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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 1929)
1 m Ha (Snmite lEimttn AUTO SECTION MM WANT ADS me- VOLUME XVII LA GRANDE, OREGON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 15)29 NUMBER 248 FRONT DRIVE TO Detroit Paints Lanes To Beat ENTER. II 5 ElEirv Traffic Jams on Her Streets Six Manufacturers Study-! ing Reversal in Design ! Due in Costly Cars. (I'idin Orison .MotoriM) With front-wheel drive earn : Hie experimental laboratories of nt h'u.st six niajHifai'l urers, two of them very laiye proil.uvi's. this radical reversal of automotive !' fcifru is making a Kurr.i-SNful lld for early introduction intj the Am erican market. J t ia a p pa ren t , t li ere f o re. that front-wheel drive, has virtually ar rived in America. It no Ioiikci- is looked upon in eiiRineeriiiK eircles a.i an experiment. To say that ll is an innovation applies only to its market inj;. l'or smeral yeai-K, this lypn of drive has heen einliollli'd In pansciiKcr earn abroad and has been tried out o:i the speedways of the lulled States. Jt al.so Is in use hi some trucks and Ikiss s. The next step is to hesin the task of plu-inK it in the passenger car field in this country. Let :io motorist, however. Ret the idea thai its introduction will have the effect of throwing all other designs into Hie discard. The firm front -wheel drive automobiles in Ihe t'nited Stales will appear in the liigher price ranges, and it will ro tiire fouie time, in tlx; opinion of tiiRineering observers, to place these in wer types within the reach of the bulk of motor car owners.. The motorist who usew Ihe auto mobile which has the motive pow er applied to the rear wheels may ask: "Jnsl what does front -wheel drive mean, and what p.irpose can It serve?" The answer of this ques lio:i should fix its place in the automotive scheme of things In u rather well-defined manlier. Chrysler Tests On New Cars Is Very Thorough . E. SH ELTON NEW MANAGER OF AUTO CLUB Wltlll It .Meaiis.' liriefly slated, front-drive means Pimply that the entire transmission units are placed between Ihe front wheels. It has the effect of revers ing the power plant and transmit ting Its force frontward instead of Inward the rear, as il now is di rected. No eiianiie In .eiinl:ie.t will be necessary, and the new type nl- J so permits the installation of the four-wheel braV.es now in use. In the front-drive car, the elulchJ and transmission will be set before the engine instead of back. There will be linkage between Ihe gearset and beat-change lever, but the long drlv shaft and ad ditional gearing now :)ei:ensltnted by the long trip the power musL make from Ihe engine to the, rear wheels will be -.shortened li-emon-iloiisly. - ' Tlio- KfTert.- " " ' The erfect Is plain. It Is a fun damental fact of mechanics I hat tra-ismlssioii of power means loss, '(eduction of the extent of thla trnnsmltling of power, naturally, cuts down the loss. Proponents or front-wheel drive, therefore, point to a considerable reduction of pow er lows. They claim al.so a:i advanl age In overcoming the inertia which must he offset before a heavy mass, such as an automobile, can be put. into motion. Knginecrs who favor front -drive declares that it will be u matter of placing the horse be fpre the cart and they favor it, because they hold that pulling easier than pushing. Treatment lntere.tiiig Treatment of the rear axle Is ln-ten-sting. It will be possible rvm to -eliminate a dead rear axle, car rying' the wheels on arms pivoted to the. frame. In general, the bulk and complication of this unit will be modified considerably. The brakes In front will be plac ed not within the wheels, but at a point between the transmission a id the wheels, removed sntneuhal front the latter. This design, it is In-id, will provide tooling for the front brakes, which will be ex posed to the oaru.ih of air ay the car moves forward. In the point or performance, front-wheel drive holds much promise. Us supporters claim that 11 will virtually eliminate ihe haz ard of skidding, since the driving lorce Is applied always in the plane or direction of the front w heels and not at a tangent (, them as is the I'itiiu with icar-w heel de sign. Important In 'I urn ing. Till. change is an impoitanl eon. sideraiion when ro. Hiding a turn. The rear wheels of the ironl-diiw car will lollow the Hunt ones, w hit-h are the w heels that an jt ed as well as those I hat move the car. l.'