CHAPTER VIHINTS ON EXPENSES

Photo, H. W. Nicholls.BE SURE THAT ALL NUTS AND BOLTS ARE TIGHT—A RATTLE IS ANNOYING

Photo, H. W. Nicholls.

BE SURE THAT ALL NUTS AND BOLTS ARE TIGHT—A RATTLE IS ANNOYING

a tiny bit of trouble, if you are careful. The looking after the little things saves a heap of trouble. The testing of this thing, the dusting of that, the tightening of a nut, the loosening of a screw—all these may be commonplace trivial matters, but if attended to will pay in the long run.

Prevention is better than cure, and the careful motoriste who looks after her car as she looks after herself will have little use for the hints in this chapter of mine.

Above all, whatever may arise, try to forget to weep and remember to laugh. Then you will have won half the battle of “Motor Woe.”

Motoring need not be an Expensive Luxury—Two Hundred Pounds will go a long Way if properly spent—The Second-hand Car—Motor Clubs—The Ladies’ Automobile Club—The Automobile Association—Motor Schools and Driving Lessons

Bythe time you have read and thoroughly digested the preceding chapters I feel sure you will be able to take your car out for a spin without any misadventure.

There are but a few points which I want to impress upon you in this chapter. Do not let what you may think the great expense debar you from the pleasure of motoring. There is no great expense unless you want to make it so. In my first chapter I spoke of the price of cars and accessories. I gave a total of £300 as the average probable outlay. By no means do I want to revise these figures, but wish to remind you that the figures quoted

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.“BE SURE THAT THE PETROL TANK IS FULL”

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.

“BE SURE THAT THE PETROL TANK IS FULL”

are, in every instance, for articles of the very best quality.

There are now being made several small cars by big firms, many of these cars being eminently suitable for a woman to drive. It is possible to procure a car at £120. The accessories, also, such as the hood and screen, need not be plated or expensively enamelled. Cape cart hoods which have the iron-work painted instead of plated are quite as serviceable, require less cleaning and the cost is considerably less; and so with other things—but it is wise to always get the best. Durability and reliability is what you want, especially if you are limited as to expenditure. I particularly mention these matters because only the other day a friend spoke to me about the expenditure, and said that she could not possibly afford three hundred pounds. She proposed to buy a second-hand car for a small sum and have it repaired.

My advice to her was “Don’t.” And then I ran over a list of expenditure in getting a new car and everything necessary new. Taking the same quality as mentioned in my firstchapter, but not as expensively or so well finished, I found my total less than £230.

One could, of course, go much below this by buying a second-hand car; but I would not advise this. If you know the people who have a second-hand car for sale, and can thus be assured that you will not in any way be tricked, then it might be worth while buying. But from the experience of people I know, I would rather warn you against the cars which are advertised “as good as new,” and for sale for a few pounds. You would probably have to spend in repairs in the first year as much as a new car would cost.

So soon as you are the owner of a car, licensed and ready for the road, become a member of the Ladies’ Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland. Its headquarters are situated at Claridge’s Hotel, in Upper Brook Street. The club has a suite of rooms there. Send in your application to Miss K. d’Esterre Hughes, the secretary of the club.

By joining the club you have many advantages. For instance, there is, of course, the convenience of using the club rooms and theclub garage when in town, and in getting a percentage off your hotel bills. But there is the greater advantage of getting all the necessary information you may want regarding hotels, roads, and such like when you want to go for a tour. There is, in fact, scarcely any information appertaining to motoring which you cannot get at the club. It is always good for a woman car-owner to belong to the first motor club in the kingdom.

Every big town has an automobile club affiliated with the Royal Club, with which the Ladies’ Club is also affiliated, so that by membership in the Ladies’ Club you have a standing at once with the other clubs throughout the country, and also abroad.

Every motoriste should become a member of the Automobile Association. It is an association formed for the purpose of placing scouts on the different main roads to warn motorists of police traps—and the expenditure of £2 2s.a year in this direction will perhaps be the means of saving you four or five times that amount within a few months. You will be given an “A.A.” badge to fasten on the frontof your car, and on seeing this the scouts will always stop you if there is any danger.

With regard to learning to drive, you must do so on quiet country roads or at one of the many motoring schools in and around the big cities; but know something of the school before you decide on it. There are many in which your money would be thrown away.

