At the Council Rock

Once a year in the full of the moon, according to Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, the amiable wolves of India gather in packs to pass judgment on the year's crop of cubs. Forth from their lairs and into the shadow of the great Council Rock the she-wolves nuzzle their young. If the cub is judged fit to run with the pack, all is well. If not, the she-wolf and her cubs henceforth hunt alone. And according to Rudyard Kipling that is poor hunting indeed. Last week in Manhattan, like the mother-wolves of India, the motormakers of the U. S. pushed their new models into the shadow of the council rock that is the annual National Automobile Show. And with just as much eager pride as Kipling's she-wolves, the motormakers awaited the judgment of the buying public. If their models were accepted, they would lope happily in the annual spring running, which everyone expected would be the swiftest in three years. If their models were rejected, they would find the hunting lean.

When the doors of Grand Central Palace swung wide to a crowd that jam-packed the sidewalks for a block in either direction, 27 different breeds of cars in 250 different models were lined up smartly for judgment. They were, as they always are, the best automobiles the prima donna of U. S. industries had ever turned out. To help the crowd make up their minds, excited demonstrators, attendants, executives, engineers and mannikins swarmed over & under, in & out of each & every exhibit. Studebaker had golden girls and a golden queen who chanted: "Take a magic key and win a Studebaker--given away every day." On the first day the Studebaker queen was panic-stricken when her royal robes became unhooked in the back. De Soto put on a marionet shew, depicting the history of transportation since the birth of Hernando De Soto, Spanish explorer. Hudson's Terraplane offered spectators playlets including one involving an ingenue, her weary mother, a Terraplane salesman and a policeman with the loudest voice at the Show. Two girls on a turntable spent their hours and days climbing in & out of a Chrysler. Packard boasted the "Queen of a Century of Progress," who would on request weigh your signature. A couple in evening dress against a backdrop of swank estates set the stage for Pierce-Arrow.

The 1934 Automobile is longer, roomier, sleeker, faster and, with a few exceptions, it is more expensive (5% to 10% above last year). Nearly every model has felt the hand of the aerodynamics engineer. The mechanical benefits of streamlining--higher speed (against reduced air resistance) at less cost--have led every motormaker directly to the practical problem of increased riding comfort. The new streamlined car had to offer smoother transportation at 70 m.p.h. than the old high-bodied model did at 50 m.p.h. This necessity resulted in the major mechanical innovation of the year--independent front wheel suspension. Heretofore front springs had to be made stiffer than rear ones to hold the front wheels rigid for steering. A front wheel bump tended to jounce the car up & down on the rear springs. To overcome this obstacle and soften the front springs engineers have now mounted each front wheel on springs which act independently, thus replacing the rigid front axle.

Automatic clutches showed a gain in popularity and automatic starting was almost universal. Color schemes were mostly conservative, the high-priced and low-priced models being darker than the middle-priced cars. On the assumption that almost any 1934 car can go 80 m.p.h. speed had ceased to be a prime selling point. In some models double spare tires have been taken out of the front fenders and one spare concealed inside the rear-end streamlining. Trunk racks have practically disappeared.

GM's Six. Of all the motormakers which brought their glistening yearlings to the Show last week, proudest was General Motors. Its litter was six--a full line. Apple of its eye was Cadillac, its high-priced line at $2,395 for the V8, $3,995 for the V-12's and $6,650 for the V16. Built only on order, the V16 remained a limited edition. All Cadillacs have independent front-wheel suspension ("knee- action").

The man who is credited with developing Cadillac's huge, electric-smooth V16 is Lawrence P. Fisher, president of GM's Cadillac division and one of the seven Fisher brothers of body fame. Lawrence Fisher is now a notable art collector but he is also a mechanic who learned his trade at his father's forge and anvil. He had a new car up his sleeve for the Auto Show--a La Salle, completely redesigned and repriced at $1,495, a cut of $750 from last year's figure.

To make this price reduction La Salle Motorman Fisher discarded the traditional Cadillac V-type motor for a straight eight, which permitted him to narrow the radiator and taper the whole body in long, fast lines. Heavily streamlined and equipped with "knee-action" wheels, La Salle, as a newcomer in the medium-priced field, was one of the trumps of the Show.

Buick has rounded off its rear end to conform with aerodynamic principles but its design has not been radically altered. ''Knee-action" wheels, automatic choke and power brakes make for 1934 comfort. Oldsmobile this year added a low-priced six to go with its regular line of eights. More thoroughly streamlined than last year, Oldsmobile has all of GM's contributions to easier riding and driving.

Pontiac is not only the biggest selling straight eight in the U. S. but also the fourth in volume in all classes. It, too, had all GM improvements and slicker lines.

Chevrolet and Pontiac have a knee-action all their own--a lever arm acting on an enclosed coil spring. Chevrolet and Pontiac knee assemblies look like a huge shock absorber. In other GM models two yokes with an open coil spring between are used. Chevrolet is heavier, longer and more powerful this year.

