While a few of the automobile manufacturers of the country are to-day building the six-cylinder car, there is grave doubt in the minds of the leading designers and engineers as to whether this new demand for cars of enormous power is not but a passing craze. Many manufacturers who are building six-cylinders are doing so against their will, not because they favor such a type, but because they have been forced into it. Take them large and small, and without exceptions the leaders of the American automobile industry are continuing their four-cylinder cars, building as many as usual, and constructiing but a small number of sixes.

While the Stearns Company have had wonderful success with their six-cylinder car, as is evinced by its records in races, hill climbs, &c., at the same time we are firm believers in the four-cylinder type of car, for many years of experimenting have taught us that the four-cylinder motor, conscientiously made by skilled workmen under expert supervision, is good enough for any car.

Another difficulty about the six-cylinder is the enormous length of hood that the motor occupies. The result is that in order to get a wheel base under 135 inches the constructor must place a large portion of the motor directly over the front axle, which necessarily makes hard steering, is hard on tires and springs, and is extremely hard on the delicate adjustments in the motor. The aim of all designers is to get the passengers and mechanism between the axles, and this has become standard motor car construction in the best cars the world over. Except with an excessively long wheel base, this is impossible with the six-cylinder, and the addition of a long wheel base makes the car so long that it is impossible to handle it readily in traffic or even to turn around in the wide streets.