If you do not go to a school choose a road where there is little or no traffic. One is not allowed to learn in the parks. In fact there is quite a heavy fine imposed on inexperienced drivers who use the parks. Do not go into a street of heavy traffic until you have thoroughly mastered your car, and then drive first some half-dozen times with an expert friend as chauffeur and thus get used to the crushes and the twistings and turnings.

In traffic use your own judgment. Ladies are usually bad at judging distances, and it is well to keep as much toward the middle of the road as possible and not try too many “near things” until you have reached the expert class.

Do not be afraid to sound your horn, yet

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.THIS IS THE SWITCH

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.

THIS IS THE SWITCH

do not use it more than necessary. At cross streets or roads and when approaching corners sound the horn and slacken speed by throttling.

There are numberless little things which, after you have graduated to the ranks of the experienced motoriste, you will buy, not because they are absolutely necessary, but because of their convenience. For instance, a speedometer. All the half-dozen makes are good ones. A speedometer is a very interesting accessory, for it tells you exactly the pace at which you are travelling, and in some instances has been known to influence the decision of a magistrate when deciding a charge of exceeding the speed-limit.

For winter driving they are now making a fur and leather arrangement which covers the steering-wheel; but I would suggest that, to the beginner at any rate, this is superfluous. Soft kid gloves, fur-lined, are much better.

Novelties of all sorts are always coming on the market; but the beginner had better let some one else try these first. It is an expensivething to keep on experimenting with every new device for a car or the motoriste. Let others try them, and if they should prove of real use you will soon know.

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.THIS LEVER IS USED FOR CHANGING GEAR

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.

THIS LEVER IS USED FOR CHANGING GEAR

Things which Motoristes should and should not do when out in their Car—Laws governing the Highways—Pedestrians have the Right of Way—Points and Times at which to drive slowly—Corners and the Danger of cutting them—When to sound the Hooter—The “Courtesy of the Road”

Itis, of course, quite unnecessary to teach the well-bred woman manners. The well-bred woman, with her innate courtesy and unselfishness, should she take up motoring, no doubt would act as all motoristes should act when at the wheel of their car or out on the road. So that while I have headed this chapter “Motor Manners” I desire merely to bring to the notice of readers, as prominently as possible, those things which they should do and those which they should not do when out in their cars. I can safely give this advice, for personal experience has been my teacher. For want of abetter term I call these warnings and suggestions “Manners.”

If every woman and man who drove a car followed these suggestions there would not be an outcry against the motor-car. Unfortunately the great majority of motorists have to suffer for other people’s faults—the disgraceful driving of the few.

The laws now governing motoring have increased largely in the last few years and will probably continue in the making. I will not go into these various laws except to point out that because a person owns a motor-car the ownership of the roads is not necessarily included.

Pedestrians, according to the law, practically own the highways, not to the exclusion of other traffic, but judgments in recent cases declare that it lies with drivers to keep clear of pedestrians and that all persons have a right to walk on the highways at their own pace, whether paralytics or cripples. Dogs, chickens and other domestic animals at large on the highway are not pedestrians, and if one is driving at a regulation speed, or under,one is not responsible for their untimely end.

It is, therefore, especially advisable to drive slowly through all towns and villages. Drive slowly past all school-houses.

Always pass vehicles and bicycles on the proper side, and pass large vans, ’buses and electric tramcars very carefully, as some one may be crossing the road and suddenly appear from behind.

Drive slowly past any one driving or riding a restive horse and, if necessary, especially if it should be a lady or child riding or driving, stop the engine. This is an act of courtesy that will always be appreciated and may prevent a bad accident.

If the road is wet, give pedestrians and cyclists a wide berth so as not to splash them with mud.

Again, if the road is wet, you may be safe enough on account of your car being fitted with non-skid tyres, but in this respect the cyclist is perhaps not so fortunate. He may have a side-slip and fall perilously near your car wheels. For this reason, too, give cyclists plenty of room.

Do not fail to sound the hooter and slacken speed when coming to a cross-road, side-turning or bend. Many accidents may be averted by taking this precaution.

Never take a sharp corner at full speed. A walking pace would be much better.

Never pass or try to overtake a pedestrian, cyclist or vehicle at a corner.

Avoid the bad and perilous habit of trying to squeeze through doubtful openings in traffic either in town or country.

Never drive the engine downhill.

Do not leave the engine running when stopping outside a house. The noise, though it may be slight, may be annoying to the inmates or neighbours.

