Automobile Engineering (Classic Reprint)

Fore-word THE period of evolution of the automobile does not span many years, but the evolution has been none the less spectacular and complete. Prom a creature of sudden caprices and uncertain behavior, it has become today a well-behaved thoroughbred of known habits and perfect reliability. The driver no longer needs to carry war clothes in momentary expectation of a call to thfe front. He sits in his seat, starts his motor by pressing a button with his hand or foot, and probably for weeks on end will not need to do anything more serious than feed his animal gasoline or oil, screw up a few grease cups, and pump up a tire or two. C. And yet, the traveling along this road of reliability and mechanical perfection has not been easy, and the grades have not been negotiated or the heights reached without many trials and failures. The application of the internalcombustion motor, the electric motor, the storage battery, and the steam engine to the development of the modern types of njechanically propelled road carriages, has been a far-reaching engineering problem of great difficulty. Severtheless, through the aid of the best scientific and mechanical minds in this and other countries, every detail has received the amount of attention necessary to make it as perfect as possible. Road troubles, except in connection with tires, have become almost negligible and even the inexperienced driver, who knows barely enough to keep to the road and shift gears properly, can venture on long touring trips without fear of getting stranded. The refinements in the ignition, starting, and lighting systems have added greatly to the pleasure in running the car. A ltogether, the automobile as a whole has become standardized, and unless some unforeseen developments are brought about, future changes in either the gasoline or the electric automobile will be merely along the line of greate
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)