The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-10-10
NO GENERAL DROP
in AUTO PRICES
RECENT E. M. r. STATEMENTS
CALL FORTH OPINIONS FROM
OTHER MANUFACTURERS
IN STATE.

The announcement made in a De-
troit paper Wednesday morning to the
effect that the f. NJ. y. automobile
company had decided to make very
considerable reduction In the price of
Its cars, and giving as the reason for
SO doing. the great reduction in the
cost of raw materials, has stirred
things up In all the automobile CEN
tiers of the country. Automobile man
ufacturers cannot but be unanimous
In denying many of the statements
made In this article and will without
doubt do their best to put the public
i'm possession of the real facts of the
cases. says the Lansing Republican.
"In> the statement issued by the f..
M. Il. company / notice that the i'm
preston is given that the cost Of ma
terial has gone down as much as 25
per cent" said r. l.. Odds. Now
do not think that this shrinkage has
been more than per cent at the very
outside.
steel brass and leather. the three
materials which enter most largely
into the making of automobiles have
not decreased in price one cents
worth. Pig iron has gone down but
any one with even a superficial know
ledge of the automobile will readily
understand that the amount of this
material which enters into the ma
chine is so small that the difference
that the fall I'm its price would make
In the cost of the whole car would be
rdiculously slight. Rubber is a large
item in the total cost. but whoever
lowers his price with fall I'm the rub
Der market must either do so with the
knowledge that the next turn In the
market may necessitate a raise in tho
price to it's former level or else he Is
taking gamblers chances.
Close Margin.
"Few people realize just how close
margin the automobile matufac-
turer figures on when he settles upon
the price for which his machine shall
sell. Only those who are intimately
conversant with the business will un-
derstand me when say that there
are few lines of industrial production
in which the line between profit and
loss is so finely drawn.
Naturally during the years that
the automobile business has been
growing many methods of saving and
economy have been found and utiliz-
cd by the progressive manufacturer
and for this reason the general public
have been waiting with more or less
patience for the 'long-predicted low
ering of automobile prices which the
~ M. F. article refers 70. To mate
rally reduce the price on any estab-
llshed line of cars has. however. al
ways been against the policy of the
makers OF the leading machine in the
field today. The policy has been rath-
err. to improve the quality of the ma
terials and workmanship which en-
tered into construction and In some
cases to increase the completeness of
the outfits so that IL should include
many things usually classed as ex-
tras. In this way and in this way only
has the automobile been lowered In
price"
A Detroit manufactures expresses
himself as follows on the subject:
Cost Increasing.
There is not car in the country
which is keeping up to the mark in
quality do not make a single ex-
ception-which is not costing more
to produce today than it did a year
ago.
THAT there have been cars OF eX-
cellent and OF dubious quality which
enjoyed an abnormally long margin of
profit there is not a shadow of doubt.
The former have given better and
better value every year. The latter
have continued to maintain an unfair
margin by ignoring the universal de-
mand for. and the general tendency
toward. betterment in materials; In
the quality of labor engaged, and in
the machinery and the manufacturing
methods employed.
an other words, these cars. during
the most feverish period of the motor
car demand, were able to sell medic
Gritty at an outrageously long profit
Wherever such cars exist, Ii Is true
tba nrice must come down: because