Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-25
MORE SPEED!
Review of Mechanical Ad-
, vances in Automobile
Construction Emphasizes
This Tendency.
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL.


saw. But it was the automobile it,
| self - 1881 edition that conquered.
Never has the American car been more
certain of its purpose in the Nations
| affairS--gearing personal transportation
to faster pace in safety and comfort.
Amid the confusion of all manner of
tranSmissions, multi-cylinder motors,
| free wheeling, power braking and a
| thousand and one details of ingenious
design the show visitor might have been
excused for wondering where the auto.
| mobile is headed mechanically. But
the facts glittered through the chrome
plated radiator grilles and overshadow-
| ed the raciest model of the industry's
| thirty-first exposition. The general
trend is unmistakable. Automobiles
are going speed"
Speedy Cars for Years.
We have had speedy cars for years,
| but never have we had machines with
| such speed ability. This significant
difference marks 1881 as the beginning
of an era of personal transportation in
which car owners will be able to utilize
the increasing highway facilities for
faster travel.
Engineers have had to start with the
engine. Speed calls for power. Very
| Skillfully they have raised the power
/
One of the new Fights develops 100
brake horsepower from a 314-inch by.
Az inch bore and stroke. Another of
| the new crop produces 125 horsepower
| from a $50 -inch by Az Inch bore and
| stroke.
| Downdraft carburetion, heavier crank
shafts and vibration hampers which
minimize high speed strain, heat re-
| Sistive valves, aluminium alloy piStons
| and rods, twin ignition anG numerous
other detailed features help to explain
| the power transformation which has
raised even the cars below 1000 list
price into the 60-horSepoWer category.
To help the new motors deliver this
power over the entire speed range it
has been necessary to dvelop trans
! missions capable of appropriate team
work. The chief function of the Spe-
cial gearsetS, whether they be the four
speed internal-geared variety, the three
speed constant mesh, the silent second,
the Synchro-meSh, the Synchro-silent
or the four-speed spur type, the pur-
! pose is to enable these engines to
speed up acceleration and movement of
the car in the lower gears. In many
of the arrangements, because of
higher gearing in top" speed combina-
ton, the transmissions also save the
engine many needless revolutions.
Continuous speed ability demands
longer life for working parts. Two of
the newest jobs provide special laby-
rinthian ell cooling whereby lubricant
must flow over a completely OF cooling
passages before 1t is returned to the
oil pump. One of the popular lines of
cars now carries device that pre-
vents the engine from running shy the
proper amount of oil, the pump supply
head rising and lowering to meet vary
ing conditions.
One of the most interesting devices
seen on the new cars Is a spring-con-
trolled floating choke" which makes 1t
possible to drive reasonably fast when
starting of with a cold motor. The
driver simply adjusts the choke button
to a partially .choked position, the de-
vice then automatically opening and
! closing in direct proportion to the en-
gine's air requirements.
Speed ability! Where is it better
| indicated than in the business of gear
| shifting? This is more than convenience.
When a driver can shift back and forth
| from high to second without considering
the relation between the speeds of his
| engine and the car he is shifting
through to a new era. He can cut time
| in traffic and get over the high hills
| with new sense Of agility.
This year the automobile world is
| being given its first real taste of free
| wheeling. a popular phrase for auto
| matte coasting. 1t Is now found on five
| leading makes Of cars and on 19 chassis
SERIES. Free wheeling Is a direct contri-
button to the speed ability of the 1891
car. Its sponsors believe that too much
of the ordinary road travel Is retarded
because of the engines high compression
effect. A relatively simple over-running
clutch proposition causes the car, when
in free wheeling, to coast whenever its
The driver lifts his foot from the ac-
| celerator and the machine rolls on
freely.
This free wheeling effect can be util-
lied to fullest advantage without fear
of loss of control of the car owing to
the fact that through simple move
| ment of the gear shift lever the driver
can get right back into conventional
gear and utilize &Se engine for braking.
! On one series of cars the change Is
| made through lever on the dash. With
| free wheeling shifting from high to
second, or vice versa, Is accomplished
without declutching.
Thus most of the cars at the show
offer remarkable acceleration features
and gear control in lower speeds merely
| through removal of the old fear of
clashing gears.
Speed cannot be safe without in
| creased stopping ability and it is not
surprising that the new lineup of cars
| shows larger breaking areas, greater at
| tention of fabrication of brake mocha
| nism and the use of more heat resiStive
drums. The subject of brakes Is as
highly controversial as ever and many
heated arguments were heard around
the exhibits.
| In the hydraulic group the use Of q
booster on one of the high-grade lines
was of special interest, since this pro-
| videS a means of adjusting braking
| power traction conditions. In the me-
| chanical brake camp there Is a marked
| increase in the number OF cars using
cable type OF operation. The change
to the two-shoe self-energizing brake
| has been very marked
Bodies Revamped.
Bodies have been revamped in order
| to utilize this greatly increased ability
of cars to accelerate, maintain high
speed and stop. Steelweld bodies and
| safety glass are much in evidence. One
| car features a chassis and body con-
structed as one unit One of the lowest
| cars is lower than ever, and virtually
every new job Is longer. This trend. Of
| course, excludes the two. baby" cars
which are designed to meet special
| need
Only one make is in the ring with
, front drive. but it is obvious that the
| designers of the new creations are
"front-drive minded" This is very pro-
nounced on a number of makes where
| the longer hoods, deep radiators and
pointed fronts give the appearance of
''puller' type propulsion. Outwardly
many new bodies are marked step
| forward in the fight against wind
| resistance.
Far removed as it may seem the
| hydraulic shock absorber Is, in reality,
closely related to the sped ability of
the 1881 car It makes possible last
| travel over rough surfaces Combined