The Washington times. [volume], October 21, 1922, HOME FINAL EDITION, Page 10, Image 10

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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Motorcar Develops a
Vocabulary of Its Own
Th? mechanlo In a repair ?hop
and tha automobile salesman loam
theae new tarma quickly. Aa a re
ault they often apeak a strange
tongue to the mora untutored pros
pective owner of a oar or the pos
aeaaor ot a now machine. Juat ?a
a Oootor oomee In to vtalt a patient
and pronounoea hla ailment to be
aneurlam, which la al) Ore-alt to tha
indisposed, ao the meaning U alto
aether foreign? to the new owner at
a, oar whan a machante tell? him
aomethlng la tb? naatter with hla
planetary tranenileelon.
Throw out th? clutch" la an ?a*
Oeaaion often heard In the automo
1? world. Tb? uninitiated mlghi
wonder why anyone ahould want to
pick up the dutch and throw It out
ot th? oar. Ot oourtw he noon l< am?
that to "throw out the Mutch'
inuana to depress the pe<lal ihat
oiierutea.the clutch, ao that the en
Kino ie disengaged from the driving
wheel?. To let in the clutch, on the
other hand, means to relieve, the
pressure of the foot from this pedal
attached to the clutch, so a? ;o
chuso It to engage.
"?Slipping of the clutch" is an ac
tion sometimes caused by tho jar
tial engagement of the clutch and la
characterized by more or lesa rel
ative motion between the two m.-i.i
bera. These two members of the
dutch do not grip positively, bui
alide more or less one upon th?
other when a car Is to be gradually
accelerated from rest, or when a
tar spaed lower than that curre
ispondlng to the lowest motor speed
le required.
Kvery ear has a "hood." It Is not
?o much of a decoration to the front
of a car as a lady's hat Is to her
head. But aa there ure various
styles of ladies' hats, so there are
?lifferent deaigns in automobile hoods
The hood of a car Is the removable
covering which incloses the motor
and ita auxiliarlos. Itia usually con
structed of sheet in.?ial and furnished
with slits in its sides.
"Chassis" is a word which haa lit
tle significance to many people. ?
chas.s of a car Is the automobile
complete as to Its mechanical parts,
but without a body and certain other
parts which ure usually carried in or
on the body. A "stripped chassis" is
one from which such parts as ? ho
til es. fenders, running lioards and all
but the essential rti?*chanieal {tarts
have been removed.
"?Chauffeur" is a word that has
buen mispronounced perhaps us con
sistently as any other word that was
ever drafted into our language from
the French. Kvery one, of course,
knows that chauffeur in America
means the paid operator of a motor
var?ele. It Is pronounced "shofer."
"Planetary transmission" is a
feature .of one of the popular cara.
It gets ita name from ita construc
tion and the arrangement of Its gears
There la a center ?ra??, sometimes
called the sun gear, around which
several other gears, called planet
gears, revolve. Thus the term plane
tary tranamisston.
"Seml-floatlng" and "full float
ing" are terms applied to the resr
axle. This does not mean that
these gears are made ot certain
kinds of soap or of wood so that
they would float on the surface of
the water.
It refers to the fact that in the
floating type of construction the
rear axle housing carries the
??ve.ght of the car and that the
shaft which does the driving makes
a loose connection between ttie
road wheel and differential gea-,
or In oths*r words It "floats" in
side of tho rear axle housing.
The floating axle is connected by
the win???! hy "dogs." These, how
ever, are dogs which neither bark
nor bite. The dog in this case u<
simply a plate fastened to a live
axle with projections on It ? h eh
fit Into similar depressions on t'je
rear wheel hubs. Through the dog
the rear wheel Is driven by the
axle shaft, but it Is not connected
ligldtly to it. The hub cap Is used
to munie the dog?that Is. keep
tt from escaping. If the hub cap is
lost the dog may become loose and
be lost. a>
"Choke the carburetor" Is a term
Which means to cut off the air ao
that It cannot be drawn Into the
carburetor freely The result of
choking the carburetor Is that a
greater proportion of gasoline is
added to whatever air does not en
ter, making a rich mixture, which
helps the car to t-aart easily. The
choker Is sometimes called tha
?pr'mer
"Belf-atarter." This doee not
mean that a car having a self
?tarter Is apt to start out of It?
