Commentaries
1. the Gordon Bennett Cup in Ireland — Кубок им. Гордона Беннетта в Ирландии.
2. the Wolseley Company — автомобильная компания «Уолсли».
3. Little Missenden in Buckinghamshire — г. Литл-Миссенден в графстве Бакингемшир (Великобритания).
4. Crystal Palace — Хрустальный дворец, сооружение из стекла и металла, спроектированное Джозефом Пакстоном для Всемирной выставки 1851 г. Дворец был возведен в Гайд-Парке в Лондоне; в 1936 г. сгорел.
The Edwardian Motor Car.
By 1915 the basic elements of all types of motor car had approached a form which was to provide a firm foundation for the cars of the two decades between the wars, 1919 to 1939.
Racing cars of the immediate pre-1914 war era were of between three and five litres capacity with overhead camshafts, relatively high crankshaft and piston speeds. They were reliable, fast, and—by 1915 — relatively safe. Front wheel brakes were becoming more common, shaft drive was almost universal, and high road speeds were achieved.
By 1915 the post-war 'sports car' was evolving unmistakably. The 1,317 cc Bugatti of 1911 had led the way with a light car of small cylinder capacity, good handling and brisk performance. It demonstrated in racing and in private owners' hands what could be achieved with a small car of advanced design.
Let us now look briefly at the ordinary motor car as it was in 1915. From Benz's rudimentary tricycle of 1885 tremendous developments had taken place in 30 years, most of them in the last 20. By 1915 a number of well-established manufacturers were producing sound, reliable—if somewhat unexciting—cars requiring no great mechanical expertise to maintain and being quite easy to drive. They were relatively sophisticated vehicles in which the occupants were protected from the weather, although side curtains for open tourers had not yet arrived. Closed bodywork was comfortable and becoming more popular, although the chauffeur was still frequently left exposed, as in coupe de ville bodies.
Engines were generally four-cylinder side-valve types with reasonable efficient carburation and high-tension magneto ignition.
Starting was generally by hand and lighting could be electricity, electric starting motors were 'extra', when offered. Gearboxes were reliable and many had four forward speeds. The gearbox was separate in most cars, and transmission was usually by shaft.
In coachwork design there were two opposing trends. As the motor car was still a pastime to many wealthy men, body design which tended to follow racing or pseudoracing lines was popular. This meant open cars with limited space — even aerodynamic lines such as the 'Skiff of Panhard-Levassor of 1911—and not much protection and little luggage space. On the other hand, the motor car was becoming a normal means of comfortable transport in town and between towns for an increasing number of people. The necessity for complete weather protection and ease of success, even with the 'vertical' fashions of the day — top hats for the men and high, sweeping headgear for the ladies-led to high, square, but eminently practical coachwork, of considerable nostalgic appeal today. The mass-produced steel body was still some years ahead.
Increasing traffic density and all-weather motoring had led to the adoption of better mudguards, while bumpers began to appear in America, where they have always been regarded as a parking aid. Tyres were still unsatisfactory, for two reasons: they punctured or burst too frequently and their average life was short, so that tyres constituted a high percentage of total running costs. (In 1914 average tyre life was frequently around 2,000 miles.) However, detachable rims and later detachable and interchangeable wheels were now common, making tyre troubles less unpleasant and time-consuming.
Suspensions were becoming more sophisticated and less empirically designed. By 1913 hydraulic shock absorbers were being manufactured on a fairly large scale and it was possible to travel in relative comfort on the roads of the time, apart from the dust menace. It is perhaps overlooked by many interested observers, however, that at that fairly satisfactory stage of progress, that indispensable piece of motor car equipment, the windscreen wiper, had not been adopted. Instead, an uncomfortable little sliding panel was often provided, which the driver opened in wet weather.
Thus the motor car had become a part of everyday life, both for the driver and for the spectator. It was still very expensive — at least in Europe — but it was accepted and had inserted itself into the economic life of the world.