The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-01-25
DETROIT THRONES
ANNUAL D. A. D. A.
AUTO SHOW
Opening Night Brought Out tho
Largest Crowd in the History Of
the Many Exhibitions Of
the Past.
Statesmen Have Their Troubles in the
Jam and Experience Difficulties
With Queries of Chaufeurs.

On No! The Detroit public doesn't
appreciate the automobile and IL a
OIL backward about rendering 1t the
credit 1t deserves In the city's pros
perity
That is what we have heard from
outsiders now and then and, once in
Whlle. even from those who should
know better.
Well. stow that sort OF chatter away
In the mothballs. Detroit's apprecia.
tion OF the auto, as exempIified In the
thlrd annual show OF the Detroit Auto
mobile Retailers association, was lin
tied on the opening evening solely by
the capacity of the Wayne Gardens,
the largest available building In De-
troit 1t was simply jammed to the
doors with the mass OF humanity that
mad come to see what was pronounc-
ed by experts the most complete dis
play OF motor cars ever assembled
under one roof. nothing less.
Late In the afternoon Show Man
ager John Gillespie. Secretary Robert
X. Davis and several officers OF the
ID. A. ID. A. made a final tour OF in
specton of the big hall, taking In both
floors OF the exhibition. They pro-
nounced the show complete and ready.
First Car Sold In Five Minutes.
AT 1880 the ticket sellers were ia
place and the sale started, with a line
OF people stretching from the doors
clear out To Woodward-ave. At 1885
the first sale of a car was announced.
the claimant to the honor being "Bil-
ly' Neumann. Jealous rivals had IL
that he was able to beat them to it
from the fact that his exhibit was
located next the entrance. Be that as
It may, the others were not far be-
hind and, for some minutes, every
salesman was busy. explaining the
merits of his car.
/ By $3.50, however, the stream OF hui
mainly that had been making its way
through the doors, two or more
abreast, had filed both floors to s.ch
an extent that further systematic
craftsmanship was impossible. Each
car was surrounded by jam Of per
sons crooking their necks and firing
at the gentlemanly chaperones OF tho
Icars volley OF questions which test
ed even the powers of the most
loquacious and best-posted Of them
all.
This is surely the wisest bunch OF
folks l ever saw. when 1t comes to
talking automobile" said one perspfr-
ing salesman, as the closing time
drew near. II think that every chauf-
feur in the city of Detroit must have
been on deck tonight.
What's the cylinder bore OF that
one was question one guy asked
me right off the reel. And that was
only sample of what I got the whole
evening long. Those that weren't
chauffeurs must have been employees
OF the factories. for they wanted to
know about the heat treatment OF
steels and a lot OF stun like that.
I've taken In all the big shows In
the east but / never saw a crowd like
this one. I'd only like TO see some
of the New York fellows up against
proposition OF this sort"
A Beautiful Interior.
The success of the ID. A. d. A. show
was amply assured by the reception
which the affair met on its opening
evening. The display OF cars was as
suredly all that was promised and ex-
pected. AS for the general scene that
greeted the spectator. there was nc
ground for disappointment. While
the successful plan in vogue a year
ago formed the basic work OF the gem
eral arrangement Of the hall, the de-
tails had been worked out with far
greater elaborateness. Pillars of
stained glass. brilliantly Illuminated
from within. marked the entrances TO
the various booths and panelled the
stairway. From the lattice OF bunt-
ing which rooted the hall. hung acres
Of clinging southern smilax through