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MOTOR NOTES.

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MOTOR NOTES. THE SHOW OUTGROWS OLYNii-JA i (By J. P. HOLLAND.) Ihe statement made by Mr. S. I, I Edge at the annual banquet of the; Society of Motor Manufacturers at the' Savoy Hotel last week, that it was the intention of the Society to eiiiarge, Olympia before another show is 11e.d, Was the most welcome bit of news that the motoring world has heard for some time. A visit to Olympia this week is by no means a pleasureable experience. From the very moment or opening the attendance was record breaking. And on the other hand the number of ex- hibits has exceeded any previous show, while the spaces allotted to individual stands have ot necessity been propor- tionately smaller. The eiiect or all this overcrowding must be painful in the extreme before the week is out, so far as the unfortunate men in attendance at the stands are concerned. hetner the public, or at least that portion of it which visits the show for trie purpose of buying cars will be any better satis- fied, remains to be seen. In one respect Olympia this year shows an improvement. The overhead decorations, so called, have disappeared, and in their place an awning lodowing the lines of the circular roof gives at least the appearance of more breathing space, which will sadly be required be- fore the week is out. The method of sign posts at the ends of the aisles is a OL names of the exhIbitors being printed larger and therefore more readable.' The matting with which every aisle i's carpeted always look more durable, and will probably not be the thing oi shreds and tatters before Saturday night as; ixa-s been the case previously. Of the exhibits themselves there is much of a muchness as compared with: previous shows. indeed the puzzle is to pick out real novelties where every' line on exhibition shows something in I the way ot advance as compared with a year ago. There is one feature, how-j ever, in which the present exhibition; strikes a new lina as compared with i its predecessors. This is m the direc- I fcion of a return to the larger and higher, powered car. For this result I think' the British manufacturer is largely re- sponsible. Where every other country was emulating America by buildings smaller and cheaper cars from year to, year, the leading British manufacturers' have continued to advocate the the merits of the big six-cyimder and to continue its construction, feeling confi- dent that there will always be a demand for this class of vehicle. As a conse- quenee, we see to-day the finest cars of British make selling in every European I capital and skimming the cream ot thej market for cars-de-luxe. On the other hand, there is an indi-I cation on the part of the American | cars to cater for a class of owners abovs those who are content with the little runabouts. This is evident for instance! at the Cadillac stand—where, by the; way, the Dewar Trophy is not on exhi-; bition, much to the disappointment of j the friends of Mr. F. S. Bennett, which means nearly everybody—where hand- some Limousines and iandaulattes fitted with the latest knick-knacks' in the) shape of silver-topped bottles, etc., are on exhibition. incidentally, while 1 ami speaking of Cadillac, it is impossible to deny that the enterprise of this firm, which was the first to put an electric I self-starter as a standard fixture, has received the sincerest flattery m thfci way of universal imitation. If I may' venture a prediction, a foolish thing to do, it is that this is the last exhibition where the starting handle will have show room on any car of importance. I was almost going to say that the gearj box, too, was making its final appear-, ance this year, as the electric speed: change which has proved such a success in regard to the double back axle of ths I Cadillac is sure to find many imitators; before another Olympia comes round. i Of the lower priced American cars the Overland makes a strong bid for popu- larity by showing a handsome three- quarter landaulette, British built, fitted to a Toledo chassis. This carriage com- plete is really a marvellous production in the way of value for monev. The best evidence of this is the, number of applications for country: agencies of this car, which have pOlred I in on the Willys-Overland Co., since ? the show opened. The enterprise of this concern in opening a branch in Lon- don is an indication of how the large American manufacturers are beginning to regard the 13r?tish market. It is no longer a question of granting a sole con-! cession to a London firm of traders who may be handling other ssmi-conipeting lines. The American manufacturer now means business in England, and is be- ginning to come himself for it. Still 11 do not think that this competition will hurt the British industry for years to come, but rather to the contrary. Sol far it has certainly stiniulated Bi-itishl manufacturers, who are now making more cars than ever. Anyone who doubted the permanence of British ascendency in the mot<Jr, building world