Evening star., 1933-11-12
FEWER CONTROLS
ON CARS FORESEEN
Aim Is for Sweeping EIimina.
tion of Things Needed for
Operation of Machine.

Whatever 1898 rates in the annals
of automotive history it is certain to
be known as the year when the motor
w-rld first gave serious attention to the
sbol'tion of the cars conventional con-
t-ols. Previously automotive engineers
have ccntented themselves with efforts
to Go away with this control or that,
but this year they aim for a sweeping
elim.netion.
Scy1e engineers actually believe that
th1 time is not far distant when the
car viii be operated by a steering wheel
and few buttons. And they're not
so sure that the wheel is essential
The shift lever has already vanished.
In Europe the clutch pedal is out.
Switch back across the Atlantic and
we ind that on one of the latest
American cars the brake pedal has
been replaced by a treadle-hardly
more than foot-operated button con-
troll. Free wheeling on some cars is
now merely matter of pressing on a
button. 1t Is still simpler on some
other cars using the automatic clutch
except that the driver must make a
manual change at the instrument panel
when he wants to return to conven-
tional.
Gone Is the instrument panel con-
troll for carburetor heat regulation The
choke is definitely out, except as q
spare for emergencies The hand brake
could be eliminated if engineers merely
designed the foot brake pedal to hold
down when desired. At present the
hand lever is merely an additional
means of controlling the shoes of the
foot brake system on cars using me-
chanical brakes, Hand brakes are
surplus baggage for use when the car
Is In motion. In fact, 1t is desirable
not to use it.
Two American car manufacturers are
reported to have acquired rights to an
automatic transmission used on one
Of the British cars. In this arrange
ment there is a series of control bs,t-
TONS on the steering post SO that the
driver pre-Selects any gear Combination
ne desires before stepping on the gas
In this arrangement the clutch pedal
Is done away with altogether.
mat there is vast amount of ex-
perimenting at the present time is hest
demonstrated by the fact that within
the past two years a number of ideas
nave been completely abandoned bv
leaolng car makers. Free wheeling is
already removed from some of the
newest cars. One company that had
introduced very highly efficient au-
tomato clutch arrangement has lust
scrapped it. Various tricky starting
arrangements are found on some of
the latest cars, but it is Significant
tnat the old-fashioned starter button
Is back into its accustomed place on
sbme of the other latest merchandise
It is difficult for the automotive proph-
cts to see just where things are headed.
trendwise, except that there is good
reason to believe that all engineers are
aiming for simplicity.
The problem invariably facing the
engineer is whether or not what rates
as simplicity in the driving compart-
ment will become complication and ex-
pense in the service station. The med |
ern automobile is a bundle of nerves. |
a highly sensitive piece of machinery
that requires careful attention to pro
duce best results. Always the engineer |
bears In mind that q large percentage |
of owners will not play fair with their |
cars and that the safest bet is to re- |
tain anything that has proved trust |
worthy mechanically.
1t is considered by many advanced |
drivers something of a crime that SO
many Of the advanced ideas have either |
been scrapped altogether, or tempor-
artly discarded because owners failed |
to cooperate. The automatic clutch Is /
for the driver to use in close traffic. |
1t saves him fatigue and makes for |
smooth shifting, but the popularity of |
this device is threatened by those driv-
ers who misuse it. To utilize any new
device it is necessary to revise driving |
habits slightly. This will be noticed in |
the handling Of cars with Substituting
devices, but there is so much to be
gained by taking advantage of the op-
portunity to revise habits, no owner |
has any legitimate excuse for yearn-
ing for the old ways.
When power braking is demanded by
the public, We shall have that ideal
condition wherein stopping the car will
be merely matter Of pressing on
button. If motorists apply themselves
to the automatic transmission we shall
have cars without any gearbox at all
and simplicity beyond present dreams
II the principle of the automatic clutch
is encouraged, its more general adop-
ton will result in making parking a
pleasure and steering the last word in
ease. Whether 1888 will mark the ac-
tual point when conventional controls
will be eliminated depends entirely on
how much cooperation the public is
willing to give the engineer.
What dO v0lI want7 Effort or ea &C.