If you have a syren fitted to your car, do not sound it in a town or village. A syren is really only necessary for Continental driving.

Remember that mail-vans have the “right of way,” and that ordinary traffic is supposed to give way to them.

A hooter is meant to give warning, not to startle people or wake up sleeping inmates in

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.FIRST ADVANCE THE SPARK AND GIVE MORE AIR

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.

FIRST ADVANCE THE SPARK AND GIVE MORE AIR

their houses at all hours. Do not sound your horn oftener than absolutely necessary.

Remember, however, that it is necessary to sound the hooter when coming up behind and intending to pass a pedestrian or a vehicle. But do not wait until you are within a few feet of a pedestrian or cyclist who is already doing his utmost to get out of your way and then sound your hooter. If the cyclist be a novice or at all nervous such conduct might cause an accident.

Keep within the legal limit of speed all the time except on a good and clear stretch of road, where there happen to be no “blind” corners or dangerous cross-roads or traffic. Then there is no real harm done to any one in trying to see what you can get out of your car for a short spurt.

I cannot give you any special advice on the dust nuisance, but if you follow my suggestions, as already given, you will cause the public as little inconvenience from dust as is in your power.

There is a little thing I specially want to warn motoristes against, and that is takingcorners on the wrong side of the road. Ordinarily you would not think of doing so. But wait until you come to a few corners which you can see well around. There is nothing in sight and so you skim the curb for the fun of it.

But do not keep on cutting corners—sooner or later it will become a habit and be done without thinking. Then comes the possibility of another car, a vehicle of sorts, a motorcycle or, worst of all, a cycle with a woman or child pedalling. You may not lose your presence of mind, but how about the cyclist? Don’t cut corners on the wrong side of the road and there will be no need to worry about the answer to my query.

That one can show a great deal of courtesy to other cars and to general traffic on the road is assured, but that few people do is also a fact. Here is a case worthy of attention. Every motoriste has or will experience it. On the road in front of you is a covered car with noisy engine. It is a landaulette or limousine which rattles more or less. The noise of the engine is also magnified by being closed in. The car is taking up the best part of the road

Photo H. W. Nicholls.THE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION SCOUTS WILL, IF NECESSARY, STOP YOUR CAR ON THE ROAD AND GIVE YOU INFORMATION

Photo H. W. Nicholls.

THE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION SCOUTS WILL, IF NECESSARY, STOP YOUR CAR ON THE ROAD AND GIVE YOU INFORMATION

and though you are anxious to pass it you cannot, because of the noise, attract the attention of the chauffeur and get him to draw out enough for you to make a safe pass. It is very annoying and may go on for some time.

See to it, therefore, if you have a closed-in car, that there is a mirror attached to the dash-board so that the chauffeur can see what is behind him and instruct him also to keep a watch, from time to time, for coming-up cars so that you can extend to them the courtesy of the road.

One other matter may be included in “Motor Manners” and that is, leaving the car on the road or in the street unattended. In the first place the law says that you cannot leave your car unattended whether the engine is running or not. It is within the discretion of the police to summons you. They, however, do not interfere unless the engine is running noisily and the exhaust is smoking.

But in leaving one’s car unattended on the road or street, care should be taken, as an act of courtesy to general traffic and pedestrians, that the car does not block the way. If onthe curb in town, and it be possible, leave it on a side-street or, if in front of house or shop, give other people a chance to drive up to the front door. At the same time do not stand your car deliberately in front of some one else’s house instead of your own or your friend’s, if you are visiting.

Photo. H. W. NichollsTHE ENGINE WILL START EASILY If YOU FIRST FLOOD THE CARBURETTOR SLIGHTLY

Photo. H. W. Nicholls

THE ENGINE WILL START EASILY If YOU FIRST FLOOD THE CARBURETTOR SLIGHTLY

Motoring now so general that an Owner of a Car is not any longer considered to be necessarily a Millionairess—Tipping should be on a sensible Basis—While the Motor-car has emphasised Tipping, nowadays the modest Shilling receives quite a Welcome—When to tip and when not to tip explained from Personal Experiences

Ifthere is one thing more than another which the motor-car has revived and intensified it is the habit and practice of tipping. I need not give a lecture on tips. All of us agree, more or less, that the present-day tip is one of the banes of existence. But there are two sides to the question—one we as the givers of tips know a good deal about. Few know much about the other side—the side of the worker for and receiver of tips.