could find abundant | proof to a-Vkiv his fears by the specta-cle afforded at the Daimler stand every day of the show. Of course the fact that! a car built, for Her Majesty Queen Mary I is on exhibition, may account for a large! proportion of the attention paid to this istand. Yet at the same time it would be quite incorrect to say that mere curiosity seekers were in the majority of thoise who have crowded round the Queen's, carriage from morning till I evening. The number of attendants at the Daimler exhibit, every provincial depot being represented, make of them- selves a fair crowd. And most of t-hei-D are button-holed by customers from their, respective localities all day long. There, j no denying the fact that the car the! King uses still holds its own as against, ail rivals a.s. being the most popular among King George's subjects. From the North of the Tweed comes another car whose popularity has been growing by leaps and bounds. I refer to the Arrol-JohiLston, the car that sells to agents only. It would seem almost supererogatory on the part of this firm to go to the expense of a stand at Olympia, seeing that their entire out- put for the coming season has feen be- spoken by agents. But in line with the policy of progress which has built the finest factory in Great Britain at Dum- fries is the action cf this concern in ex-! hibdting at Olympia praclically for the purpose of enabling their agents to sell, the cans they have already pre-empted. And a remarkably neat, job the 19141 Arrol-J ohaston car certainly he;. Beside1 the firm's own exhibit, it is worthy of note that two of their agents, the Pitchley Autocar Co., of Northampton, and Hv, 1 and Boll. of Yeovil, also show models of this make in their respective exhibits. One of the most successful of Brit- ish made cars botltin contests at Brook-: lands as in popular esteem is the Straker-Squire. The exhibit of thisj f anions little ear is exceed-in <*l.v placed in the middle of the first section of the floor where everybody entei ing i Olympia from Addison-road must see it. For seven years now this company has devoted its attention to the construc-1 tion and perfection of a single model. Kvery year's record of competitions at i Brooklands has gone to show that this seeking of perfection has brought its own reward. And it is equally satis- factory to note that the public appre- ciation has grown in proportion. In this connection J understand that the near future will see a considerable ex- pansion in bo'h the output and selling) facilities of Straker-Squire cars. Hith- erto the firm has not approached the ■ provincial market in anything like the manner which the selling qualities of the Straker-Squire car should warrant. Con- j sequently local agencies of Strakers: have been few and far between. But ,all this, I understand, is soon to be changed, and an active propaganda be- gun for the distribution of these cars throughout Great Britain. Curiously enough, the St raker enjoys a world-wide! reputation quite disproportionate to the domestic demands. I saw a list the other day of foreign owners of Straker- squire cars, and it read like a chapter from a gazetteer. In the way of novelties from abroad, I must mention the Hispano Suiza, the, only Spanish car yet made in England. 1 refer particularly to the three-seater body designed by Mr. George Ward, of Manchester, which may be truly j termed the sportsman car. The special features of this car which distinguish it from the rest, are the facjli- ties for quick conversion into a racing car and the admirable arrange- ment by which every accessory likely to be required at a. moment's notice is within reach. Thus on either irl e ofj the dickie seat behind the driver the ■sides of the body are in reality two c upboai-d,, with a receptacle for every kind of accessory from a sparking plug to a big spanner, each of them fitted 1 into p rackets which prevent their rattling while the car is in motion. Be- neath the footboard of the dickie seat is another receptacle for a spare wheel lying flat, and also guarded against un- due vibration. The wind screen is so arranged that one half of it may be used at a time, or, if necessary, both halves can be drooped and hidden away beneath t.he overhang above the dashboard. Similarly the mud guards and foot- boards, and even the lamp brackets can be stripped off in a few minutes and .stowed away while t-he car is being used as a racer. I find I must defer what T had in- tended writing about other exhibits till my next letter. Meantime, for these who visit the show this week and want to ^ee the pick of the lot, 1 would tsay don't miss the Talbot, Star, Armstrong, Belxie, Bedford, Oakland and Lancia, if they would see the be-st British and I foreign cars Olympia has to show.

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I WITKOiiT COMMEHT. I

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IWELSH FREE CHURCHES.I

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MiNING EDUGATION. I

DAli TO DEATH. .——-a——-

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