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Passing Comments

11th August 1933, Page 28
11th August 1933
Page 28
Page 29
Page 28, 11th August 1933 — Passing Comments
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

BUSINESS is good for quite a number of manufacturers, and there are signs of a tendency to deliver to bodybuilders chassis that have not been adequately run in. It is a pity to resort to this means for expediting deliveries, for it may result in harsh treatment too early in the life of the new vehicle.

ON a recent afternoon a coach drew up at a level crossing in Kent, and had to wait for some time after the' train had passed. The driver, becoming impatient, dismounted and went to investigate the cause of the delay in opening the gates. The reason soon became apparent, for the gatekeeper was fast asleep in his box! It is to be hoped that he always closes the gates before he takes his siesta. CONVINCING evidence of the durability or the steel pin-type endless tracks used on Carden Loyd machines was afforded to visitors to the recent Oil Exhibition, by a specimen from a track stated to have covered 8,000 miles of rough country with a load of two tons on the Vehicle.

SEVERAL comments have been made to us re cently by private car drivers regarding the careful driving and adherence to rules of the road by the men in charge of coaches, those employed by the Timpson concern being particularly mentioned in this respect. On the other band, much criticism was directed against the increasing amount of bad and careless driving by many of those in charge of private cars, especially at weekends.

SOME other towns wonld do well to note a decision . taken by the Marlborough municipal authority not to impose irksome restrictions regarding the parking of public service vehicles. It is apparently realized that bus services have an important effect on the prosperity of traders, and that it is inadvisable to hinder road-transport services.

ONE of the signs of improvement in business is

the increase in prices of raw materials, and in this connection the research department of the Advertising Association. recently issued some remarkable figures, some of which are certain to affect the cost of motor vehicles, tyres, etc. The comparisons are made as between December, 1932, and June, 1933, and in gold prices per unit. Cotton rose from 7 to 8, rubber from 2 to 3, spelter from 15i to 17, copper from 30 to 38, lead from 11. to 13, and tin from 155 to 220.

AN interesting salvage job was tackled the other day by a Latil KTL winch-equipped tractor. A Berliet 5-ton lorry had slipped down a 45-degree bank into water in a disused gravel pit, the water surface being 7 ft. below the top of the bank. As there was no room for the tractor near the bank, a direct pull could not be obtained, and this difficulty was overcome by driving a stanchion into the road and fixing a two-to-one block tackle, by means of which the traetor, anchored 50 yards away, obtained a winch pull at right angles. The lorry was hauled out without any trouble. AN aspect of the transport industry which deserves more attention than it gets has been dealt with by Mr. J. Pike, 0.B.E., in a recent Institute of Transport paper on the value of advertising. There is no doubt that a good deal of transport advertising is distinctly poor, and good scope exists for increasing business by bringing the limelight of publicity on to facilities that are offered.

IT is difficult to travel about Paris for any length of time without being impressed by the unusual caution of bus drivers in crossing any of the bridges over the Seine. Many people believe this is to reduce vibration, but it has recently been explained that before the war a careless driver crashed through a parapet into the river. Thereupon the Prefect of Police decided that buses should be driven at a walking pace when crossing the river, and this rule has persisted. '

A NEW method of rating goods chassis has recently

been recommended in America by the Society of Automotive Engineers. It involves the use of four distinguishing numbers signifying the gross carrying capacity, the gross weight, the chassis weight and the performance factor, the last depending upon piston displacement, governed engine speed and weight. In the attempt to obviate ambiguity and to afford definite information of suitability for specific requirements, the system appears to have been made over-elaborate, and its complications are likely to prove beyond the easy comprehension of those for whose aid it has been devised.


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