The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-07
MANY DEALERS
SHORT ON CARS
Factories. Through Lack of
Material. Holding Up
Deliveries.
WAR AND IT'S EFFECTS

rhis has been a renarkab BILE season for
che retail automobile rad OF his city.
a,d probably u great many other COM
~n,,i,, throughout the United states.
m. war IN Europe aving made IL Inn
no.ble for many Americans 10 spend
me time and money abroad that they
c~u.omarily do. especially In the sum-
rer. mas resulted In an increase in tour
,ns over the roads In this country and,
f,r,hermurc, an increase in buying OF
.yorobles. As n result there has been
tremendous demand for cars every
.bsre. A demand which has been felt in
e ,his city by practically every dealer.
Those concerns whose factories have
,een sufficiently alert to guarantee inn
da,e deliveries have respcd the har-
ye.,. Never before have there been 30
many cars sold in New York.
The situation is not. how ever. 80 pleas
az, for every one. Some factories have
h.en hampercd By the lack of materials.
either through their own fault or that Of
me parts makers upon whom they de-
lend. IN some cases the parts makers
have deliberately passed UP automobile
contracts in order to take care OF war
orders. which they realize "a to be
taken on the ny and cannot represent
~ ruanent business. Those parts makers
VINO have been SO shortsighted as to
,srore the interests OF steady customers
Will undoubtedly suffer from this In the
future because they will be surely black
listed when the war is over and they look
.ar business In their regular channels.
some concerns which manufacture al
mos, al the parts Of their own cars
nave been thruS sharply against a sert-
o. situation by their failure to provide
IN tine Tor needed materials. Prices
nave advanced so fast on all metals used
IN the construction OF automobiles that
either they have had to make up for
their lack OF stun by paying "A premium
which cuts hard into their PROFITS on each
car or else they have actually been
forced to cease deliveries ON anything
Ike The schedule they earlier arranged
because they cannot get the goods they
need.
To show o true this Is and how Il
affects the local representative, there are
several retail concerns In New York
watch have not delivered a car for
\ months. although they have orders stand
Ing on their books. and are even now
getting cancellations as a result. one
company has delivered nothing since
july. another nothing since August, and
several concerns are only Just nov be-
ginning to turn over to ustome cars
uhich were promised for Sertember or
nld.October at the very latest. II is
no; thai their factories are busy with
var orders and are neglec,ing The do
nestle business. Such shnrtsiChtedness
10 not a part of the automobile business
0. this country. II IL just because ma
,erials canno be cot.
The purchasing agent OF a very large
factory IN the middle IVES, recently
called up the purchasing agent OF an
other concern to ask II he had any alu-
r.run 10 sell lie offered to AXE 1t off
lie other mans hands az IL cents a
pound m9re than II was bough, for. The
C.he- 'e low said IN give you a profit
.. IL cents a pound on 1000 900 pounds
i'you VIII get the stun for me-" There
vas To deal.
Al our motoring life wo have been
hearing that YOU should strain gasoline
through a chamois before letting 1t get
INTO Your tank. Now ONE The Timkea
Ncgu;ine 20 tell us that III can be an
extremely dangerous thing. The rnaga-
EEt SAWS that when gasoline is poured
through - channels inserted In II funnel
ID ;ae -lsulir" tank 4 generates static
eectr,cIty us II passes through Unless
10 ilrn"' tits securely into the mouth
70! he tank. creating a ground there IS
dlhg'- Of enough electricity being made
% pr0dnce 4 jump spark.
II his spark jumps across to the
nearest ground, which Is the tank, Il
passes across the opening between the
ehd OF the funnel and the edge Of the
'ank through which gasoline vanor Is
rising. Naturally an explosion follows.
" courS~ this can only happen when
some one is holding the funnel In mid
az or so that II rests free from the
ades OF the opening into the tank.
A member Of the American Antonio
ole ASSOCIATION says that the $50 rifles
rom the east coast of Massachusetts to
New York city T. n stretch of road used
bN more cars from other States thar
any IKE distance In the country. In the
course " a tour over this roac he took
no'e OF The license plates Of the passing
am emitting all States east Of the Al
isTaan.es and north OF the Mason-D Dixon
Inc In other words he omitted cars
rom the New England States and from
New York. New Jersey and Pennsyl-
mnia.
Looking over the list he discovered
ars from Arizona. California. Della
ware District OF Columbia. Florida,
Geors'a, Illinois, Indiana. Kentucky,
louisiana, Maryland. Missouri. Ohio,
Tennessee Texas, Virginia. West Vir-
~N''''' ''l'tTVs 1HfTe were three
othsr cars with plates having a color
scheme showing them not In the above
At They could not be recorded be-
cause the STATE authorizations were not
readable
George A. Kicker. former First Deputy
n'RhwaN Commissioners. urges a better
naturalization Of signs at railroad
crossings There are In use many va
'tu's Z railroad crossing signs" he
tsid' and study should be given to the
Oest form of s'gn and 10 it's standards
auon Inform signs will he quickly
recognized and needed Such signs al
cross should he So located as to be
pa'nlv Seen for the longest possible dis
lance care being taken to emove al
ou''le'iurs TO view within he high
WAY.
s'ens ~ srme distance FROM the
crosSlns 70 u0t'fv ira ve'l' RS on the high.
way h"uld be Of uniform design, plair
ara distinct NJ form and AZ such hsieht
AZ 70 b" readily picked up at night by
lne h"adl gh's Of the automobile. They
..0'n'd p" p'-r"d n considerable distance
IRON the crossing and that distance
fAo9l9 he plainly marked on the sign.