The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-03-17
NO OTHER CAR BODY IN FA-
VOR WITH EITHER THE
RICH OR POOR.
Owners Also Almost Childishly
Fond of Accessories-Small Ma
chine Popular as 1t Appeals to
Sense of Neatness of People.

Will lllllOuNlllC bONlNNy Op lINl NNlll,
in fact, but the chassis are long and
short, large and small, and bear the
brands OF American, English,
French, Italian and Belgian manu-
iacturers. The artistocrat and the
war millionaire buy the most sump-
tuous job they can get delivery on,
and usually it is a large and costly
car, while the prosperous merchant
and importer content themselves
with a medium priced car, and the
tradesman with the small, ineXpen-
Sivc outfits, but they must all have !
their Limousine bodies.
The people have an almost child
ish fancy for accessories, and the |
cars are fitted with every conceiy- F.
able device. The regulations. though
not strictly enforced, require bulb |
horn in addition to any other sig
nal supplied as standard equipment
by the manufacturer, and a few
years ago an exhaust horn was also
required. The result is that some
cars have as many as five warning
signals-eXhaust, hand bulb, cleo
tric, and a mechanically operated
hand and foot signal
Seeks Comfort and Style.
When the Japanese invests in a
car it is partly to display material
evidence OF his prosperity and partly
as a luxurious means of conveyance
to and from his office, and for the
prestige it affords him in rolling up
to the formal social functions which
figure prominently in his life. He
is not so fastidious as to what is
under the hood, whether there are
four cylinders or a dozen-so long
as he is transported in comfort he
is content. But he does demand that
his car have a smart appearance,
and in this he succeeds, for the Jap-
anese limouSineS are as clean and
bright,as the best in this country
and have extremely smart and pleas
ing lines.
The open car does not appeal to
him, even in hot weather. for he
does not tour in the country. II he
has an open car he will have the
top up and the side curtains on, for
the Japanese gentleman desires
privacy on the street as we'll as in
his home. Even when riding in a
'rikisha in fair weather he is often
trundled about, completely en-
closed. Perhaps another eXplana-
ton for the universal use of the en-
closed body is that the wind plays
havoc with the loose kimono of men
and women alike, and particularly
with the elaborate coiffure OF the
dainty Japanese lady. This is very
probable, for Toxic is a disagree
ably windy city and with the made
Quate street sprinkhng system the
almost daily dust storms cause great
discomfort to the unprotected mot
orist and pedestrian alike.
The demand for the closed body
has developed a new industry in ia
ian for the importers have found
there is considerable saving in
freight by purchasing chassis only
from the manufacturer in America,
as we'll as a modest allowance for
the body, and at the same time the
Japanese purchaser can have Gus
tom built body to suit his individ-
ual taste. At least 50 per cent OF
the cars imported from America in
the last year were shipped with
out standard bodies, and it is prob
able that in the future all cars i'm
ported will be chassis only
Closed Bodies Are Cheap.
The Japanese are traditionally eX-
pert in abinet-making, carpentry
and lacquer work, all of which en-
ter into the better class of auto
mobile bodies, and the enclosed job
costs the purchaser of car from
$500 to 5000, which is much less
than a special body in this country
would cost. Nearly every motor cal
dealer in Japan has a bodybuilding
shop in connection with his sales
room, and this department has be-
come as much a part of his busi
ness as a repair shop. Some of these
shops turn out as many as thirty
completed jobs per month. 1t i.
surprising what smart appearance
some Of the old model cars have
with these bodies.
Practically all OF the open cars il
Japan are either in rental service
or owned by members of the for
eign colony. The Americans in ia
pan and the English are about thu
only nationalities that indulge il
crosscountry touring, and even thei
at rare intervals, so that the eX
tent of this phase of motoring i
scarcely worth mentioning. In Yok
ohama, the first port of entry 70
the great majority of foreign tour
lists, there is larger proportion o
open cars, for this class of trad
prefers the open car, and also
can accommodate a larger numbe
of passengers, to the garage man
profit. Hotels in Toxic, Nikko, Ky
otto, Kobe, Miyanoshita and Osak
maintain cars for the use Of guests
but these generally are limousine:
The taxicab companies which tax
care of travellers at the railroad sta
tions employ conventional taxi2
and the Motor Taxicab Compan
of Toxic, the largest of its kind il