Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-04-17

e.
WE A HOPED that this season the usual spring
scramble for automobiles would be averted in the case
of Studebaker cars at least-but alas for well laid
n6 B5s9 THAT WE ARE oompn.Arrrrc-no in III. least.
So far as we ourselves are concerned. Far from being
unpleasant the condition that c~onfronts the Studebaker
Corporation this Spring Of 1912 is well nigh ideal.
THAT rs SPEAKING from O. manufacturers point of
view.
U FROM YOUR sTANDPoINT-it is different.
That S what we wanted to talk about-and to advise
you how best to go about it to meet the conditions that
obtain and ward off disappointment.
HERETOFORE AS YOU KNOW there has always been
a tremendous-one might almost say O. hopeless-short-
age of Flanders ''2O0 and EMF ''3O7 cars in the
Spring months-the rush season.
ONE OR TWO OTHER MAKES that were popular with
buyers shared with us to an extent this pleasurable
over demand. Pleasurable, but disheartening at that.
For one disiles to ~disappoint SO many good friends.
Then, too, when you know you make the best automo-
biles for the money you hate to see good friends forced
to accept second bests.
THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN H CAsE. We were
powerless to remedy it. The EMF Company was
young. Had made tremendous progress, but there was
a limit to financial resources. And, anyway, factories
can be equipped only about so fast. Machine tools
can't be wished into form.
BUT THIS EAR it was different. This big forty-ive
million dollar Corporation felt equal to the task Of
supplying the full demand for its two models-hercu-
lean though it was.
WITH UNLIMITED CAPITAL at it's command; with
the largest and best equipped plants in the world; with
an engineering and manufacturing organization second
to none; contracts for material placed and deliveries as
sured; it seemed as if even our splendid sales force
would be unable to keep ahead of the production de-
partment.
AND WE HAVE DOME ALL we set out to do. That
is to say, we estimated that $4,000 cars divided into
10000 Flanders ZOOS" and 10000 EMF "30's'),
would surely supply the demand.
WE FELT SURE WE HAD NOT under estimated the
demand. We knew the unparalleled popularity of these
famous cars not only throughout the length and
breadth of America, but in all other civilized countries,
WE THOUGHT So 600 CARS would do. Some of our
competitors warned us it was too many-the rest of
them didn believe we would or could make that many,
WELL, WE'RE UP to SCHEDULED few cars ahead of 1t
on April LIST and we carried over from March to April
orders for 4722 cars. Most of them Flanders '20s."
LOOK AT RECORD-it's almost unbelievable. In
December, when would-be competitors were subsisting
on snow balls and waiting for the season. to open up,
the studebaker plants shipped 5000 cars. In January
Inventory monthly, 1000.
IN FEBRUARY 1900; In March 46O1, and the schedule
for April Is 6OO0-and, as we have said, we are a little
ahead of the schedule.
IN H WICKEDEsT WINTER in fifty years, you'll
recall, You'd have thought that would help us by
retarding demand-it did leave other makers cars on
their floors. But seems as if the harder the conditions
Of roads and weather the more careful people are about
selecting their automobiles.
5000 A MONTH is H SCHEDULE for April, May,
June, July and August, and well make them, but as
w t5e 9fs1e D 0yyE Ea3a' That M0 our Almighty mig n;sn da II stand on,v
about so much Of that. We don't like overtime at all.
But we re doing our utmost to keep up with the demand
and we are still in sight of it, though ~breathless.
THERE THE CONDITION as it stands today. 1t is up
to you. What are you going to do about it7
ANALYZE 1T: 1t means that q lot of people are going
to have to wait for deliveries and a lot more will be
sappointed-compelled to accept some other car
second best value-for all will not be able to get Flan-
ders go" or "30' cars.
1T ISN'T so BAD as it looks, in a way. The shortage Of
Flanders POS" is more apparent than real-for our
capacity is 30 more 20s per day than sos. But it's
bad enough. And it shows we have again fallen short
of our ambition, hard as we have tried to realize it.
WE ARE TELLING YOU THIS because we have repeat
edy asserted to dealers and the public that we would
surely avert the Spring scramble. Now that we know
that we have failed we feel that we owe you q frank
statement Of the facts.
OF COURSE IN TELLING YOU we cannot help telling
our competitors also-and very naturally they will use
1t against us-try to persuade you to buy their cars on
the same grounds as former years, You can't get
Studebaker Cars-either model" And that II be true
unless you beat some other buyer to it.
WE FELL SURE we would be able to supply every posi-.
BILE customer with a Flanders "20"-but remember
THE ENGINEERS WHO BUILT the Ievee along the
Mississippi were eminent and honest men, and they
were equally certain they would hold any floods that
might ever come. But this has been an exceptional
season-and the dykes have given way in places.
Cars i'm Stock. Demon
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