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The author first considers the style and arrangement of the seats, the position of the rear axle as affecting the rear kick-up in the chassis frame, and the position of the rear wheels as determining the distance from the back of the front seat to a point where the curve of the rear fender cuts across the top edge of the chassis frame. The location of the driver's seat and of the steering-wheel are next considered, the discussion then passing to the requirements that affect the height of the body, the width of the rear seat, and the general shape. The evolution of the windshield is reviewed and present practice stated. Structural changes are then considered in relation to the artistic requirements, as regards the various effects obtained by varying the size or location of such details as windows, doors, moldings, panels, pillars, belt lines, etc., and the general lines necessary to produce an effect in keeping with the character of the car.

Motorization, as developed during the war, is stated as the greatest single advance in military engineering since the fourteenth century. Excepting about 66 per cent of the 77-mm. guns in the combat division, all mobile weapons of the United States artillery are motorized and complete motorization has been approved. The history of artillery motorization is sketched and a tabulation given of the general mechanical development in artillery motor equipment to May, 1919. Caterpillar vehicle characteristics are next considered in detail, followed by ten specifically stated problems of design which are then discussed. Five primary factors affecting quantity production, successful construction and effective design, in applying the caterpillar tractor to military purposes, are then stated and commented upon. A table shows specifications of engines used by the Ordnance Department and three general specifications for replacing present engine equipment are made.

The free, resilient, self-expanding, one-piece piston-ring is a product of strictly modern times. It belongs to the internal-combustion engine principally, although it is applicable to steam engines, air-compressors and pumps. Its present high state of perfection has been made possible only by the first-class material now available and the use of machine tools of precision. The author outlines the history of the gradual evolution of the modern piston-ring from the former piston-packing, giving illustrations, shows and comments upon the early types of steam pistons and then discusses piston-ring design. Piston-ring friction, the difficulties of producing rings that fit the cylinder perfectly and the shape of rings necessary to obtain approximately uniform radial pressure against the cylinder wall are considered at some length and illustrated by diagrams.

The best weight for a tractor of given horsepower must be a compromise based upon a mean of the many conditions to be encountered by a given machine or by different machines of the same model. While the weight logically will bear some relation to the drawbar pull, the latter in turn depends upon tractor speed. The next item is weight distribution, which requires the utmost skill of the designer; this is elaborated and diagrams are shown of tractors operating in comparatively firm and in soft ground, ascending a grade and when the drive-wheels are mired. The four-wheel-drive tractor requires a modification of the foregoing analysis and the diagrams are applied to afford a similar analysis for this type. The author's conclusion is that, while careful engineering will make the light-weight tractor of conventional type stable under most conditions, there is a possibility that any future trend toward lighter machines will open the field to other types.

The paper surveys the economic and engineering aspects of the automotive industry, so that engineers can align themselves with its future development. Better performance and longer life due to improved design and materials distinguish the 1920 car from its predecessors. One of the healthiest signs in the industry is the uniform determination of practically every manufacturer to improve the quality of his product. The designer has been forced to extend himself in getting the highest possible output from the smallest possible units. This trend is very noticeable. Conditions relating to prices, the return to peace-time production, the potential demand for cars and the present supply, and the probable improvements in cars are then reviewed, the thought then passing to a somewhat detailed discussion of detachable-head engines.

The only direction in which flexibility of an organization can be considered is that of successful progress. Flexibility uncontrolled is liable to lead to retrogression instead of progression. During the war, every available unit of man-power was called into use, and all specialized intelligence was stretched almost to the breaking point. This was particularly true of the intelligence in the automotive industry. Demands were made in connection with the airplane, tanks, agricultural tractor and submarine chasers, as well as the more stabilized automobile and trucks. The most skilful men naturally gravitated to the most difficult work, in the problems surrounding the airplane and the tank, and, while in general there were not nearly enough men, the scarcity of skill was more noticeable in the older branches of the industry. It was there that the necessity for a flexible organization demonstrated itself. The first necessity was a rigid base from which progress could be made.

