The Neglect of Front-Wheel Drive
Motoring
Mr trial of the latest small B.S.A. 10-h.p. " Scout "—not .to be confused with the other 10-h.p. B.S.A. with the Overheat valved engine and the Daimler transmission—alid'tkie11574; Citroen has more or less persuaded me that in neglecting the development of the front-wheel drive manfifaetntera moderate-priced' cars have missed a big chance.-. The small engine, as we have been depressedly aware for .many years now, was forced upon us by taxation. Had the various Chancellors of the Exchequer for the past twenty years Seen their way to getting the money by any other means and left the British motor industry to work out its own salvation in its own way, there would have been very few small cars today, and the poor man's utility machine would, in performance and practicability, have more closely resembled a modern £1,000 car than a toy.
The main problems of the British designer since the War have been to build an Eight or a Ten that would, at a pinch, do the work of a Twelve or a Twenty, and to give it adequate springing. The pinch has often been considerable, but on the whole he has succeeded, under heavy handicaps: Considering the ' formidable proportionate increase in the power-loss of the small engine as compared with the larger, the much harder work the former has to do under much more strenuous conditions, and the everlasting problem of how to design it suspension that would give a car weighing 15 cwt. the same riding as one weighing double, not at all speeds, but at even only one, the success of the little car must be reckoned as one of the major miraclei of modern engineering.
It is therefore all the more surprising that so few makers have given serious attention- to the front-wheel drive. As all the world knoWs there are problems to'be Solved in respect of steering and springing, particularly steering, but they are no more serious than many others that have been successfully conquered, and the gain in efficiency, of drive is undisputed. The system has been tried by one or two British firms—Alvis was one—but nobody here seems to have found it worth while to go on with it except the Birmingham Small Arms Company, who introduced it on their three-wheeler some years ago. About five years ago, they produced a 9-h.p. four-wheeler with frtiyit-:wheel d, rire a light cheap car that promised well. The saving of power was obvious, the car's performance being quite eiicePtional, for the price, but the steering was, heavy and life- leis:at any init. high speeds, and it had no caster action at all. - The new machine is quite different, " and if it enjoys the success it deserves it will be a real award for merit and courage on the "part of the makers. The plain, :four-cylinder, side- Vaived engine has 'a bore and stroke of 63.5. by 95, the cubic Content being jUst over 1,200 c.c., and the tax £7 10s. The gear-box has Only three speeds, but their ratio is, to my mind, exactly right. Top is 5.2 to 1, second 7.8 to 1, and first 17.2 to 1. These will allow the car to do well over a mile a minute on top, over 40 on second, and climb a 1 in 6 hill on first as that as a 15-h.p. Six costing more than twice as much. Nobody dislikes a 3-speed gear more than I do, but I soon discovered that if one regarded the three gears as the top three in a 4-speed box driving became a delight. Except for the climbing these speed figures are not, of course, exceptional for a light Ten, but the advantage of this new B.S.A, is that the power- saving • effected by the front-wheel drive has been Used to reduce the eompression-ratio. The result is that although I daresay several cars of equal; power would beat the B.S.A. on the level and possibly on second speed; mine of those I know would have a smoother-running engine.
The steering is now excellent, high-geared, light and very steady at high speeds. The brakes and springing are more than adequate and, the chief attraction of front-wheel drive; the cornering and road-holding are of the highest class. I have never driven a car that felt safer. The model I tried was the 2-seated coupe, costing £185. Considering that the wheel- base is only 7 ft. 9 ins. the body-space is not at all bad. The other models are a 2-seater at £157 10s., and a 4-seater at £16710s. -
The Citroen is a fairly new model, ah enlarged edition of the " gaper_ Trielve in which the special torsionrbar suspension was first introduced. The power is rated at 15, the bore and stroke of, the 4-cylinder engine being 78 by 100. Overhead are employed, and a special is the provision of detachable cylinder barrels for which long life and easy replaee- - ability are claimed. The engine casting consists only of a shell forming a hansing for the .cylinder-barrels, water-jacket and cranksh-aft-bearingil--a neat and, so far as I know, a novel idea." • C;ertainty ...the notion of being able to replace worn cylinders by-fieivope's instead of haVing the alWays doubtful re-bore should attract both the iinpoverished and the mechanically minded. The engine; which is neatly laid out, • with all -its vitals properly accessible, is. carried on the body- - shell (thereii no frame, as siieh)•at two points,-"the anchorages being of the•Coiled spring type and extremely flexible. The geSI:bciirt.hes. only three speeds, hni although I think this is a handicap in this country Whe-re sudden steep hills are common, the ratios are so -Well:Planned that unless you have ii-eOliiplex feilikEling y924_climb any steep hill except on second or higher gears, you have no reasonable grounds of complaint. You call dOlabont 70 miles an hour on top and about 45 on s:Aiond, While first will take keit gradient - likely to be met with on roads used by wheeled traffic. 'The ratios are high, and this means that the engine is usually " running. at: a: !moderate speed, quietly -and without Shake, desirable and not too common virtues in cheap cars. As in the B.S.A. you get the impression at once that the power saved by driving the front axle at a distance of a few ine'hes . instead of the: other at several feet has been used to givf smooth and easy working, and not to provide spectacula performance. I have seldom driven a car of this power and price which ran so easily and smoothly, or so quietly at all speeds. , The absence of the differential casing and the fact that the .„ power fiat ends at the dashboard giN‘ie the .bodyi5ulier much greater seope. Three_ can be put front, it all- events in summer clothes, -arid three behind. There is ample floor- - space and more than ample elbowroom for occupanti, the headiobni is exceptional, the upholstery and 'seating extremely cainfortahle: The built-in luggage container, holds a reasonable amount of luggage, and in =all essentials this car is as practical_as., it is Interesting. It Costs ggss. Imp:14 [Note.—Readers' requests for advice froM oUr Motoring Correspondent* the'choice of new cars should be accompanied by a stamped and- adthissed envelope. The highest price payable must -be- given, as .well Tur-the type of -body requireek-4.:Neb advice can be given on the purchase, sale or exchange of used cars.]
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