10 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
both types to such a degree within the past 
twelve months that the prospective pos¬ 
sessor of a six might conceivably match 
coins with another who expressed his pref¬ 
erence for a four and either might be well 
content to win or lose so far as any actual 
engine difference under normal service con¬ 
ditions were concerned. 
The year was also marked by the inva¬ 
sion of the multi-cylinder type of engine, 
having either eight or twelve cylinders set 
in the form of a V, and occupying the 
same amount of space in the chassis as the 
four and the six respectively. These have 
proved successful to a marked degree, but 
to an extent their use has been confined to 
those motorists who do not come under 
the heading of “men of moderate means.” 
1916 is also identified with a renaissance 
in the art of body building, and some of 
the productions are seemingly emblematic 
of those which will feature in connection 
with the car of tomorrow. These will be re¬ 
ferred to again in the course of this article. 
Before leaving friend car of today, it 
will be profitable to enumerate several 
little things with which it is fitted and to 
refer to some of the promises it makes 
but does not invariably perform. It is 
fitted with tires which on rare occasions 
blow out and more frequently puncture, 
it has gear and brake levers which are 
both unsightly and awkward (abomina¬ 
tions in the sight of the driver). It has 
brakes which need better attention than 
they usually receive, an exhaust which 
seems to delight in the emission of black, 
evil-smelling smoke, and a carburetor 
which sometimes fails to cope adequately 
with the mixed fuels masquerading un¬ 
der the name of gasoline. Assuming that 
the carburetor is really efficient despite 
the handicap under which it is expected 
to operate, the motorist may travel some 
fifteen miles or so on each gallon of al¬ 
leged fuel, costing possibly thirty cents. 
To the foregoing add lubricating and 
cooling systems of more or less complex 
nature, recollect possible troubles in con¬ 
nection with them and, finally, feel some¬ 
what surprised at the confidence you re¬ 
pose in your car. Remember that this 
confidence is fully justified just for so 
long as the personal equation is taken 
into account and that the various parts 
of the car’s soul (and streamline body) re¬ 
ceive the attention they demand as a return 
for faithful service rendered. 
What the Perfect Car Should Be 
Let it be assumed as an axiom that the 
perfect automobile should be the vehicle of 
the individual owner plus his family, that 
it should enable them to leave the beaten 
paths and to strike out into the byways, that 
with it the pleasures of the countryside 
should take on a totally new aspect, in that 
the beauties of nature may be enjoyed to 
the full without dependency on any ulterior 
source of transportation and that, in short, 
the possession of a car confers upon its 
owner the right to assume part proprietor¬ 
ship with Henley in his immortal line, “I am 
the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain 
of my Soul,” in a sense unknown by the 
individual forced to rely on railroads and 
live trammeled by timetables. Add to these 
the sense of freedom conferred by the own¬ 
ership of a car on those who reside for a 
portion of the year twenty miles or more 
from the city and the theatre, and endeavor 
to reconstruct the tragedy of former days, 
when the journey to or from town had to 
be undertaken, perhaps, by train, tube, trol¬ 
ley, ferry or wagon mixed in varying pro¬ 
portions, and with each change of method 
of transportation adding to the miseries of 
even a comparatively short trip. Compare 
the picture of the past with the present and, 
pursuing the line of thought, imagine what 
tomorrow or the day after may bring in the 
way of added refinement and luxury to 
what is now a pleasant enough trip. 
The Car of Tomorrow 
Present indications are that the car 
which, under the old order, would be re¬ 
ferred to as the 1917 model will differ but 
little in outward appearance from the prod¬ 
ucts of the present year. The body may 
hang a little lower, owing, principally, to the 
fact that the springs will be more nearly 
flat. Efforts may be made to reduce the 
present average wheelbase of a hundred 
and twenty inches by about four inches. 
This reduction will be, however, effected 
by a readjustment of the spring suspension, 
and the body capacity will be in no way 
reduced. Radiators will be just a little 
higher and a trifle narrower, and the gen¬ 
eral effect of these deviations from the 
present type will be that the car will appear 
more compact than formerly. In many 
cases the streamline of the body will be 
slightly broken by the top of a cowl located 
between the front and rear compartments. 
