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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 1916)
14 .ri I He, OMAHA &UN1M Y Btiti: DttCttMBfcR 17, 1916. STORY OF EVOLUTION OF THE AUTOMOBILE Power Vehicle Has Origin in Chins, According to Best Records Available. KNOWN AS KITE CARRIAGE The following history of the evo lution of the motor car has been pre pared by S. S. Rieman, vice president and general manager of the Elgin Motor Car corporation. Mr. Rieman is a veteran automobile man. J "The first record we have of a ve hicle traveling without animal power is found in .the ancient Chinese an al, which give an account of the kite carriages. Tnese vehicles were driven by the wind blowing against a sail attached to the carriage. "In the early reign of King James I of England a patent was issued to Hugo Upton, reading as follows: 'For the sole making of an instrument which shall be driven by wind for the transportation or carriage of any thing by land.' Some believe that Up ton secured his idea from kite car riages in China. Early Steam Carriage.. "However, the history of mechani cally driven carriages dates back to 1680 when Sir Isaac Newton pro posed a steam carriage to be driven by the reactive effect of a jet of steam issuing from the nozzle at the rear ot the vehicle. Some years later ,a crude carriage was built, an early record of which reads as follows: 'Mr. Pinchbeck has recently buiH a curious steam machine that has traveled without horses for forty minutes and has covered a considerable distance.' "In 1759 there appeared an Eng' lish advertisement reading as fal lows: 'Mr. Ladd's patent four-wheel carriage, that goes , without horses and will carry four or five persons at the rate of sue miles an hour, is built on solid mechanical Drincioles. : "In 1802 Richard Trevithick built a steam carriage which was exhibited at London, having driven Itself ninety miles.. In 18J0 a horseless carriage named The Automotion,' was built by Walter Handcock. This was really the first steam carriage that proved at ' all practical. It covered 4,200 miles during its life and carried a total of 12,761 passengers.- Early Combustion Engines. "The first internal combustion en- gine was invented by Abbe d'Haute feuille in 1678, in which the explosive power of gunpowder was employed to drive t piston in a cylinder. This was the forerunner of ' the modern Jasoline engine.- Some years later ohn Street developed an engine oper ated by liquid air ignited by a flame. "The first internal combustion mo ' tor which used gas was invented in J884 by Gottlieb Damler. In 1885 he successfully applied this engine to a bicycle, and in 1888 Carl Iicnz in- vented his single horizontal cylinder, water-jacketed engine, which he ap plied to a three-wheeled carriage. "The first practical gasoline auto mobile built in America was construc ted by C E. Duryea in 1892, but it was found to be under-powered. First Auto Race. ."In 1894 Duryea built a new-four-,i cylinder ear, which proved quite sue ' cessful In the Chicago Times-Herald race. 'The first automobile endurance race of international importance was neia m i-rance in 1SV4. I wo Fan hard machines contested. Both claimed a 3.5 horsepower and were driven by Messrs. Panhard and Peugeot. "In 1895 the second automobile en durance race was held in France and covered a distance of 1,730 miles at the then remarkable speed of fifteen miles per hour. Six years later, how ever the same course was covered at the rate of fifty miles per hour. "In 1897 at the Paris-Troville road race a speed of twenty-nine miles an hour was developed in a gasoline au tomobile. Not long ago a 300-horse- power car raced at a speed of 143 miles an hour. WORKING FOR ONE STANDARD FOR GAS Through Bureau of Mines, Gas oline Question Is Taken Up by Government. HOPE FOR GOOD RESULTS Franklin Autos To Increase $100 After March First The Franklin Automobile com pany, Syracuse, N. Y, has notified all Franklin dealers that, effective March 1. 1917, the prices of all mod els included in the Franklin line will be increased $100 each. Stearns-KnightTVIodels Advance Some in Price In speaking of the advance in price of Steams-Knight models announced last week Mr. Hayward of the Mc intyrc-Haywarcl Motor company says: "The Steams-Knight people are up. against the situation all other manufacturers face. The 1917 mate rial contracts are being made at con siderably higher prices and the Steams-Knight men had to advance the price or reduce the quality. The price as a consequence advanced $100 on the eight-cylinder open models and $30 on the four-cylinder open moacig. Mr. Opper Finds Nebraskans ; Favor the Big Reo Trucks According to J. M. Opper of the Jones-Opper company, Nebraskans are doing a considerable amount of (.motor truck buying this fall. This is evidence, tnmks Upper, that the west has awakened to the motor truck era. The Reo trucks which are selling in this territory are three-quarter ton and two-ton trucks. The latennodel Reo "Six" is coming to Omaha now hi response to a brisk demand. Nebraska Buick Company Is Getting Big Shipments The Nebraska Buick Auto company has en- route to Omaha three train loads of automobiles,' These cars will be divided among the- Nebraska dealers. This shipment, according to Leo Huff, local manager, is the. seven teenth train load of Buicks sent into this territory since July 1, 1916. Another Fire Starts , In ig Iron Works tos 'Angeles. Cal.. Dec. 16. Fire early today nearly wiped out the plant oi me ueweuyn iron worKS, causing damage estimated at more than S500.