Statistical Results of the French Trials.
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The i,000-mile test of commercial motors, which took place, immediately before the last Paris Exhibition, over the itinerary Paris-Marseilles-Paris, was, ostensibly, tor types suitable for military requirements, though the regu
lations of the French War Minister did not prevent the entry of ordinary models. The results, so far as any have been published by the A.C.F., are embodied in the. table, at the foot of this page, and these have been extracted from the official report on the trials. Only 9, out of 19, vehicles completed the 16 stages of the test, and it should be noted that the consumption figures are based upon observations
of 126 miles. The sections of road were, however, more which were made, on two days only, over a total distance exacting than the average. It will be observed, that the Posts per ton-mile of useful work come out very high in some cases, and it should be noted that the debits have been calculated according to the prices which obtain in France. These are : for kerosene, 14.5d. per gallon ; for petroleum spirit (" Stelline "), 13.25(1. per gallon. The report, apart from the new data, enters into some interesting statistical comparisons with the figures obtained on previous occasions, and these are given in the first table herewith.
Again, in order to give an indication of the progress that has been made by the Serpollet system, the entries of 1898 and 1906 are put side by side. It should not le overlooked that the 1906 vehicle averaged double the speed of the 1898 example, but, were it not for the reference to the old records, one would not be inclined to look upon the latest DarracqSerpollet fuel costs as encouraging, though it must be remembered that kerosene, in London, costs little more than one-third of the French price, Five per cent. of petroleum spirit was used, dur 18881. ing the recent trials, to " lighten the kerosene, whereas, in 1898, a cheap, heavy oil was used for the burners. A sum of L:boo was voted by the French War Depart ment, in connection with the tests of December last. Each of the nine vehicles which finished, as by the table at the foot of this page, earned L",.6o for its owners, whilst the balance of .;66o was divided, proportionally to the number of wheels shod by them, between the makers of Bergeognan and Torrilhon tires. The amounts of these prizes are small, but the successful competitors report no small accession of business from the towns through which the route lay, and this result of the demonstration run, with its inevitable publicity, is the one they, most of all, appreciate. The A.C.F. collaborated with the French War Office, and undertook the control of the trials.