own accord at any unsuspected mo
ment- It does mean that there la
in th? auto an electric motor for
oranklng th? car Without which
th? driver would hav?? to Ret out
in front of the mach?n? and start
th? ???1?? by tlm hand-cranking
Method. It means that ih? car haa
within it the imana bf ?tatting the
?naine and consequently tho auto
mobile.
The Universal Joint.
"Universal Joint" 1? a term
which might have been reeognleed
by aome in tb? day? antedating
the inauguration of th? Eighteenth
amendment to the Constitution.
The informed auto fan recognises
thl? term as one applying to a
flexible oouplihg through which
two sbatta at an ?ingle may b?
driven.
'Differential" 1? a word applied
to an arrangement on the rear
axle which permit? the rear wheel?
to turn at different speeds when
noinn around a corner.
"Accelerator" is the term given
th. pedal by mean? of which the
.?pcd of a car Is Increased or ao
? ?leruted. lly |ireSHl|lg thl? accel
orator pedal fhore gas is supplied
to the entrine and an increase in
power is furnlehed.
Closed Car Show Featured by
Theee Popular Lines?Many
New Fittings.
One of the finest and moet con
f?ete exhibits of closed car? at Con
vention Hall Is the display of Hud
son and Ens<"X curs hy the Lambert
Hudson Company, distributors of the
Hudson und Essex lines In Hits ter
ritory.
The thoroughbred s'ninllcit??? of
lln??? of the Hudson Super-8 ? 8-xihn
with its Jong body Unes and ?le.???!
nut dec?an irak?s a ?troni; r.ppeitl
to owners who prefer the best !h ?
??ood taete and refinement.
The seating arrangement of tha
sedan nfforde the maximum of com
fort for ?even passengers. The side
and rear llnln- and seat iiitnnlsterv
are of very heavy fabrics-?th.*? seats
ure d??ep cush oned. and the fittings,
'ardware, plate glass window? and
harmonious color scheme all maU ?
a particular uppeul to women if re
finement who either u?e or drive
their own car?.
The Hudson coach will probably
make an even grmtrr apponi, as
It meets the requirements of ? great
number of motorists who want th-*
utility, comfort .and deal ???;? of a
high ??rude, attractive, .ill ???a ?on car,
at a price near that of the open
model?.
There le a?s?) a fine ?INplay of
Kssex cars. Of course, the Ess??*
roach is bound to be a popular fa
vorite. The coach not only offers
the protection and comfort of the
closed car in all weather, hut has
nil the "nep" and n mille activity
of the open touring models, which Is
a remarkable feature, as most closed
cars are rather sluggish !n their
getaway.
?? ?mportnt testure of the Essex
coach type of top construction ts
that it entirely ?Uni nates the ob
lecMonable rumbling sound eo often
found ln many c1o??m! car rompart
mpn'e.
Take it all ln all. the Hudson and
?>eex cars not only meet the need.
of people of wealth, but sito those
if moderate means as well.
PHILADELPHIA DRIVERS
SCRUB LICENSE PLATES
Seventy-nine motorists In Phila
lelph a. Pa? Were recently forced
? alight from their cars, accept
icrubblng brushes from a stern
noliceman, and clean then* dirty au
tomobile license tags. Among the
group were a number of prominent
loolety folks.
It Was part of a campaign to ????
force the fl'a'e tradir ???"?'<?!-??
that the number plate? ?hall be
? slide fifty feet away.
Have You Seen
The 1923 Oakland?
You mutt see the 1923 Sari? oi the
New Oakland Six to fully appreciate the
great value oi this six cylinder car at
the new low price of $995?
