AUTOS: Road Test

At 3 a.m. one morning last week, 32 new cars began to roll out of Los Angeles on the first leg of a trip which twisted up the slopes of snow-capped mountains and along parched desert highways to the rim of the Grand Canyon. Purpose of the trip: to find out which U.S. cars get the most mileage and efficiency from their fuel. Every major U.S. make, except Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac, was represented. At journey’s end, about 21 driving hours later, the cars had traveled from 280 feet below sea level to 7,005 feet above, had covered 840 miles. The winner: a Lincoln sedan, with 66.484 ton-miles per gallon (weight of car and passengers in tons, multiplied by miles, divided by gallons of gasoline consumed). Top places in actual miles per gallon: the six-cylinder Nash Rambler (31.053); the four-cylinder Henry J (30.109); the six-cylinder Henry J (28.860); the six-cylinder Studebaker Champion (28.621).*

*The rest of the field, with actual mileage per gallon: Studebaker Commander, 28.001; Studebaker Land Cruiser, 27.644; Willys Jeepster Four, 26.769; Nash Statesman, 26.122; Ford Eight, 25.994; Mercury, 25.945; Ford Six, 25.915; Lincoln, 25.448; Willys Jeepster Six, 24.973; Nash Ambassador, 24.926; Kaiser Deluxe, 24.713; Plymouth Concord, 24.145; Plymouth Cranbrook, 22.990; Hudson Hornet Six, 22.623; Chevrolet Styleline, 22.041; Packard 200, 22.023; Cadillac 60 Special, 21.979; Cadillac 61, 21.719; De Soto Deluxe, 21.622; Cadillac 62, 21.531; Chrysler Imperial, 21.178; Packard 300, 20.941; Chrysler Windsor, 20.886; De Soto Custom, 19.921; Cadillac 75, 19.869; Hudson Commodore Custom Six, 19.950; Chrysler Crown Imperial, 19.208; Lincoln Cosmopolitan, 17.123.