Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-13

What the neighbors say about your
new car as you roll by is one knock
that need never worry you.
As a rule women are not especially
troubled by tappet noises, situation
that is both an advantage and a dis
advantage. The more optimistic side
Of it is that by not insisting upon maxi
mum valve quietneSS they do not en-
courage mechanics to go to dangerous
extremes In adjustment. At the same
time toIerating too much valve noise
may mean running with the engine be-
low par in efficiency. II there Is too
much tappet Observation-Disclosures by
too much noiSe-valves do not open far
enough for best results.
have Just run across something new
in driving pillows. It Is of leather and
made to At at your back so as to make
you more comfortable when ut the
wheel, but when you zip open q slide
fastened at one edge there is revealed
q handy pocket for the tour book,
gloves or other small articles. Any
woman who drives would appreciate
this.
Despite the fact that there are cer-
tain dangerous places to park, many
women are disposed to leave the car
wherever there Is an opening. One Of
the worst spots is the first space just
around q corner. Spaces on either side
Pedestrian traf1lc is another matter to
be taken into account. One woman left
her car Just ahead Of q crosswalk on q
rainy day and later found that the back
Of the body had been badly scratched.
Umbrellas, Of course.
A tire often looks softer II the car
Il standing on gravel driveway. Also
II the road isn't level where It stands
. tipping Of car weight may lead to
borrowed trouble.
There Is no questioning the fact that
fear plays an unnecessary role In fur.
ther confusing the women who can't
recrank stalled engine. I watched
one driver struggling with q balky en-
CINE the other day and was especially
Interested to note that all during the
process she kept looking around at an
imaginary audience of critics instead
Of watching the instrument panel.
Aside from the expense Of having
the car washed so often, there Is the
loss Of time and general wear and tear
that goes with constant cleaning. All
this can be greatly lessened by learn
ing how to drive in such a way as to
keep the car cleaner.
For one thing, avoid running into
water-fllled holes in the road. Also
keep q greater distance behind other
Ears, and when passing or overtaking
them, run faster Another plan calls
for parking where there Is the least
amount Of traf1c and where the streets
are In the best condition.
Before garaging, If it Is raining at
the time, let the machine stand out for
a while. A shower will help it.
Don't be in such hurry with serv-
ice work that you haven't time for the
mechanic to take the car out for a
short test. There have been any num-
Der Of cases where owners who over
looked this little formality have expert
enced trouble because something on the
car hadn't been replaced or properly
frightened. Let the mechanic discover
this.
Though it is one of the most COM
monplace things on the inStrum0Ae
panel, the Speedometer is perhaps Tie
least understood. Any woman who
doubts this has only to ask q dozef.
men Tor an explanation OF It's operation
and observe IL blank faces.
All speedometers are alike in that
they are driven by flexible shaft which
Is connected to some moving part of
the chassis. The drive originally was
taken from one of the front wheels,
but in modern cars this flexible speed
ometer shaft Is connected to the shaft
just behind the transmission. There
has also been more or less concentra-
ton on the magnetic type Of speedome-
ter, but many instruments have been