When you come in to examine its many.
refinementa and improvements you will
discover exclusive features of great value
to be found in no other car at any price.
See the 1923 Series Oakland today.
SPACE NO. s
District Oa1 land Crmpany
1709 L Street N-Mb-vt?.!
The Nt
Oakland Six
NEW AUTOMOTIVE STATION AT
GEORGIA AVE. AND UPSHUR
?-fSVUf'tx-iS-.i-JtJK ? *>??- -ttxtmom
This elaborate filling station la aoon to open unier Ute management of th? American Acceaaor.ee
Company. It ia a model station and admirably equipped.
NEW STEPHENS BROUGHAM
TO BE AT AUTOMOBILE SHOW
NEW MAXWELL CLUB COUPE
? ? ?. LEARY EXHIBIT
The effect of such outstanding value ae this Maxwell Club Coupe, in the face of eager enthusia-t?
every*? hew fo r Ine lo -ed cars of the two-passenge** type, is remarkable.
Representing an advance in vehicles of its class which everyone could inatantly recognize, the
Club Coupe presented a contrast so striking that It? elevation to a position of quality leadership waa
not unexpected.
It ie a car whose value can be grasped at a glance; la that respect the Club Coupe has instantly
taken ita place with other models of the Maxwell.
The points in which its superiority ia immediately recogniied, are truly evidence? of higher quality
which are pronounced and unmistakable.
To this exceptional beauty it unites a degree of practical utility and goodness equally exceptional;
and theae feature? constitute a still more power ul appeal to discriminating motorists.
5ln?.fi?-fi!R-ra^ ?
Everybody
Meet
Everybody
at the
AUTO SHOW
TONIGHT
M liei/-? Half a Million Dollars Worth of
1U UM-L Automobiles Under One Roof
Admission SSc, Including Tax
Is Becoming Necessity for
Average Family, Says
Motor Expert
li> ALKXANDKR JOHNSTON,
Editor of MoToK.
"We have ? cue tied a ? ?.-Ii ion today
where the average American is be
? inning to realise that he cannot af
Ord' not to own a rloeed car." Thl?
?omark wa? recently made bv one
ot the most arut.? observers In the
lUtomotlve field. Edward S. Jordan,
?resident *>t the company that bears
ils name. .
Radical us (he statement sound*.
\lr. Jonlanw lin* of aiifument
through wh.ch he reached 'no con
?luflon is unanswerable. His con
tention Is that the motor car Is now
so Inextrlrably wrupped up ln our
national life that no man who has
I? urii.d to depend upon a car can af
ford to own one which 1? not avail
able for service every day of the
year.
Moreover, even the briefest glance
it the history of closed car develop
ment in this country serves to sub
?untiate Mr. Jordan's dictum. So
short s time sgo a? itl9 only 10
'isr cent of the motor car production
of America was ? ven up to closed
cars. For 1622 the proportion w'll
be not less than 25 per cent and will
???rohably run over that figure. If
be present rate of gain in closed car
production is maintained, 'n flv?
years' time the Inclosed body will
be dominant ln the field.
Early Cars Ope?.
The closed cor is not an entirely
new development ? the automobile
Industry. In the dawn of the motor
era* of course, all cars were open,
so open that riding in them became
a Spartan teat of endurance. Tl.e
'"tuition actually was that the early
?nglneefs were too deeply ennrossed
In trying to get their crude infants
to run for more than a m.le to waste
any time in making their patrons
?omfortable.
As the cars of the dawn era slow
ly began loynln mechanical relia
bility, their designer? turned the r
attention to Improving the super?
? ??? ?i?. dissions were added to
make seats ?-omfortable. SSdes Wer.