Tips must therefore be divided into two classes—the necessary tip and the unnecessary.There are more of the latter than the former. Under the head of necessary tips I would place the garage tip, whether the garage be a public one or a private one at the house of a friend. There are a few other necessary tips, such as when a friend lends you a car for a drive or a tour or when your friend’s chauffeur drives you to the railway station at an unusual hour or in very bad weather.

Luckily the motor-car is coming into such general use to-day that those who may possess one are not necessarily put down as millionaires. The chauffeur, attendants and servants generally are beginning to realise this and no longer expect a handful of money from every motoriste.

The amount of tips which should be given, in the numerous cases which I am going to mention, should depend on your income and ability to afford. That millionaires are not usually generous tippers is a well-known fact. Generally it is from the woman or man who is not very well off and who can ill afford it that the biggest tips come.

To those who count their half-crowns as worth a full thirty pence and value themaccordingly, I would say—Do not be afraid to accept a friend’s invitation to visit them with your motor-car because you cannot afford to do much tipping. Be sensible about this matter and I can assure you that your friend’s chauffeur, or groom, will also be sensible and welcome the modest shilling or half-crown you give him.

Tipping at a public garage, if you keep your car there, has already been touched on in a previous chapter. If you go on a tour or a little trip, driving yourself, and put your car in a public garage or the one attached to your hotel or roadside inn, your car will not be touched unless you so order. Then for cleaning it, furnishing petrol, charging battery or anything else which may be wanted, there are regulation charges and these will be put down in your bill. The attendant at the garage may or may not be the man who did the work, but if he is it would be quite the proper thing to give him a small tip, just as you might tip the waiter or the chambermaid had they done any satisfactory work for you. But this need not be more than either waiter or chambermaid receive, and if your car has not been cleaned it is scarcely necessary to give the attendant even sixpence unless he has done some service for you.

Some hotels and wayside inns nowadays clean cars which stop with them overnight without extra charge, yet the fee they charge for the garage really covers this. In such case a shilling to the man who did the work would not be amiss. Your car may come into his hands again and he may do better work on it because of the little tip.

If stopping just for lunch or tea at an hotel or inn and, for convenience’ sake, you run your car into the yard or garage, a small tip is necessary.

If you stop the night at a friend’s house and your car is placed in your hostess’s garage, you will find it spick and span in the morning with water in the tank and your petrol-tank also replenished. Perhaps this petrol has been supplied from the spare can you carry, or it may have come from your friend’s supply.

You can quickly find out this. Naturally you will test your tanks and you can question

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.THE LUBRICATION OF THE DE DION IS EXTREMELY SIMPLE

Photo. H. W. Nicholls.

THE LUBRICATION OF THE DE DION IS EXTREMELY SIMPLE

the attendant. Should the petrol-tank not be filled up and should you have used all yours you would naturally ask for enough to fill your wants. Pay for this, for in most garages nowadays a careful account is kept of petrol and other expenses. A five-shilling tip for the man is quite enough.

If your hostess should have a stable only and not a garage, and the man is only able to clean your car as he would a carriage and you have to do the filling of the tanks and the starting of the engine and so on, a smaller tip is all that is necessary.

In staying a week-end at a country house, if your car has not been used during your stay the tip of five shillings is quite sufficient. But rules on such points depend on circumstances. If the weather has been bad and the car is in a very muddy state the man will probably have had considerable extra work to bring out your car clean and shining. Remember what you would have had to pay at a public garage and act accordingly.

If you merely pay a call or go to lunch or tea with a friend, and your hostess has a chauffeurwho takes the car from you and brings it up to the front door at your departure, a little tip, perhaps two shillings, should suffice.

But such a tip is quite an unnecessary one. The man has done nothing but what he has been paid to do by your hostess. He has done no special or extra work especially for you.

It is always a good thing to keep this in mind whether or no a man whom you are about to tip has performed any direct service for you, extra in any way to what he is paid his wages for, in connection with your car. If he has, a tip is not out of place, if you can afford to give one.

Do not let the idea run away with you that simply because you own and drive a car you must be handing tips to everybody. More than half the tips given are absolutely unnecessary.

There are dozens of cases where people foolishly tip. If your hostess’s groom drove you in the dog-cart to the station to catch a train you might think a two-shilling tip all-sufficient. Yet when her chauffeur takes you to the same place in a motor-car you wonderwhether he will think five shillings is enough. It is really very absurd. If we have to tip, why not treat the motor-car as we would any vehicle and the chauffeur as we would any groom or coachman?

