The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-19
BOSTON AS new AUTO CENTRE.
WHAT A REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
OF THE SNOW THERE REVEALS.
Els Crowd and Demand far Popular Priced
Cars Emphasizes Arrival ~ Doom
New highlands Good Iioads Have
Made Boston a Rival 10 New YORK.

New EnElands Coco H0nds Rave
Made Boston a Rival 10 New YORK.
There was q great deal thQt is Of interest
ing significance about the automobile and
power boat show which was concluded
in Mechanics Hail. Boston, last night,
after a week Of sucoess quite astonishing
10 the followers Of autoinqbiliHg gen
orally.
In the first place. the magnitude OF the
affair, the extraordinary interest in IL and
patronage of Il on the part Of the public
and the large amount Of tvsiness done by
the exhibitors were an emphasis Of the fact.
which was first pointed plE IN THE Sun
during the New York show, that the auto
mobile boom II at hand.
II was predicted that tho automobile
boom would arrive with the advent OF the
cheap car, the same as did the bicycle boom.
This has been fulfilled to some extent,
but not wholly. The real cheap and trashy
automobile Il not yet here, but the lower
priced cars have multiplied and have been
80 greatly improved that, although prices
have not dropped, they are better value, y
and those who were waiting have perceived
the truth and begun 70 buy. THIS stamps
the automobile boom as Of more sibstan-
tial character than the bicycle boom. The
cheapest motor cars are bought by a very
different class Of persons from the buyers
Of the cheapest cycles. Tho popular char
acter Of the demand was. howe YER. we'll
emphasized at tho Bos' on show by the
large proportion Of popular priced machines
sold. 1t bcinga dealers show for re benefit
Of consumers and held ON the verge Of tho
OPEN season, the affair naturally was
better gauge OF the demand and prospect
for the season than was the New York
exposition.
1t must be admitted, Of course, thar IN
Boston, where persons with thousands
to spend orfhqni are fewer, and where
every one plusss longer over an eNpen-
dlture than in New York. tho higEeg.
pr ed automobiles never have sold as well
and the lower priced ones always have sold
better than in the metropolis. Yet fAa6iRg
allowances for this, the Increase Va thor
demand for medium aud low priced cars
indicated unmistlkably that new and
larger class IS beginning to acquire auto
mobiles the cl-s-, in short, which makes
X proper TO call anything popular -, :,
II is highly significant secondly, that 1t
was possible, two months after the national
exhibition in Madison Slu.re darden.
for an automobile show rvallinE the New
York affHir and in several ways eXoelling
it to be held in Boston.
To appreciate properly this fact ard COM
prehond why The Boston success should
cause establishment. il must re re Ned that
hitherto the Boston shows have been small.
local affairs, Of interest only to those in
that vicinity. Tho New York event il a
national show, under the auspices Of the
national association of makers; the manu-
-. L. "a a. =.
are publicly displayed for the FIRST fiHis
and the business done Is Of the Wholesale
variety, the sale By tho makers to the retail
ing agents.
The Boston show remained local affair
this year in that it was gwen by the Boston
Automobile Dealers' Association and at, ar
the national shows, hut in all other respe "a
it was unlike a local show because il rad
outgrown the proportions and onaraote Is
tics Of such Affairs The Boston dealers
hired the biggest place in town, one which
has a Goor space nearly double that Of Madi-
son Square Garden. They invited the power d.
boat men 20 join them and together a list !
OF $40 exhibitors was made up, as against
one Of 225 for the show In Madison Square .
Garden, and the double floor space was well
filed, but not crowded to an uncomfortable
extent Usually only a fraction Of the cars
seon at the national shows ore 10 be found (
in the local exhibits, that portion repr sent !
ing the makers whose products sell in that |
locality and only one or two cars Of each
make. At Boston only very few, il any
Of the makers were without representation, !
and there were several newcomers in Ole
industry from New England. JSualy.
again, the manufacturers do not contribute !
TO the exhibits at local shows, but at Boston
there were exhibits sent on from nearly all
the factories, including those special dis
plays Of ki9ected engines which expose the
internal workings, hand polished. chassis
glass panelled bodies revealing the Jneohah-
Ism and other special features made for
exhibition purposes at the national shows.
The most interesting innovations and this
particular sensations Of the show were two
cars which in the features they introduce
presage the coming fulhment Of predic-
tons made by enthusiasts Of the ideal car
of the future as one from which an the
unsghtly and cumbersome levers, starting
crank, and even steering wheel, shall be
abolished and the vehicle controlled by
electrical devices operated from push but
tons AS easily az & call bell u now This
prediction was doubtless based largely on
the fact that for large trucks steering DE
vices operated by electro magnets have
been developed and that electric gear
changing devices have been brought out,
though not adopted to any extent
In both tho two new cars seen at the
Boston show the gear changing levers have
disappeared, and IN one Of them the starting
chimes are Massachusetts, products. In the
Stuftevant, made In Boston, there are three
sets Of speed ge8rs, and they are absolutely
automatic. changing with the speed Of the
engine.
"a the operiag sht, when all the seats
in the gallery Of the grand hall were filed
and there was scarcely room 10 move about
anywhere In the building the police had to
close the doors and tie count Of tickets
afterwarG showed an actual attendance
Of more than 100 In one night Tele-
grams began TO ny 10 the factories andi
everywhere summoning the prinCir ais OF
concerns 70 this local show" Il was too
big an affair TO he left entirely 70 the local
retailers. Something had broken loose
which put the Boston show on a diherenAl
level from what IL had formerly held, ands
the rest Of the week the personnel Of those
regularly in attendance suggested a ma
Uonal show.
This sudden leap Of tho Boston show
Is significant Of the foot that as an auto
mobile cert-e the New England netropolh
has become the rival Of New York, and the
most logical explanation Of IL is, not tho !
wealth nor the enthusiasm Of the pOpuhce a
but the good roads that abound in Alahsa-
Chusctts and make automobiliug high er
pleasure and Of greater utility than In the,
Empirp STATE