,. b>?l es. top? were in
stalled, w'ndehleld? came Into being
and the m??tor car as we know it
emerged from the shadows. Th?n
??om?? genius hit upon the scheme of
enclosing the tonneau of the car In
? permatu-nt top with glass win
dows. The protirtion was not *,x
tended to the driver until later and
'or many years clos??d top? were in
?talled only on cars intended to be
Irlven bv a rbeuffeur
It Is really rather remarkable, the
number of year? that elap???d before
the Idea came Into being of Inclosing
driver and passengers in a single In
closed ?-omp?rtment? making a closed
'ar adaptad to the owner-driver and
?ils family or friend?. When this
s'?-n finally did come, we had the
s (inn ?nd on a ?mailer scale the
coup.', the twe types of closed bodies
that ?re dentlned to rule the motor
car field for many year? to ??me.
Cost Too High.
During the year? when the ?loe.-d
car meant a car to be driven by a
chauffeur, the appeal of the typ??
whs obviously limited. Few motor
ists ran afford to pay rhauffeurs and
most men prefer driving anyway.
1 Hiring this period of the closed car's
existence it constituted a very small
rroportlon of the production of the
American Industry. The minute
that tbe cloeed body was turned lato
a personal-drive proposition It began
to make gain? in popular favor.
In 1919 the production of closed
cars amounted to Just 10 per cent of
tit? totul output of American facto
ries. This was the year In which the
sedan really achieved its place In the
sun and won general recognition a?
an extremely practical body type.
All the early defects In dealgn and
construction had been overcome, but
?ven at that a very large majority
of tha motoring public had not yet
learned to appreciate the new free
dom of sheltered travel which the
cloeed car brought. It Is to be noted
also that prior to 1*19 the wholo
dosed car matter was so unlmpor/
tant that reliable statistics arc not
available to show what percentage
af the output of the varloua compa
nies was of this kind.
Gain la Steady.
However, 1919 marked the definita
turning point and in 1920 th? per
centage of closed Ixxlles had risen to
17,per cent of the whole. This year
was the biggest one t^V? Industry
ever enjoyed, with liberal spending
und a market thai coutil not be sat
iated, until August, after which the
less said tin? better. At uny rate,
the shui-|ie: t upward tilt of the
closed oar curve came in 1H20.
Progrese in closed car production
continued in 1921. although not quite
as rapidly as In the year previous.
Tho record for the twelve months
showed 22.1 per cent of the produc
tion In closed models. The year 1921
saw a very marked decrease In pur
chasing power and a tendency ? re
strict expenditures all along the Un
and all over the country. Undoubt
edly mai?y purchasers felt constrain
ed to take open models, when per
sonal tasi??? would have Indicated se
dans or coupes. In spite of thia the
curv? continued Its u y ward course
aa we have noted.
To date 1922 shows oloeed car pro
duction at 26 per cent, one quarter of
.he whole. Thia Is not likely to be
the rate for the year, because the
output of cloeed modela le always
speeded up during the late month?
of the year. It la simply Impossible
at the present moment to aay. where
.he curvo will end for the preaent
year.
It requires no great mathematical
genlue to understand that ?It will re
quire only a very few years to make
cloaed cara the majority of the pro
duction. Even If the preaent rate of
Increaae la maintained, five more
years will see closed models In the
head. But now that the landslide has
started, the rate Is likely to be large
ly Increased,
DETROIT HOLDS RECORD
FOR AUTOMOBILE SHOPS
Figuras Just prepared by Detroit
automobile manufacturera show tha?
'oday there are eighty two passenger
car manufacturera In the ?country and
fifty-one truck makers.
Of this number there are only
thirty passenger cur plants which
are classed by the manufacturers as
lieing in tbe majojr Industrial f eld
while the other fifty twft. mostly a.?
aembled cars, show but .? slight
volume of business during the boom
months of this year.
Of this total more than fifty cars
?tnd trucks are made in Deten t ind
more than sixty In the ita te of
Michigan. These figures do ? tak
nto <>moderation the body, radia
tor and equipment factories in De
troit. _
NEW TWF?C~DEVICE
HAS LIGHT AND BELL
A new traffic device is otterated
In New York city, in the form of a
standard seven feet six .nches In
height, whlrh displays red or green
lights at night. In the top of the
lamp Is placed a l>ell which auto
matlcallv rlnaa when the lamp ?'"Fts
to revolve, thus giving an audible
signal to traffic every time It Is to
? stop or go.
