Evening star., 1933-07-16
Milady's Motoring
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL,

Ebert Hubbard might have said the
greatest mistake you can make in driv-
ing is to be continually fearing you
will make one
Many women tell me they have a
dread Of stalling the motor when shift
ing gears going up steep hill. Some
how I can't work up much sympathy
fer them on this point because it is so
obvious that most Of the trouble SIM
ply comes from not shifting soon
enough. Force the motor to strain in
nigh gear and if you stall the motor
when you finally concede to a shift it's
nobCdy's fault but your own.
Why worry about stalled motor
anyway? The first step is to set the
hand brake. That holds the car While
you collect your senses and see that
the gears are in neutral. Step three is
to touch the starter button. With the
engine in action again, press the clutch
pedal to the floor. shift to low gear, ac-
celerate the motor and gently engage
the clutch while easing off on the hold
ing brake.
While il is normal for the right front
tire to wear bald on cars operated IN
America and the left front tire TO stand
the punishment in England. it is well to
balance the wear by reversing the worn
tire when this seems to be the logical
step. But don't put the right front tire
on the left front wheel. Take the tire
off the rim and have it reversed. putting
it back on the right wheel again. The
bald spots will then be on the side of
the tread. the UnWorn portion OF the
tread being then to the right and ready
for punishment.
Some of these days I hope to see a
motCrist order a brake adjustment job
and tell the mechanic to take all day
with the work if necessary. Until that
happens I'll just so on believing that
motorists want to do everything i'll a
hurry, including shutting off to Para
disc
Brakes are too important to justify
hurrying. Force gas into the tank with
an electric pump, overfill the radiator
or run the risk Of driving without
enough oil if you like. but don't hurry
safety. Remember that mechanics don't
work with new material, but are always
irving to revive wrecks. Many parts OF
the braking system are badly worn and
concentrations must be made for that.
1t takes time. But it takes whole lot
more time to recover from an accident.
No woman likes to be shouted at, but
those who are learning to drive car
ought to bear in mind that when hus-
band speaks with more than the usual
crescendo while instructing in the art
Of handling an automobile 1t is because
the situation calls for action One man
tells me his wife would have made
good driver had she not taken offense
at his command to push down the
clutch pedal She claimed he raised
his voice" He admits it. but says that
if he hadn't spoken in the tone he did
the car would have been up on the side
walk and both of them would have been
in the hospital.
Free wheeling IS optional on all cars
which offer it as equipment, but drivers
are foolishly dividing into two extreme
groups-those who free wheel all the
time and those who never free wheel.
Each group is wrong. One should never
free wheel as a regular diet, and there
Is rl-ch to b. gained by Eot running
tC0 llJ.l IL c0ngInt on2l.
II lcl friend husband starts arguing
en- this point tcl.ght. remind him that
If the car free wheels or coasts when
the motor might better be used as q
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