- 000. Several explosions were re ported to have occurred and the po lice were investigating to determine if they were incidental to the fire, or if tne plant had been dynamited. . 1 " The federal Board of Mines at Washington is enlisting chemists and mineralogists in an effort to define a United States standard for gasoline. Among those who have been invited to submit their criticisms of a pro posed classification, together with suggestions for improvement of the tentative standard, is Daniel Huff, chief chemist of the Packard Motor Car company. "The Bureau of Mines will find ready- co-operation from many sources. Mr. Huff said. It must appear to refiners, to manufacturers of automobiles and to motorists gener ally as quite desirable that a higr standard be set up and approved Ej the government. Fuel of Low Gravity. " "There is being marketed gencr- ally'nowadays a fuel of tow gravity. It is by no means as satisfactory as the gasoline we were furnished five or six years ago, betore the tremendous demand of the present day was felt. A continually increasing percentage of this fuel fails to vaporize at motor temperature about 223 degrees. "I should like to see tho govern ment establish a higher standard than IS on the gasoline now in use. - In stead of a classification including sev eral qualities, the standard finally adopted should be an approval, think, of only one grade. It might well be designated motor gasoline. Would Set Standard. "A complicated classification would confuse motorists and cover deceitful practices. I should set the standard at 95 per cent, meaning that in a vapor izing test 95 per cent of the fluid sold as 'United States Approved Motor Oasoline would distill pure gasoline at 180 degrees centigrade. "Of course, even with such a stand ard, and a public educated to demand it, there still would be many who would buy lower quality fuels. That would be their own affair, between them and their own motors. ' Advantages to Be Gained. "Moreover, the automobile manu facturer still would be responsible for the invention and improvement ot mechanical aids to efficient use of fuel. Good carburetion always is essential. Added advantages are to be gained from certain refinement such as those incorporated in the new model Pack ard Twin Six engine. f ackard engineers have trans formed the gas intake into a short. hot conduit, with, separate passages most efficiently in bringing the tem perature of the motor up to the point at which the engine runs best. The carbureter is set low between the cyl inder blocks, where it is warmed by the radiation from the cylinders, "Superior engine design and con struction always will tell, whatever the type of fuel used, but it may never count so much as in the present day, when low-gravity gasoline is in gen-eral-use." "'"-. ..- - i, THE MAXWELL SEDAN $985 A CLOSED CAR for Winter and an open car for Summer two cars in one, and at the price of one such is the Maxwell Sedan. In Winter the windows are raised, a matter of a few seconds, and your Maxwell is a perfect closed car exceedingly smart In appearance, with luxuri ous fittings, as tight, warm and comfortable as the most expensive electric or limousine. A sensible family car, offering complete protec tion In the Winter and perfect touring service in the Summer, at the modest price of $985. made possible only by the big production of the Maxwell Factories. The Sedan body is mounted on the famous Maxwell Stock Chassis, which is a guarantee of reliability and operating economy. ' . ; i Touring Car $595 Roadster. ...580 Cabriolet $865 Town Ca - 915. C. W. Fr&ncis Auto Co. .1 Distributors .... .. , , , (. - 2216-18 Farnam St. . Omaha, Neb. Deferred Payments If Desired. PELTON TAKES OVER THE MARMON AUTO Nebraska and Western Iowa Territory Will Be Handled from Omaha Offices. DEMONSTRATOR SECURED Announcement has just been made by H. Pelton that he has taken on the agency for the Marmon in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. In order to secure a demonstrator at the earliest moment Pelton went to Kansas City and drove a car to Omaha. The party left Kansas City at 9:03 Wednesday morning and reached here at 5:35 in the evening, making the same time as the train. This is considered very good time, in' view, of the extremely cold weather and the fact that the car was not al lowed to go over forty miles per hour at any time, this because it was a new car being driven for the first time. In spite of the fact that the speed ometer did not go above forty miles per hour, the average for the trip was twenty-seven and one-half miles' per hour. The entire distance was made on high gear. According to Pelton the Marmon takes all hills on hisli with oerfect ease, and bumps don't malte any im pression, the easy-riding qualities are increased by the use of compound cantilever springs, which are credited with eliminating bumpsand side sway at any road speed. . 