Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-21
MILADY'S MOTORING
BY Frederick c. Russell

Women have discovered that when
stopped by a traffic officer for some
minor infraction of the law a smile
Is the shortest distance between two
points.
If you are in the custom of letting the
garage people fill up the gas tank and
deliver the car to your door, and II
the engine is of the high compression
type requiring anti-knock fuel. It is a
good plan to have the cap Of the tank
marked with instructions to use high
compression fuel. One manufacturer
already supplies caps marked In this
way.
A very foolish thing to do when de-
scendinR hills is to figure that the
down grade isn't very steep merely be-
cause the car ahead does not gain
speed rapidly. 1t Is rather easy to be
lured into such situation II there is
no warning from the other cars rear
signal.
There is, to start with, the possibility
that the signal may be out of order.
Then there Is the likelihood that the
man ahead is using his hand brake. Or,
which Is often the case, his engine may
have good compression, this serving to
check the speed Of the car
Just another point TO consider Is the
possibility that the car ahead may not
be as heavily loaded as yours.
The supply Of trouble is ample with
out borrowing more of It, That is why
the experienced motor1St glanceS at the
floor under the car when leaving 1t at
night in strange garages along the route
of the Summer tour Noting puddles OF
oil and water saves thinking the engine
has been leaking vital contents.
Remind your mechanic that as the
car grows older 1t needs heavier lubri-
cants for the chassis, especially IN warm
weather.
II the oil-pressure gauge continues
to show q lower average reading as the
car goes ahead on the trip there Is no
need to assume that the engine Is COM
mencing to burn of oil. This gauge
merely registers pressure conditions ana
shows by lower reading that the oil Is
thinning out through heat.
It is always good plan to reason,
however, that when the pressure Is
lower the oil can burn of more readily,
because it is hotter and thinner.
It isn't necessary for a woman to be
caught in the mud to discover that one
rear wheel can remain stationary while
the other rotates. The discovery OF the
function of the differential can be made
simply by observing cars as they turn
corners. Always the inside rear wheel
turns slower than the outside one: =.
This is simply the old principle OF
marching utilized for motoring. The
men on the inside Of the line merely
mark time for the period Of the turn.
Differential gears serve to enable the
inside wheel to slow down or stop alto
gether during turn, while the balance
Of the driving power is transferred 10
the other wheel.
It's action Is complicated enough. but
its purpose is simple. 1t also serves to
protect the driving mechanism, since
one of the wheels can slow up when 1t
hits q rough spot in the road.
AS a result Of the differertiaps action
the wheel with the lesser traction VIII
spin. while the one that isn't In the
mud will stand inert. If you are caught
in such a predicament the thing to do
is to block the spinning wheel in such
a way that power will be transferred to
the one that has traction.
Feminine daintiness used to be q
stumbling block to successful manipula-
ton Of cars in the days when brute
force was necessary to get proper re-
suits. Today it is an asset. Cars re-
spond quickest to the lighter touches.
Note how you can accelerate best by
pressing on the accelerator more gently
and shift gears easiest by gentle ac-
ton. III,
Nothing is more annoying during q
trip than to return to the car after 1t
has been stored in public garage TO
find marks on the doors. where people
have let them swing open into other
cars. This. however can be done away
with to q large extent by locking three