Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-24
YEARS TRADE
OUTLOOK BRIGHT
$1,000 CARS TO BE PRODUCED
IN 1909
PRICES RANGE FROM $500 TO
$4,000
Competition Is Doing Much Toward
Adjusting Prices to Correspond
With Material and First
Cost

With promised production Of about
!!5,OOO cars, it can be readily figured
that 1909 will be the greatest year in
tne history of the automobile industry.
With the automobile shows which
have just been held, says Alfred
reeves, manager of the A. M. c.. M. A.
there began trade in motor cars and
an interest in motoring that promises
to surpass the expectations of the most
optimistic admirers of those wonder
tul pOWer-driven and rubber-shod ma
chimes for individual TRANSFORMATION.
Yet there is not likely to be an over
prodlIctlon of good cars, owing to the
excellent demand for high-class ma
chimes at proper prices. There will be
put little lowering of prices, although
IN all cases a good deal more i'm the
way of better material and construc-
ton will be given for the price than
in 1908.
The reasons for the great trade an
tlclpated are the practical perfection
OF the motor car, the reduced mainten-
ance cost OF the automobile Of today,
the making of cars in large numbers.
the offering to the public Of machines
at reasonable prices and the recon-
mendat1ons Of thousands of automobile
owners who have bought and driven
cars during the past year or two with
none of the difficulties Of expense en-
tailed in the machines of early years,
AT the automobile show il. the palace
are cars at prices ranging from $3.50
to $1O,O00 supplying a speed of from
twenty-five to seventy-fve miles an
hour, and equipped with every con-
celvable style of body. Big and fast
cars will continue to have a great sale
Notwithstanding the wonderful success
of the small cars. 1t would be absurd
to say otherwise when one gives a
thought to the inclination of Americans
toward luxury and speed.
The small cars, however, can be pur-
chased economically in large quanti-
ties and the competition among Amer
lean makers has brought the price
within the reach of the great middle
classes, which are the biggest pur-
chasing power in the country
Aside from pleasure driving, the
motor car is now an absolute necessity
for doctors, engineers, contractors,
collectors and others who have to cover
great distances in or around the city.
Atop of it all. the commercial vehicle
offers an unlimited field for business.
1t is estimated that there are now
about 900 automobiles in America,
yet the fact that a million buggies q
year were made and sold by the buggy
manufacturers for about four years,
while half a million were disposed of
during 1908 supplies a fair indication
of the possibilities of automobiles for
general use.
Although comparatively a new in
dustry, the motor-car trade is now on
a very substantial basis. There have
been great sums of money expended
in experimenting and producing the
very best before offering it to the gen.
eral public. While there will be i'm
provements in the future, it can safely
be said that the automobile of 1909
is very close to perfection as a road
vehicle. Owing to modern methods of
manufacture and similar conditions,
the motor cars of today offer more for
the money than was deemed possible a
few years ago.