Motoring Advice on Buying a Car .
THERE are few things more dangerous than giving advice on the choice of a car, dangerous in the sense that friend- ships are imperilled by the best intentions and the giver lives under an overburdening sense of responsibility for months after the event. No sooner does he hear that the inquirer has actually bought one of the cars he himself spoke well of than his life becomes one long wait for the reproaches he is certain are piling up for him. That they, really seldom fall upon him, particularly in these days when it is nearly impossible to buy a bad ear, is no comfort at all. There is always a possibility that some new and unheard-of complaint may, develop in the chosen car, or that the buyer may hear one or other of the ugly stories that are told about nearly • every car that is made, and write and ask if they are true. Equally the job of warning another person of failures known to you to have occurred is fraught with unpleasantness. You are not believed until the car is bought, and then there are two people instead of one waiting for the back-axle to seize or the steering to develop backlash. And you go in terror of looking as if you were on the point of saying "I told you."
The fact is that no two people have ever wanted exactly the same sort of car or expected the same behaviour from it ; no two have ever liked or disliked it to the same degree or for the same reason. This or that quality of the car may have several hundred special admirers, but for each of these there will be a dozen who prefer others. Every one of us who has owned cars knows full well the sinking feeling that follows upon the innocent question : "What sort of car do you advise me to buy ? " and the incredible difficulty experienced in getting anything remotely resembling a plain statement of the inquirer's real needs. People who know what they want never ask advice or only with a view, to heated argu- ment, but they are few by comparison with the rest who either have the vaguest ideas on the subject or present you with a list of essentials and indispensabilities such as no car ever made could supply. There is still a sur- prisingly large number of otherwise practical people who seriously believe that they do not ever want to go fast— the word fast generally meaning not more than 35 or 40 miles an hour—and that they would remain satisfied for more than a day with any kind of car, except a miniature, that had a genuine maximum of 45. They may sincerely think that they do not want to go any faster, but they dislike with equal sincerity being over- taken by inferior machines and crawling up hills instead of flying up them. What they really mean when they disclaim any desire for- _more than 40 is that they want the power that will give them 60 and so enable them to achieve their 40 in ease and comfort.
These reflections have been induced by a large number of letters I have received in the past few months from Spectator readers from most parts of the _world, re- flections which are preliminary to my yielding to their requests. 1 will do' thy best to answer questions usefully, either ‘individually or, where a question may be of general interest, the course of, these articles, giving reasons for and against the choice' or rejection of this or that new ear. - I cannot undertake to offer. advice about the .choice of second-hand_machines ,nor eitimate the possible value of old cars that are to be sold or handed over in part exchange for a. new one, but. if readers' requirements are fully, stated will tell them what car or what sort of a car I.. would buy myself if I were in their position. From -time to time I. give my opinion in these articles of cars I have tried, and when that view is se ffieiently comprehensive the reader will be referred to that issue of The Spectator.
In spite of my own protests, it is, of course, an absorbing business. It is quite impossible to try 60 or 70 ears a year and write a closely reasoned report on them without doing so entirely from a personal point of .view. That is to say, that from the, moment .I start on the trial I forget all-about The Spectator and- if4 readers and think only of myself. Do I or do I not myself want this car for this or that purpose ? Is it cheap—by which I mean, is it worth the price asked Do its advantages cancel out its drawbacks ? Should continue to like it five years hence ? These are the main questions I ask myself, and on the answers is my opinion of the car based. As a rule the cars are subjected to three or four common tests, such as certain hills of varying steepness and length, rough surface, braking distances and the like, .but in addition they are often taken over for two or three days and used as if they were at home. This gives me the chance of verifying the makers' claims in respect of petrol-consumption, oil-consumption, coachwork, comfort on long distances and easy starting from cold. Nothing in the nature of a freak test is ever imposed, such as attempting to climb Alms Hill near Henley, ,or driving over ploughed fields. The cars have only to do what they are supposed to do, but they have got to do it well. They nearly always succeed to admiration. - The chief points for which marks are allotted—in theory, if not in fact—are these : (1) Simplicity of design throughout ; a simple engine means an accessible one and, when the time Comes, a comparatively cheap one to repair, (2) Sturdiness of build cars are still too heavy, particularly certain types of bodywork, and axles and frames must be obviously up to any strains put upon them : not all are. (3) Good design and con- struction of coachwork. In a very inexpensive car you do not expect very much comfort, but what is essential is freedom from rattle anywhere and, in closed cars, from draughts. Some of the cheaper cars I have tried have been far more satisfactory on these points than others that cost twice as much. Windows, doors and screens must work properly and easily. Discomfort in any sort of car—including the discomfort of the shortened " sports " saloon you find on high-powered chassis—is a very serious drawback, most serious in a small cheap one. -Luxury is a different thing, pleasant enough in its way, but comfort is an absolute essential. No matter how well your 8 or 10 h.p. goes, you will very soon grow to hate it if you enter it unwillingly and leave it with relief. - Next (4) comes performance, by which is meant marked liveliness at moderate engine speeds. Liveliness includes ready pick-up from slow speeds and quick acceleration from, say, 20 miles an hour onwards. Within limits I do not care whether that liveliness .is attained by using the lower gears or not. Most modern cars have fairly quiet thirds and easy, changes, so that there is no point in making the engine do on top speed what, third was given lo it for. Even today the "best dozen" cars can vary astonishingly in this matter of liveliness. (5) Easy, quick and noiseless gear-changing. I do not care at all what the system is, whether self- changing, synchro-mesh, free-wheel or plain, so long as I can get from one- gear to another in a workmanlike manner. (6) Absence of crankshaft vibration. Here, too, -it is of no.materiaLinterest what means are adopted to damp it oti.‘ whether rubber suspensicn, " floating," "cushioned,'? any -of the new -ones, or just first-class and expensive 'workmanship.. .(7). Control, which is safe braking, steady cornering, comfortable steering, springs that keep -the- ear - well- down on the road. (8) Equipment ; , and (9) noiselessness of engine7work.
Readers' inquiries .should contain thelfollowiniinrortna- tion : (a),The top price ; (b) the type of body, closed or open ; (c) the average nunhber of people who will use the car ; (d) where the-air-Will be nfostly liSed; in this country or on the Continent;-- and, if the latter, whether in mountainous areas" or not'; (e) the sort of work required, i.e., touring or 'town, nd if the former, the general maximum speed desired ; and (f) whether the car is to be kept a long time, say five years, or to be exchanged for next year's ' model. That last is the most important -of all. Stamped and ,addressed long envelOpes-shotfld _be enclosed to ensure a reply.'
JOEIN PRIOLEAU
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