Evening star., 1936-11-15
Car Buyers
Continued From First Page.)

proper reservoir of energy. Batteries,
incidentally, also have larger capacity:
the 17-plate type having become gen.
eral in even the so-called small car"
The greater power Of the 1887 model,
reflected in every feature from engine
to battery, naturally means greater
performance.
High speed as an aspect of i'm
proved performance is being soft
pedaled by the industry in difference
to the opinion Of traffic officials that
it represents bad psychology from a
safety standpoint. but acceleration
speed, l-climbing and the other
meanings of more power leave the car
makers plenty to talk about. And,
even if it is not mentioned at all in
contrast with the heavy stress it once
received, high speed perhaps has been
slightly increased.
Fading Trouble Corrected.
Two unfortunate phases Of sustained
high-cruising speed performance in
the past few years have been elimi-
mated. One Of these the tendency Of
the engine to fade" as a result Of
vapor lock in the fuel lines has re-
ceived the concentrated attention of
every engine man in the industry. The
new-type carburetors, unlike their
immediate predecessors. are designed
to provide smooth, even fuel flow
under such conditions as those pre-
sented by steep grades, rapid accelera-
ton, quick stops and sharp turns.
Like engine changes, invisible to the
naked eye, but representing perhaps
the most striking single mechanical
development in the 1887 models, is
the general adoption of the hypoid
gear final drive. Its newness primarily
is one of the terminology for the new
type is merely a variant Of the spiral
bevel gear arrangement that has been
in use for so many years. Nor is the
"hypoid" gear itself actually new,
although the type has been confined in
the past to limited use in the more ex-
pensive car field. It has been thor
oughly tried and proved and that it
becomes so widespread now, even in
the case Of the lower priced cars, is
due entirely to the desire to reduce
the overall height of cars.
With the spiral bevel type final
drive, the engineer found it necessary
to tunnel the floor of the car to pro-
vide an avenue of linkage for the pro-
peller shaft between transmission and
differential. The break In the floor
line has not been popular, hence the
resort to a type of gearing which
connects the propeller shaft at lower
point on the axle ring gear.
Its general adoption has resulted
in a reduction in overall height of
cars without a corresponding sacrifice
Of headroom
Better Brake Performance.
Brake performance has been stepped
up without resort to anything new in
the way of braking principles. Hy-
draulic brakes are used with but three
exceptions and, in the case Of these
three, improvements in mechanical
brake layouts are claimed to give
vastly better performance.
In the interest of large brake areas.
drum dimensions have been increased
as much as possible, consistent with
the limitation imposed by small wheels.
Cooling fins have been added to brakes
to compensate for the restriction on
heat radiation imposed by wheels
whose large hubs and thick, short
spokes virtually inclose the brake sys-
tenn. Longer brake life, as well as
faster and surer deceleration, has
been consideration behind the
changes made in brake layouts for the
1887 automobile.
Spring suspension systems have
been modified in the interest of pro-
viding the new model owner with a
softer ride. A glance at the cut-away
chassis on display at the Automobile
Show will disclose to the technical
minded motorist that shock absorb