New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-21
A BIG FACTOR
Truck Fleets Increasing in Size
and Number Every Day.
HAVE A DEFINITE FIELD
Il II
Kind of Service To Be Rendered
an Important Considera-
ton in Buying.

That IN" electric commercial vehicle q
becoming more and NOR" q factor IN the
scheme OF prcscut-day haglagc and de
livery can no longer seriously 10. doubted
by close students Of modern road trans
portation. Electric truck ncets are in
crcasing in 80, and number. n IL
worthy Of note hat the bulk OF tho pur-
chasos are being made by professional
haulaGc companies. brcwcri.s and Other
users old IN electric vehicle experience.
Ash any user OF electric trucks or do
livery wagons what he thinks OF his
CO.. ipmcnt. and he Will say without hcsl-
tatiOu that I'm relatively short haul. many
stop service tho electric Is uucNccllcd. In
other words the electric has "A definite
field. special place IN city and suburban
road trans ortation.
In view Of these facts II Is not s,ranc"
that the largest manufacturers of gaso-
ieuc automobiles have entered the c!rc-
tric truck field i'm big and aggressive
way. II is not only q recognition Of the
superiority Of tho electric in It's rartic1-
lar sphere. but IL practically assure IN
production Of machine OF the highcs'
quality in large quantities
With morn than eight yeas cNpcriouc"
iu production. IN design and operation,
there is sufficient reason 10 bolicv" that
Genera Motors Company trucks are rcla-
tiycly perfect commercial vehicles,
whether gasoicne or electric. and. fur
thor. that by building both types. definite
and practical suggestions as To selection.
installation and operation may he looked
for by merchants and manufacturers
without the suspicion that rccommcndd-
tions are colorcd BY prejudice or scIf-'n-
tcrest.
The commercial advantage To the pur-
chaser of dealing with a company maii'-
featuring both types of commercial Nen'-
clos in various sizes H. unques'ionably u
powerful factor. fot, consciously o. IN
consciously the manufacturer o. siiiI''
type Of truck j. likely 10 advocate his
product 10 almost any purchaser where
he can soc a sale.
Local service conditions arr not inir'-
qIontly such that they could hc s'rNoh
by either typc-clectric or gasoicn"-p"'
Il is extremely unlikely that both "ouId
urescnt tho same commercial advantage.
The two machines are radically different
in construction. I'm operation. In car" ana
upkecp and their selection Fhon'h nc
ms d entirely on the demands oil the ser
vice required
The electric may be- likcncd 10 tho orni-
nary city strcctcar a compar'd VIII"
tho gasolenc. winch in turn may h" COM
parcd TO the specially designed heaNS
duty intcrurban Tine electric truck ~
comparatively slow ia spccl. ~ more
easily and economically handed ana u'i-
der the same conditions naturally VIII
cover less mileage In Il gwen tihe ina"
the gasolcnc truck.
ou the other hand the very nature oil
the. electric gives 1t an advantage III con-
gcstcd city traffic and ~ service Nh'Ic
stops are frequent and sometimes Oh con-
sid, raplc length. when the haul ~ iVHs
and the stops trw the gasOl"nc tiuck u
email led To demonstrate It's spcclal anaP''
bIlity To this service -,
lively less dependent on the drivers SKILL
It's maximum speed Is fixed. Altogether II
~ a machine designed Tor unskllIch Idlun
l'he gasolcnc truck reaches us MA N'l'un
efficiency only when drivers ana care
takers are fully acquainted WIN tnt ue-
tails and pcculiarltIes OF the particular
machine IN their hands. -
Bearing I'm mind tlat IN" Hlgh'st cli
cheney combined with the greatest economy
m motor transportation is only possln or.
when the trucks selected are chdcti!
suited to the service. sane application , 20
obviously Of the utmost Importance. IN
this matter of application. the manutact-
urer should assume some OF the RESPONSE
billty. The prospective buyer may think
no knows what he wants. hut the real
transportation salesman Will take an IN
tcrrst I'm guiding the purchasers decision
to the type aud size OF vehicle that VIII
serve him best. In this connection II -
worthy of comment that business men
seem TO have been much impressed by the
broad manufacturing policy of the Gen
eral Motors Truck Company, which rec
ogniZes the need Of many sizes and ca
pacities OF trucks OF both gasolene ana
electric types. and by producing them
all has equipped its representatives TO
render the highest type OF transportation
service.