FQRDS PUT OUT
CAR EVERY 51-2
Pre* ?dent Ex pi aine Reasonc
For Latest Reduction in
Prices?Quality Up.
According to a statement just Is
sati by fckleel B. Ford, president of
th? Ford Motor Company, Detroit,
explains th? reduction of 110 a car
ln the price? of Ford Mod?! ? oars
and the Ford one-ton truck, which
went Into effect October 17.
"The revision in prices," ?aid Mr
Ford, "Is the r???ult of the Increas*-?!
volume of business which our com
pany has enjoyed during the present
?/?ar, and sino, to the fact that we
now own and operate many of our
own source? of raw material, which
enables us to continue Increasing the
quality of our product and at the
eame time keep the price ao low that
Ford cars are ln reach of everybody.
"Our production for 1922 I? already
ln ?xceoa of a million, which ha?
been an Important factor in bringing
down coat?. Our preeent daily out
put 1? averaging better than 5,000
car? and trucks, which means a com
plete Ford car or truck every St.
seconds of each eight-hour working
day.
"It Is ln anticipation of thla eon
tlnued demand that price adjust
ments are again being made In ordei
to keep in effect the policy of selli n r
Ford products at the lowest price
consistent With quality.
"Quality, aa usual." aaid Mr. Ford,
"will continu? to be a prime con
sideration ln th? building of Ford
cars. As our business hss Increased
we have constantly increased our
?qulpment and manufacturing fanti
flea, so that this prie? reduction
merely reflec's th? progressive
methods which com? ss a result of
increased volume.
"This reduction, which Is the sixth
sine?? March 1920. brines the price of
?he Ford touring car from 1575, th?
orice in effect ?Jarlr In IMO, to thi
nres?nt extremely low 1???1 of $29V
which Is nearly 60 per oent less
Corresponding reductions have b?^er
mede on all other type?.
The new ?irires hy* tvnes follow*
Tntirln?, 129?; road?t?r. $209; chassis
????, coupe, $5S0: sedan, >B96: truck
ISN.
FRANCE IS BUILDING
SMALL, LIGHT AUTOS
Because of the tax?? and hU-i
?oet of gasoline, Franc? Is hulld'n??
smaller end lVhter automobil?*-? ths?
'hose generellv ueed In the Vni'e.i
States. Official public contests ar?
beld In Parla, and the winner of th
-?ompetitlon was recently able to ?re?
'hrough the development of a betti??
carburetor, sixty miles to the ;?!
'on of gasoline.
A New Farm Tool.
A "motor cultivator" has been I?.
vented which haa much the appeal
ance of a combined motorcycle ami
plow. The machine ea:."iee a 4\
horsepower engine, and is said to
consume less than one gallon of
gasoline in a ten-hour day.
Pictures as Evidence.
Instead of the usual verbal testi
mony of witnesses, judge? of two
police courts In St. Louis Mo., non
base their declnlons tn r-ntor-vehi.i?
accident cases on actual Illustrationf.
using miniature automobiles and
street cars. A cardboard chart 1"
used for the highway, en which Hues
of a street Ineraectlon are drawn.
The Closed Car and
Lightning Motor Fuel
ih*
Popular in any season?but essential when
weather conditions are at their worst!
Chill winds, ice and snow cannot mar the
joy of the motorist who know? that his car
will perform satisfactorily, and it will?with
"Lightning" in the tank.
To sit snugly within your enclosed car, en
joying drawing-room comfort?knowing well
that a stalling motor will not force you to get
out?that's the satisfaction that comes with
Lightning.
"it's a Grand and Glorious Feeling?*
Power?speed?dependability?a ? d from
25 per cent to 35 per cent more mileage?sure
rewards of the wise motorist who insists upon
Lightning Motor Fuel.
PENN OIL COMPANY
Rosslyn, Va.
West ?66
/?-s 'S
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