-ss toad clearance jifiollii-1 item In winch rront -drive is i make its contribution to gieabT safely in driving. The whole car can be brought closer lo 1 1n ground, with Hie drive shall, dif ferential ii ud 1 1 au.'Uiiisxiun ui.il- ontside the frame instead oi beneath il. My thus Imwiliitf lie center of gravity, overturning be. comes mure dilfH nil. Increased traction also isetiiiiu d lor the design will-h appll-s He power to the lOt ew heels. These whir have driven Ihe ex 1 I tlie'il .1 1 front-wheel diive cms have taken them through mid which would I" i to passable for the eon venl lonat lpe of car. Snow also can be negotiated more cn.siiy. Kllnitnaliiui of noise by ridding the ear of body riiuibb s also is all j advance with li ont-di ive propo- le ills claim. ! IVotil-wheel drive is going to J meet vvilh objections. It will'!" The left turning motorist In Detroit will pass tin; traffic officer on hi rigid under a new traffic plan. Tin picture, below shows liuvv the city has established traffic Iain's on largo -thoroughfares, ty David .1. WllUie i "slower" to a "faster"' lano and (Associated 1'ress Correspondent) tv.ro versa will he permitted. DHTItOlT AI' Its traffic! Weaving In and out of traffic, problem rapidly assuming the as- j however, is not to be permitted "and peet of n "s(uar peg in a round ( the driver who leaves u lane when hole," Detroit Is proceeding to re-t traffic Is stopped for a traffic, light lievo it, not by enlarging the hole and seeks lo reach the head of but by economizing on space. line probably will receive a The city proposes to carry the "fieket" from a nearby traffic offi- one-way street idea a step farther and divide Us main thoroughfares into one-way lanes. An experiment already tried out on one main artery Is to he extend ed to other avenues. Itroad yellow stripes are painted upon the pave ment, dividing the street into six lanes or channels. Tho two outside lanes are for parking and the four inner ones for traffle. Two are for traffic In one direction and two for that moving In the opposite direction. Under certain conditions of traf fic it Is expected motorists will be required to remain wiimn mo iuiiu i chosen upon entering the street, would DKTUOIT, Aug. 17 "If tho world's worst automobile driver could take u Chrysler ear and drive it for days In the worst of weather and over the world's the p mishment tho car ceive would not be equal to, :ior would It even approximate, the punishment inflicted upon cars under test In the engineering lab oratories of the Chrysler Corpora tion at Detroit." This Is the state- ! inent of J. W. Krazer. general sales ' manager of the Chrysler sales cor poration. "In building Chrysler caiH," he continued, "no purt Is considered too small nor loo Insignificant to receive the most thorough tests that th eengineers are able to de vise for it. "An example of this was brought out recently when a certain make of chromium-plated door handle was considered for use on Chrysler cars. Heforecars. Iteforu Chrysler engineers would consent lo its be ing placed in product loj. on the cars, It had to pass several rigid tents the most important of which was the salt spray test. Those who live near the sva shore know that sail is o"e of the worst known cor rosive agents and to prove the abil ity of the chromium plate on these dour handles to withstand corro sion, samples of (he door handles were lashed for hours by a strong saline bath. It was only after they had snrvlved this test without harm I hat they w ere considered eligible for use on Chrysler caivi. "Tests given other parts of Chry sler cars are just as rigid. A Chry sler body, for example, Is taken from the assembly line and placed.! in a compartment (hat is lined with steam pipes. The door is closid, t he steam Is turned on and the mercury In the thermometer, mounts to a blistering temperature. Ojtly the finest of finishes can withstand the ravages of this ter rific heat test but unless the Chry sler body can stand it w it boat harm to the finish, it Is not fit to be placed upon the Chrysler chassis. "Due of the final lesls al the Chrysler laboratories Is the Itelgian ' Killer test. It is for the purpose of or not I he rom- flawlessly assembled. In this test (J 13 II is anchored j ecentric