Evening star., 1934-01-07
HIGHER EDUCATION
SEEN AUTO|ST NEED
Many Who Never Lifted Hood
on Road to I'M. A." De-
gree in Driving.

Americans have never been more
familiar with the way the automobile
ticks, in the opinion of service men who
are hard at work trying to keep some
25000,000 enfeebled cars in operation.
Never before have motorists tried to
make the old car do so many years nor
been under such compulsion to know
what goes on under the hood
Motorists who thought their cars
we're worn cut at 10000 miles have re-
Gently discovered what it means to
live with the same vehicle for $4,000
miles or more. Odometers have never
registered so high for first owners. En-
route there have been many important
discoveries. Todays car owners know
more about meters.
Most Helpful Sign.
Automobile men view this as one Of
the most hopeful signs of the year. The
new models will go into the hands of
men who know more about how to
handle them for best results. There
should be fewer mistakes during the
breaking in process. Owners should
know how to obtain maximum per-
formance. Each buyer will have a
greater fund of experience which he
can tap when the occasion arises.
The other day a seasoned motorist
was caught in the rain with stalled
motor. He called service man, got
the motor going and prepared to pay
the charges. The service man said
there was nothing to pay, as the
motorist belonged to the local auto
mobile club. 1t was the first time he
had had occasion 10 use emergency
road service. because formerly he never
used car more than $4,000 miles ana
had been lucky not to have any
breakdowns.
Another owner was troubled with a
peculiar condition in the motor. Each
time he went on trip he had to stop
off somewhere to have a bearing re-
placed Having bought five near bear
ings and driven his car 10000 miles
he was ready to trade in and try some
thing else, but business conditions In
duced him to hang on to 1t another
YEAR When he reached the ninth
bearing replacement, however, he de-
manded action. AS result he dis
covered that the crankshaft Of the
motor was out of line Replacing the
shaft stopped the trouble. He has now
driven the car well over $4,000 miles.
He will never be caught without a
remedy for that sort of trouble again.
Many thousands Of motorists have
discovered new virtues in their cars
after four or five years contact with
them. This ought to induce them to
be more interested in their new cars,
seeking out possible advantages which
are not stressed in the manufacturer
advertising. This year, as never before
instruction books are going to be
read-and reread.
Had these same motorists taken the
time and trouble to read the reference
books that came with their cars, many
a trouble would never have come to
cant on the water pump shaft has re-
suited in many frozen radiator.
Failure to pay little attention to the
braking system has worn out many a
fine tire.
Mixture Responsible.
In his fifth year with a car one
owner discovered that the pinging
noise from the motor on hills was not
carbon knocking but the result OF a
lean mixture. Nor was that the end
of the discovery. He learned that by
pulling the choke control out part way
on the upgrade he could enrich the
mixture just enough to stop the knock
ing and increase speed.
Another owner discovered that he
could obtain additional speed from his
car by retarding the spark a little.
This is rather common to a number of
high compression motors, and is an idea
he can carry over into his experience
with the newest cars. Many months OF
experience with breaking in rebored
motors ought to enable owners OF the
new cars to give more intelligent atten-
tion to the business of putting a brand
new motor through the PAGES.
While it has been questionable prac-
tice for motorists to put up with the
shortcomings of their old cars, never
theless they have learned much about
how to drive safely under handicaps.
The man who is able to go forth on a
slippery day with brakes that can't be
brought into reasonable equalization is
any new car with modernized brakes.
1t is not generally realized how handi-
capped many drivers are because of
balky motors. This has been especially
true of such motors when cold. Now
that choking is automatic and motor
operation so much more reliable and
responsible. there should be much more
opportunity for the operator to watch
traffic closely
Owners have learned lot about
service in the past few years. They
have discovered, often at considerable
expense, the importance of using only
authorized parts for requirements.
Among their souvenirs is the fact that
a mechanic is judged, not by how many
parts he can knock down with his tools,
but by how intelligently he thinks and
reasons. It's all good education for the
new era in motoring ahead.
The automobile is now less of a
mystery to the average man and
woman. 1t has cost fortune to learn,
but he and she go forth to face the
new models with a diploma that will
carry them far into safety and