Preface

This book does not pretend to describe the large and expensive cars of the Daimler, Panhard, or Mors type, or the heavy lorries for moving goods. If the reader desires information on these, he must seek it in the pages of one of the technical journals devoted to automobilism. But this book is intended, not for the maker of cars or for the engineer, but for the user and would-be purchaser of light and comparatively inexpensive cars.

In selecting cars for description, the writer has been somewhat guided by his experience with various types; hence, as he has not had sufficient information as to the working of certain cars, he has preferred to say nothing about them. He has therefore chosen cars which represent a type - a type that appears likely to be permanent, at least for some years. For instance, the Benz car has been largely copied; the Argyll, the Renault, and the Darracq have strong points of resemblance, and will probably find purchasers for years; while, on the other hand, the Bollée and the Pennington seem to have disappeared. Hence, it would be useless to describe these cars (except from a historical point) that have become extinct.

The writer wishes to express his thanks to the Motor Manufacturing Co., Messrs. Hewetson and Co., the Hozier Engineering Co., and others, for the use of photographs, blocks, and drawings.