Evening star., 1935-09-08

ing fuel oil is no excuse for so many
drivers trying to burn the road.
and the theory Of cycles comes in for
o bit Of proof, more and more motor
lists are coming to the conclusion that
it still pays to know as much as pos
sible about their cars. True, today's
ownership Is q problem in manage
ment. But for several reasons it has
again become something more than
merely seeing to 1t that the car re-
ceives the most suitable and least
costly service. One of these is the
fact that, with definite trend toward
long tours, the owner and driver must
be able to have more than speaking
acquaintance with her car. Hop from
one end Of the land to the other, and
it is a certainty that the driver will
have to do a few things herself. She
may even find it necessary to prove
her resourcefulness.
Automobile club officials tell me
that never before have they routed so
many tourists over such extensive
journeys. A woman and her son, for
instance, have just started on a 5000
mile trip. Two women In small car
have mapped out a 12000-mile jour-
ney. Tours running from 5000 to
5000 miles have become common.
Much can happen to the car In even
the lowest Of such mileage.
Since the mechanical condition OF
the modern car bears such close re-
lation to its safe handling. there is
every reason why modern owners
should have some idea of where they
are going when they lift the hood. To
60 along for several days without the
generator charging. and without know
ing how the ammeter tells this, Is just
so much borrowed trouble. Ignoring
signs of a slipping clutch is a short
cut to being stranded, while failure to
recognize evidences of hazardous kinds
of steering trouble may be mild form
Of suicide.
For some years have made it a
habit to 60 up and down on the brake
pedal a few times in an effort to at
tract the attention of the driver be-
hind by flashing the stop light signal.
Now the market offers special device
which does the flashing automatically.
1t should cut down materially on rear
end accidents.
Every intelligent person knows that
1t is safer to flee down a fire escape
than to leap from high window and
hope to be saved in a hremen's net.
but it Is surprising how little thought
automobilists give to consideration OF
the least risky Of possible crashes.
Statistics seem to indicate that when
trapped 1t is better to run of the road
or into a passenger car than to take
your chances on running into the
rear - a truck. Passenger cars. teie-
graph poles. fences and even trees
will yield a little; trucks hardly ever.
1t is the overhang on the rear Of a
truck that causes 50 many fatalities.
II the driver behind insists upon
| trailing too closely he is in dangei
Of ramming into the rear OF your cal
should you find it necessary to make
quick stop The safe plan is to try
to overtake the car ahead and move
on to a safer spot in the traffic pro-
cession.
How the gears shift depends to q
surprisingly large extent on how the
clutch pedal Is handled. With all
clutches there is q certain point OF
disengagement that makes for an
ideal shift. This differs for different
cars of the same make and model, SC
that in going from one car to another
it is usually necessary to find the
shifting point before smooth gear
changes are possible. 1t is also q
saving in physical effort to discover
just where this point of disengage-
ment is, since pressing the pedal fur
ther to the floor Is then merely waste
effort.
Somewhat the same thing can be
said for the brake pedal. 1t, too, has
a point where the brakes are brought
into most efficient engagement for a
normal stop. Where a booster unit
Is used the pedal must be pressed
down far enough to bring this helper
into action, but 1t Is not necessary
for normal stopping to press the pedal
further down. BY holding the pedal
down far enough for the booster unit
to come into action and by maintain
ing that position the vacuum power
thus released will do everything that
used to be done by jamming on the
brake pedal.
Owners Ask Queries.
@. Why Is it not necessary to hav:
an ignition system in Diesel engines
And why Is no carburetor used?-L. M
A. Diesel engines compress air tt
pressures of from $50 to 500 pounds
which means that the air Is heated K
as high as 1000 degrees F. Raw fue
injected into such heat will mi,
with the air and ignite automatically
This makes it unnecessary to have ar
ignition system and a carburetor. Ii
the latest Diesel arrangement, how
ever, fuel is preheated and distributed
to the cylinders in gaseous form.
@. am thinking Of putting chrome
discs over the wire wheels Of my new
car but a friend tells me that I viii
be annoyed on windy days by having
the discs act as miniature sails. HI
says I will have difficulty steering
What do you thinks. w. L.
A. Take a look at the wheels a.
they are and note how the brake drums
practically make the wheel solid be-
hind the wire spokes. Also note hov
large the tires and hub caps are.
do not believe you will find that tn,
addition of the discs will make any
material difference.
@. II air-cooling for the generator
Is as necessary as statesmen say it Il
why didn't this so-called improvement