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Show BIG IPHEff IT II PJISTMSEW "It happened lately that I was called on to hold the wheel of a 1&12 model car during a half day's touring, M said : Elmer Rector, local sales manager. "As all my driving experience for some time : had been limited to our own current models of 'fours' and sixes I found that every driving operation implied a bit of comparison." Continuing, Mr. Rector said: Aside from the inconvenience of entrance and egress, I found no difficulty dif-ficulty with the right-hand steer and control features, although the hand-cranking at the start was a , duty I hadn't faced! in years. The fpark and throttle bothered me a little, for they were under the wheel on the steering post, but I got along pretty well until it began be-gan to rain. Then everybody had to step out into tho mud while we raised the top, dug out the curtains aud fixed everything in place. I resumed driving, but had to make frequent stops to wipe tho rain off the windshield. wind-shield. A little later two of us had to get out in the mud to light the gas and kerosene' lamps. Now this car had originally cost j more Jhan $2000. Yet, at less than half this figure, cars are now being marketed with conveniences like electric lights aud starters, up-to-date control, weather protection adjustable from within, windshields adjustable for rain vision and. ventilation, ven-tilation, and an array of similar improvements im-provements which, when, the 1912 model was new. were either unknown un-known or untried. The 1012 car was noticeably sluggish. slug-gish. Jt wns heavy. It wasted power in driving its now obsolete magneto. Its motive power came from an old-style motor of largo bore and short stroke and could not furnish the exhilarating pull of a modern, long-stroke motor with a ratio bore and stroke in the neighborhood neigh-borhood of 3.5 to 5. Tho 1012 car got its fuel through a long line from a tank in which air pressure had to be maintained. main-tained. The $085 modern car I drive has its lank in the cowl and feeds ' by gravitation through a pipe only three feet long. The old car did include an equipment equip-ment of Timken bearings almost as complete as mv car. but had I broken a rear axle shaft on the run a wheel would have rolled off. for the 1912 axle was of the three-quarters three-quarters floating type. Crowned fenders, clean running boards, more graceful lines and su-perior su-perior finish in tho modern car made comparison of appearance out of the question. Even in such fund-amentals fund-amentals as strength and safety i did the old car suffer, for its brak-! brak-! ing suriace was smaller, its coarse, j bulky steel was of the simple car- bon variety; it was so badly bal-i bal-i anced that it would not hofd the j road at anything like the speed I usually drive. |