Our Motor Resumé and Forecast

Show Activities and New Models

GEORGE W. SUTTON, Jr.

DURING the next three months we are to witness a performance entitled "Reviving the Motor Car". When the curtain descends on the last automobile show the doubt which is now in everybody's mind concerning the 1921 models and the whole question of the motor car in general will have been dissipated to a great extent. More than ever the large producers of standard cars are turning away from the idea of producing a yearly model, but this year there are enough exceptions to that rule to be very interesting to everyone who has speculated on what the 1921 styles would be.

All the world knows that the motor car industry has passed through a period of intense depression, due to the sudden cessation of buying on the part of the public. Most of the factories have reduced their output and their working forces. This means, of course, that there will be fewer cars available this year. The return of interest on the part of the public was evident with the opening of the very first show of the year and it seems a certainty that, before the next five months have elapsed, there will be an acute car shortage. According to statistics, approximately a million cars built in 1916 are going to be placed on the junk pile this year. This estimate is based on the average life of the modern car and the replacement statistics of the past ten years. These discarded machines will be replaced by new ones, in addition to which the normal indications are that one million new people will need new cars. Therefore, with factories producing less than last year's output of approximately 1,900,000 cars, the reason for predicting a shortage can be discerned clearly.

As to prices, it is still the general belief, especially on the part of prospective buyers, that a number of reductions will be made before the motor car situation settles down. I believe this is inevitable, but the reductions will not be worth the expense and inconvenience of waiting. Most of the standard manufacturers will guarantee to repay present purchasers the difference between the prices of today and the possible lower prices of the near future, so a man who waits in the hope of a reduction of a few hundred dollars may find himself unable to secure reasonable delivery on his chosen car after submitting to the inconvenience and expense of having no car at all or one which should have been discarded long ago.

THE one great surprise of the year in automobile bodies is the tremendous rush of most of the manufacturers toward the long straight unbroken line of body from radiator to rear. This style has been with us for many years, but it has never been as universally accepted as in the 1921 models. It might be said that most of the 1921 cars look alike and, if that is true, it simply means that the public has decided upon the style it wishes.

Pierce-Arrow is the most recent convert. The new Pierce-Arrow cars, typically Pierce-Arrow, from the standpoint of quality, reveal improvements in chassis and engine and a distinctive change in body lines and construction. The chassis has been redesigned to permit of the general lowering of the body and the adoption of the left hand drive and center control. Manufacture henceforth will be concentrated on one chassis type, the 38-hp. and 48-hp. cars formerly produced being eliminated. The new car has a wheelbase of 138 inches, as compared with 134 inches of the former 38, and 142 of the 48. New body construction, however, permits the mounting of a body of the same length as the former 48. The dual valve engine, introduced by Pierce-Arrow two years ago, is retained. By speeding up the engine slightly and using an increased bevel gear ratio, greater power is obtained from the 6-cylinder 4 by 5½ engine, which was formerly used in the 38-hp. cars. Delco double ignition'is retained with new enclosed wiring. A new Delco electric lighting generator replaces the former type and a new Delco starting motor gives more powerful cranking, is of quieter action and higher speed. A neat pre-heating arrangement is incorporated in the new Pierce-Arrowdesigned Stromberg carburetor. A multiple disc dry plate clutch replaces the cone clutch formerly used. The front springs are 40 inches long, being the same as those of the former 48-hp. car, while the rear springs are semi-elliptic and 60 inches in length. The steering column has been redesigned and is adjustable. All exterior fittings have been removed. The instrument board is of new design, permitting an illumination of all dials under one glass. Headlights are of the distinguishing Pierce-Arrow design in the fenders or optional on the frame. Other improvements include a new design of gasoline tank, the use of the Alemite greasing system and a power tire pump that can be set in motion without raising the floor boards. The new car accelerates from 10 to 60 miles per hour in 24½ seconds. The maximum speed is about 72 miles and the turning radius is 44½ feet.

The changes in the Dort cars are radical, as this company has abandoned the curves formerly used in its hood and has adopted an attractive arrangement of more or less flat planes. The new Dorts are particularly pleasing in line and give the appearance of speed and comfort. The Velie, on the other hand, has produced excellent artistic results by changing from planes to curves for its new models.

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A development of importance to readers of this magazine has been the introduction of the new 4-cylinder Oldsmobile. This extremely popular car has been appearing in 6and 8-cylinder sizes and the four will simply be an addition to the line in touring, roadster, sedan and coupe bodies, with a wheelbase of 115 inches. This might be taken as an indication of the trend back toward smaller engines and lighter cars which is bound to come.

Considerable attention is sure to be directed toward the new HandleyKnight car, which so far has appeared in two models, a handsome touring car and a sedan, employing the 4-cylinder Knight sleeve valve motor, a wheelbase of 125 inches and high quality equipment throughout. All four models of the Hupmobile are presented in new body designs this year. They are not radically different from previous Hupmobiles, but numerous minor changes have been made to add to the attractiveness and efficiency of these popular cars.

A new and most interesting air-cooled car has appeared, which should be studied carefully as a possible prediction of a future design in light cars. Among other radical departures from accepted practice, this machine, the Parenti, abolishes axles as we know them and attaches the wheels directly to the frame by individual arrangement suggestive of the journals on railroad cars. We shall have more to say about this car in a future number.

Some new models of great attractiveness have been introduced on the Roamer chassis. These include a new seven-passenger sedan and a most distinctive little roadster, with a disappearing top.

I believe that the next style of body to become popular is going to be a combination of the present long straight lines and a gentle outward flare. You can see indications of this in the new du Pont roadster and the Delage fourpassenger sport car.