Continued lowering in the grade of fuel obtainable compels automotive engineers to produce engines that will utilize it with maximum economy. The manufacture of Pacific coast engine-distillate with an initial-distillation point of about 240 and an end-point of 480 deg. fahr. was abandoned by the principal oil companies early in 1920. Utilizing this fuel efficiently through its period of declining values forced advance solution of some fuel problems prior to a general lowering of grade of all automotive fuels.

Since the Fifth Avenue Coach Co. of New York is the largest successful company operating motor-buses in this country, the author gives a rather comprehensive description of this company's systems and methods, stating the three main divisions as being the engineering, mechanical and transportation departments, and presenting an organization chart. Departments concerned with finance, auditing, purchasing, publicity, claims and the like, which follow conventional lines, are not considered. The engineering, research, mechanical, repair and operating departments are then described in considerable detail. Six specific duties and responsibilities of the research department are stated and six divisions of the general procedure in carrying out overhauls for the operating department are enumerated. Regarding fuel economy, high gasoline averages from the company's standpoint mean economy, well-designed and maintained equipment, and skilled and contented operatives.

The author states that production and transportation are so closely interwoven that they cannot be considered separately and that the great problem of transportation can be satisfactorily solved only by the utilization of our navigable inland waterways. He then compares the United States with European countries in regard to the problems of inland waterway transportation and reviews the history of such transportation in this country. The organization of the Mississippi Valley Waterways Association and its activities are described. The need of considering the inland waterways transportation problem as a mechanical engineering problem is emphasized. It is recommended that a standardized system for handling freight on inland rivers be adopted and an outline is given of the requirements of such a system. A statement of Government activities in connection with this problem is presented and the policy of the Government outlined.

Emphasizing the necessity of persuading fuel manufacturers to improve the suitability of internal-combustion engine fuel by the mixture of other materials with petroleum distillates, and realizing that efficiency is also dependent upon improved engine design, the author then states that results easily obtainable in the simplest forms of automotive engine when using fuel volatile at fairly low temperatures, must be considered in working out a future automotive fuel policy. The alternatives to this as they appear in the light of present knowledge are then stated, including design considerations. The principles that should be followed to obtain as good results as possible with heavy fuel in the conventional type of engine are then described. These include considerations of valve-timing and fuel distribution. Valve-timing should assist correct distribution, especially at the lower engine speeds.

ON the basis that it is impossible to state the case for either the airship or the heavier-than-air machine without some comparison of the two, the author discusses relatively features, points of merit or superiority and the fields of usefulness thus far disclosed in the rapid development of the craft. Progress since 1914 is outlined, a brief history to date is included and the way prepared for consideration of the possibilities of long-distance flight. A comparison of the features given emphasizes strongly the point that the airplane is mainly a high-speed, short-distance carrier, while the large rigid airship is essentially a medium-speed long-distance carrier. Each type has a distinct sphere of activity; the airship in transcontinental, transoceanic traffic; the airplane in feeding the terminals of the airship with passengers and, possibly, certain kinds of freight.

THIS paper describes the various types of radiator installations in use. Tabulated data on several makes of radiation and on successful airplane radiator installations are given. A brief review of laboratory tests is made and the features to be considered in design and manufacture are discussed. The author concludes by cautioning engineers against attempting to base new designs entirely upon experimental data, without comparing the tentative design with existing successful installations.

EVERY plow in use should have 10 b.-hp. available. Every tractor engine should deliver continuously at least 33 hp. If the 330-cu. in. engine mentioned were as good as a Liberty airplane engine, it could deliver 57 hp. at 1000 r.p.m. The horsepower actually obtained is as follows: 41.5 in the laboratory 33.0 at the factory 29.0 when burning gasoline 23.0 when burning kerosene 21.0 with poor piston-rings 19.0 with poor spark-plugs 9.5 available at the drawbar The great engineering problem of the future lies between the 57 and the 23 hp. From 19 to 9.5 hp. is the manufacturer's problem. The main difficulties, as outlined by the figures given, lie in the combustion chamber and its ability to dissipate the surplus heat, and in the limitations of fuel. There will be no need for refiners to continue to break up the heavier fuels by processes already so successful, if by ingenuity and good understanding of thermodynamics these can be made to burn in present-day engines.

