Evening star., 1929-12-15
MILADY'S MOTORING
BY Frederick C. Russell

Checking up the garage bill each
month convinces many a man that
woman herself is the original super
charger.
A reader of these weekly talks with
the woman rnotorist tells me that she
nearly had a serious accident with her
car when cranking it the other morn
ing simply because another member OF
the household had left the gears in
low. The incident suggests the I'M
portance of q better understanding be-
tween all members Of the family who
drive.
There should be an agreement where
by each promises to leave the car, or
cars. in a strictly neutral" condition.
That is, the wheels should be set
straight ahead, the hand brake on, the
gears In neutral, the gas control set for
idling, the spark fully advanced and the
choke pushed in.
This would eliminate the confusion,
mistakes and accidents which some
times happen in the garage during the
starting process.
"Will you please explain why it was
that couldn't open the windows Of my
car the other day?" a reader has in
quired. "I had had no mechanical
work done to it-just a washing.
Fortunately it was very cold day and
I did not mind having the windows up.
The next day had no difficulty what
soever. That's what seems so strange"
That also is what holds the answer
to the puzzle. The windows simply
froze. It's a common thing in cold
weather and can be avoided by opening
them a little before going out into the
cold directly after washing.
Details of the British cars displayed
at the recent Olympia motor show
in London reveal something of special
interest to women who motor in all
kinds of weather. The new feature IS
a holder for a short handle umbrella
and is attached to one OF the lower
door posts within easy reach of any one
stepping out of the car.
If American women wol Id ask for
the umbrella holder when shopping
around for new cars it wouldn't be
long before the feature would be
standard equipment here. Women al
ready have done nobly in encouraging
engineers and body builders to make 1t
possible for some IS Of us to go along
singing in the rain"
One Of the things that make it more
difhcult for woman to get along when
ice is forming on the windshield is the
great amount of advice offered during
the period of emergency. She is told
to do most everything from pouring
alcohol over the windshield to rubbing
it with an onion. Very few ever think
to recommend rubbing the glass with a
small bag of salt. This will not involve
the risk of damaging the lacquer finish
of the cowl as in the case when using
alcohol.
why does an engine stall? asks a
woman who is finding the automobile a
very fascinating piece of mechanism.
1T seems to me that highly explosive
fuel like gasoline would drive an engine
even if the pilot did make a few mis-
takes. How can a high-powered en-
gine be SO helpless when you happen
to start off by mistake in high gear?"
To understand the peculiar nature OF
the gasoline engine it is necessary to
consider for moment the steam engine
and the electric motor. Steam and
electricity are what might be called
continuous forces. Their drive is con-
stant, once released and of sufficient
intensity or amount. Gasoline is differ
ent. 1t produces no driving effort until
vaporized, mixed with air in the right
proportion, compressed and ignited.
Moreover, in an automobile engine
the individual amounts OF expanding
gas vapor in each cylinder are compare
lively small and weak by comparison
with an equal amount of steam. That
is why we must run the gas engine
reasonably fast so that a number Of
these explosions can occur in rapic
succession. This also explains why
modern multi-cylinder engines stall les:
frequently than the earlier power
plants.
1t may help to explain the situation
-
ready compressed and expanding gas II
feed to the cylinders as one might feec
steam. Hence there is no continuous
force until the engine gets up speed
Hence also the tendency toward stall
ing.
There is new psychology typified BY
the statement She can do better whar
she knows and it seems to be very
apropos of motoring. Too many womer
are trying to succeed with their driv
ing through sheer will power when thei
great need is misunderstanding.
1 saw it illustrated recently when ;
friend who had for weeks attempted II
shift gears by force and determination
suddenly decided to see if she WASH
making some mistake that would &C
count for the diflculty. Taking thL
new slant on matters she quickly dis
covered the cause of the trouble in he
unobserved habit Of failing TO return
the hand control Of the throttle to tn
idling position after warming up tn
engine. This always makes for NOR
difficult shifting.
Men who volunteer to assist milad
when she Is struggling to extricate he
car from snow pile or slush frequentl
are so gallant as to overlook the actiol
of the differential. That is why they
the men, that is-place newspapers o
burlap or whatever is handy under onl