The Democratic advocate., 1909-12-24
AMERICAN CARS ARE NOW EQUAL
TO ANY.
This is Opinion of Russell HUFF, Chief
Engineer Of Packard Company, Just
Back from EurOpe.

Russell Huff, chief engineer of the
Packard Company, of Detroit, who re-
turned from a European trip few
days ago, was visitor at the London
show and looked into the foreign au-
tomobile situation generally. He did
not see anything abroad representing
particular advancement on Ameri
can mechanical practice.
There is very little that is radical
ly new," Mr.. Huff declared. auto
mobiles are being simplified as much
as possible, and the European tenden-
cy is toward small shaft-driven
models, many of which have worm
drives. The chain driven car is going
out. After looking over the whole
field I am convinced that the Ameri-
can average of automobile construc-
ton is quite as high as that of Europe.
In volume of business we are far
ahead of any European country. We
have a larger population able to buy
automobiles than any European coun-
try.
Further, the American in many
cases buys a new machine every year,
while the Englishman and the French
man will use the same car, repainted
and modified, for five, six or seven
years. An American would be
ashamed to travel around in some of
the old machines that are still doing
good service in Paris. All this, of
course, tends toward increased busi-
ness"
Mr. Huff is not believer in the
American invasion of the European
market! Some of the makers of
cheap popular machines will be able
to do business over there he said,
"but the market is so small that few
of the high class makers will think
it worth while to attempt to sell. All
that Europe needs to fear is overpro-
dumping on the European market.
There are no present signs of this,
however"
Mr. Huff is greatly interested in
good roads. He is convinced that
American highways will continue to
improve until all the principal cities
connected by perfect roads. Euro
pean touring, however, he says, is
likely to continue to grow in favor
among Americans.
There is no such fascination about
touring in Europe that it will always
increase in popularity, independently
of the Improvement of good roads, -
he said. This year there have been
more American automobilists in Eu-
rope than ever before, and next year
there will be more still. The trans
portation companies and the various
touring associations have made the
matter so simple tahC every American
automobilist longs to travel over the
good roads of Europe, to visit the his
toric sites and to enjoy the peculiar
charm of foreign travel. Each auto
mobilist who returns is the means of
inducing a dozen others to follow his
example.
"The automobile has reached such
state of development in America
that the betterment of our roads, is
now bound to be rapid. People in
every class of the community are
using automobiles; most important of
all, farmers are buying them in large
numbers, and are naturally becoming
interested in the movement for the
betterment of the roads.
ct is now thoroughly realized that
good roads pay by enchancing the
value of the property they touch. In
Michigan we are rather backward in
the matter of roads, but even there a
strong desire for improvement is evi-
dent. AS roads are made or improved
farm land goes up in value to such an
extent that very soon the farmers
themselves, who formerly declared
that the dirt roads were good enough
for them, are most enthusiastic for
improvement.
.As roads are made better city men
are buying farms and country houses,
and at the same time increasing the
value of the surrounding land Just
as an example of this tendency the
general manager of our company owns
farm twenty-six miles from Detroit
and travels to it every evening by
automobile. The farm originally was
worth only $100 an acre, now it could
not be bought for 5000 an acre. The
increased value is of course due in the
first place to improved roads"