General Reasons For Selecting The Locomobile

Safety.

The greatest charm of automobiling lies in the visits to remote places where roads are rough and conditions severe; the Locomobile owner drives his car everywhere, with a feeling of absolute safety and complete confidence.

Any car will stand the tests of mild motoring for a time, but it takes experience and skill to make a car so safe that it never fails in the unexpected emergency. Locomobile owners trust the Locomobile because of its high factor of safety the surplus strength that prevents breakage and consequent accident. The wheels are made of the toughest second growth hickory so firmly fastened to the axles that they cannot come off. The spokes are very heavy and there are twelve in the front wheels, two more than in ordinary cars. Locomobile brakes are substantial and operated by strong, safe mechanism; axles are designed and built in our works and are the strongest possible to build; the Locomobile is the only shaftdriven car that uses alloy steel in the rear axle tubes; the steel in the front axle is so tough that it can be bent double cold without seam or check. All parts of the Locomobile steering gear are exceedingly large and strong, are made of the best material, and are secured in the most substantial manner. The result of these precautions, year after year, has given the Locomobile the highest reputation for safety.

Design.

Our first gasolene machine was the first American car with a four-cylinder vertical water-cooled motor, steel frame, and sliding-gear transmission. Locomobile design today is in the hands of the same men who produced the first gasolene Locomobile; consequently our car has enjoyed rational development from a sound basic design. The 1912 Locomobile is designed in accordance with the latest approved ideas, yet contains no feature that has not been demonstrated to be permanently valuable.

Built in the Locomobile Factory.

Motor cars are two classes built cars and assembled cars. Most automobiles are of the second class, assembled from ready-made parts from the parts-maker’s stock. The first class comprises cars largely built in the company’s factory and which contain thousands of separate pieces, which the maker has designed and made on his various machines. This is the only way in which the icfeal automobile can be produced. Design and construction must be carried on under the same roof. Between the assembling firm and the parts maker there can only be an approximately close connection. A car built from start to finish by one organization is bound to cost more than one composed of parts produced by the thousand for the trade, but is better unified and will far outlast any car of the assembled variety.

High Character of Materials.

Since 1902, when the first gasolene Locomobile touring car appeared, it has been distinguished by the uniform superiority of its metals. Special formula bronze is employed in three parts of the car: the crank case of the motor, the transmission case, and the housing containing the steering gears. These units cost more than if made of aluminum, but as no casting material has the strength of bronze or can be cast in such intricate shape and light section, this material has been deliberately chosen to insure the safety and maximum life of the machine. Aluminum is only used where it can be employed safely.

Steels used in construction are the most expensive obtainable and are the most suitable in every case for the purpose intended. Spring steel for automobile springs may be purchased as low as eight cents a pound; Locomobile spring steel costs twenty-eight cents a pound and is the best and toughest that can be obtained.

The matter does not end, however, with the selection of stock, as rigid care and exceptional facilities must be applied to the handling of alloy steels which are complicated in structure and which may he spoiled in the working if treated unskilfully or with insufficient apparatus. For six or seven years we have maintained one of the most up-to-date heat-treating and annealing establishments in New England, and every piece of steel used in the Locomobile is subjected to heat treatment in the Locomobile shops.

High Order of Workmanship.

An automobilist told us of his visit to one of the largest (if not the largest) French automobile factories. While there he saw several American cars representing the best makes of this country. On inquiry it was found that the maker was designing part of his product especially for American travel and was examining the best American cars to get “pointers’. When discussing the various makes, this French builder stated that the Locomobile was the best built machine in the lot. Such incidents have led us to believe that the phrase “The Best Built Car in America” is amply justified. The gentleman who told us the story is now one of our satisfied owners and has induced several of his friends to buy Locomobiles.

Every automobile, small or large, is composed of thousands of separate pieces, and the number of nuts and bolts holding these pieces together is necessarily enormous. Every nut and the end of every bolt is hardened. Double lock nuts and cotter pins are used throughout so as to secure each part permanently.

