894 



Popular Science Monthly 



Notch the Curb to Keep Out 

 Automobiles 



CALIFORNIA automobilists frequently 

 mistook a motorcycle for an automobile 

 garage and drove in with their machines. 

 When the drivers learned their mistake 

 they turned around and left, frequently 

 knocking over and damaging some of the 

 motorcycles in the garage. The owners of 

 the garage used a very simple and effec- 

 tive method to keep auto- 

 mobiles out of their place 

 without interfering with the 

 passing in and out of the 

 motorcycles. They had the 

 inclined driveway to their 

 garage supplanted by a 

 curb, too high to be scaled 

 by automobiles. For the 

 use of the motorcycles a 

 notch of liberal width was 

 cut in the curb, offering a 

 sufficiently wide and slant- 

 ing runway to and from the 

 garage. Now if a belated 

 automobilist mistakes his 

 goal he will be rudely 

 awakened to the fact by a 

 bump which will jar him in 

 direct proportion to the 

 force with which he hits 

 that curb. 



This notch in the curb 

 permits motorcycles to 

 pass, but bars automo- 

 biles very effectively 



Putting Overalls on Automobiles 

 for Protection 



OWING to war conditions automobile 

 manufacturers meet with increasing 

 difficulty in securing box cars for shipping 

 their automobiles to their dealers and 

 agents. Many concerns are compelled to 

 deliver nearly all their cars by running 

 them overland to their destination. The 

 cost of refinishing such cars after they 



have passed through rain or snow storms 

 has become a serious question. It costs 

 about one hundred dollars to drive one 

 car overland from Detroit to Baltimore, 

 as compared with thirty-four dollars by 

 railroad. Any additional charge for re- 

 finishing the body simply adds to the cost 

 of the car to the final purchaser. 



To eliminate the charge for repolishing 

 bodies scratched by mud, sleet, rain or 

 snow, a Baltimore automobile dealer has 

 invented the car overalls 

 shown in the accompanying 

 illustrations. Each set costs 

 about thirty-five dollars and 

 weighs thirty-nine pounds. 

 It can be folded up into a 

 parcel small enough to be 

 put in a suitcase, to be car- 

 ried back to the factory by 

 the driver when he returns 

 for his next car. The device 

 consists of a padded stick 

 across the front of the radia- 

 tor, to which are attached 

 strips of webbing which are 

 stretched taut on each side 

 of the car. They serve to 

 button down pieces of rub- 

 berized top material that 

 completely inclose the body, 

 yet do not touch it. Strips 

 of wood along each running 

 board serve to hold the 

 pieces out at the bottom and straps at- 

 tached to the top serve the same pur- 

 pose higher up. A separate covering fits 

 over the radiator and front springs. 



The right-hand picture shows how 

 the padded framework and webbing are 

 adjusted to the car, while that to the 

 left gives an idea of the absolute pro- 

 tection against dirt and scratches which is 

 afforded to the car bodv }iv its overalls. 



This shows an automobile dressed in its 

 overalls for protection against scratches 



Showing the framework of sticks and 

 webbing which holds the overalls in place 



