Modern Gadgets I T used to be a truism to say
that the best part of any motor show was the accessories gallery, and that looking for extra gadgets to put on the new ear was better than buying the finished article. I think it is still true today even though it is difficult to find an accessory which the modern car does not include in its equipment or for that matter an inch of blank space on the average dashboard to put it on. The old lure is still there and he must be a dull dog who does not climb those hard cold stairs at least once to see what there is in the bazaar this year.
It is as attractive as ever and when you have been half way round it you will certainly discover that your car lacks several important things—or if she does not lack them, the ones she has are distinctly inferior to those you find in the galleries. Hard-boiled veterans with memories of hideous hours spent on the roadside with tyre trouble will find their way auto- matically to where they show the new jacks. It is too soon to criticise 'the tool outfits of 1936 cars, but if they all have a proper jack, one that can be put under the back axle in all circumstances without difficulty and when there, induced to raise the car the necessary height, I shall be most agreeably disappointed. It would be interesting to have a census of the jacks bOught by owners soon after they have taken delivery of their fully equipped cars. For years certain car manu- factUrers supplied their customers with jacks which were absolutely useless, not to say dangerous. There are some very good hydraulic jacks at Olympia with that essential extra, a long screw extension. A real jack should be capable of extending high enough to enable one to take the weight of the ear off the springs for lubrication purposes.
S. Smith and Sons are showing some sturdy looking jacks of various kinds and their main exhibit is a Jackall System. This consists of four hydraulic jacks permanently fixed to the axles. A control lever in a handy position enables you to raise the front, the rear or all four wheels without getting out of the car. This, of course, is jacking de luxe, but it must be admitted by those who suffer front tyre troubles that it comes very near the ideal. On the same stand are shown some very pleasing examples of the new dial set, called apparently an " instrument patch." The outer edge of this set of instruments is formed by the figures of the 'speed indicator, while on the main dial itself are the petrol and oil gauges, the thermometer, ammeter, the clock and the mileage recorders. Several cars today have this in one form or other and it must be admitted that it saves a great deal of space and allows for the provision of the necessary cubby-hole which is so often absent from an otherwise comfortable car. Another luxurious gadget which takes the eye on this stand is a combined chronograph and time-of-trip clock. It has a long centre second-hand with which you can time distances in minutes, seconds and fifths of seconds. You can also record the exact time of a trip, the length of a stop and compute the average speed. Obviously these diversions arc not necessary but equally obviously they are most engaging. To the enthusiastic driver every good car is incomplete without its private and special gadget.
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