Chrysler Corp. is the only other motormaker with a full line to bring to Manhattan for yearly judgment. But what it brought last week was unique (TIME, Jan. 8). The pack's curiosity in Mowgli, the wolf-suckled youth, was apathetic compared to the public's interest in the new Airflow Chryslers and De Sotos. These were not the traditional automobile with a streamlined body attached but a completely new design. Instead of a frame and body the whole steel-trussed body is the frame. The steering wheel is almost perpendicular to the floor. The driver steers as he would a motorboat, with his hands instead of his arms. But, most startling of all, the job is as close to perfect streamlining as is practical without mounting the engine in the rear.

Dodge & Plymouth. Chrysler put knee-action wheels on its Dodge and Plymouth but left them off De Sotos and Chryslers, claiming that the new design eliminated any necessity for them. Larger, more powerful but conservatively streamlined, Dodge and Plymouth are Chrysler's hedge against an adverse verdict on its modern models. Seven out of ten automobiles sold in the U. S. last year were low-priced models. Neither GM nor Chrysler nor Ford dared deviate much from the traditional in their models for the masses.

Only newcomer in the low-priced field at the Show was the Nash-made Lafayette, a six named for a high-priced line Nash dropped about ten years ago. Continental Motors abandoned its six but still has its four in the hotly competitive low-priced class. Willys exhibited its chubby, beetle-like four practically unchanged.

Cars for the Classes. If cars for the masses are bread & butter to the Industry, cars for the classes represent the cream of the machine age. Polished instruments of beauty and precision, the high-priced models always draw the most pop-eyed crowds. Pierce-Arrow last year exhibited a special fully streamlined model called "Silver Arrow." This year nearly all Pierce-Arrows are Silver Arrows--in varying degrees. In its line of eights and two lines of twelves are models for every taste in streamlining, as well as strictly conventional models for the strictly conventional.

Packard clung to its distinctive lines around the front end but employed conservative streamlining elsewhere.

Lincoln, Henry Ford's sole representation at the Show, featured better ventilation on its line of V-12's. Franklin, only air-cooled make in the U. S., slyly poked fun at the hullabaloo over knee-action wheels by exhibiting an Airman equipped with the customary soft full elliptical springs. Big blocks under the right front and the left rear wheels left the Airman standing perfectly level. Stutz, still hammering on Safety as its chief selling point, showed its improved single and dual valve lines.

Middle-Class Cars. The bulk of independent motor companies compete in the rangy medium-priced field. The low-priced field thawed first under last year's warm sun of Recovery. In 1934, motormen expect softer ground and easier going for the medium-priced models.

Graham introduced a supercharger with its de luxe eights--first medium-priced model so equipped. Effecting economy at high speeds, the supercharger raises the point of fastest acceleration from around 25 m.p.h. to 45 m.p.h.

Hudson & Terraplane offer as optional equipment "Axleflex," President Roy Dikeman Chapin's answer to knee-action. The wheel-and-spring assembly is traditional but the axle is hinged in the centre by parallel bars, permitting each wheel to bounce independently. President Chapin is convinced that the public is more interested in performance than innovations. Since he returned to Hudson from Washington, where he was Herbert Hoover's Secretary of Commerce, President Chapin has sent Terraplanes into one hill-climbing contest after another, to hang up some 70 records. And he has pulled Hudson out of its deep, deep hole.

Roy Chapin got his start with the old Olds Motor Works about the time "Come, Away with Me, Lucille. In My Merry Oldsmobile" was a smash hit. But he soon left the merry Oldsmobile and ended up in Hudson in its infancy. He agrees with those engineers who believe that the place to begin streamlining is the rear, not the front of a car. And Hudsons and Terraplanes show his attention to rears, which this year are all strictly teardrop.

Nash's regular line featured an optional independent spring front axle somewhat similar in principle to Hudson's "Axleflex.''

Studebaker, which has carried on vigorously under the leadership of Paul Hoffman (and whose sales in dollar volume have recently been exceeded only by GM, Ford and Chrysler), offered a line of boldly streamlined sixes and eights. One of its features is a six-beam headlight. Studebaker's show was always crowded. No motor manufacturer made a more effective bid for popular interest.

Auburn displayed two lines of eights, two lines of sixes. The custom eight features a dual ratio rear axle.

Reo's big contribution to 1934 motoring is automatic gear-shifting. You still have to put the car in low gear (with a push rod on the dash) but once in gear a few steel weights spinning like a governor on a drum in the rear of the transmission do the rest. When a speed of about 18 m.p.h. is attained, centrifugal force throws out the weights, engaging a small supplementary clutch which throws the car into direct drive (high gear). When the car slows down below 18 m.p.h. the weights drop back, the small clutch disengages and the car is automatically in low. As the low is a fast low, Reo has provided a manual shift which changes the ratio to a low low and high low. Reverse is also manual.

Hupmobile approached the egg-shape of pure aerodynamics more closely than any other make at the show except Chrysler and De Soto. But its broad front and smooth taper to the rear was achieved without scrapping all points of traditional design.

Lancia, from Italy, was the only foreign exhibit. Last week Lancia was testily advertising that it had had independent front wheel action since 1920.

Manhattan crowds flocked to the 34th annual automobile in a buying mood and U. S. motormen had ample reason to expect good hunting when they left the council rock.

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