Современное автомобилестроение. Сахарова Н.С. - 86 стр.

. Exersice 1. Read, translate the text.                              .
. Exersice 2. Find information in the text concerning the inventions of:
- John Knight
- Fredrick Lanchester
- Herbert Austin
- Wolseley
- F.R. Simms
- Rolls
- Royce
- Ford
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. 17.3 Text 3
                               The pioneer motorist

    The early cars offered little or no weather protection. Passenger sat up high, more
’on’ the car than ‘in’ it. Some cars were fitted with a windscreen and canvas hood but
most cars had no roof, doors or windscreen. Exposure to the elements meant that
Edwardian motoring was mainly a summer pastime. However, the greatest curse to
early motoring occured in prolonged dry weather – road dust. Roads were constructed
of compacted stone or gravel which was easily loosened by horses and cars. The
clouds of dust thrown up enveloped motorists and pedestrians, and settled like snow
on houses and gardens. Motorists wrapped themselves up in the most amazing array
of protective clothing. A whole new branch of fashion was created for the motorist.
Men wore dust coats of leather or cotton, tweed caps and fur-lined goggles. The
ladies’ range in dust coats were made from Alpaca, linen or cotton, and available in a
wide variety of colours. Popular furs were made from Russian sable, beaver and
ocelot. At first, horrific looking leather face masks with lenses of mica were worn but
later more elegant head wear appeared. The most common covering was the crêpe de
chine or gauze veil pinned to a hat. A full motoring wardrobe in 1904 could cost up
to £300. Fashion columnists in weekly newspaper and the motoring press warned that
a lady in a car could not keep her soft, peach-like bloom. They advised a rigorous
cold water face wash and application of a skin cream. The Icilma Company promoted
a mineral water, ‘drawn from a natural African spring welling up from 900 feet
depth. Apply before going out’.
    The dust problem intensified the public’s hostility towards the motorist. High
speed motoring was another bone of contention. In 1903 an Act set the speed limit of
20 m.p.h., the same year in which the 60 h.p. Mercedes, capable of 80 m.p.h.,
appeared. The police and magistrates waged a war against speeding ‘scorchers’ and
thousand of prosecutions followed. Magistrates, horsemen to the last, detested the
noisy motors that frightened their mounts. As landowners they objected to the dust
that covered their crops, and they were adamant that England was not going to be
turned into a honking, polluted, roaring race track for a few ‘upstarts’. Fines were as
high as £5 by 1902, a considerable sum then. Police hid behind hedges with a
handkerchief (to signal a colleague) and a stop watch. A small group of motorists
called the Automobile Association set up bicycle patrols to scout for police speed
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