THE author's observations cover the period immediately following the war when, as a member of a party of representative guests of the British and French governments, he toured England, meeting Government officials and talking on industrial matters; visited Scotland's shipbuilding and coal areas; viewed the battle area, aircraft, automobile and tractor factories in France; and traveled in Italy, later returning to England to inspect factories, conduct investigations and review Government activities. The enormous expansion of the automotive industry factories of the Allied nations is emphasized and their organization and methods briefly described, with running comment on comparative practice in the United States. Factory production methods in England are mentioned, as well as working conditions and welfare work there. Considerable information relating to post-war automobile designs and to motor-truck and tractor practice is given.

The author discusses the different types of material used in the production of the Liberty engine, the physical properties of the finished parts and the heat-treatments used in making them, applying the information as set forth to the automobile, truck and tractor industries. Under their several heads the different engine pans are discussed with close attention to details. Chemical analyses are given for each part and approved heat-treating temperatures are indicated. Quenching, direct and indirect, water and oil cooling, hard spots, warpage, scaling and hair-line seams are treated. The advantages and disadvantages of the Izod impact test are stated briefly.

The engine-fuel situation has changed almost overnight. Oil-consuming activities have taken on an accelerated expansion and the situation has shifted from excess supply to a position where demand is assuming the lead and is seeking a supply. A gasoline stringency, accompanied presumably by a marked rise in price, is a prospect to be anticipated. The production of gasoline is increasing more rapidly than the production of its raw material, crude petroleum. The available supply of the latter is very limited in view of the size of the demand. As a direct result of the situation, gasoline is changing in character and becoming progressively less volatile. The low thermal efficiency of the prevailing type of automotive apparatus contributes strongly to the demand for gasoline as engine fuel and has a bearing upon the quantity and the price of this specialized fuel.

Manufacturers of carbureters and ignition devices are called upon to assist in overcoming troubles caused by the inclusion of too many heavy fractions in automobile fuels. So far as completely satisfactory running is concerned, the difficulty of the problem with straight petroleum distillates is caused by the heaviest fraction present in appreciable quantity. The problems are involved in the starting, carburetion, distribution and combustion. An engine is really started only when all its parts have the same temperatures as exist in normal running, and when it accelerates in a normal manner. Two available methods, (a) installing a two-fuel carbureter, using a very volatile fuel to start and warm-up the engine, and (b) heating the engine before cranking by a burner designed to use the heavier fuel, are described and discussed.

The nineteen months preceding Nov. 11, 1918, constituted the most far-reaching educational period in the history of the United States. The war being over, both opportunity and danger are ahead. Automotive manufacturers, engineers and educators have large responsibilities in post-war industrial rehabilitation. A frank discussion of several prime demands is presented. After outlining the achievements of the war period, the lessons thereof are enumerated, special emphasis being placed upon cooperation and teamwork, and the automotive manufacturers urged to give consideration to the permanent and stable establishment of their business and product. Attention is called to the part universities can and should take in practical service, in conducting automotive engineering courses, giving public instruction and furthering good roads development and highways transport.

THE United States was practically unprepared in the field of military motor-transport at the beginning of the war. Due largely to the cooperation of the Society of Automotive Engineers and its members individually, this handicap was overcome and a position stronger in this respect than that of any of the other belligerents was attained. The early efforts and the cooperation between the Society and the various Government departments are described, especially with reference to the Quartermaster Corps which at that time had charge of all motor transportation. Regarding the Class B truck, it is shown that the Society acted as a point of contact between the various members of the industry and the War Department and, although not fostering any program or plan of its own, it was largely responsible for the success of the standardization program conceived and carried out by the Army.

The author states as his object a review of what has been done and what must be done to make tractors successful in operating on low-grade fuels, especially kerosene. He takes up in order the four principal methods in common use of applying heat to vaporize kerosene, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each method and of its modifications. The author then cites various experiments with different types of carbureters in burning kerosene, drawing at length upon his own experience in this connection. He cites difficulties with gas distribution, manifold condensation, pistons and spark-plugs and points out that carbureter design is inseparable from considerations of tractor engine and manifold design. That better progress has not been made in the past in developing kerosene-burning tractor engines is stated to be largely owing to the fact that there has not been sufficient cooperation between engine and carbureter manufacturers.