The Locomobile is composed largely offorgings. These are produced complete in the Locomobile works; even the dies from which the forgings are made, are sunk by experts in our employ. All gears are produced in the Locomobile works from start to finish. In every department the highest character of machine practice is followed.

Thorough Testing.

Locomobile parts are made in the Locomobile factory and subjected to a critical inspection. The principal components of the car carbureter, magneto, motor, transmission, steering column, rear axle, etc., are tested separately; consequently, when the car is completed it is composed of tested units. Each car is given a severe road test until it fulfills a long list of strict requirements. When ready for delivery, it is given a final inspection and road test to make sure that everything is in perfect order.

These testing processes are exceedingly expensive and are not applied to the cheaper makes of cars, but it is not possible to produce a safe, substantial machine like the Locomobile, unless every precaution is taken.

The Locomobile is Permanently Powerful.

Purchasers frequently infer that because a car may make a satisfactory demonstration, that it will do so every day. They are also led to believe that the mere dimensions of a motor must necessarily mean satisfactory power for hill climbing and general service, whereas it is only in the high-class car that the power of the motor is high for its dimensions, and without any sacrifice of reliability. The Locomobile motor will accomplish the work every day that it is required to do; it will perform with the same satisfaction at the end of a year’s hard service as at the outset.

Satisfactory performance results from proper coordination of the parts. A large motor may not develop the power it should; it may suffer loss in road performance through a poor transmission which absorbs power and cuts down speed; the chassis may lack balance, in which case faulty distribution of weight makes the car skid before the full power of the motor can be utilized. The riding qualities of the car may be such that the full power of the motor cannot be utilized for speed and hill climbing with either safety or comfort. The “30″ Locomobile, for example, will operate more consistently and will give better road performance than many cars with larger engines, and do it with greater economy and greater comfort.

Economy.

True automobile economy means more than a saving in oil and gasolene over some other car. Our claims for economy are based on the fundamental merits of the Locomobile; it is an economical car to maintain because the parts do not break or wear out. Economy in tire replacement is effected by equipping our cars with tires large enough to do the work without being overloaded, larger than recommended by the tire makers. Tires frequently wear out before their time because the rubber is subjected to too much pressure; also because of defective steering gear design the front wheels do not run true and the tires are ground down; also because of faulty differential design there is too much skidding and consequent wear of the rear tires. The Locomobile is economical in oil and gasolene on account of its correct construction, which reduces friction and saves power.

We claim economy of time in maintenance because of the small need for tinkering. The Locomobile can be driven for thousands of miles without other attention than to fill the tanks and keep wearing parts properly lubricated. It will be found to be the cheapest in the end.

Record of the Locomobile.

In the early days our car was conspicuous in contests, but we soon found that the expense and time involved was out of all proportion to the benefits received. In recent years we have directed our entire energy to the betterment of our product and to giving the best possible service to customers. The performances of the Locomobile in public competitions have been sufficient to convince the public as to the excellence of our product. The Locomobile was the first American car to win the International Race for the Vanderbilt Cup. Our pride, however, lies in the record of the Locomobile in the hands of our owners. One of our cars made a trip around the world at a cost for repairs and replacements less than that of an inner tube; and without disturbing the motor, transmission, frame, brakes, cooling system or other parts of the car. Such a performance made without any factory assistance whatsoever, and by a party unaffiliated in any way with our organization, is a complete proof of the excellence of the Locomobile. The record of a car in the hands of the owner is the final test.

The Locomobile Organization.

It is important to select a good car; it is equally important to consider the organization producing it its experience, and reputation for taking care of its customers.

The Locomobile organization is composed of men who have grown up with it. Most department heads of the Locomobile Company have been with the organization practically since its foundation. It is inevitable that a car produced under such favorable conditions will be a good car and that the service accorded to the customer will be good service. In buying any article of importance the purchaser always favors the company with a reputation for fair dealing; if this is ordinarily desirable it is doubly so in connection with the purchase of an automobile, as from the very nature of its use, the customer and manufacturer are bound to be closely associated. Locomobile service is as important as the Locomobile.