Indholdsfortegnelse for August 1958 i MotorTrend

EVERY TIME YOU TURN OVER A STONE, out creeps a nestful of rumors that one, or all, of the Big Three manufacturers will shortly produce a small car to meet “the growing demand for smaller, plainer, more economical transportation.” FROM WHERE I SIT, I’d say don’t hold your breath till that happens—it may be next year, it may not. If, as, and when, any of the divisions of General Motors, Chrysler, or Ford does come up with a small American production car it will be in response to a clear-cut mandate from car buyers, and may spring full-blown, like Athena from the head of Zeus. It would be beamed to provide all the features Americans find desirable in smaller cars but would retain American standards of comfort and roominess. Currently…

A SIGN ON THE NEW OFFICE and museum building just outside the main entrance to the Indianapolis Motor Speed-way labels the Speedway as “The Capital of Automobile Racing.” This is no idle boast for on the huge track behind the new arch over the ancient gate to the 515-acre racing plant are held the world’s most spectacular closed track races. Here, each year, 33 of the nation’s best race cars and drivers vie for fame, acclaim, and gobs of the green stuff so necessary for existence in our modern, high-speed world. This year’s race was the 42nd annual event and, with the exception of its confused start and tragic first lap, it was a good, fast race with exceptional driving by many drivers and enough lead changing to make it…

EXCEPT FOR MINOR TRIM, the new ID version of the DS-19 Citroën is identical in appearance. All changes have been made on the inside, where the gadget-ridden dash has given way to one more practical and easy to use. The automatic clutch and hydraulic controls have been replaced with an excellent four-speed column shift, pendant clutch pedal; the brake button has been replaced by a normal pedal, and the diameter of the steering wheel has been increased. Otherwise, the ID is just about the same. It still features the sensational oleo suspension which provides fabulous riding qualities. The self-leveling device still hisses, and raises or lowers the front and rear after hard stops and fast starts, but it reacts slightly slower due to the installation of only one pump (two…

DRIVING CONDITIONS in Paris are pretty much like they are in other crowded cities of the world—New York, London, Los Angeles—where they have what seems to be two cars for every space where only one can fit. And so during rush hour, you sit, and smoke a cigarette, and look at your watch, and move a few feet, and get impatient, and never quite learn to accept it the way the Frenchmen do. You can’t even let off steam by blowing your horn—that’s forbidden. Yet it seems as if the Frenchman behind the wheel neither gives, nor asks any quarter. If he can outbluff you in a tight spot, he will. It’s a sort of a game—he who bluffs best, wins. This was forcefully brought home by a wild Citroen…

NOTE: Sam Hanks, last year’s Indy champ, and MOTOR TREND’S contributing editor on racing, was appointed Director of Racing at Tony Hulman’s Indianapolis Speedway on May Sth, prior to the Big 500. In this yearly position, Hanks is bound to bring many improvements to this great classic. Here he answers critics of this year’s start and places the blame for the accident where it should be.—Editor. CONTRARY TO PUBLIC OPINION and comments made by some so-called experts, the actual start of the Indianapolis 500 this year had nothing to do with the accident that occurred on the third turn of the first lap. This is conclu-sively shown by the two comparative photos taken by Speedway management just after the start and from the same position of the 1957 and 1958…

WHEN A CAR BECOMES as popular as the Renault Dauphine, it is only natural that a great deal of attention is devoted to make it “go” still faster and better. Even the Renault factory caught the “soup-up” fever and released a Gordini Dauphine for the use of the enthusiasts. Though the Dauphine falls in the economy car class, its handling ability enables it to use a great deal more than its stock power output. There are three basic approaches to increase the power of a Dauphine which can be used either singly or in combination: 1) modify the existing engine, 2) change to a larger size engine, or 3) install a blower. Cost, weight, and the gains in power will influence your decision. Changing to a larger size engine, in…