There are some people who feel justified, if sent up to town in a friend’s car, in giving the chauffeur as a tip the amount of the first-class railway fare for the distance. A tip decidedly should be given, but certainly not so large a one as this, in most cases, would figure out.

If taken to town from a country house, orvice versa, and one travels in the car with one’s hostess, certainly no tip is necessary; nor should one be given if one goes for a drive with one’s hostess.

Should a friend lend you a car for a day or a drive, a small tip is properly given; but if a friend lends you a car for a tour of some days, the proper thing is to offer to pay the chauffeur’s wages for the week. A tip on the top of this should depend on the manner in which the man serves you.

I have mentioned all these different points because at some time or another they may beactual experiences of the woman who owns and drives her own car.

I do not claim to be an authority on tipping. I distribute a good many gold and silver pieces during a year, but I tip for services rendered and use common sense about the amounts. I get the best of service everywhere.

If every woman who drives her own car followed my rule in this respect the tipping nuisance would not be such a terrible thing after all.

PhotoElliott & FryMISS ISABEL SAVORY, WHO NOT ONLY DRIVES, BUT REPAIRS HER OWN CARS

PhotoElliott & Fry

MISS ISABEL SAVORY, WHO NOT ONLY DRIVES, BUT REPAIRS HER OWN CARS

The Englishwoman at the Wheel—Her Skill in Mechanics and Map-reading—The Ladies’ Automobile Club—Some Noble Women Motoristes—Successful Competitors—Lady Racers at Brooklands—A “Motor Christening”

Thereis no country in the world—not even France, where the motoring movement received its first real start and its keenest pursuit, nor America, where the fair sex is supposed to receive and to exercise its largest freedom—there is no country in the world in which woman may be seen at the helm of a motor-car so frequently as in England. Whatever the cause—whether it be due to a greater sense of security from annoyance on public roads or simply to superiority of pluck, the fact remains that women in England exceltheir sisters in other countries as greatly in motoring as in horsemanship.

Almost every woman who can afford it is, of course, a motoriste in the sense that she owns, or has at her disposal, a motor-car. It is not, however, with the ladies whose experience of the pastime is limited to a seat beside or behind the driver that this chapter deals, but rather with those who are accustomed to the task of driving and caring for their cars, and who find a healthful recreation in doing it. Twenty or thirty years ago, two of the essentials to a motorist—some acquaintance with mechanics and the ability to understand local topography—were supposed to be beyond the capacity of a woman’s brain. The supposition was simply due to the fact that woman’s brain had never had occasion to approach these subjects. Fifty years ago a satirical writer—a man, of course—averred that although instruction in “the use of the globes” was part of the curriculum of every girls’ school, no woman could understand, or would try to understand, a road map. If the remark was true when it was written it is

Photo by Keturah CollingsBARONESS CAMPBELL DE LORENTZ, THE FIRST LADY IN BRITAIN TO DRIVE HER OWN CAR

Photo by Keturah Collings

BARONESS CAMPBELL DE LORENTZ, THE FIRST LADY IN BRITAIN TO DRIVE HER OWN CAR

certainly not true to-day. The school-room globes have long been buried in the dust of disuse, but the pastimes of cycling and motoring have made the understanding of maps a necessity to every active gentlewoman; indeed the average woman is probably quicker than the average man in gathering from a map the information which it has to offer.

So with mechanics. If a woman wants to learn how to drive and to understand a motor-car, she can and will learn as quickly as a man. Hundreds of women have done and are doing so, and there is many a one whose keen eyes can detect, and whose deft fingers can remedy, a loose nut or a faulty electrical connection in half the time that the professional chauffeur would spend upon the work.

Incontestable evidence of the practical interest which Englishwomen are taking in motoring is afforded by the existence and prosperity of the Ladies’ Automobile Club. This institution was established in 1903. The annual subscription is five guineas, and there is an entrance fee of the same amount. Thereare nearly four hundred members, most of whom are fully competent to drive their own cars. The club has successfully organised a number of tours in England and on the Continent as well as driving competitions at Ranelagh.

The president of the Ladies’ Automobile Club, the Duchess of Sutherland, is thegrande dameof automobilism in England. The Duchess is an accomplished motoriste, and although in cold weather she prefers to be driven by somebody else, in summer she may often be seen at the wheel. Her latest car is a Mercédès.

