The Detroit times., 1909-12-25
BETTER AUTOS IN
1870, PREDICTION
!. OF EXPERT
Longer wheel Base, More Condensed
Motor, Larger Wheels and Tires
Will Be Seen at Wayne )
~ Gardens Show
Upward Trend in Price Firmly Evil
dent and Buyers Will Do Well To
Order New Cars Early
By CHARLES e DURYEA,
ENDE % r

tAmerican Motor Car Manufacturers
- Assoeiatior.f
Motorists always wait with i'm
patience the opening of automobil,
shows. as az That time The new o1er
ihgs OF the motor car makers are
diyplged for the first time, just wha
the big list Of exhibitors at the Wayn'
Gardens affair viii unfold in new
wrinkles, cannot be concmsively tol,
until the opening. Ian. "A.
Several things have conspirod Il
force the Season Of -19l0 10 The IRON
apd, permit at this date a better view
OF the coming year than is usual a
this period of the year The shortage
of goods during the past summer
cleared the factories and permitteC
he-new product TO COME out sooner
Tfe absence Of vehicles ON the sale:
floors or agents caused them 10 ash
Tor the new product instead OF asking
that If be held back till the old ones
were sold Several interesting and
pleasant things are 10 be seen IN this
early view of tina industry
- Instead of striving io-get the-pro
duct down TO the market as seemed
10 he necessary a year ago.the market
DOW looks so different that the pro
duct is being pushed upward both in
quality and price. Even many OF the
makers who were building or looking
with covetous eyes on the motor buggy
as a product for the lowered market,
have now abandoned n and are mar
Eeting the conventional automobile.
The country buyer who feared 10 buy
or had rUt the money to buy the
pneumatic tired touring car ayear
ago. was then looking for eeme cheap
~r substitute. With the retarn ot-pros-
rerity, high priced wheat. -corn~cotton
and beef, the buyer Is looking for ser
.xice. style and luxury and everything
that is best in motor car construction
. Wise Buyer viii Order Early
- On every hand the upwardly swing
ing pendulum is TO be seen. The buyer
who expects to purchase this coming
year. win do well to get his order in
early, lest he be unable TO get his
purchase through sheer inability oI
the makers and material supply
Houses to supply the amounts called
Tor. II takes months for material tc
BASS through the factories and come
out a finished product and little de
fay slfere -and- another there soon
throws the delivery far behind expec
tations. In the early spring OF 1908
q rush began that simply showed un-
der the best equipped makers and left
many a buyer to take something he
did not want rather than go without.
The wise buyer for 1910 will do well
to heed this experience and avoid its
repetition
The economizing period through
which the Industry has just passed
taught the value OF light weight. The
reduced tire and maintenance ex-
penses OF the lighter cars has been
very marked and has done much TO
widen the range of buyers. And ii is
a welsknown fact that once man en-
ters the ranks of the automobile
users, he is not happy until he has
crept TO the top and driven the most
elaborate productions he can md. Inis
simple fact alone does much TO stimu-
late designers to produce Tor next
year better creations than they had
last year. The buyer who was pleased
by the makers ideas last year will
likely be again susceptible. and, nav
ing prospered in the meantime, VIII
buy their more luxurious structure.
Because OF these things we md
wheel bases again moving forward. II
seemed as though these had reached
the extreme and would follow down.
ward course but aside from the short
coupled town cars this seems not to
he the case.
sss.ss Motors Moro Compact. ---.
~-Thfs lengthening of base has gone
fvrwnrl with-a-shertening-o motors
tn~m~ny caseAs-a-The tendency seems
toese-teward Lighter motors. and with
ala- iha- ha--cylinders- cast in one piece.
instead as In most cases, separately
This makes the motors shorter and
does not require SO much room in the
bonnets. This leaves more room for
passengers. and the length Of base
has been used to the passengers bene-
ht In several ways. In some cases
the bodfes have been heightened and
more leg room provided. I'm others the
seats for the rear passengers have
been brought forward and gotten in
front Of the rear axle where the riding
is easier. This also makes. room for
wider doors and more easy entry 10
the tonneau. In other cases the extra
room has been given. TO hooded dashes
which by extending backward over the
drivers feet and legs protect him from
the weather and Wind, and add COM
fort as well as the sporty look so
much arected ny some users.
IN many cases the added length has
been utilized to- introduce longer
springs. w4nch -have' in turn, softened
the vibrations -aRd very much helped
sut the riding qualities of the respec.
tive cars. The lighter weight Of the
nasi two years has also done much
10 better ,the- spring action and there
soSocoocSooococ
4.