The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-02-04
More Comforts Seen
 InNew, Roomy Dodge
Veteran Makers 1885 Line of Distinctively Styled
 Models, With Many Innovations, Makes Debut

double-acting hydraulic shock ab- sorbers and rubber cushioned synchronizing mechanisem - the new Dodge ride "levelator."
 The effectiveness of the suspen- sion, according to Dodge engineers is further assured by a new, equal ized distribution of the cars spring supported weight to all four wheels, process in which the power plant is placed 8 inches further forward, while the sedan rear seats, formerly above the rear axle, are moved forward 6 inches so that all passengers now ride cradled between the axles.
 The action of the Dodge level ator does away with the tendency of the car to sway or roll and makes possible the use of more flexible front springs. As the front wheel on one side passes over an obstruction, the spring on that side congresses. The sWaying motion Of the body that would result is promptly counteracted by the "leyelator" which, connected to both sides of the car frame, causes disturbances occurring to one wheel to be "leveled out" by the combined spring action, rubber cushioned "levelator' action and shock absorber action - on Both sides.
 The fiat-leaf springs differ from ordinary construction in several ways. The alloy steel of which they are fashioned was specially developed for the purpose. The ends of the leaves are tapered.
 The spring eyes - ordinarily formed by the topmost leaf-are, in the new Dodge, formed by the two upper leaves. To permit the necessary motion for the second leaf, it has a section removed from it's center. The place of the cut out section is taken by 8 spacer. The arrangement gives the spring proper resistance to steering and breaking stresses and provides the fiexibility that is characteristic of the "Ievelator"-controlled syn chromatic suspension.
 Steering Mechanism Unusual
 More unusual details are found in the steering mechanism or lhe new Dodge. This is the Dodge cross steering method in which the Putnam arm moves crosswise, instead of lengthwise with the chassis frame as is the case with ordinary steering. This construc- tion contributes materially to steering ease and makes 1t impossl- ble for road shocks to be commun- icated to the steering wheel.
 The patented floating power en- zine mountings-which have been a Dodge feature for several years are used in the 1885 models, with simplified front mount and relo- cated rear supports. At the ponits where it approaches the chassis frame, the power plant is cushion ed in rubber bonded to steel bases in such a manner that the engine rocks about it's natural a xis and there is no actual metal-to-metal supporting contact between en- zine and chassis frame.
 High Compression
 Having a bore of 3 A inches and a stroke of 4ss inches, the new Dodge Red Ram engine delivers 87 horsepower, with it's 6.5 compress sion head. An engine detail worthy of mention is the shaping of the cylinder-head combustion spaces which, because they give the incoming fuel mixture 1n- creased turbulence, contribute ma-- teriall yto complete conversion or the gasoline into power.
 Exhaust valve seats, of special heat-resisting alloy steel, intro duced by Dodge in 1883, are con tinued this year. However, for 1885 Dodge provides still another innovation designed to lengthen the life of exhaust valves. The im- provement takes the form Of spray-cooling the exhaust valve