January i, 1907. | 



I'Hh. INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



107 



TIRES AT THE NEW YORK AUTOMOBILE SHOW. 



THE tire exhibits at the late automobile show in New 

 York formed a most interesting feature, though 

 there were few real tire novelties to be seen. It was 

 the seventh annual show of the Automobile Club of 

 America, participated in by The American Motor Car Manu- 

 facturers' Association. The show was held in the Grand 

 Central Palace, the largest building in the city adapted to 

 such use, opening on the ist and closing on the 8th of 

 December. As an exhibition of automobiles it w-as of great 

 interest, by way of showing many evidences of progress in 

 construction, and the large attendance indicated a continued 

 growth of the public concern in whatever pertains to auto- 

 mobiles. The holding of the show a month earlier than 

 usual proved most satisfactory to the trade and the public 

 alike. 



The number of tire exhibits was smaller than at some 

 former automobile shows, through the gradual elimination 

 from the list of makers of special tires which have not won 

 popular favor, or of rubber companies with whom tire mak- 

 ing has been of minor importance. The tire exhibits at the 

 last show were, for the most part, those of manufacturing 

 firms that have become well establi.shed and whose products 

 have a fixed reputation. The absence of "freak " tires at 

 the show was frequently commented on. 



The tire displays were confined to equipment for automo- 

 biles and commercial motor cars. There wasn't a suggestion 

 of a bicj'cle in the building, though several firms did call 

 attention to special tires for motor cycles. The automobile 

 tire is rapidly becoming standardized — an air tube with a 

 detachable cover of fabric and rubber — all makes being sinii- 

 larlj- shaped in cross section, with certain sizes recognized 

 as desirable for given conditions. There are differences in 

 means of fastening on tires, but these differences appear less 

 essential when one sees a rim offered that is equally adapted 

 to a clincher and a Dunlop tire, or sees clinchers with modi- 

 fied beads designed for mechanical fastenings of the Fisk 

 type. 



Several firms make a point of supplj'ing tires of any of the 

 leading types that ma^- be desired bj^ a customer, so that a 

 firm's name is no longer identified with a particular form of 

 tire. It is of more interest to them to become recognized as 

 making "good tires." Another point is that a tire firm 

 will offer the same tire to be fitted to any one of several rims, 

 all of which is evidence of the growing standardization of 

 tires and their accessories. 



There are j'et some motorists who prefer single tube tires, 

 and Morgan & Wright exhibited such tires, of the familiar 

 old pattern, together with their clinchers and Dunlops and 

 solid rubber products. .\nother single tube tire shown, 

 though on different lines, was that of The Swinehart 

 Clincher Tire and Rubber Co. This is provided, on the rim 

 side, with beads, which engage a clincher rim. The tire 

 differs also from the ordinary single tube in being slit all 

 around on the inner side, audit it is put in place in the same 

 way as any detachable tire cover. 



The standard American clincher tire is now circular in sec- 

 tion, the so called U shape having been discarded generally. 

 The G c& J Tire Co. and some other makers have adopted an 



oval raised tread, something midway between a round and a 

 flat tread. Protective tire treads as a separate product figured 

 little in the show, the tendency being to have the treads as 

 closely attached to the tire as possible. The Bailey " Won't 

 Slip " tread, being wholly of rubber and capable of being 

 made an integral part of the tire, was much in evidence. 

 The Continental Caoutchouc Co. have a new steel studded 

 rubber and fabric tread, with special means to secure attach- 

 ment. The Pennsylvania Rubber Co. also showed a steel 

 studded non skid tread. The Hartford Rubber Works Co. 

 have a new non skid feature which consists in embedding in 

 the tread of a fiat tread tire four parallel coils of helical 

 spring. In the event of the outer loops wearing down, there 

 will still remain a series of inverted staples fixed in the 

 tread. This feature is also applicable to solid tires. The 

 Diamond Rubber Co. have a new non skid tread, the studs 

 being vulcanized in the heads held in by the inserted fabric. 

 There was an absence of metallic armored treads, chains, 

 and the like. 



The Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., in addition to their 

 sidewire tires, have taken on the manufacture of pneumatics, 

 which are supplied either for mechanical fastening or their 

 "Safety" universal rim. They also exhibited internally 

 wired solid tires and cushion tires. 



The International Rubber Co. have adopted the wrapped 

 tread process exclusively for their pneumatics, have become 

 licensed to make the Bailey tread, and are using the Good- 

 j'ear universal rim. 



The Electric Rubber Manufacturing Co. make a specialty 

 of the " M. T. " triple strength inner tube, and besides their 

 " Panther " pneumatics showed two solids — Dewes's endless 

 and the standard pattern of internally wired tire. 



The Fisk Rubber Co., in addition to their regular product, 

 showed a specially made tire for heavy work. The Conti- 

 nental Caoutchouc Co. exhibited a flat tread pneumatic 

 37X51^ inches, for lieavj' vehicles. 



The Dunlop tire was more in evidence than formerl5-. In 

 one exhibit it was described as the "Indianapolis Dunlop 

 Bailej' Tread " tire, meaning tlie product of the G &. ] Tire 

 Co.'s Indianapolis factory, with the Bailey tread attached. 

 It is fitted for use on the Midgley universal rim. All told, 

 this is quite a different looking affair from the British Dun- 

 lop tire, made under the Welch patent, but it retains the 

 essential feature of the non e.xtensible wires cured in the 

 edges of the case, and this was the basis of the patent. 



The foreign tires shown were the Continental, Michelin, 

 Harburg, and the " Pneu 1' Electric ", made bj- the Soci<:t€ 

 Industrielle des Telephones — two French and two German. 

 The Harburg exhibit included inner tubes made in .Amer- 

 ica —described as " a successful union of German brains and 

 American skill. " 



The Harburg Tire Co. showed a new detachable rim 

 (Royce's patent). The Vinet detachable rim was exhibited 

 by the Hartford Suspension Co., who have the -\merican 

 rights. The Midgley (formerlj- the Hartford) universal rim 

 has been modified in the direction of simplicity. The Dia- 

 mond Rubber Co.'s Marsh rim is now adapted to either 

 clincher or Dunlop covers. The Goodrich quick ' le 