rouers PORTLAND, Aug. 17, (AP ! Joseph K, Shelton, of Kugeiio was' elected secretary and general man- j .agei of tho Oregon stato motor ( association at u meeting of the worst roads ' ',ourt f directors here Wednesday, ar would re-' Ht! a"1"'" Oeorge O. P.randeii- ourg woo uicu at rmremi, i.u., July 'i. Shelton has been a director of the association for six years. IVor eight years he was editor and pub lisher of the Kugeue Guard! i le now operates a printing plant In K ii gene. 80,000 De Soto Cars Are Sold In First Year where tho factory was only slightly behind tho orders that continued to somo in from alt pari 8 of the nation. SMILES Very New Driver: Do shut upf Maggie! Your job la to keep our smiling nt the police. HOKTOVK TK.U'I'IC J AM Motor Cop (lo professor of mathematics): So you saw the ac cident, sir. What was the number of the car that knocked this man down? Professor: I'm afraid I've for gotten It. Hut 1 remember noticing that if it wero multiplied by fifty, the cube root of the product would be equal to the sum of the digits reversed. Tin-; di:ad i imsii "I understand that our sou a finished motorist?" "Yes, he finished the day yesterday." "What do you mean?" "His motor car caught lire way possible and when it with stands this tesl, Chrysler engin eers know that il is properly made and properly assembled." DKTKOIT, Aug. 17 During the past twelve months, tho Do Sotn Six has broken all existing sales re cords for any first-year car In tho entire history of tho automobile lu dustry. , This statement was authorized today by L. G. Peed, general sales manager of the De Soto Motor Cor poration, at Detroit. Hiding on the crest of a wavo of popularity that began when It was first introduced, De Soto completi d Us first year with sales of more than xo.OiH) cars n new world's record for a first-year car. "The actual show that 81,005 Du Soto Sixes had been shipped from the plant since August 4. last year" Mr. Peed declared. "All previous records for first-year cars regard less of class or price, havo been broken by De Soto, evidence of tho enthusiastic manner In which tho new car has been accepted by tho i automobile huving public. I j "This first year has been a year of achievement. When It Is taken ijinlo consideration that threo momus oeioro mo mai. iv -m befo -e ! appeared, no dealer organization l had been recruited to merchandise. the new car, tho Do Soto record is remarkable. Kvery effort consistent with Chrysler Motors' high Blan dard of manufacturing practice, w as made to increase, production and meet tho demand for cars. Plant facilities wero expanded and production soon reached a point c Migf a 3 TflAOC MAHK RCOISTKHCD A Master Mechanic Said to Us Yesterday I nave my company many dollars each month by in specting and immediately repairing our equipment. Save Your Dollars Have that magneto, generator, starter or Willard Battery inspected today and repaired if necessary. Yc Inspect Them Free Automotive Electric Company 215 Greenwood Phone M-520 Willard Warehouse & Service Station cer. The lanes, according to Kdward A. Mil to, director of traffic, of the Detroit Police department, seem automatically to separate traffic in to various classes. The slower traf- delerming whethe fie. automatically sems to get inlo t ho channel farthest lo tho left This avoids congestion to a great a car N picked at random from th degree." A new plan of making left turns : final assembly line. over a series of is being specified by the police and there 11 .runs under Its own At obiter times a change from a his left. traffic division. U'ft turning traffle under the new order will turn In front of tho traffic officer or light signal instead. pC behind. .Hereto fore the driver making" a' left turn pass the traffic officer on power. Itoad conditions far worst than any it will ever encounter on the open Had are here produced, j nil! ear bounces troin one side to thi other, us 11 would over thn roughest roads at high Npcedfl. '''-"j J is t wisieu u mi si ra ineci in i6 t lek'-d v tgocoiily as dangerous and j untrustworthy. Ilttt what revolu tionary depilate has not met! with the 'same opposition: l''o ii - wheel brakes and balloon tins weir i dhteuiiiitwj as :iovc( that w r not wirtth IheJr sail, and e ih; bucce.