The Washington times., 1912-09-21
TEST Of CAR IS
STEADY SERVICE,
NOVELTIES DROPPED
Nothing But Demonstrated
Value Will Give the Motor
Standing Today.

Interesting comments upon the trend
OF the hour in the motor car world
were made today by an official OF
the Foss-Hughes Company. distrib-
uters Of Pierce-Arrow cars In WASH
ington. Baltimore, Philadelphia, Prov
idence, and Wilmington.
According to this official there has
been a marked change within the
past year or two in the automobile
industry, caused by change OF at
titude on the part OF the buying pub
lie. The day of the "faddist" and tho
seeker of "freakish" designs and
wholesale innovations is. compare
lively speaking, past and there has
come a saner and steadier demand for
the car which will yield the maximum
of service etdoti1 for ths uses Of sye,y DAY.
the Foss- Hughes officer, 'may be de-
scribed as the industry which has
steadied itself. Marked changes have
taken place from the conditions Of sew
eral years ago. when the motor car was
vations, and ill-considered features were
the thing Of the hour. Now the people
who buy automobiles are paying less at
tention to the formerly much 'touted'
improvements and changes in the models
from year to year. More and more the
public Is demanding intrinsic worth
rather than spectacular devices. The re-
suit Is that the highest class cars. those
which most perfectly meet the require
ments Of the shrewdest purchasers, no
longer offer a long list Of new things and
recent improvements, but are content to
make all thoroughly demonstrated re-
finements. and then simply to maintain
the high quality OF their product in all
its old essential features.
'Formerly the motor car was a luxury
and vehicle for the pleasure-days only.
Now 1t Is necessary to the every day
lives to busy and consequential people.
Hence II has been a natural sequence
that such people should look more and
more to the dependable, serviceable
qualities of their cars and less to strik-
Ing, but more or less useless devices
and designs.
Undoubtedly the future Of the motor
car will be marked by progress and the
gradual evolution to more perfect type.
But the progress will be sane and con-
servative: The public will no longer
buy motor car merely because of some
superficial feature, but will, and does,
demand a substantial and dependable
mechanism all through They are no
longer as keen for the latest models as
they are for the soundest make with the
best reputation.
"It is for these reasons. largely. that
we have dropped the dates from our
Pierce-Arrow cars. Although our new
models are perceptibly- finer than those
which went before and contain a num-
BERN of additional refinements. our
patrons are more concerned about set
ting "Pierce-Arrow' than about get
ting any particular model.
I'm fact. the day of the annual pur-
chases Of motor cars has also passed,
and a constantly increasing length OF
service Is demanded Of a car. This does
not mean that there will be a falling
off in the automobile business. On the
contrary, It is annually increasing in
volume and Importance to keep pace
requirements of modern life, But 1t
does mean that the entire industry has
sobered down. as 1t were. and that the
cars that will survive In the future are
those which are built upon sound and
permanent principles and which are
SO manufactured as to give the maxi.
mum OF steady and enduring service.
Emerson & Orme report the sale Of
a Detroit electric brougham to M. j.
Lawrence.
Bert Hilborne, private secretary to
Senator Poindexter, arrived In Detroit
this week in his FSeritt six, alter
touring New England and Canada. Hc
is en- route to Seattle.