Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-01-17

conventional design the air or wind resistance
is too great to permit a car to travel ut high
speeds without consuming large amounts OF
fuel
Thus, sSreamlining will cut down operating
costs And IN still another way Will this %
true. Today the heavy, powerful automoolie
requires heavy tires. The heavier the car tho
greater wear on the tires. Tires wear because
they generate heat when they fex, and heat
is the enemy of rubber. This Is so well recog-
nized that one company has even introduced
an air-cooled tire. The heavier the car the
greater the amount of fexing Of the tire Tho
lighter streamlined car will impose q much
less severe strain upon tires and Is bound 70
induce longer tire life. At the same time,
streamlined car, because it is lighter, will be
easier to start, minimizing the drain the starter
imposes upon the battery. Batteries in stream
lined cars should last longer.
I'm any casual consideration of streamlining
the layman Is inclined to think 1t Is a good
idea but not important" Mr.. Ledwinka points
out. THAT Is because he does not recognize
the multiple benefits it will achieve nor does
he realize the many deficiencies OF the con-
ventional car from an engineering standpoint.
Gust take the case Of independent springinG
Of wheels. In todays car the wheels are not
sprung independently. Thus, II the right-front
wheel goes over bad bump the shock OF that
bump is transmitted to the entire car. In the
streamlined car each wheel will be independ-
entity sprung and the shocks or road bumps
suffered by any one wheel will be felt only in
the local area governed by one wheel This
means that the streamlined car will add much
to riding comfort"
THE public knows little OF this new science,
and what little it does know Il = result
largely Of the stressing Of the importance Of
streamlining In aviation. Some Of the hi
stances in which aviation has employed stream
lining are very interesting and reveal graphic
ally the benefits achieved in this industry
through the scientific adoption Of stream
lining.
For example, when Pangborn and Herndon
left Japan on their record-breaking trans
pacific flight, the newspapers announced that
they planned to rid their plane Of its landing
gear once they were well under way. The de-
creased wind resistance due to the elimination
OF this gear not only promised to result in
considerable weight decrease, but would reduce
air resistance by II per cent and accelerate the
progress Of the plane. This was done, and
undoubtedly played An important part in these
two intrepid flyers ultimately reaching their
goal.
In any consideration Of the problem Of
streamlining one must necessarily consider the
general public's reluctance to adopt radically
new types OF mOtOf cars. II the SJTeaInlule car
Is 50 desirable and 50 efficient and If the en-
gineers who are responsible for building our
automobiles net only know this but know as
well how to build streamlined cars, why have
they not made their appearance on our streets
and highways?
This Is fair question. The public will
not buy automobiles which are radical de-
partures from the conventional car. As
consequence, the industry has been changing
current models gradually and the trend has
been toward the teardrop, fully streamlined.
Each year automobiles have been built little
lower, slightly more streamlined. Thus, when
the fully streamlined teardrop car does make
its appearance the public will have been grad
ually accustomed to 1t.
This leads to another conclusion and another
probable result Of the advent of this most
interesting automotive development The
streamlined car may conceivably do much to
restore the automotive industry. to the high
position it occupied in the American industrial
scheme several years ago-a position from
which 1t has somewhat receded.
The streamlined car will make all cars OBJ
solete. It will make every conventional car out
of style back number. 5N'''
tCopyright- 1892