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THE MOTOR WORLD

CAR TRIALS.   The Morris Minor.

It is very obvious that the "baby" car has come to stay in Western Australia. Every week sees an increase in the num- ber of them on the road, and the second-

hand prices offered for them are remark- ably high. This points to satisfaction on the part of owners, satisfaction engendered by unfailing service and reliability. Dur- ing the last week end, by the courtesy of Coventry Motors, I was able to test out a Morris Minor under ordinary working conditions, and found it an efficient little car. On Saturday morning, when town traffic is particularly heavy, I took charge of the car and drove it through the streets. De- spite the smallness of the engine, it was possible to idle along behind slow moving traffic without clutch slipping or chang- ing down, and the little machine pulled away in top gear at a good rate. Natur- ally, there was not the acceleration one would expect from a large car, but the revolutions mounted surprisingly quickly If it was considered necessary to acceler- ate across intersections, an easy change to second gear gave as much acceleration as could be desired. In second gear there was no undue engine noise, although the engine was turning over at a very high rate. Light- ness of steering made the car easy to ma- noeuvre, and there was no difficulty in turning the car in one lock, even in nar- row streets. On Sunday the car was taken into the country. Using the road through Bassen- dean, a trip was made through Herne Hill and back again, over a variety of roads, smooth tarred road, worn tarred road, gravel roads in all conditions. There is a great amount of pleasure to be obtained   from driving a car so as to use the different gear ratios to the greatest advantage, but

Cars entering a parking tower in America. Each car is lifted inside the tower with an electric lift.

Cars entering a parking tower in America. Each car is lifted inside the tower with an electric lift.

since the majority of people seem to dis- like changing down, it would be as well to state immediately that, in the course of about 80 miles it was only necessary to change down twice to negotiate ascents. On each occasion a sharp rise followed an acute turn, and it was impossible to keep up the engine speed with safety. Every other slope, even some of considerable length, was climbed in top gear with ease, and the engine was never forced to labour. Since the car is designed with a small high speed engine, and is logically expected to be used in second gear with some fre- quency, this was a remarkable perform- ance. The riding qualities of the car are quite good. Along the Guildford-road there was a tendency to bounce at low speeds, as a considerable portion of the surface is bumpy. At 25 miles an hour, this tendency vanished, and the car ran as smooth a course as many a vehicle twice' its size. Over rippled roads out in the country a normal touring speed of 30 to 35 miles an hour gave very comfortable riding, and, despite the short wheelbase, there was very little bounce even at high speeds. Stretches of smooth surface provided an opportunity of testing the speed of the car. Forty miles an hour was reached in a very few yards from a standstill, and, with the revolutions picking up very rapidly. 47 was attained very quickly. No attempt was made to drive the car at any greater speed, al-   though it was not at its fastest. Engine noise was not obtrusive, and the steering was easy. The braking of the little car is very fine, although the particular model tried had just done several hundred miles through the country without being overhauled. At normal speeds the car could be brought to a standstill with an ample margin of safety, and without any fierceness, while at even high speeds deceleration was so rapid as to create confidence in the brakes to handle any emergency. Summed up. the car is very attractive. It has sufficient speed for any purpose, rides comfortably over rough roads, and has ample braking power. The fuel con- sumption is very small. No definite test was made, but after 80 miles the level in the petrol tank was only slightly lowered. The car is necessarily small, and with a sensitive accelerator, is at first strange to one used to riding in larger cars, but this strangeness gradually wears off and it does not take long to become at home and comfortable. The gear change is a little different at first, although this may have been merely a peculiarity of the particular car tried. At first top gear did not al- ways mesh, although there was no clash- ing, but after a little while this difficulty disappeared. The car seems solidly con- structed, and certainly did all that could have been expected of it in a varied test, particularly as it was not fitted with snub bers.

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