Especial attention will be given to the inte¬ 
rior appointments of the touring body, 
which will, in many cases, be fitted with in¬ 
dividual seats arranged to swivel around, 
as is the case in some of the more luxurious 
covered cars at present. Interior and step 
illuminating electric lights will come into 
more general use, cigar lighters and hair 
curler heaters will be included in the regu¬ 
lar equipment, and in fact the touring car 
of the immediate future will be turned out 
with many of those little refinements which 
have hitherto been confined almost exclu¬ 
sively to the limousine or sedan. 
In the case of the coming enclosed car 
of standard type there are already instances 
of the interior decoration scheme being de¬ 
signed by famous modistes and it is morally 
certain that many of the leading builders 
will surpass all previous efforts in regard 
to appropriate trimmings and interior fur¬ 
nishings that are tasteful and practical. 
For the motorist who loves the open 
country and who also is partial to the 
theater or the dance, but who is able to keep 
one car only, the rapid development of the 
detachable type of covered body has proved 
a stroke of good fortune. This type is so 
designed that it may be readily installed on 
the regular touring body when needed, and 
as quickly removed when not required with¬ 
out the use of special tools or the employ¬ 
ment of a mechanic. The possession of 
such a body enables the owner to thoroughly 
enjoy a winter trip, fully protected from 
inclement weather, at a cost which is rela¬ 
tively exceedingly low. A year ago many 
of these detachable bodies were likely to 
give trouble through rattling or other 
causes, but more perfect designing and 
workmanship have removed these faults. 
There were no radical mechanical 
changes in 1916, although the sum of 
many minor improvements effected dur¬ 
ing the year left their mark on the car 
as a whole and materially improved it. 
The car of to-morrow will continue to 
gain in mechanical efficiency along simi¬ 
lar lines. No very startling changes are 
likely to occur in the near future, and 
the pleasure automobile inspected at 
national shows early in 1917 is pretty 
sure to be equipped with a block cast 
engine having reciprocating parts of re¬ 
duced weight and accurate balance. 
The small bore cylinder will continue 
to gain in popularity and the engine will 
form a unit with the clutch and the 
transmission. Improved methods of car¬ 
bureter adjustment will be strongly in 
evidence, and it is anticipated that the 
vacuum type of fuel feed will be used 
almost universally. 
Electrification and Transmission 
All cars, except the very low-priced 
productions, will be fitted with engine- 
driven tire pumps, and it is estimated that 
ninety-nine models out of each hundred 
will be fitted with electrically-operated 
starting and lighting systems of improved 
type and greatly reduced weight. As a rule 
the ignition will be cared for by the general 
electric system, the individual magneto be¬ 
ing used in comparatively few cars. There 
is a strong tendency towards simplifying 
methods of lubrication, oil bolts with reser¬ 
voirs taking the place of the conventional 
grease cups in some cases. An almost revo¬ 
lutionary development in this direction is 
the introduction of a system whereby the 
work of filling up with lubricant is ren¬ 
dered necessary only about twice a year. 
The only opponents to the almost univer¬ 
sally employed selective type of transmis¬ 
sion are the magnetic and the hydraulic 
types. The former has been developed to 
a point which apparently closely approaches 
perfection, and it seems likely to attain 
popularity in the near future in a marked 
degree. The hydraulic system, although not 
by any means new in principle, has not been 
developed to any extent in its possible re¬ 
lation to the pleasure car. It may, how¬ 
ever, prove to be a force to be reckoned 
with before very long. 
^IIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllliiliillllf 
THE GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN 
AUTOMOBILE 
Average = 
1 
Year 
Cars Built 
Total Value 
Price | 
1 
1899 
3,700 
$4,750,000 
$1,284 1 
1 
1903 
11.000 
12,650,000 
1,150 | 
1 
1904 
21,700 
30,000,000 
1,382 1 
1 
1905 
25,000 
40,000,000 
1,600 1 
1 
1906 
34,000 
62,900,000 
1,850 1 
I 
1907 
44,000 
93,400,000 
2,123 | 
1 
1908 
85,000 
137,800,000 
1,602 | 
= 
1909 
126,500 
164,200,000 
1,298 | 
i 
1910 
187,000 
225,000,000 
1,203 | 
| 
1911 
210,000 
226,500,000 
1,078 | 
1 
1912 
378,000 
373,000,000 
987 | 
1 
1913 
485,000 
425,000,000 
878 | 
i 
1914 
515,000 
490,000,000 
951 | 
= 
1915 
892,000 
723,000,000 
811 | 
1 
*1916 
1,200,000 
900,000,000 
750 | 
*Estimated 
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