The San Francisco call., 1910-04-05
WIlLYS fNTRUSES
OVER CALIFORNIA
Noted Manufacturer of Overland
and Marion Machines
Praises State
BY R. R. L'HoMMEDIEU


j. N Willys, head Of the company
that manufactures the Overland and
Marion motor cars. arrived in the city
last night WHY'S came up overland
from Los Angeles, touring in easy
stages, having left the southern city
eight days ago. Automobiles or the
making of them are not holding his
attention, or that at least was the i'm
preston to be gained from his re-
marks on the trip up from San Leandro,
where J. W. Leavitt, the local repre-
sentative of the Overland. went to meet
WHY'S, who is considered to hold a po-
sftion In the automobile world equal
to that of Morgan in the financial world
1t was not until he was on the ferry
boat crossing over to the city that he
would talk of the automobile business.
His trip up from the south was upper
most in his mind. He had been in Call
fornia two years ago, when he made a
flying trip through the state. This
time he has taken it leisurely.
PRAISES CALIFORNIA
He said:
do the people of California realize
| what they have here? The varied
scenery since we left Los Angeles has
been something wonderful, to put 1t
mildly. Such weather! and I may say
| fair roads. They are very good for
sport, and then there are stretches
which make it hard going. I want to
| go on record right here. I am going
to spend my winters hereafter in Cali
fornia. 1 have been through Europe.
1t is beautiful over there and interest
| ing for one, but there It ends.
Even the English speaking people
you meet are strangers and you feel
| that they have nothing in common with
! you. The reason? Why, IL is not
the United States. and they are not
Americans. A person that can not
| feel any sentiment when he looks upon
| old glory should travel in a foreign
! country just once. II he does not
| feel a thrill when he sees IT again
after doing Europe he is not worthy
| the name of an American. Now 1 am
! not alone in this particular There
are thousands who would greatly pre-
| fer to do the touring in this country
| after having done the other side than
return to Europe if there were some
! place to go in this country. The east
| is too hot in the summer and the north
ern section is fairly attractive. This
| leaves only the west, and of all the
west there is but California.
This is the keynote to the. situa-
ton. California is the natural touring
| ground of the United States. With
| the present conditions of the roads it
will be some time. however. before it
assumes the position IL deserves. If
/ California had roads that would quickly
/ shed water, with what l have seen on
! the trip up, it would be possible to
| tour with pleasure the whole year
! around. II California will better their
roads just so per cent 1 will predict
| that inside of a year IL will bring fully
! 100000 motoring enthusiasts with their
| cars. Let 1t be known that the roads
| have been improved so that it will be
possible to tour from the south as far
! north as San Francisco and fully this
number will come west next winter.
/ Why. l left home with a cold I could
not shake off. I tried the south. and
| then worked west. I was not As hours
! over the border before the cold began
| TO leave me and / never felt better
i than I do now"
Willys talked some on the general
automobile outlook and said that he
could not see how there could be an
overproduction for some time. judging
! from the present demand, which seemed
J to be increasing instead of diminish
| ing. He di dsay that he thought 1t
would be but few years before there
| turing companies. In speaking of the
( Overlands and Marions. he said
II can say very little about these
cars, for il would sound just like every
statement OF its kind. The firm that
assemblies so cars will tell you that
! they have the greatest plant and the
greatest car and that it will be but a
short time before there will be but one
mae of car on the market This is
what is generally handed out. / real
I ize, however, that the owners OF our
cars will expect some sort of a state
ment at this time through The Call, so
I may say for their benefit and the
benefit of the dealers who are handling
our cars that I expect that we will
build more four cylinder cars than any
! other concern this year. In March we
| shipped 1890 and are truning out more
than 100 day. l have planned to
turn out 125 a day and I think il will
go to 140. These are facts that have
Just received in. my mail AS to the
quality and value of our cars that is
not for me to say. I now how they are
built and I leave 1t to the owners. 1t
is on their recommendation that we
place our faith. believing that 1t will
be only a short time before we will
have the greatest automobile produc-
ing plant, OF the world, with the out
put all sold