Evening star., 1939-10-22
Two-Car Ownership
Teaches Pitfalls Of
Little Usage
Trouble Develops
In Auto During
Long Idle Periods

Whether or not Your garage holds
two cars for the family, there is
much TO be learned about automobile
ownership in general from survey
of what the tWo-Car owner faces IN
his daily effort to keep the gas fires
burning at a minimum of expense.
The growing popularity of the second
car has brought with it number OF
interesting problems which are by
no means exclusive with this more
highly advanced type of ownership.
Well to the top of the list of spe-
eial facts encountered by the two
car owner is the Importance OF keep
ing cars active. Even if car is not
operated for week. it begins to
breed trouble. The tWO-car owner
who allows one of his cars to stand
Unused for week at stretch is in
the same category with the owner
who takes his car out only over week
ends Cars used in this spasmodlc
fashion are now known to develop
troubles which are not met with in
more regular use.
Vicious Circle Generated.
Valves will tend to stick and there
will be higher rate of oil con-
tamination in cars which are not
kept running normally. Such stick
age causes mlsflring during the
varming-up period, necessitatlng
more choking. This. in turn, dllutes
the crankcase oil Even if the engine
is equipped with an automatic choke,
the sticking valves will cause STALL
Ing and necessitate additional crank
ing. Standing for too many days,
the engine will go dry of oil around
the cylinder walls, valve guides and
piston pins. That means additional
risk of wear when the engine is
started Even if the battery is in
normal shape, it will tend to lose
power during periods of idlenesS.
In the operation of two cars it is
important to keep written records
of everything that has to do with
maintenance. It is so much easier
to forget when there are two ma
chimes to think Of. This is particu-
larly true of oil changes and greas-
ings. Record-keeping leads to an
appreciation Of facts with regard to
the car, eliminating blind depend
ence on memory and guesswork All
owners of cars would save money by
keeping accurate records Of gas and
oil consumption, tire mileage, repairs
and fabrication.
ThriveS on Usage.
Just because a car isn't being used
for more than brief runs is no rea-
son to feel that it doesn't need reg
ular competent attention. Short
runs are hard for any car. That is
q lesson which tWo-car owners quick
" learn. If one Car is put to hard
daily use on the open road, it will
outlast the one that is reserved for
around the town. This is because on
the road any car operates at higher
efficiency. Its engine runs hotter,
thus less wastefully. Brakes are
used more normally, those abrupt
stops which warp drums and strain
the hydraulic piStons being largely
eliminated. Engines of such cars sell
dom need valve grinding or carbon
removal.
Lack Of regularity in service,
. matter that is accentuated where
there are two Or more cars to the
family, is likely to prove dangerous.
Best instance is failure to keep tires
properly inflated A shimmy is like
ly to follow such oversight.
Different Makes Educational.
Ownership of two cars is concen-
trated motoring. You get two sets
of experiences at the same time. II
the cars are of different makes. and
thus of different characteristics. so
much the better This will encourage
going to different service stations for
repairs, thus often getting two view-
points on similar or identical prob
lens
In Self-defenSe the tWO-car owner
usually comes TO the conclusion that
he needs the best in service, pur-
chased regularly. 1t costs him too
much to take chances on hit or miss
service. In fact. he has twice as
many chances of going wrong.
The main lesson in two-car own
ership is to keep them up and keep
them going. That goes for any car
And in the process of keeping the
car. or cars. in action, errors can
best be avoided by putting the facts
down in black and white. Your
course ahead is surer with an &C
curate record regarding the mileage