Evening star., 1933-08-27
MAKE CARS TO FIT
MOODS OF DRIVERS
Detroit Manufacturers Seek
to Fill Most Unstable
Demands.
Having successfully developed the au-

Having successfully developed the au-
tomobile through successive stages of
form fitting to public requisites, Detroit
now bends its efforts toward making the
motor car fit that most unstable of all
demands-the mood of the driver 1t
has always been achieved in the case
of some of the latest models. Others
are rapidly nearing the goal.
The automobile was first styled for
the buyers taste. There were 81 varie-
ties of sizes, types and qualities. Then
it became necessary for the industry to
trim expenses, so that the car could be
made to fit the pocketbook Later came
an era Of designing for temperament,
so that buyers could select the kind of
car they themselves prefer to handle.
And now-motors for your moods.
Matching Mood Changes.
If you feel easy-going and meditative,
you have but to float along in free
wheeling or with the motor throttled
down to the noiseless point. Ten min
uteS later you may feel nervous, erratic,
longing for expression" Just a touch
of the accelerator and the speedometer
swings up to high limits that bring a
gasp and quickly check the craze for
speed. Change your mood as often as
you will. The new cars are capable of
changing to match it.
Some of the methods by which the
engineers have been able to accomplish
this feat are not SO obvious. Facilities
for obtaining responses to moods are,
in many cases. built into the car in
such way as to be entirely automatic.
This is illustrated in the development
of the automatic shock abSorber, which
compenSates itself to temperature, load,
read and speed changes. If the driver
takes it into his head to drive fast
over rough stretch of road and the
car does not happen to be we'll weighted
down with passengers, the springs are
controlled effectively. just as though
they had been specially regulated for
his particular fancy.
Let him vary his driving SO that the
car Skins quietly over a smooth boule-
ward and the shock absorbers relax
their grip on the springs. The car
rides buoyantly. That floating sensation
desired momentarily by the driver be-
comes a reality. He knows the car is
responsive to his desires, but he PLAYS
no conscious part in the proceedings.
Variations Provided.
Very much the same process is noted
where the modern motor is involved.
The accelerator. in addition to con-
trolling the throttle, now seems to pro-
vide variation III performance charac-
terlstlcs. This is a deceiving process,
snce the real arrangement has to do
With the carburetion, ignition and lubri-
cation. When the driver feels that he
would like to step on it" the engineers
know that he really does this literally.
He lifts his foot from the accelerator
and then goes down On it hard During
the interval when his foot is off the
pedal an extra supply Of gas accumu-
lateS in the carburetor'S acceleration
well. This provides the extra power for
the flash getaway.
Through the various speed ranges
there are little kinks in design that ac-
count for the modern driver being able
to get the sort of performance he wants
when he wants it. There are even spe-
cial drains to take care of any loading
up OF gas in the carburetor during an
excessively long period of extremely low
speed driving. The automatic spark ad-
vance is another factor that is i'm
portant in making motors fit moods.
BY effective timing of the advance
mechanism the motor is made to show
life and ZeSt when the driver thinks he
is doing Just about as much with it as
he can expect. One motor is equipped
with two sets of advance weights in the
spark-timing mechanism. special ad-
vance is reserved for a thrill when the
car is travelling at cruising speed and
the driver happens to feel like going a
trifle faster
In Contrast to Driver.
These inherent contributions to self
expression via automobile are in direct
contrast to those which the motorist
operates himself when selecting per-
Torrance variations. One of the most
conspicuous examples is the remote and
hand-controlled type of regulation for
the shock absorbers. While he may
sometimes forget to operate such a con-
troll, or perhaps be incapable of know
ing just how to operate it for the sort
Of change he desires. he finds compen-
satlon in the fact that he can obtain
SPECIAL effects to suit his own fancy.
He can, for instance, make the car ride
mcorrectly-iike temperamental per-
son doing the illogical.
Similar effects are obtainable with
the aid of controls for braking power.
now appearing on the instrument boards
Of f-several makes OF cars. Ventilation
variations are also now available. The
modern driver takes the air as he
pleaseS.
Who can ask for more?