SATISFIED WITH SIXES Dear Sir: “Are the 6’s Good Economy Buys?” failed to consider or stress the following facts: (1) Most driving by the ordinary person is under local or urban conditions, calling for speeds under 50 mph. (2) Almost nowhere in the U.S. have I seen LEGAL SPEEDS in excess of 60 mph. Just what real value for the average person is there in a super-powered, 110-mph-plus, 0-to-50-mph-in-five-seconds type of auto? I have a six-cylinder 1957 Plymouth Savoy which I have driven over 12,000 miles in the past eight months. I have never seen the occasion yet where I needed more performance than that provided by my six-cylinder engine. As a bonus I get excellent gas mileage on regular gas, enjoy low maintenance and tune-up charges, get good tire…

ENGINEERING-WISE, AMERICAN CARS are better than they have ever been. Engine efficiency has exceeded even the most enthusiastic dreams of just a few years ago. Suspensions, at long last, are being engineered for today’s power, and while far from perfected, show great promise of further improvement in the next few years. Brakes have been neglected; even so, their efficiency is gradually improving, too. Transmissions and differentials now perform with acceptable regularity. What then is wrong with Detroit’s engineering? First, let’s take a look at fuel systems. Carburetors have probably done as much to create the desire to “take a bus” as any other item on an automobile. They are called upon to perform herculean tasks to wring the last ounce of power from the engine, accommodate the automatic choke, automatic…

NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL, the station wagon has become a strange mixture of sedan, bus and truck. Almost as old as the automobile itself, statistics show that the first station wagon was built in 1902. What that wagon looked like is anybody’s guess, but it’s a good bet that anyone interested in automobiles has seen at least one of the first mass-produced wagons built in 1929 by the Ford Motor Co. Between 1902 and 1929 station wagons were custom-built luxuries that only the wealthy could afford. Now they are so popular that many manufacturers build several models of them. The Ford Motor Co., for instance, builds 17 wagon models for three of their makes of cars. Wagons of the low-priced makes are the most popular. Early wagons had wood bodies,…

THERE IS NOTHING BACKWARD about the car with the backward “P.” If the U.S. distributors can successfully retail the car at the proposed base tag of $2175 (East Coast)—$2295 (West), it will be the best dollar-for-dollar buy in four-door sedans—U. S. or foreign. The four-cylinder, in-line mill features a domed hemispherical combustion chamber with inclined intake and exhaust valves, operated from a single camshaft. This system was pioneered by Peugeot back in 1912, and has been refined to the point where their modem powerplant has gained wild applause for dependability from Paris cab drivers—and that takes some doing! In traffic the 403 complements its modest 58 horsepower with the agility which goes with a 15 ½-foot turning circle. Although the engine is extremely flexible, the revs must be kept up…

OPTIMISM IS THE KEYNOTE in the European auto industry generally. Both the British and the Germans, among others, are happily producing and selling cars as fast as assembly lines can turn them out and ships will carry them abroad. Sir William Rootes, of England’s important Rootes Group, re-ports that British industry is expanding with all plants busy. He says that there is no recession in Great Britain. With the shipping bottleneck ended, British auto exports for a recent three-month period are above $1.5 million worldwide. Sir William foresees a continued large volume of sales for bigger U.S. cars while demand for the smaller imports will continue to grow steadily. Daimler-Benz, whose distribution arrange-ment with Studebaker-Packard has just passed its first birthday, has never found the export business as profitable as…

Requirements are: copy limit of 25 words (not including name and address): 1st come, 1st served; we reserve the right to edit where necessary: we are not responsible for accuracy of description, although we will reject any misleading statements. This service is not open to commercial advertisers. No ads will be accepted if payment is not made in advance, and-such communications will not be acknowledged. Only one CAR may be listed in any single Sell ’N’ Swap insertion. This limitation will not apply to parts, catalogs, etc. The charge is $4 per insertion. If your car is unusual and you have a photo of it suitable for publication, you may submit it with your ad. If we decide to print it there’s no cost to you for the cut, but…

MODEL CHANGES IN 1959 will be the most extensive on an industry-wide basis that have been made in the past four years. General Motors lines throughout will be completely restyled and members of the Ford family of cars will have completely new appearances. This will be true of the Ford and Mercury lines with less extensive changes in Lincoln and Edsel. Thunderbird, announced in February, will continue its present lines until later. Chrysler Corp. offerings (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto and Imperial) will stay basically with the so-called “Forward Look.” All will have new front-end treatment and fins in the rear will be further accentuated. Studebaker-Packard will offer a new smaller car and American Motors will stand on its present designs with minor changes. Whether these improvements will be sufficient to…

