The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-08-17
Every Auto Its Own Showcase by 1945- Plastic Bodies In Sight for Car of Future
Lighter Engines Forecast For Future
BY R. c. SACKETT NEA Special Correspondent

NEA Special Correspondent
 Detroit, Aug. 17.-Plastic safety glass in the automobile of 1940 points the way to all plastic body construction by 1945 as the newest development of automott7e engi- eeering.
 If the development continues and Detroit gives evidence that it wilI--your AS model may be a transparent, rear-driven number with all moving parts, including the driver, visible from the out side. Plastic bodies may be either opaque or transparent.
 Without telling anybody about it, Henry Ford probably will start putting plastic trunk doors and plastic hoods on his cars before long. The experimental work has been finished.
 There is a Gern1an-made car in New York with the entire body of plastic material. The new low priced German car that Hitler has been talking about will have a plastic body. Much cheaper than steel.
 FISHER DISPLAYS
 TRANSPARENT CAR
 At the Worlds Fair in New York, Fisher Body has a car on display with a complete transparent plastic body. Tenders, hood, radiator, doors, and all sheet metal in the body are transparent. The car is as strong as a steel-bodied car and can be driven.
 Briggs Body in Detroit has car with a plastic transparent roof in place of the solid steel roof.
 plastics can be bent and shaped as well as steel. When they find out how to harden the surface they will make windshields and window glass of plastics. Again 1t will be lighter and cheaper. Also, 1t can be curved and bent in a way that cannot be done with glass. That woulG make possible a V-type windshield without a center post.
 Plate glass companies already are coming part way to meet the competition of plastics with their new plastic safety glass that will be used this year. This glass will bend and not break if hit hard. BETTER GAS
 IN PROSPECT
 Another new development v-ill be in motor fuels. At least one nation wide chain of filling stations already is set up to handle a 90 octane gasoline within the next 18 months.
 Oil company engineers are working with car engineers toward engine designed for 110 octane rating gasoline. They will be stan- dard, 1t is expected here, by 1943.
 The thing is practically or schedule. Three years from nov filling stations may handle nothing but 100 and no octane gasoline The present car engines will ust the new fuel satisfactorily, but tht new engines will nave much higher economy and efficiency Those 1943 engines will get s miles per gallon of gas.
 That engine will be much smaller, and lighter, with higher compression. They will have tc go back to the cadmium bearings of four of five years ago. Oil com pany engineers now are running exhaustive tests with the new 11C octane fuels and with engines equipped with the new bearings that are necessary to withstand the extra force and pounding ex- erted by the new gas.
 LIGHTER ENGINES
 OPEN WAY TO CHANGE
 These lighter and smaller engines of possibly three years hence are what 1t vii ltake to make tke rear- engined car practicable. So, give the car manufacturers an additional two years after the introduction of the smaller engine and the new fuel tc perfect the first rear-engined large scale production car. That should be about 1945.
 To get closer home and the 194C cars. Many cars vii lhave the new plastic safety glass.
 Biggest innovation will be the new sealed headlamps, which the industry has gone for 100 per cent c. E. developed it in cooperation with the car engineers. They have been working on 1t over three years.
 In the G. E. lamp the refecto, and lens are sealed tight and form the lamp bulb in which vacuum is created and in which the fila. fnent is placed. There is no other bulb.
 Other lamp manufacturers will use regular bulb, but their re- fiectors and lenses will be sealed tight. All units of all different makes will be the same size anc interchangeable. Dealers and serv. ice stations will carry cnly one size.