. Mod
ern engines are Just sensitive enough so
that a heavier shoe, for instance. will
serve to feed more gas and make the
car seem livelier.
A woman who donned a coat with
sleeves that interfered with free move
ment Of the arms found that she had
considerable difficulty parking. Hats
have caused many an accident.
Women who take active enough inter-
est in their motoring to do their own
buying will be hearing lot about gear
ratios from now on. 1t Is well TO be
fortified with a little information on
the subject.
Every car Is designed so that its en-
CINE always rotates faster than the
driving wheels. We thus say that car
Is geared down, the ratio being deter
mined by the number of times the en-
CINE rotates for every one turn Of the
driving wheels. There Is permanent
gearing down in the rear axle housing,
with additional variable ratio changes
In the transmission.
If the engine turns over four and
one-half times for each revolution OF
the driving wheels in high gear (Which
is a direct drive without further gear
ing down in the transmission. the ra-
ito Is expressed as As to J.. When we
gearing down, so that the final ratio,
including the fixed ratio In the rear
end. may be around 8 to ]. In low 1t
may be IL to and in reverse IA to l..
The new trend In transmissions has
for its aim higher gearing in the gear
combination Just below high" whether
there are four speeds forward or three.
In one new car, which is geared 4:42 to
IN high or direct drive. the next gear
ing lower is to ]. This provides extra
pulling power and acceleration without
having the engine run so fast as to be
noisy.
Most Of the conventional transmits
sions, which means most Of the 25,00O,-
900 cars on the highways, carry reverse
gears that are geared lower than low
speed. This Is O good point to keep in
mind, because 1t means that in places
where the car hasn't power enough to
pull out in a forward direction 1t may
easily back out.
Broadcloth is not. as so many motor
lists imagine, difficult upholstery to keep
| iii good condition. One does not have
| to be able to say Home. James" to
enjoy the pride Of ownership that goes
with a car upholstered in this fashion.
| This type of smooth upholstery spots
more readily but it is the easiest type
! to clean 1t is not affected by dampness
and water, so that even If it requires
more frequent cleaning than the woolly
materials there is more likelihood OF 1ts
remaining presentable. Oddly enough
1t wears well. That Is one Of the rea'