The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1903-11-18
FACTS ABOUT MOTORS.
DIFFICULTIES WHICH THREATEN
STEAM WAGON INDUSTRY,
The Average Motorlst Does Not Un.
derstand Mechanics of His Machine
Tho Manufacturers Sin-The Mid.
dleman--A Necessary Evil.

derstand Mechanics of His Machine
The Manufacturers Sin-The Mid.
dleman-A Necessary Evil.
Tne Paris correspondent Of the Lon
don Express says: 1t Is a remarkable
l fact that at time when the motor-car
industry is seemingly in the zenith of
| Its prosperity 1t should have to con-
! tend with Aumber of serious diff
culties watch threaten to hinder it's de-
Velopmeat for many years unless the
remedy Is found. In the first place, to
borrow the words of NJ. Lumet, the
distinguished engineer in charge of the
technical section of the French Auto
mobile club. the public are not yet
educated up to the motor" They do
not sufficiently understand 1t. and it is
Tor this reason that so many people
who boy a motor car to be Gin the
run" tire Of 1t after a year or so.
l am not speaking here Of the en-
thusiast. who has no sooner mastered
the dieGails of his vt motor than he
wants to sell 1t aH~s lTchase high
Speed machine, but of the average man
who, as rule, possesses but very con-
fused notions about the laws govern
ing mechanics. A few breakdowns
the difficalty which an inexperienced
! man ands in setting right the most
trivial accidents-for every motor has
its own peculiar little Withstand the
ultimate necessity of constantly en-
ptoying trained mechanic, quickly
/. discourage the man who imagines that
the only essential thing he requires TO
know about motor is how to drive It,
Unfortunately the manufacturers
themselves are greatly to blame for
the comparative slowness of the
public education in the matter
OF motors. The sole desire of a
large number of manufacturers seems
to be to turn over as much money as
possible In the shortest space of time;
and this Is one of the principal reasons
why so many of them are at the pres
emit time verging on a period of diff
culties.
1t is surprising to discover that so
rev of the great motor manufacturing
arms are being worked at profit
to the shareholders, but 1t must be
borne in mind that every one of the
perfected models of ears put on the
market by the great firms represents
an enormous outlay in preliminary ex-
| penditure and In trial constructions
before the perfected model has been
| obtained. Every year new improve
ments are being made which add to
the cost. and as unfortunately under
the present system there's an enormous
amount of waste and of extravagant
| Management even in the best of motor
factories, the natural result is that,
with a few praiseworthy exceptions,
/ the public are made to pay the piper.
A car lacking in perfect execution is
put on the market at price which is
about five times what it ought to be.
/ This is one of the reasons why the
public tire SO quickly of motor cars
/ and why there are so many second
! hand machines now being offered for
SALE
Another great difficulty is the ex-
istence Of the middleman. When a
private customer applies direct to a
| good maker he is almost invariably
told that he must wait six months, a
! year, eighteen months, or even longer
for the car he orders. Why Is this?
Because the middlemen, in view of the
| great demand, monopolize the output
of the more prominent makers. They
know that, as rule, the customer
does not care to wait year for his
car, and that he must, therefore, come
to them. The result is that the mid
| dleman sells him the car at an in
crease on the manufacturers retail
price of between $50 and 200 percent.
AS an instance of the sort of thing
the public have to put up with may
mention the case of standard type of
car, the catalogue price of which is
e $50 net. The manufacturer is able
to turn out this car at a cost price to
himself of ESQ, and the middleman
takes $50, or actually more than the
car cost to build.
| l
GUS agents to whom he pays liberal
commission. Moreover, he generally
appoints some well known racing man
as his nominal manager, and for this,
of course, he has to pay pretty stiffly.
The public who buy motor cars have a
which win races.
The middleman is, unfortunately, a
necessary evil, and the manufacturer
finds it impossible to do without him.
The reason is simple enough The
manufacturer is always in doubt as to
whether particular type Of car will
please the public, and he invariably
tends toward limiting his immediate
production as much as possible The
middleman relieves the manufacturer
| Of all anxiety on the subject by order
! ing a whole series of cars from him at
once on seeing a single sample car.
| The manufacturer is thus sure of his
output, and makes no attempt to over
produce.
AS things now are there are too
many intermediate profits in the motor
trade, too many liberal commissions
| for which the customer has to pay.
Many people look upon this sort of
thing as extortion. and either aban-
don the idea Of purchasing a motor,
or else think they are acting cleverly
in going to a job manufacturer who
puts together motor composed of one
part by one well-known firm, another
part by another well-known firm, and
third portion by third well-known
maker. The inexperienced purchaser
supposes that he cannot go far wrong
in ordering such a car. seing that all