1 he Marmon models will accelerate from three to fifty miles per hour in eighteen seconds and "do" sixty-five niles per hour on country roads. The car is remarkably light in weight. The touring cars weigh only 3,540 pounds. Peratatenco li til. Cardinal Vlrlua In Advertfalna- Saxon Beats Time Of Fast Trains Though ( snow, deep enough for sleighing, and over the rough frosted roads of New York state and Massa chusetts, a Saxon "six" covered 457 miles in thirteen hours and fifty min utes, actual running time, on Novem ber. Howard C. Loveland, manager of the Loveland company, Saxon dealer at Detroit. Buffalo and Cleveland. drove the car through from that city to Ellington, Conn., to attend a fam ily reunion and Thanksgiving day ceieDraiion. ine lapsed time ot the run was fifteen hours and fifteen min utes. There were four passengers in the car; a heavy top was raised and the side curtains were in place to protect the party from the bitter cold. The start was made at 2:30 o'clock in the morning and the car drove into El lington at 5:45 o'clock the same evening. j I k r i msk i our Oil a vvva I About G. L. W. Spring Oilers G. L. W. Spring j Oiler Company ' 8S4 Brandeis Bldg. MSaMSSISaaWsSMJ Persistence Is the Cardinal Virtue In Advertising. EtmhHk4 1882 iir Thousand H VERS December 4th, 1916 will go down in Studebaker history as PROMINENT BUYERS' DAY. On that day, a few hours after the announcement" of the new Series 18 Studebakers, from reports now in, over 6,000 of the most prominent business, professional and public men in America placed their orders for Studebaker automobiles. This list of buyers is national r frcun every State in the Union, and includes: Members of the President's Cabinet Governors of States U. S. Senators State Senators U. S. Congressmen State Congressmen Great Manufacturers Technical Experts Bank Presidents Noted Lawyers Bank Directors Supreme Court Judges College Presidents Officials of Great Corporations Famous Educators Nationally Famous Clergymen Famous Authors - ... Mechanical Engineers , . ' s.s-;, (A "Blue Book," containing a complete list of these buyers is now being ..compiled.) ... . ;u;, .,;,.' ' ' THIS IS THE GREATEST ENDORSEMENT EVER GIVEN ANY AUTOMOBILE BY THE MOST PROMINENT AND REPRESENTA TIVE PEOPLE OF AMERICA. x It establishes Studebaker definitely as a fine car a leader in style and quality. It has proved beyond doubt that the "day of high prices for fine cars has passed. These buyers of Series 18 Studebaker cars are discriminating, exacting and critical they are the keenest judges of quality and value. They are the kind of people who have owned the highest priced cars, and their endorsement of Studebaker cars means that the value of a motor car is hot judged by its price tag.' THIS ENDORSEMENT OF STUDEBAKER CARS TRULY SHOWS: . the obvious value of Studebaker cars. 7-the obvious. quality and style of Studebaker cars, the great confidence the American public has in the name of Studebaker. the high standing of the Studebaker dealers' organization . and its ability to inspire the public with confidence in its service. These prominent buyers, in spending $7,000,000 for Studebaker cars in a few hours after the new models were announced is the greatest evidence of faith in a product in the historyof merchandising. It is more money than the public has ever spent before in a single day for an automobile of any kind at any price. It is more money than the public has ever spent in a single day for any one article, except food, fuel and clothes. It is the first time the public has ever so significantly stamped with approval the leadership of automobile value and quality. It means more to the prospective purchaser of a motor car than any record ever made on a speedway, on a hill-climbing contest, on a cross-country run or through various "stunts," by specially prepared cars, in the hands of profes sional drivers. See these new Series 18 cars today. Every Studebaker dealer has a speci men of these famous cars on' his. floor- right now see them ride in them, and you'll quickly understand why tney are the ultimate choice of America's dis criminating buyers. STUDEBAKER SOUTH BEND, IND. FOUR-CYLINDER MODUS FOUR Chassta $ 8S0 FOUR Roadster 30 FOUR Touring Car ... 940 FOUR ETory-WoatW Car - 1140 FOUR Uadau Roadster - - 1150 Att trio r. O. B. Vtbii. DETROIT, MICH. WALKERVILLE. ONT. SIX-CYLINDER MODE! E. R. Wilson Automobile Co. 3,- ; ; ; ; ; ; 2250 Farnam Street - Omaha fj UodaRoxW ". ". ". liso SIX Ettt-Weather Car 1380 Phone Hamey 871 g To.. S-U. .too SIX Limousin 2600 -v. All Pricti P. O. B. Dttreil. it i ,wr ' ,