The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-09
SOME FEATURESOF AUYOBOOA
cans ron PLEASURE AND NOT
UTILITY THE DEMAND.

Buyers ONerrsa chinE?--A Few Figures.
An extraordinary activity in automobile
buying ever since the first Of the year has
Deen witnessed and now II II becoming pretty
wen accepted generally, even by those who
a. hrst we're scepteal. that the automobile
boom 10 here. Along In last summer Henry
=. Norman, ~. p. who IL an accepted prophet
on automobile subjects. said that the boom
would arrive when good cars OF about 10
horsepower were being made at a price Of
100 or less, and he further predicted that
the year lsoS would see the beginning OF the
boom. The Developments Of the year are
proving Mr. Norman q great prophet. The
cara he described are being made In great
quantities and they are being sold rapidly
70 that middle class OF persons with m cd crate
incomes, upon whose conversion to the motor
car the boom OF the sport depends.
There are several Interesting phases 20
the activity noted which suggest questions
not easily answered. The cars Of moderate
horsepower and price are being sold 70 the
class OF persons who were expected to buy
chem, but not for the purpose for which II
was pTopheaed they would want them.
The little Tunabouts and the mlddleweiRht
cars With tonneaus are not being bought
70 any great extent by commuters 70 use
for travelling TO and from business. as was
predicted. good many are being sold 10
persons who live In the suburbs OF at some
distance from the city, but while few use
them for station wagons, the majority are
being. sold for touring purposes. The time
when the medium priced automobile shall
be rival Of the trolley car In developing
SUBURBAN precincts may come before long.
but II has not arrived on the crest OF the
boom In more than 90 per cent. OF
cases the first purchase OF an automobile is
made because Il is wanted for pleasure pur-
poses only and not for lie utility.
Touring Is 10 be the automobile fad OF 1905.
lt seems a. II every one, no matter what sort
OF motor car he may be getting, has his
mind SGT on outings Of several days duration,
during which he can bowl along the rural
roads, visit new places aud find recreation
In wandering through the open country.
with Us fresh air and piduant scenery. Al
the clubs, the automobile stores and upon
experienced automobiles the demand for
maps, routes and information about tours
u large and constant.
This Is wholesome sign that promises
prosperity for the industry aud much Joy 70
the owners OF automobiles, The great su-
periority Of the motoT-ear over the horse Tor
touring purposes. In that il does not tire and
may be driven hard all day and yet be able
10 respond 70 a demand for more speed toward
nightfall, Is reason enough for there 70 be
oonsidera bic element Of permanency In the
OF the automobile world perceive also In the
present touring craze the elements OF fad
that will be but temporary. il IL enthusiasm
Of first experience and a new possession that
Is leading such great numbers 70 get motor
cars for touring purposes. and this enthusiasm
will cool and the aspect change when II u
realized what great demands upon time and
money the touring craze Involves.
In this fad element OF the touring Gmbiuon
81. L.
present demand for automobiles. IL was
predicted by more than one well informed
person last fail that the building OF big,
high powered. high priced touring cars
Was goin q To be overdohe in 1905, and figures
Of past sales were quoted 70 show that the
demand for such cars was comparatively
small This prediction has been quite heavily
discounted by the boom, which has made the
total demand much larger than was expected.
The Bug touring cars are selling an tight,
yet so fast that the factories cannot keep
pace with the demand during these spring
months. There seems no likelihood OF there
being any Overproduction OF drop In price
this year or next, yet the ones who predicted
sok 10 ther Snd p What they sy IN uS ex
PLANTATION Ia Of peculiar interest at this
rushing, ENTHUSIASTIC season, Tor y contains
. Thought worth being considered by buyers
Il IS argued hat In the first flush Of en-
are going beyond the mselyes-beyond thet
needs and what their means Justify. The
chAra cteristic Of the American middle classes
wanting the best and as good as any mll-
lionaire has. Is tending, so It's urged, tow
ard the purchase OF touring cars by many
who will learn later that smaller machine
Is more suited 70 their needs and oiTCum-
stances. The present year IL expected 70
furnish a great educa ton for many regarding
the cost OF maintenance OF automOoles, ana
another year to find the general buying public
much more keen on the subject Of gasOlene
oonsumptlo tire durability and repair costs.
II seems not yet 70 be generally known
and appreciated by the public how much
more Il costs TO keep the larger oars than
IL does TO keep the smaller ones, According
20 those in the trade. who have practical
cars Il about In direct proportion 70 the size
OF their engines-that is, car having an
engine Of two cylinders costs about twice
as much for fuel oil. tires and repairs a. one
having an engine OF only one cylinder, while
a four cylinder car costs four times ~ much
The overreaohing being done by buyers
Il not OF alarming proportions, however.
for as yet the buying has ASH, not si'endasd yeeTy
come OF such size as makes AZ necessary
20 keep track OF every dollar, For this rea-
son. while there may be, and probably are
cars who will later wish they had bought
a smaller one, the number lie not great enough
10 throw any considerable quantity OF second
hand goode on the market and cause dis
turbance OF trade, The tide OF demand 10
far toe strong Sno t90 20, n ear equal 70 'he
The great amount Of talk about touring
oars and the fact that the big machines are
tbe ones that are most conspicuous at the
shows and AZ Tacetracks, Is conducive 70
falee Impression concerning the proportions
az big and little cars sold. The new models
al the makers for a couple Of years have been
louTinR cars, because this style or vehiclei Is
conparAtively new 10 this country, but the
Sc outputs are OF little cars.
from a couple OF ORGANIZATIONS Of automo-
bie manu- IA oturerB some very nearly exact
figures we're obtained recently, which are or
particular In tsrest because they are at Variance
with the popular idea. IL Il estimated that
tbe total number OF cars now In use in the
United States IL about 900 and that their
cost was bout t6S, 900, 900 or close 70 seventy
rniilons OF dollArB. OF these carr three manu-
fsoturers who are all essentially producers
OF Tunabouts. made about half the total
'ConosrnInR the proportions sold Of the cars
NJ different prices the following estimate.
which h based upon ex7 OF statistic showing
What thcatha In 1904 are veryintCre- ting
and will nelp 20 form an Idea OF what "A going
sale OF cars costing from $500 10 81 600
1siE nor cent. OF the total.
Gar, costing from 1900 10 ti.jOo. 22H per
'eI Cars costing from 81 500 to $500. II per
Cnrs costing over Of $500 rs per cent.
IL h eztima ted by the compilers Of these
eg,ire-, that In 1905 the sales OF the cars cost
iny lesa than o. 600 " III be n little moro than
to neT cent OF the total, while those In the
sccond class will be about the same. those In
~ third class will be about IL per cent. ana