Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-09-23
FRANCE PROVES TO WORLD
If, VALUEOF MOTORSIN WAR
All of Leading Automobile Factories Have Been Taken Over By
French Government - Should Be Big Field for American
Made Machine in That Country After Waterman Com
petition Will Be Eliminated in Country-America Steps In

| prestige in metallurgy for long to come
| France herself Is working up to the
limit Of her present needs, and the
case OF Great Britain is substantially
the same. Here is where America
cones In. The way Is pointed out,
the ground has already been broken,
TIE reputation Of the American prod.
ret Is excellent, even here, where it is
mostly surrounded by a more costly
product. ..
America practically stands at the
head in the given figures for a
welvemonth as to imports OF automo-
biles into France, followed In turn
by Great Britain, Germany, Belgium
and Italy. The figures for the United
states practically reached a million
dollars. These Are from French sour
ces. On the other hand, curious
anomaly is presented in the French
export figures for the same period.
Great Britain imported over $4,000
900 Of automobiles from France.
while the United States took less than
million, less even than Spain bought
Of France.
There is a chance for the CONNER
cial vehicle OF modest price and size
to do big business in France when
the period of war has been liquidated.
II Is worth studying on the spot, even
now.
The small and moderate priced and
powered car and as many of the de
luxe class as may consider the fight
worth while can certainly be depend
ed upon to make a showing in France
greater, by far, than anything at pre-
sent conceived. For the de luxe car
Il will always be matter OF prestige
TO be known and to achive a success
In the French market, while with
those Of the other. classes mentioned
Il will be simply the success OF dol
lars and cents and may be made very
profitable by those who work the pro
position the right way-7which, to my
mind, is through the branch house,
not simple agency. Paris should
be the headquarters, with as many
sub-branehes as the trade may de-
mand. three. perhaps four in all
France. and one of these at north
ern seaport where cars and parts
may be kept in stock and shipped
reality to all parts of Europe where
they may be needed. This plan Is
better than trying to work each sep
arate country by itself, and France
Is the center of the clock face
II Is, perhaps, uncharitable to spec
ulate on just what the buying re-
sources Of struggling France may be
In the near future Just at this time
!. IA e. 1~v hut
Is good time corning and France Is
going to take and keep its own place
In the sun, and we may look for
spirit of progress which will amount
to revolution, so far as the old
methods of transacting business are
concerned In this wise there will
be bigger demand than was even
anticinated before the war for all that
pertains to automobilism. Vastly
greater issues than mere questions of
barter are on the tapis Just now. but
1t is a fact that the mechanically pro-
PEELED vehicle has, at last, demon
strated itself as factor in the eco
nbmic life OF the times and as such
viii make q big issue here in France.
still the land par excellence of good
roads. 81
The most prolific region for the de-
velopment of the automobile in
France will still be Paris and that
contiguous thereto. including the De-
partments of the Seine and Disc and
the Nord. each of them now sadly
ravaged by the war. 1t is in these
regions. with that the Seine Infer.
ieur around lie Hayre, the Bouches
du Rhone with Marseilles as its COM
mercial canital, the Lyonnais with
Lyons as the center, and the Borde-
the largest registration has been
heretofore and will continue to be
found. for they represent collectively
the chief industrial and wealthy re-
eions of France. Practically these
are the regions for the mapping out
OF campaign where distributors and
agents should be first secured. Even
in rosperous, up-to<date and welE
dressed highwayed France of this
blessed twentieth century there are
whole departments. or states, where
the automobile registration is but a
hundred or less. 1t is by a study of
conditions on the spot that the able
manager or representative of the Am
er,can automobile manufacturer, who
desires to enter or increase his sales
In the French market, will avoid
many costly mistakes of propaganda
which, up TO now, has been the rea-
sen for so many merely nibbling at
a bait which, IL followed, VIII certain
~ lead to a vastly more prolific mar
ket than might be at first supposed.
Printed matter Is useless unless in
French and prices should be quoted
in francs, with measures and weights
according to the metric system, not
approximate but exact.