The Washington herald., 1912-05-05

IT'S MIGHTY ndPoRTANT-this matter Of selecting
automobile. Of course every buyer knows that But
Just which car from among the many offered for his
consideration, viii meet his requirements and afford
him the satisfaction he devoutly hopes for aerward
ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE who ask about the horse
power, the hill climbing ability, the riding qualities; look
It and approve Of the general appearance then ask
the think you have covered the whole grornd7
" YOU ARE then you may be satisfied with your pur-
chase few months hence We say you may-if you are
iucIy Otherwise YOU win realize an too late that the
points mentioned while important, are to be had m
almost any automobile nowadays and are not after all
the most vital factors 70 consider.
IF WE WE'RE ASKED to select from among al the cars
On the market to-day, and they all Hned up IN
for critical inspection would be much at
sea a. you are but that we know some things about
automobiles and their manufacture and their career
after they leave the factory that you Iaymsn cannot
possibly know. And are anxious to give you the
benefit Of that knowledge.
BUT AFTER SEEING THEM-noting points of con-
trast and of agreement in design fnh ct cetera. we
would ask some other questions and note very care
fully the replies
LET US ADMIT before going any further, that
prejudced Prejudiced IN favor of the Studebaker
product. Prejudiced IN its favor because know how
It 10 made. Know about tn good points than you
or any one else can possibly kIo~-oeeanse E we know
best automobiles posEibie-to give Studebaker Gus
TONERS the best value for the money.
WE'D LOOK EM ALL oVER-frst. Naturally. And
correctly. The buyer it himself all really
reputable and compare them point for point. Com
pare points of contrast-and features IN which the
several agree. eof course, would exciudethat
10 to say, ignore-the experiments. The new and
tried models. We would consider only backed by
regulations of long standing for, aside from your
judgment, based it must be merely superficial
and brief examination and demonstration, you really
have nothing to depend upon but the reputation back
of the carr
WE WOULD STUDY THE DES1GNHsee if It CORE
sponded with the best standard practice. Appearance
would appeal to us, of course. One likes to
that looks than he paid for It Some look less you
know-and the majority look par at most
WE WOULD RIDE IN IT-have a demonstration
they say. And while would watch the performance
of the motor Transmission and the generally, very
closely during that ride, would not attach to it
importance than it deserved. For any especially
tuned up for the occasion and IN the hands Of
sourcef driver will do almost unheardo of stunts. That
fools lots Of otherwise astute prospects.
BUT AFTER ALL THAT-after considering the factors
that any tyro would naturally take into account-we
would ask some other and more pointed questions.
Questions that would stump eight out of every ten
salesmenand perjure another tenth Of them to answer
to satisfaction.
WE WOULD ASK FIRST who made the car. Not who
made themotor, otherparts Notwhoassembled
them and put his nameplate the finished product,
but who actually made part of the car from the
materials to the completed And we would
exclude FROM further consideration all assembled"
automobiles.
THEN WE WOULD WANT TO KNOW iust how many
automobiles each manufacturer made per For
the that question is the that other
"is it built is it manufactured If made In small
QuantIeieS-Say less Chan o,VUU year-Cnen na11o
work of necessity largely into its making.
And would not buy handmade automobile. The
hand approximate the accuracy of the machine
No two workmen do work of equal quality. hand
made machine means mistake made to fit another
for perfection is impossible by hand
so WE WOULD EXCLUDE from our consideration those
cars made IN small numbers for the following
First cars made in quantities are better because methods
are possible IN quantity production that impossible
when making small numbers And second: we would
know that parts of made IN small quantities would
be absolutely interchangeable, whereas parts of
machines made in immense quantities must be-
necessarily.
NOW WE HAVE REDUCED the we would consider
to very small number. (You see would select our
automobile by the simple process of elmination.)
C+-1oLoLop Ho~