From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Page from 'Automotive Industries' magazine featuring news on Japanese auto plans, new tire technology, Chevrolet sales, and an industry event calendar.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 128\3\ scan0035 | |
| Date | 22th April 1939 | |
| 521 sas City, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minne-apolis, New Orleans, New York, Okla-homa City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Pitts-burgh, St.{Capt. P. R. Strong} Louis, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and Syra-cuse. While the dates June 10-23 have been recommended, they are not arbitrary, with each community privileged to set its own time for its campaign. News from Japan (Continued from page 510) balls are probably from junked auto-mobiles. Australia is also an important Japanese supplier of automobile melt-ing scrap, Japan being practically the only market within comfortable ship-ping distance. New Manchu Auto Plan Talk of a 100-million-yen automobile firm for Manchukuo bobbed up again in connection with a visit here by Mr. Yoshisuke Aikawa, head of the Man-churia Industrial Development Corpo-ration. Mr. Aikawa is said to have succeeded in breaking down the long-standing op-position in official Japanese quarters to the establishment of automotive indus-tries on the continent and to have ob-tained permission to go ahead with his pet project, for which he once hoped to obtain financial assistance from the United States. In fact, several Man-churia Industrial executives are said to be still in the United States to keep American interest in the project alive. As matters stand, the 100 million yen will have to be put up by Japanese in-vestors, and Mr. Aikawa hopes that preparatory work will be completed on a three-year program commencing April 1. By the end of the 1941-42 fiscal year the factory and all other technical equipment are expected to be ready for production. The annual manufacturing capac-ity is to range between 30,000 and 50,-000 cars. Disposal of the existing Dowa Automobile Company is one of the important problems confronting the sponsors of the scheme. Dowa is fi-nanced by all Japanese automobile and major parts manufacturers, all of whom have an interest in the continua-tion of its assembling operations, which provide a profitable outlet for parts and accessories. Natural Gas Favored Leaking charcoal-gas generator in-stallations to city buses are said to have caused several cases of fatal "CO" poisoning. Another drawback to the use of carbon monoxide gas as gaso-line substitute is the high rate of cyl-inder corrosion and the inability of the engines to stand up during even short periods of overload. The loss in power is so substantial that a fully packed bus is unable to negotiate a 2 per cent grade. In view of these experiences Jap-anese police authorities have abandoned their opposition to the installation of steel bottles containing compressed coal, producer or natural gas, all of which give better power and are less poisonous than charcoal gas. As Japanese manufacturers are un-able to produce containers in which the gas can be safely compressed to more than 150 atmospheres (about 2250 lb. per sq. in.), permission has been given to import such bottles from Germany. These bottles are guaranteed to re-sist a pressure of 200 atmospheres or about 3000 lb. per sq. in. They are made of a light-metal alloy, which re-duces the loss in payload normally at-tending the installations of such bottles. Service stations will be shortly built in Tokyo and other places. For the time being they will sell natural gas exclusively, which is produced in large quantities in Formosa and Japan prop-er. So far only small quantities of the gas have been harnessed. Pneumatic Tire Protects Against Electrical Shock According to a French contemporary, the Dunlop Tire Co. has developed a new pneumatic tire which is electrically conducting and which, therefore, grounds the vehicle, thereby protecting passengers against possible shock when entering and alighting. This is said to be of particular importance in the case of accumulator and trolley buses, where, if any of the power cir-cuits should be grounded, a severe shock might be experienced. The new tire is known (in France) as the "Pneumatique Dunlop Ecta" and is said to be built of a rubber compound having a specific electric resistance of less than 50 ohms per cu. cm., whereas the resistance of ordinary rubber com-pounds used in tires is more than 100 million ohms. Chevrolet Sales 24% Ahead of Last April Chevrolet dealers' retail sales of new cars and trucks reached 21,742 units in the first 10 days of April, 24 per cent above the total for the same period last year, it was announced here today. This brings Chevrolet's year-to-date sales total to 213,427 units, a gain of 33.6 per cent over the 159,697 sold through April 10, 1938. Used car sales in the same period totaled 41,482 units, a gain of 4856 over the sales one month ago, making an aggregate new and used car total of 63,225 for the period. Hupp Makes First Shipment Of Its New Skylark Models First shipments of the new Hupp Skylark models to distributors and dealers were made this week. Production will be rapidly stepped up, according to S. L. Davis, president of the Hupmobile Corp., and all models will be available by the middle of May. Rearranging of production lines and the shipping in of materials have been underway for some time. 40 Years Ago EDITOR, Horseless Age: I note the invitation in your March number to users of motor carriages to give their road experience ... It is quite amusing when you travel on toll roads, for toll gate keepers, as a rule, have not seen motor carriages, and are at a loss what to charge. In one case the gate keeper looked at the wheels, and as they are similar to bicycle wheels, she decided the proper thing to do was to charge bicycle rates; one gate keeper on the Lancaster pike was so interested in the carriage that she forgot to collect the toll, and did not discover her mistake until I was some distance away, when she excitedly shouted to me to hold up. From the Horseless Age, April, 1899. Calendar Conventions and Meetings Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Annual Meeting, Washington, D.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} C. ...................May 2-4 American Roadbuilders Association, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, .....May 7-10 The National Battery Manufacturers Association, Spring Convention, The Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia May 11-12 American Foundrymen's Association, Forty-third Annual Convention, Cincinnati ................May 15-18 SAE World Automotive Engineering Congress .................May 22-June 8 National Metal Trades Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago....May 24-25 American Iron & Steel Institute, Annual Meeting, New York City..May 25 American Society for Testing Materials, Annual Meeting, Atlantic City ....................June 26-30 Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association, Seventeenth Annual Convention, Baltimore, Md. ......July 5-7 National Petroleum Association, Annual Meeting, Atlantic City, Sept. 14-15 American Welding Society, Annual Meeting, Chicago ..........Oct. 22-27 American Trucking Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago .....Oct. 23-24 National Independent Traffic League, Annual Meeting, Chicago....Nov. 23-24 American Petroleum Institute, Annual Meeting, Chicago ...........Nov. 13-17 Shows at Home and Abroad Great Britain, London, Automobile Show ....................Oct. 12-21 Italy, Milan, Automobile Salon, Oct. 25 to Nov. 11 International Automobile, Motorcycle and Motor Boat Show, Budapest, Oct. 27 to Nov. 6 Great Britain, London, Commercial Automobile Transportation Show, Nov. 2-11 Great Britain, Glasgow, Scotch Automobile Show ..............Nov. 10-18 Automotive Industries April 22, 1939 | ||