Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-04-27

IT'S MIGHT IMPORTANCE this matter of selecting
an automobile. OF course every buyer knows that But
not every one knows how to go about it to determine
just which car from among the many offered for his
consideration, will meet his requirements and afford
him the satisfaction he SO devoutly hopes for afterward.
ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE who ask about the horse
power, the hill climbing ability, the riding qualities; look
it over and approve of the general appearance, then ask
the price-and think you have covered the whole ground
IF YOU ARE, then you may be satisfied with your pur-
chase a few months hence. We say you may-if you are
lucky. Otherwise you will realize all too late that the
points mentioned, while important, are to be had in
almost any automobile nowadays and are not after ALL
the most vital factors to consider.
IF WE WERE ASKED to select from among all the cars
on the market today, and they were all lined up in a
row for our critical inspection we would be as much at
sea as you are but that we know some things about
automobiles and their manufacture and their career
after they leave the factory that you, a layman, cannot
possibly know. And we are anxious to give you the
benefit of that knowledge.
BUT AFTER SEEING THEM-noting points of con-
trast and of agreement in design, finish, ct cetera, we
would ask some other questions-and note very care
fully the replies.
LET US ADMIT before going any further, that We are
~prejudiced. ~Prejudiced in favor OF the S%tudebaker
product. P~rejudiced in its favor because we know how
il is made. Know more about its good points than you
VI any IL CEoC POooiDly wv hh0"
as you can't know, how sincerely we try to build the
best automobiles possib1e-to give Studebaker GUS
toners the best value for the money.
WE'D LOOK EN- ALL OVER-frst. Naturally. And
correctly. The buyer owes it to himself to see all really
reputable cars and compare them point for point. Com
pare points of contrast-and features in which the
several cars agree. (Of course, We would exclude-that
is to say, ignore-the experiments. The new and I'M
tried models. We would consider only cars backed by
regulations of long standing, for, aside from your own
judgment, based as it must be on a 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 DESIGN-see if it CORE
sponded with the best standard practice. Appearance
would appeal to us, of course. One likes to own. a car
that looks more 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 as they
say. And, while we would watch the performance of
the motor, transmission and the car generally, very
closely during that ride, We would not attach to it more
Importance than it deserved. For any car especially
tuned up for the occasion and in the hands of a re-
sourceful driver will do almost u~nheard-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
salesmen-and perjure another tenth of them to answer
to our satisfaction.
WE WOULD ASK FIRST who made the car. Not who
made the motor, axles and other parts. Not who assem-
bled them and put his name-plate on the finished
product, but who actually made every part of the car
from the raw materials to the completed car. And We
would exclude from further consideration all assem-
bled" automobiles.
THEN WENWOULD WANT TO KNOW just how many
automobiles each manufacturer made per annum. For
the answer to that question is the answer to that other
lis it built or is it manufacturers" If made in small
= quantites-say less than 5000 per year-then hand
work must of necessity enter largely into its making.
And we would not buy a handmade automobile. The
hand cannot approximate the accuracy of the machine.
No two workmen do work of equal quality. A hand
made machine means one 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 reasons:
First, cars MADDEN quantities are better because methods
are possible in quantity production that are impossible
when making small numbers. And second: we would
know that parts of cars made in small quantities would
not be absolutely interchangeable, whereas parts of
machines made in immense quantities must be-
necessarily.
NOW WE HAVE REDUCED the cars we would consider
to a very small number. (You see, we would select our
automobile by the simple process of elimination)