Correspondence.
Page 20
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Motoreabs.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I am glad to see from your recent issues that manufacturers of British-built motorcabs are to receive a larger share of orders for London in future. The light, foreign. built cars, which are receiving such general support at the .moment will not, in my opinion, stand up to their work for .as long as they should do, and there is no question that the English chassis, with larger weight-carrying capacity, and more ample surfaces throughout, should hold its own in competition with any from abroad.
I do not lose sight of the fact that the heavier the cab the greater the upkeep in respect of tires, and the larger the
• consumption of fuel, but I believe that, except for the lightest classes of shopping and park driving, the Motor " growler " will come to the front, and remain in service when its earlier prototypes have reached the scrap heap. It appears to me that, as some of the foreign-built cabs have . already come to grief in London, the others are maintained in service only by reason of their relatively light loads in comparison with the ordinary work of the London fourwheeler. So long as they are used merely to take the place of the two-wheeled hansom, they may earn dividends for the shareholders who have put up the money to run them, but I doubt if a larger measure of success will not attend the use of the Rover, Siddeley and other British-built cabs which . are now on order. Therecannot be any parallel between Berlin, or Paris, and London, because our metropolitan streets are so rough and bumpy. There is one other point. There may be some difficulty in finding drivers for the new cabs, notwithstanding the fact that so many motorbus drivers are changing-over to a job where theycadget both more ease and good tips. It is, na doubt, a wise action on, the part of the motorcab managers, that they are continuing to train men daily, for the contemplated expansion of their businesses will cause the demand to exceed the supply of good men if they slacken the arrangements for teaching.—Yours truly, COSMOPOLITAN. More Power at Night.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :-4 have lately seen one or two queries in the papers as to why a motorcar apparently, or actually, runs better at night. I know that it is a case of fact, and not of supposition, and I have always considered the reason to be that at night, owing to the lowering of the temperature of th:atmosphere, the moisture which was present during th€ day as a vapour in the air, condenses to its liquid form, am deposits as dew or mist, and, therefore, the mixture of petro vapour and air which we draw into the cylinder, has greater explosive value, owing to the red ncrion-in the quan• tity of water vapour present. Of course, with a car whicltends to overheat, another factor has to be cons:dered, i.e. that the lower temperature of the atmosphere will tend t. keep cool the circulating water—Yours
A. Duclat1M West Ferry Road, Millwall, 27th July, 1907.