-.b'd in cKpluring the Held. UMie should not look lor I tout 6 Thousands are saying REAL AUTOMOBILE a I X' US If CI l JUL til is fS5! t Thousands of Oldfimobilc owners, prompted by their enthusiasm for Oldsmobilc's remarkable Ebilitics in cverv t)hasc of performance their enjoyment of its t. ,,.,u;jw..,j.Ii, luxurious riding r --- q u a 1 i t i c s t h c i r knowledge of iti dependability and general thorough bred behavior have voluntatily written their appreciation to the Olds Motor Works. Read what they fay their reasons for buying and why they are glad they bought Oldsmobilcs. Prom Mi!uyiiiI(cc, 'A'l.nnmi: "I vs fn-nt attracted hv OldMtmil Is? cuiKe iti gcnei ni cKsrxcterifltic bppraieH to mc, iinrl our Chief F:nK'neer a very di rriminjting httvei drive an OM.mrtbile. I like its pnwrrful and quiet-runnin; motor, cfy te crinn, smooth flow of power at atl speeds, sturdy construction Bnd Kencral gu;d appearance.' From SiitanfiMe. CnUftrrnia : t "Witli the prote-tion you Rive your motor, it looks good to me for SO,000 miles without a major repair. When I selected my car I The VIKING the n" Of -drcrrr V-tvpr Ziht ? mfrlinm pnr. 1 built in t cOl.Hf .ctotiri.bvOldrnnhde rrtftsmrn. mr.'i mitd hro;:h OldirmoSiU Aec. At (or alt inn-Vl. (oh. (tyt Linn, Michij(r., it in -.in'nd'ri; in vabir tn u ftf l t a rl.- (vpulr M'ni.ibi!c Six, thr fine car nf low riicovcrcd that otiS'-T' cart in Oldnmohile fricc ranee hurl some of the feature I v'atitcH,lat01amobileld all. It look like more value to me. It ha wide door and plenty rf I room in front and rear of cdan. Huch thinRR aa rwin heam headlamr. fuel pump, and radiator fthuftera helped to r.eli me. Also the fatt that it ia made by a rrliahlft firm. And the way Oldamobile Haled are jumping nhowg that other think well of it." If you wish to hear thift enthusiasm expressed at first hand, talk to Oldft mobile owners in your own commu nity. Then drive the car yourself . . . put it through all it paces . . . and you'll know why Oldsmobile owners trc so outspoken in their praise. TWO DOOR SEDAN rf?nide K.e V Delivered Price . a. h- fattort, Lantlng. Michigan. Span lira and hump it xlra. Onlidfr th AtUvtrtA pric well th liat prit "vhn towrfin lUtrimnbilt value. OldimnHilt drlivrtrl price. inrlude only ra fonata ehtift fr de livcty td financinf. t m I Oldsmobile Sidles Co 1 18 Adams Ave! Hamilton Service Station lmcrprlse. Ore. II' you l're(iieiUly "titep on fl" up to (i(), 70, 80 miles per hour If yon like to cover ItOO, 400, 500 miles a (lay on trips with extreme riding comfort If you drive several times farther each year than people usually do Or if you take pride in having the finest of everything on your car You arc invited to see the 192!) Coodycar DOU BLE EAULH. No other tire is like it it is an entirely new type, original with Goodyear a UOth Anniver sary achievement. The tioodyear DOUBLE EAGLE is a superla tively fine example of the great endurance built into every Goodyear All-Wcathcr Tread and Goodyear Pathfinder Tire. We believe that a set of Goodyear DOUBLE EAGLE Tires will last as long as you will use your car. The chances against blowouts . . . or even a puncture . . . are so remote that you may virlually I'OHGET THAT YOUR CAR HAS TIRES. The cushioning power of these tires means a new experience in comfortable riding on roads of all kinds. You have undoubtedly noticed these stalely Goodyear DOUBLE EAGLES adding further distinction lo smart cars. Conic in and talk over Ihe attractive proposition .we can make you on a change-over from your present I ires lo Double Eagles. Wou Like lo That Your ' i Important Features of the "(ioodutar Double Eagle" -the Tire of Tires 'Clin IJihM. Mirnnf i , ImiiilHOiiitv-sjt lire Hint nioiu)' ouil (my. The iD''p-i-ut, IlmIivv AM-wfsidiff Tread hi pructic Mil) iliiiihlf-tlili'K. The lOMclx"! iiii'l Ittitml-umrlitff mhlM-r cotniKHiiMl In (hi- liriid (.niKlifjir litis jel HmHojM'd. 'Ihi' ImhIv of (In lire l litilll rxtra-hciivy of KU'ttll TWIST cord r.ihrli'. lo :i inv nvrr?s,i ttlliu'tltlon, botJl hi s"r.''-M-rfliiii iiml o im 1 1 illiitnrtrr. M in pllf or ihi-4 SI I'lltlUlsl 1-nnl raliiic) mora itihlicr liciwri'ii tin' plirs. lira, v Irli-l ion ft inline of t ti'ilmr (o llccL COnla Iroiii iiimIhIhh Sm rlnl low IritiiH-ntliiri' I'tiri'. I hi Urn nuili-i Inl-, I lie f lml roiivirurdou, nunl Il-V4 of Cl-l. Millions More People Now Ride on (rloodyear Tires : i f' MM 13TJ".T17'l!i.T7" A I"D i cooecooooooococoot-oooooooccocoetttooeot9MtttMt 4-