New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-08
By {. E. T. SCHARPS

A dealer told recently he sure uhat only d
few motor car heard the truth from salesman about
the mileage that might expected from gallon OF fuel The
gasoene stranger automobile advertising either nc
is one the xaggcraors who have done much TO spoil conn
ence in the business represented by its advertising
So many automobile advertisers Overshoot the truth when
~ come TO talk about gasoline consumption by their because
they arc moderate of the car real caPa
bies They worried lest if they don't strong some one
else will beat them out hey believe restraint ana
advertising signs OF weakness
The admirable style of the Dodge Brothers which says
The gasoline consumption is unusually low
The tire mileage S unusually high
appeal certain type OF advertiser ne must quote
figures And when he does quote them ne has to put
Them high so as to get No if the facts do not
Justify such large figures He talk figures and big hsure
anyway. ,
Advertisers of this type realize the real hurt OF making
claims that are not justified by the facts AT the Automobile Show
IN January the advertising manager prominent told
representative Tribune he didn't want to put his advertising
in The Tribune afraid this publication would some
day crit him for making statement IN his copy that the car
could do IS miles to the gallon of gasoline
Don't you get IS miles to the gallon? asked The Tribune
That what our expert the factory who know the
car well can get replied the advertising man.
Would an average be likely get high mileage
as that?"
No he would probably get 10 miles the gallon
Cant YOU see said The Tribune what mistake you
are making quoting higher mileage than the average man.
under average conditions get? Don't you that
adVcT
will be bad with his bargain from the beginning
He gets suspicious of and company especially
after he that you told him what expert can get instead
Of what the average ownerdriver expect 1t much like
telling the owner of stock that he do the things
with his automobile specially designed bearing the same
name plate does on speedway. You oong but
yourself your the loser public confidence by ad
vertng something that isn't there
may be noted that mention OF b miles to the gallon
went in the copy of this advertiser show time Hence the
of the company is withheld.
The of exaggeaon which advertisers to con
slider permissible when they buying remarkable thing
Some advertisers apparently take the attitude that the
space they buy belongs them and they whatever
way And from this condition arises peculiar situation
such as is observed the of the Haynes Automobile
Company example of teamwork in the advertising
department the who the advertising
sends the free reading notices automo-
bile whichever the publicity items happen to be called
The HAYNES company this spring issued pamphlet chiefly
for dealers containing reproductions of the advertisements that
the 1917 national campaign for this company Among the
advertisements full page which announced appears
in the Saturday Evening Post Golfers Good Housekeeping Mo-
tor Print and Cosmopolitan One paragraph reads thus
"Upkeep? These averages tell the story 10 to y
miles per gallon of gasoine-6.O0O miles to the
of ires-4O0 miles to the quart OF OIL
Now then Only few days ago the Haynes sent
to The Tribune publicity giving the results of inquiry
into nkeep figures gained by asking 900 of Haynes
light what their experiences The attempt 1t was
stated is one of the first on the part companies
to discover exactly what the doing day
hands of who trade and profession
will the basis which Improvements will be made
future models
The investigation made all districts in the United
States foreign the reading notice states
Here is the significant part:
AN average of the figures collected under greatly varying
conditions shows that the which responded to the
investigation obtaining mileage of than fifteen miles
the gallon OF gasoene and hundred miles to the quart
of oil While these figures above the for sxcylnder
cars medium price class they less striking than the
data received mileage found that the FIVE thou
sand motor averaging go miles the of tires
Here they are then side by side the deadly parallel col
formation:
Actual Advertised
Gasoline "More than Is 1922 miles per
sumption $3.50. miles per gal gal.
Oil consumption Over 200 miles 400 miles per qt
Tire mileage go 6. 2SO miles 5000 miles
Which is one to beiievcp In do the things found by
among FIVE thousand to the adver
Using claims Haynes Automobile Company made to the