Motor Transportation – a Forwards View

SYNOPSIS -A number of years ago the writer was making a motor, trip, inyEeat^cky inning some tests, and had gone far oft the main road.The map did not show ay roads lending away from the place it was so small.It WOT late iri'th* ftemoon and he wanted to return home before dark.'Driving aWg^a WMb iream bed (which was the only road there was) he overtook an ol^glenti&an riving a donkey hooked to a stone boat loaded with milk cans. .Question: .Neighbor, what is the best way. to go to Cincinnati from here?"Answer: Go right up to the forks in the road.Now, it don't make much difference >hich fork you take but, to tell you the truth, Stranger, if I was going to pin* iimati I wouldn't start from here."Sometimes people get to thinking Eke he old Kentuckian; but they must first recognise that, whatever, theirj.de*ination,they must start from where they are.• • , The leaders of the automobile industry have never been aMe^td predict rfsat the industry will offer the public two years in advance.'If they knew ?bat the car of ten or twenty-five years in the future was going to be like they ieuld be making it now.To afford some idea of what the future ipight bring rfthout taking all the responsibility upon bis own shoulders the wrjjfcerjSSked • number of men, holding responsible positions ia the automobile.#&dallied adustries.On some questions they were almost unanimous in agreement; on •there, they had entirely opposite ideas.All the Various propheefes aadpja^ lotions made in the past have been studied and, with these, the writer: hiwjaded if present, in some kind of complete picture, the requirements that wjjl^^e lemanded of those who will supply roads for the automobile of IQQQ., All one can do now is to determine conditions as they are to-day, whatibsy were yesterday, and, by projecting a line through the two kftoWn pointsj-reach seme idea of what the future may hold.It is as excellent' ides fSr'tbfe^ad gilders and automobile makers to get together and exchange ideas concerning heir mutual problems.After all, the vehicle and the road .mustform & com pete transportation system..Each one is dependent upon 1 the other fori the access of the whole.Civil engineers have the most difficult-job-because of &e time factor.They must build a road to last twenty 6r twenty^five years sr vehicles who»p a\?rage life is only seven or eight years.Before a road is -; i Viee-Prw.and Director, Gen, Motors Corp.; Pre*, tted Direetor, Geo.,Mptora,;8e»wreh Coip., jHhtmt, Mich.