Another peeress who drives, and drives well, is the Countess of Kinnoull. The Countess shares her husband’s fondness for sport, a great variety of which is provided in the neighbourhood of their beautiful Scottish home at Dupplin Castle, and she finds the motor-car an indispensable adjunct to the full enjoyment of country life.

Lady Wimborne, whose energy and industry are as inexhaustible as those of her brother, the late Lord Randolph Churchill, finds the

THE HONBLE. MRS. ASSHETON HARBORDDrives a Rolls Royce Car, owns her own balloon “The Valkyrie,” and has competed with it in seven races.

THE HONBLE. MRS. ASSHETON HARBORD

Drives a Rolls Royce Car, owns her own balloon “The Valkyrie,” and has competed with it in seven races.

motor-car an invaluable aid to her useful activities as well as a means of recreation. She has three or four cars, and is an able and confident driver.

Lady Viola Talbot, daughter of the Premier Earl of England, is like her father in the love of sport. Like him she is almost as fond of motors as of horses. She is mistress of the car and its appurtenances, and has driven some thousands of miles at home and abroad.

Among other titled ladies who count their miles by the thousand may be named Lady Beatrice Rawson, a devotee of the small car; Lady Muriel Gore-Brown, the Hon. Mrs. Maurice Gifford, of Boothby Hall, Grantham; Lady Plowden, and the Baroness Campbell de Laurentz. The Baroness has the distinction of being the first lady in Britain to drive and manage her own car. Cars in those days were patterned like high dog-carts and were mostly steamers. The Baroness possesses several photographs of herself and husband, with a groom in the tiger’s seat, of the old-fashioned car. To-day these pictures have a very queer look.

A complete list of the ladies who have taken part in motor-car road trials and club competitions would be wearisome to the reader, but a few names may be mentioned. Miss Muriel Hind, one of the few women who favour the motor-bicycle, has won many medals in long-distance trials. Mrs. Herbert Lloyd, who is not only an expert driver, but the inventor of some very ingenious appliances for motor-cars, has done well in open competition with professional male drivers. Miss Daisy Hampson has won prizes with her 120 horse-power Fiat. Mrs. E. Manville has taken part in the Herkomer competition.

No list of distinguished women motoristes would be complete without the names of those who took part in the first race for ladies upon the Brooklands course. The race, which was called the Ladies’ Bracelet Handicap, took place in July 1908. There were five starters: Mrs. Locke-King, wife of the founder and owner of Brooklands Racecourse; Miss Muriel Thompson, Miss Christabel Ellis, Miss N. Ridge-Jones, and Mrs. J. Roland Hewitt. Mrs. Locke-King, who started from scratch,

Photo by Arthur RouselleMRS. GEORGE THRUPP, ORIGINATOR OF THE MOTOR CHRISTENING

Photo by Arthur Rouselle

MRS. GEORGE THRUPP, ORIGINATOR OF THE MOTOR CHRISTENING

finished a length in front of Miss Muriel Thompson, her speed over the course being at the rate of fifty miles an hour.

There are few lady motoristes who take a keener practical interest in their cars than Miss Isabel Savory. Miss Savory, who has driven many cars, is loud in her praises of her 10 horse-power Cadillac. This car she has always driven and attended to herself, never having employed a chauffeur. She has done all the oiling and adjustments and has put on many a new inner tube by the roadside. She has driven long distances without any companion, and has dealt single-handed and successfully with every emergency that has arisen.

Mrs. George Thrupp, of Cadogan Square, has been driving ever since 1896. Her favourite cars are the Renault and Mors, in which she has toured in Great Britain and on the Continent. She has won prizes in driving competitions. She was, in fact, one of the pioneers of motoring for women, and her youngest boy, Roger, was the first baby to have a “motor christening.”

Other names of motoring women thatoccur to one are those of Mrs. Edward Kennard, the novelist, who is equally at home at the wheel of a 40 horse-power Napier car and in the saddle of a motor-bicycle; Miss Hunter Baillie, of Cirencester; Mrs. Mark Mayhew, Miss Schiff, Mrs. Claude Paine, Mrs. Nicol, Mrs. Weguelin, Mrs. Charles Jarrott, and Mrs. Edge. No doubt there are other names which at the moment have slipped the memory but which have as good a claim as these to inclusion in the catalogue of distinguished women motoristes. The list is long enough, however, to show the ardour and success with which women have applied themselves to the mechanical details of automobilism.

