Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-05
MILADY'S MOTORING
RY FREDERICK c. RUSSELL.

The surest way for woman to make
! her passengers uncomfortable is TO
boast that she drives as well as her
husband.
"Why is it that you can't shift to
| low gear while the car is In notion
| a woman of several months expert
ence at the wheel recently asked. Il
wanted to get into low gear the other
| day In order to be sure my engine
wouldn't fail, but simply couldn't shift
until had stopped the car"
She voiced a general opinion among
| drivers, Yet cars can be shifted to low
while in motion. It requires pressing
out the clutch and racing the engine
while the gears are in neutral. II you
will run your car up to is miles an
hour in low gear and note how fast the
engine runs 1t will be apparent why
only the most Skillful drivers can per-
form the trick.
Occasionally it is necessary to hurry
in traffic, and when this is the case 1t
is q good plan to keep In second gear.
Use second to start with, to accelerate
with-and, most important OF all, to
help stop with. The car can be slowed
down easier when it is in lower gear.
Do you ever give the car the once
over when you \ have switched on
lights and ignition for the night?
Sometimes serious trouble can be
caught in time II the car Is treated to
a few moments inspection. If the am
meter indicates discharge when no cur
rent is being used, for instance, the
chances are that the battery Is discharg-
ing into the generator because the
points of a small device known as the
generator cut-out are stuck together.
Your instruction book will tell you
Lift the hood and rap 1t with your fist
until the ammeter shows zero.
An extension for the accelerator may
seem like q great convenience, but the
increased leverage makes 1t more dim
cult to feed gas gently. Don't let this
minor convenience lead you into lot
Of major mechanical trouble with the
car.
The modern lady in waiting is the
woman driver who is eagerly watching
for the trafac signal to turn green,
Many women who drive seem to be
under the impression that advancing
the spark Is process Of increasing its
frequency or intensity. Advancing, on
the contrary is matter Of timing
When a piston congresses o charge Of
gas in any one cylinder . properly
timed spark from q spark plug igniteS
process which forces the piston down.
ward, causing it to crank the engine
shaft. Because there Is lag In the
combustion process 1t Is necessary to
time the spark to occur before the pis-
ton fully congresses its charge Of gas
The amount Of advance depends on
many conditions, and that Is why a
control is provided for the driver.
Nowadays q good carkeeper, like a
good houSekeeper, Is Judged by the
cleanserS she permits the garageman to
use on the car. Pure soap is as i'm
portant on the fine finish of a car as
it is in the washing of fine fabrics
One OF the grease and spot removers
should not be rubbed on the upholstery
just patter. And chromium exterior
finish and the silver finish of the in
terror should not be polished with any,
thing but a soft dry cloth.
Women who are just learning to
drive will experience less difficulty with
the clutch If they will carry a mental
picture of the purpose Of this unit of
the car. Any clutch, regardless of its
type, is merely means of connecting
one rotating part with another. In
the automobile the clutch Joins the
engine f1ywheel with the transmission.
Because the clutch can connect IL
can also disconnect. It does the latter
when the driver presses the clutch
pedal to the floor. The engine then
runs free of the car and vice versa.
When the clutch is disenRaged the car
coasts and the engine idleS.
Power can be disconnected" at the
transmission as well simply by shifting
to neutral. However, power cannot be
connected here without a clutch to pro-
vide means Of doing the Job.
Should the horn fail, do not become
alarmed. Race the engine with the
clutch pedal pressed down to the floor.
Vibration often will shake the horn into
action.
Among the few human beings who
nave not been tnSulted by the thought
tnat they are not intelligent enough to
comprehend the incomprehensible Elm
stein Is woman motorist of my &C.
Qualntance who says that she is really
on the road to formulating the theory
OF the unbound parking space.
Being obliged by trafIic conditions to
make an abrupt stop, knowing that the
car behind cannot stop in time to
avoid a collision, is not the most pleas
ant Of motoring experiences, but 1t
isn't so bad when the driver behind
uses headwork. A woman who was
caught in such n predicament behind
me the other day deserves a lot Of
credit.
When 1t became evident that she
would have to ram into the rear of
my car she turned little to the right
SO that only the bumper ends caught
Not so long ago this was taboo because
it meant crumpled tenders. Drivers
were urged to bump Squarely so as to
take advantage of the cuShioning effect
Of the spare tires which were mounted
on the rear. But today things have
changed so as to make the taboo quite
the thing to do. Had this driver run
squarely into my sport equipped car
the lowered luggage carrier would have
smashed the radiator of her car.
Copyright. 1929, by the Russell serviee.)