The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-01-31
THEIFUTUREAUTOHOBILEBU
One. Half of the 8, 600, 900 SAutomo-
biles5 In Use Today Are Used for \.
business Purposes.
Overproduction Not Probable For
Several Years to Come.
THE CAUSE AND EFFECT OF
s INCREASED MANUFACTUR. 4
5st Il ING COST.

So much has been written relative
to the development Of the motor car
industry and SO many prophesies have
been 5ventured without proper 5consid-
Grafton Of vital and controlling fac.
tors, that clear and simple analy-
sis of the subject may serve to dissii.
pate much oflthe unfounded conjec-
ture...s
The automobile market is divided
into VITO broad fields. First the fural
class, which includes all persons en-
gagged in farming and others in vari-
Gus businesses who live in towns of
less than five Kindred population. Sec
ond, the urban class, which comprises
all people. in any but farming pur-
suits, who live in towns of five hun
dred or more population.
In the rural or farming market,
there are 6,50O,O0O families. One mil,
lion of these now own motor cars and
one and one half millions are poor,
illiterate, or negroes, who for the
purpose of this study may be exclud-
ed from the prospective buying class.
There remain, then, 100000 farm
families who are possible automobile
buyers.
In the urban class, covered by H.
900 towns and cities of more than five
hundred population, there are about
100000 home owners of which num-
ber only 100000 now own cars. Ac-
cordingly, there remain 100000
prospective buyers in this class, or
total actual unsold market, in both
rural and urban classes, of 100000
possible automobile buyers.
The accepted average life of an
automobile is about five years in the
hands of the original owners; and as
the man who once owns a car will
not thereafter be without one, we
must include the recorder market
which in the Calendar year of 1917
will be about 100000, this being
twenty per cent. of the 100000 now
in use. =,
For the year 1917, therefore, the
automobile business will. fact mar
ket of about 100000 possible buy
ers. Not more than 100000 cars
will be built in the coming year, leav-
ing a possible excess market of g.
100000 buyers at the beginning of
1918. "
These figures are decidedly conser-
vative because they take no conside-
ration of (D any export outlet, (2)
the people who have or will have two
or more machines (3) increased popu-
lation, (A) increased prosperity, (5)
a million or more town and city fami-
lies who do not own the homes in
which they live, but are well able to
buy and maintain motor car, (6)
the business houses, retail and whole
sale merchants who use thousands of
roadsters for statesmen, and many
thousands more Of delivery cars
Irregular automobile chassis with
commercial body), CD taxicabs and
other cars for public hire.
An Important Fact.
An important and noteworthy fact
is vouched for by the Editorial De-
partment of Automobile Topics" a
well-known trade authority, which has
been making careful analysis of the
comparative nature Of automobile SER
vice. They state that Of the 3,000,-
600 motor cars of all kinds in service
in the United States today, they can
say from their investi-
cation that over one-half of the mil
cage of the 100000 cars is used for
business purposes. Literally, this
means that Of the 100000 autoa:o-
biles running in this country today
one-half, or 100000, are used for
business purposes. This leaves only
one and half million in use for
pleasure or social transportation pur-
poses.
In considering the 100000 auto
mobiles in use today, which may
llegitimately be classed as pleasure
cars" an important fact should be
borne in mind, namely: the so-called
pleasure car Of today has distinct
economic use, it being only reason
able to deduce that the time and
money spent in motoring for pleas
ure or social Intercourse almost in
yariably takes the place of some
other form of expenditure of less ac-
tual economic value. Motoring is a
pleasure that makes for broader vi
sion, saner and more helrf,l1 diver.