New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-02
Short of Cars
Right Now, Is
Woods's Report
So Peerless Distributor Is in
Two Minds About Show.
Which He Knows Well
Will Produce Inquiries

Walter A. Woods, vice president and
general manager of the Van Cortlandt
Vehicle Corporation, distributors Of
the Peerless, is probably the most I'M
happy optimist on the New York Show
Committee. Mr. Woods would not rest
until he saw the New York show was
assured, believing that it was neces-
sary for the trade and that the public
demanded it. But while he was fussing
and hustling to wake up the show
spirit in some OF his fellow distribu-
ters the Peerless factory notified him
that he had overrun his allotment OF
cars for the first three months Of the
year.
"Now," he says, 81 am in fine mix
up. Business prospects in this house
were neve better, and know the SHOW
is going to stir up more buyers for
all the leading cars 1t is useless to
tell the public that there is going to
be a shortage Of cars. Everybody
knows there will not be shortage in
the long run, but the message we are
trying to convey to our customers is
that we are short of cars now. They
into the showroom ready to buy and
learn that we cannot promise to de-
liver any more cars within three
months. Then they say, why didn't
you notify us before?" and we say,
we didn't know it and didn't believe
it until we went to the factory, lust
as you have come to US, and found out
the truth
people do not realize, at least in
our case, how completely our factory
was tied up with war work from the
very start. Long before this country
entered the war all the Peerless trucks
and passenger cars were being, taken
by the European governments. Later
our government stopped our export
business and took our entire product.
1--WE thought that the moment the
war was over the Peerless factory
would begin to ship US both cars and
trucks in large quantities. When they
failed to come through I went to the
factory and to my amaZement found
that the orders of all Peerless dlstri-
buffers were being trimmed to the bone
"After l found out that every Peer
less distributor in the country had
been there ahead of me and put up
the same arguments l returned, and
We have been compelled to make the
hest of our limited allotment. How
long this shortage is going to last
cannot find out. I do know, however,
that the price is going to be main
taincd. This does not worry me in the
least, because our customers are ready
to-day to pay premiums for cars rath-
er than wait longer.
"No automobile maker can reduce
his price in the face of the present la
Dor and material market. 1t does not
require any statement from an auto
mobile distributor to convince the pun
lie that the labor situation is not go
ns to brighten up for the employer. 1t
is going to get worse, and the best we
can do is to hope that it does not grow
very much more serious than it is now.
"The short Of it is we are not going
to be- short of cars. We are already
short and have not the slightest idea
when we can catch UP on orders. New
erthcless we arc smiling and propose
to keep happy. The present is not en-
couraging in our case, but we can see
ahead more business than we ever
dreamed of before"