The growth of Barris, the designer, into a newly recognized maturity is seen in the radically restyled ’55 Chevrolet convertible, owned by Bill Carr of Hollywood. Barris pulled out all the plugs in both quality of workmanship and in his innate creative ability and came up with a custom that’s bound to catch the interested eyes of those behind the drawing boards in Detroit. Highlights of the car are a Parisienne-type half removable top, outward-canted rear fender fins with specially designed red reflective tail lights and magnified lucite backup lens. Widened front fenders hold Turnpike quad headlights; front and rear shell openings match, as do twin airscoops in the hood and the upper and lower air-scoops in reshaped side body panels. ON OPENING NIGHT of the 1954 Motor Revue—a spectacular…

THE ROAD TEST CAR from off which fell—nothing… Contrary to what you might expect, the road tester does not approach the latest wheeled product offered into his care for testing with a light confident heart. Tight production schedules release new models with nuts and bolts no more than holding hands to keep wheel and chassis together. An innocent rattle is sure to be followed by the metallic sound of some vital part bounding along the asphalt. The patrol car’s siren is sure to be followed by a frantic wire-pulling search for tail lights that were, but now have gone you know not where. In contrast to these conditions, the Austin-Healey Mille Miglia proved to be outstandingly well prepared and dependable. This, added to the fact that it is a most…

photo contest THE EDITORS OF MOTOR TREND are looking for the three best photos or sequences of photos taken each month in the field of motor sports. And this includes all forms of motorized racing on land or water—anything that is exciting and pictorial. Picture quality, good composition, current news value and photos that tell a story are what we want. First prize is $25, second $15 and third award is $10. If we select a picture sequence, we will pay the place award for the first photo plus $7.50 for each additional picture used in the series. Please identify all photos with names, dates, locations and pertinent caption data. Contest is open to amateurs and professionals alike. Photos should be black and white glossy prints, four by five inches…

WITH A SPORTSMAN’S TOP, your pickup can be used for camping and hunting as well as business. Of steel construction, the body is very durable and watertight as it is sealed to the flareboard of the truck with sponge rubber. The Sportsman, easily installed or removed, comes in various designs and interiors. Many of the models have provisions for attaching a boat on the roof. The interior is sprayed with a rubber base undercoating, painted aluminum. The outer surface may be painted any color—included with the installation in the basic price, starting at $279, f.o.b. factory. Cost includes two folding cots, 29” × 72”. The tops are made by Borg Welding and Manufacturing Co., 17221 S. Western Ave., Gardena, Calif. STATION WAGON PADS of lightweight foamed polyether that can be…

ONE OF THE MORE IRRITATING and costly faults in most of our high torque, powerful modern automobiles is a clanking noise or vibration in the driveshaft or transmission. Actually this is caused when the rear springs spread, and the rear end and driveshaft are pulled away from the transmission, causing an air pocket. Then, when the driveshaft goes home, this creates the loud clanking noise. The Traction-Master Co. of Los Angeles, known for their Traction-Masters, have come up with what they believe is a solution. Seal-O-Matic is the product of three years of research, development and practical roadtesting. It has double bearing surfaces to provide true and constant alignment of the transmission outshaft and the driveshaft—preventing the eccentric rotation which causes “snap,” as well as vibration and wear. The seal…

FARMER. PLOWING WITH ONE MULE: “Giddap, Pete! Giddap, Barney! Giddap, Johnny! Giddap, Tom!” STRANGER: “How many names does that mule have?” FARMER: “Only one. His name is Pete, but he doesn’t know his own strength, so I put blinders on him. yell a lot of names, and he thinks three other mules are helping him.” (Wonder if this system could get more horsepower out of an engine…?) DRIVER TO NAVIGATOR: How’re we doing? NAVIGATOR: We’re lost—but we’re making good time!…