A good Car at a low Price—Lessons of the “Small Car Derby”—Some notable Small Cars and their Cost—Comparatively low Running Expenses—The Car of the People

Oneof the latest and most notable developments of the motor industry is the prominence of the small car. It is obvious that the number of individuals who can afford to pay from £150 to £230 for a motor-car for purposes either of pleasure or business is enormous in proportion to the number of those who can afford to pay more. Motor manufacturers have never been blind to that fact. It is only in recent years, however, that they have seen their way to meet the demand with satisfaction to their customers and profit to themselves. The small car has come, and its merits are so considerable, the pockets to which it appealsso many, that its popularity is assured. It is not a very rash prophecy to declare that in a few years’ time it will be the vehicle most commonly met with on the high road, and its manufacture the mainstay of the motor trade.

In France, where the possibilities—commercial and practical—of the small car were first foreseen, the great motor race of the year, the Grand Prix of the Automobile Club de France, is now preceded by a Grand Prix des Voiturettes, and the result of the 1908 contest is a striking illustration of the speed and reliability of which some of these little vehicles are capable. Of the forty-seven voiturettes which went to the post, twenty completed the course of 286 miles in a little more than seven and a half hours. The winner, a car driven by a single-cylinder De Dion engine and weighing little more than twelve hundred-weight, covered the distance in five hours and three-quarters—an average speed of nearly fifty miles an hour; while the second car, a single-cylinder Sizaire, which was only six minutes behind at the finish, covered oneof the laps at an average speed of more than fifty-three miles an hour. Speeds such as these are happily not lawful on English roads. I point to them only to illustrate the power that the motor manufacturer has succeeded in obtaining from a single cylinder of less than four inches bore, and the excellence of design and material which has enabled him to produce a little vehicle, weighing a good deal less than a ton, yet capable of withstanding the shocks of rattling over 286 miles of country road at racing speed.

The race for the Grand Prix des Voiturettes and other recent trials have amply demonstrated the speed and reliability of the small car. They have shown that for sums ranging from £150 to £230 the manufacturer can make a car which, for all practical purposes of everyday use upon the road, is the equal in speed and trustworthiness of a car costing from three to five times as much. The 8 horse-power De Dion, which costs £225 15s., went through the International Touring-car Trial of 1908 with flying colours. It covered 1800 miles of arduous road work in capital style, and byshedding one of its passengers it even managed to climb the terrible two-mile slope of the Kirkstone Pass. The 9 horse-power Sizaire, the engine already referred to as having accomplished the fastest lap in the Grand Prix, costs 190 guineas. There are many other cars, British and foreign, not less reliable and equally moderate in price: the Phœnix, for example, a twin-cylinder car, costing £140; the Jackson De Dion, costing £220; the Pick, a four-cylinder 14-16 horse-power car, costing only £165; the Rover, costing from 100 to 200 guineas according to engine-power and finish; and the Vauxhall. When it is remembered that cars can often be bought second-hand but in first-class condition for about two-thirds of their original cost, it will be recognised that motoring need not be the exclusive privilege of the very rich.

It is not, however, in the comparison of first cost so much as in that of the cost of maintenance that the small car appeals to the man of moderate means. Generally speaking it may be said that as compared with a full-powered car the small car uses little more than one-third the quantity of petrol per mile travelled, and that its tyres cost only half as much and last twice as long. A gallon of petrol, which will propel a big car 12 or 15 miles, will propel a little Rover or Phœnix from 30 to 40 miles. Here is a statement of the actual cost of running a 6 horse-power Rover for eleven months over nearly 6000 miles of country roads:

The car belonged to a doctor who had to make frequent stoppages on the way, so that the consumption of petrol was higher than it would have been with continuous travelling. Nevertheless, the cost of running the car works out at about four-fifths of a penny per mile—less than third-class railway fare for one person. This is, no doubt, an exceptionally low figure. Another user of an exactly similarcar has found the cost of running 3400 miles to be as follows:

—almost exactly a penny a mile. To these figures must, of course, be added the cost of licences, insurance, garaging, and an allowance for the depreciation of the car—that is to say, the difference between its first cost and the price at which it could be resold.

