A NEW ELECTRIC PARCELCAR.
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Built for 8-cwt. Loads, this Battery-electric Vehicle should Meet the Needs of Many,
011 MANY years we have drawn attention to the useful ness of the light battery-electric vehicle in connection with the delivery, in limited areas, of goods, particularly where the number of stops per mile of travel is considerable. The limning cats and maintenance charges of such a vehicle should he quite low if it is designed especially for the purpose, and one very considerable advantage is the low tax, which, for an electric vehicle, i,s only £6 per annum, as compared with the mininmin of £10 tax for.
a petrol vehicle weighing not more than.12 cwt. unladen.
Many light petrol parcelcars are giving excellent' service, but they require rather more skill in driving and maintenance than' the electric vehicle, and there is no doubt that drivers for electric parcelcars. could be trained to control them without any difficulty in a few hours.
A new type of electric parcelcar designed to carry loads of 8 cwt., and known as the Longhorn, has recently been constructed by the 'Auto. Electric Co., whose offices are at 79, Windsor House, Victoria Street, S.W.1, -whilst the works and.service depot are it Langham Works, -Slough, Bucks. The motor is of the special Langham traction type of 1.5 h.p. at. 40 volts and with an over-' load capacity or 206 per cent. Eive speeds in each direction are given by a series parallel control. In addition to this the gear ratio of the vehicle can easily be adjusted, and if the loads are not required to' exceed 5 cwt. it may be geared for a top, speed of 25 m.p.h. On the other hand, when a large number of stops is desired with loads up to 10 cwt., the top speed can be reduced to 12 m.p.h. The reduction gear is embodied in the end cover of the motor, and the final drive is by'chain to the single rear wheel, which is stod with a Macintosh N.A.P, tyre, Dunlop pneumatics being em
ployed 'for the front wheels.. • .
The chassis is supported at the rear on two cantilever sprihgs, whilst the motor is carried on a transverse shaft so that it can be • • swung by means of a tensioning bolt to 'provide spring adjustment.
Two independent internal-expanding brakes are provided for the rear wheel, and these can be interlocked with the control, at an extra cost, if desired.
The. :battery can be either an Exide-Ironclad or a D.P., and has 'a total capacity of 160 amp.hours. It is housed in a strong steel box, properly ventilated but protected from wet and dirt.
This box slides under the main frame of the vehicle, allowing for easy inspection of the battery, and a
locking pin fitted on the.slides to prevent any peSsible Movement_ Of the battery' when the vehicla is on the road.
The retail price of this vehicle is £220; lincluding electric lamps, horn, San gamo' ampere hour meter and' Standard charging plug and socket.
Every part of tho'inachine is British-built, and apart from its low first cost it is said to have very low running costs,