Motors and Motoring
III Cars. and their Prices
THE Motor Exhibition which is now open at Olympia is remarkable for a number of reasons. Apart from being the
most international and comprehensive display of motor vehicles in the world, it demonstrates amply the substantial progress in all directions which has been made by manufac-
turers during the past twelve months. The motor industry is one of the most advanced producing trades because it continues year after year to offer appreciably better value to the public. This is very marked in the 1928 Motor Show, and the brief reviews of 1929 cars and their prices which have previously been given in the Spectator bear out the headway which-has been made since list October. The number of new models 'which have been introduced, especially by British firms,- fair the new season is most noticeable, and while the 6-cylinder engine is becoming predominant for all medium- sized machines, as was anticipated here, the chassis with eight cylinders in line is now making its presence felt. There are, too, more, instances of ingenious and novel designs than for some time past; and although some of these have not yet been through the mill the principles are often sound and pro- gressive, although they may strike fear into the heart of the uninitiated as being .revolutionary and unorthOdox.
In continuation of my survey of a few representative pro- grammes of car makers for 1929, the Daimler Company are offering a wide choice of chassis and coachwork. In fact, this company may be said to give as wide a range as any, and a new idea has been incorporated in the catalogue. This consists of giving a page to each particular type of body with indication on that page of the various engine sizes available. The company has always specialized- in carrying capacity for a given engine and chassis size, and the new catalogue shows the prospective purchaser readily what engine powers he can have for a required carrying capacity. Detail modifications and improvements are made from time to time as experience shows them to be desirable and there are no radical alterations in design noticeable just now. It may be recalled that the two assets of Daimler cars are their degree of silence in the engine working and the roomy accommodation afforded in the bodies. The largest of the Daimler chauffeur-driven cars is the Royal model, which title has been adopted to dis- tinguish this type from the standard Daimler Landaulette or Limousine which, although a seven-seater, is a smaller car. The Royal is particularly intended for the Double Six " 50 " engine, but can also be had with the 6-cylinder 35/120. The Coachwork-de-Luxe can have either the Double Six " 30 " or the 6-cylinder 25-85 engine. The respective prices of the Royal and Landaulette or Limousine with the two different engines in each case are £2700, £1600, £1600, and £1245 respectively. The Daimler Limousine model has coachwork of new design and is intended to provide a good class chauffeur-driven car to seat seven, but at less cost than the Coachwork-de-Lime. This body can also be had without the partition, so that it can be used as a large six-window saloon. With the 20/70 engine the car sells at £950, and with the 25/85, also a 6-cylinder, as are all the Dahnler engines except the Double Sixes, £1145. The Daimler Touring Saloon is a new model and is arranged so that a trunk can be carried at the back without excessive overhang. It is_ a five-seater and is supplied with four or six side windows. The engines are the Double Six " 30 " and the 20/70, and the respective Prices are £1300 and £850. - The Daimler Company continue their policy of providing coachwork other than their own, and a 20/70 five-seater fabric saloon or a fully-panelled saloon Can now be had for £695. The 16/55 h.p. is offered with a fabric saloon body at 1595, or at 170 less as a standard tourer. The new Daimler bodies can be- finished, in two or three colours.
Humber, Limited, of Coventry, have brought out a new 6-cylinder chassis of 16/50 h.p., and considerable modification has been made to the 9/28 h.p. and the 20/65. Apart from the 14/40 4-cylinder chassis, which is still available, the 9/28, with its 4-cylinder engine of just over one litre, the 16/50, with its 2110 _c.c. capacity, and the 20/65, which is just over three litres, form a useful range. The prices of the three chassis are £220. £340. and £570. Examples of the prices of _complete models are £280 for the 9/28 fabric saloon with triplex glass windscreen, £497 for the new 16/50 Weyrnann saloon with safety screen, and £925 for the 20/65 Limousine or .Landaulette with triplex glass throughout. I have not space here to detail the many improvements which have been made on the previous models, but I propose to give a few particulars of the 16/50. In common with former Humber practiee,-the inlet valves are overhead and the exhaust valves are at the side. The valves are inclined and a turbulent combustion chamber is fitted. There is forced lubrication with a pressure filter, while an automatic tensioner is supplied to the duplex roller chain driving the camshaft. Ignition is by coil with automatic advance and a dual pattern of carbur- ettor supplies the mixture. An impeller helps the water circulation. A single plate clutch worked through toggles passes the power to the four-speed gear-box in front of which is the clutch withdrawal mechanism. Thus enclosed, it is properly lubricated. The top gear ratio has been kept down in order to give considerable flexibility and slow pulling without changes of gear. The ratio is 5.44 to one. A short shaft with fabric universal joints couples the engine to the gear-box and the propellor shaft has a fabric disc joint and self-centring device in front and a metal universal at the back.
The outstanding features of the Renault programme for 1929 are the introduction of a new 40 h.p. Straight Eight and substantial cuts in the prices of the Monasix and Vivasix 6- cylinder cars. The Straight Eight engine has dimensions of 90 and 140 mm. and is of the usual side valve type like other Renault units. The crankshaft runs in nine bearings, ignition is by coil, a special twin carburettor with four jets is fitted, and, owing to the number of cylinders, the radiator has been placed in front of the engine under the bonnet. Thus all the cylinders are accessible and the streamline has. been made lower. The curved bonnet which has been associated with Renault cars for thirty years has been wisely retained. There are thermostatically governed shutters on the radiator and the draught past the engine is induced, as formerly, by fins cast on the flywheel. A two-disc dry clutch, three forward speed gear-box, and Renault servo four-wheel brakes are other features of this model. The front springs arc half- elliptical and at the rear there are two oblique cantilevers crossed by a transverse spring. The normal engine_ rate of this Straight Eight is 2200 r.p.m. The wheel-base is 12 ft. tins. and the price £1550. All the other models, the 9/15 and 14/45 —both 4-cylinder chassis—the 12.5 Monasix, the 21 h.p. Vivasix, the 26.9 and the 45 h.p. have been retained and only minor improvements have been made. The Monasix saloon is now listed at £258, which cannot be called expensive. An example of the price of a .Vivasix is the Standard Saloon at £365. The chassis is now £330.
The model of greatest interest to the technically minded and to the motorist who is fond of speed, in the Alvis range of productions, is undoubtedly the 12/75 front-wheel-driven car. This remarkable chassis sells at 15511, -including the supercharger, and the two- and four-seaters with coachwork on' the Alvista syitein are quoted at £625, or without the supercharger at £575. It might.be- explained that the firm's patented system of coachwork embOdies the sound principle Of making the floorboards part of the. chassis, so that the weight of the seats and of the passengers has not to be borne by the coachwork. In this way lightness and flexibility can be more easily obtained with as reliable results in the body- work. The-12/75 has a'4-cylinder engine of just under 11 litres
capacity. The camshaft is overhead, there are four speeds, dual steering and independent springing for each wheel. There should be a future for front-wheel drive and especially for inde-
pendent wheel suspension. The 12/50 4-cylinder chassis, which has four speeds with off-side change, and a wheel- base and track of 9 ft. 4 ins. and 4 ft. 2 ins., costs £400, while the 14/75 6-cylinder model is £100 more. Here the wheel- base is 9 ft. 10 ins. There are several new models of body both on the 4- and 6-cylinder chassis, and as an illustration of price the new 6-light Alvista saloon on the 6-cylinder chassis, at £695, may be given.
YOUR MOTORING CORRESPONDENT.
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