In every respect but one the advantages of the small car over its big brother are enormous. Its one drawback is that its accommodation is necessarily smaller. The typical small car is a two-seater; but that is the essence of its economy. Extra seats and extra passengers mean extra weight, and extra weight requires larger engines and more petrol, and entails more wear and tear on tyres, machinery and chassis. It is the weight thatruns up the maintenance bill and the prospective purchaser should bear this in mind if he hankers after an extra seat. I may point out, nevertheless, that some of the small cars in the market can be fitted with a detachable rear seat for £6 or £7, and that others have sufficient space for the accommodation of an extra passenger upon the floor. A friend who owns a “two-seater” Sizaire, tells me that it often carries four passengers to the railway station.

It is as a two-seater, however, that the small car bases its claim to popular favour. In the majority of journeys by any sort of private vehicle two is the number for which accommodation is most frequently required. Many owners of large cars have discovered that the occasions on which a two-seater would not serve their motoring purposes are comparatively few. Obviously it is gross extravagance to employ the voracious eater of petrol and rubber upon a service which can be accomplished at a quarter of the cost by a smaller car, at the same speed, with less strain upon the driver and with equal comfort to the passenger. Forthese reasons the time is at hand when every motor-car owner; however many big cars he may possess, must add to his fleet at least one two-seater for run-about purposes. The large car will be a luxury, the small car will be a necessity—and not only for those who are ordinarily described as wealthy. The time is coming when every man who can afford to go out of town at week ends will find it worth his while to be a motorist, when every suburban house with a rental of over £60 will have its motor shed, and when the small car will be as prevalent upon the country road as the bicycle is to-day.

One sees every day on the streets and roads cars bearing numbers and letters quite unfamiliar. It is advantageous, in many ways, for the motoriste to be fairly well acquainted with some of the more important index-marks. One can easily remember in the United Kingdom that Ireland’s index-letters all contain the letter I and Scotland’s all the letter S (with two exceptions). England and Wales to date, with very few exceptions, use up the letters A, B, C, D, E and F. London has now four distinct index-marks and no doubt will add to them as the increase in cars may demand.

All motor-cars must have an index-mark and a registration number, excepting those owned personally by his Majesty the King.

White letters and figures on a black plate are for privately owned cars. Trade vehicles use coloured figures and letters, usually red on a white plate. Trade vehicles usually also have additional letters which are granted them as a trade-mark or for trade purposes. But the index-mark or letter of their locale must, in all instances, be placed first on the plate.

Registration need not be effected in the same district in which the car is owned, so that, with some trouble, an owner can have practically any letter she likes on her car.

The fee for registration, £1, need be paid only once on any one car, excepting on change of ownership, when a fee of 5s.is payable. But with this change of ownership the index-mark and registration number remain the same. If a new index-mark and registration number are wanted, the existing ones can be cancelled and the car re-registered, in any locality, on payment of the full fee.

The following are the index-marks in use in the United Kingdom:

ENGLAND AND WALES

SCOTLAND

All cars bearing on their index-marks the letter S can, at a glance, be put down as Scottish, for Scotland alone has a right to the use of this letter:

IRELAND

The inclusion of the letter I on a car’s index-mark stamps that car at once as Irish, for the use of this letter is confined to Ireland:

FRANCE

In France the index-numbers are divided among sixteen sections, including Algeria, which are calledArrondissements minéralogiques. Some of these sections contain as many as eight departments or counties. The majority have single letters. Paris has five sets of single letters. It is necessary for a motoriste from the United Kingdom, when taking her car into France, to affix a French index-mark above her British one. This mark and number will be given her at the point of debarkation on registering the car and on passing a pleasant and easy little examination in the art of driving. This test consists in driving round a square or up and down the street for about a quarter or half a mile, turning a few cornersen route. The French index-marks are as follows:

GERMANY

The motoriste from the United Kingdom can take her car into Germany and drive it there without having to put on a new number. Germany willingly accepts the British index-mark already on the car. Index-marks in Germany are allotted in twenty-six different sections, one of which, Prussia, is sub-divided into twelve provinces and the city of Berlin.In nearly all the distinct kingdoms and duchies an attempt has been made to utilise the initial letter of that section, thereby making recognition of the locale of the car quicker.

In Prussia the mark is the number I in a Roman figure followed by letters of the alphabet. In many other provinces numbers in Roman figures are also used, the figure in most instances being followed by a letter of the alphabet.

The following are the German police index-marks for cars (Kraftfahrzeuge):

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