The Woman Driver
ARE motor manufacturers aware of the fact that among private car owners to-day, women are driving more than men ? If so, then it is high time that they should study the minor requirements of women as they have already studied and, on the whole, provided for the major needs of' the owner- driver.
First and foremost a woman wants a car that is reliable in starting. The modern engine is, for the most part, beyond reproach, but a starter motor which can be relied on to turn the engine over however cold it is, and a magneto which does not give out at crucial moments are real essentials to us.
Seating comfort, silence and smooth running might be bracketed together as the next desiderata. In many cars the seats are not adjusted so that the levers are easily manipulated without any body movement, indeed, in one new model I tried recently, the gear change lever is so far forward and so short that it was necessary for me (who am tall and long-limbed) to lean right forward to reach it.
With a closed car there is often a good deal of noise caused by the working of the wooden joints and the " drumming " of the engine, reverberating from the wooden top of the body. In Weymann bodies there is none of this, as every joint in the woodwork is metal capped, while the fabric top, though appearing coach built, reflects no sound.
Wheel changing, once the dread of every woman motorist, has been reduced to child's play with the detachable wheels of to-day,but the labour of jacking up the car still remains. There are two new systems now on the market in which the jack is part of the car and only comes into action when required. The Hall sprag-jack system consists of four curved sprags any Of which can be dropped separately. The car is then simply driven forward or backward according to which jack is to be used, when because of the gradually increasing radius the car Mounts or rather is raised by the sprag. In the case of the rear wheels the sprags are lowered while the car is moving very slowly so that the impetus may be sufficient to raise the Bing to the full height of the sprag, the rear wheels naturally Being out of action as soon as they leave the ground. In the other system the jacks are fixed under the running beards one on each side of the car. These are let down and LerY simply operated, raising either side of the car as required. "le great advantage of either of these systems ()Ver the separate jack is that it does not matter what the surface of the road is like. Every car should have an inspection lamp as part of its equipment for, without one, wheel changing and other troubles become impossible to tackle in the dark.
For the woman who looks after her car entirely there are several things which help to make washing less of a bugbear. The Sorbo sponge fitted to the hose pipe makes it easy to eliminate scratches on coach work and there is no doubt that water, mud, &e., do not mark a car which has previously been treated with some form of waterproof polish. There are many preparations on the market, but a good waterproof shoe paste is as good as anything. The body and wings can be got to such a state of glossy polish by this means that dry mud can even be wiped off with a duster without damaging the paintwork.
Oiling and greasing (especially the latter) arc never pleasant ; indeed, if they were, the majority of owner-driven cars would enjoy a far longer and healthier life. Why do not British makers give us a centralized lubricating system to every bearing on the chassis. In America it is being done. There is one called the Hill " Utility " system which is operated by a plunger on the dash, giving a measured quantity of oil to each bearing every time the plunger is pulled ; a pressure of 200 lb. is said to be generated by each pull. Something of this kind would make running one's machine a much pleasanter business.
Brass or nickel cleaning is another job which takes time and is anything but pleasant ; yet the tarnished radiator spoils the whole look of the car. There is a new chromium plating which is guaranteed untarnishable and I have found that it does retain its pristine freshness no matter what weather it has to face. One wishes makers could turn out radiators with this desirable improvement as a standard fitting. Failing this there is an excellent invisible lacquer supplied by the Rawlplug people. It is easily applied and gives a completely untarnish- able surface unaffected even by petrol or paraffin.
Appearance is bound to weigh considerably when the woman driver is fitting out hei car. A little lock up cupboard on the daSh, for instance, at once catches a woman's "eye. The new " Carry On " container which takes the spare can of petrol and a can of oil is a distinct improvement on the old plan of having a petrol can clamped to the footboard and the oil can just anywhere. This container fits any footboard and looks quite
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