The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-03-20
MANUFACTURER MUST Be
FAIR TO SMALL DEALER
Need Of Closer Relations Is Pointed
Out by Hubbs in Letter TO
lIsde Association.
sy GEORGE c. HUBS.


Editors Nots-Mr. Hubs. who 10 as
Brothers. Detroit, recently directed let
ter TO A. l.. Onser, manager OF the Auto
because OF It's obviously beneficial appliea-
ton TO the Industry as a whole, is hert-
with reproduced In its entirety)
II Is a matter OF sincere regret that
circumstances have arisen which
make IL impossible for me TO attend
your convention at Topeka and to ad-
dress you on the "Relation OF Manu-
facturer and Dealer"
cannot refrain from taking this
opportunity to say to you that any
manufacturer who does not regard a
cordial, frank. open-and-above-bo asd
relationship with his dealers as OF
the most vital importance may have
a sorry reason TO change his attitude
in the years that are TO come.
No manufacturer Is big enough TO
warrant his being unfair or dis
courteous to the smallest dealer in his
Organization. Honorable dealing Is
"A matter OF principle and not OF COM
parative bank accounts, and the man
who violates it's, whatever his size,
must be prepared to take the conse-
quences OF such violation.
The dealer occupies peculiarly
strategic position in the motor car
business, for the reason that in prac-
tically every way he IL the only ave-
nue. through which the manufactures
can express himself to a local public.
The prospective purchaser naturally
judges the manufacturers car, his
policies, his honesty in manufactur-
ing, and even his relative place In
the industry. by the reputation and
progressiveness of bis local dealer
representative.
The manufacturer well knows that
where a dealer is of distinctly high
grade. 1t is as though the reputation
OF the car was added to by the repu-
tation of the dealer, and he also
knows that where the dealer is of
second or third grade, II Is equivalent
to subtracting from the recognized
merit OF his car the local demerit OF
his dealer.
Perhaps it should be said that the
dealer finds himself in the position
Of having his townspeople estimate
his personal honesty. judgment and
faresightedness by the quality Of the
car and the manufacturer he repre-
sents. He has a right to expect that
the manufacturer will employ such
unquestionable manufacturing and
sales methods as will enable the
dealer to keep his business face clean
before his public. Anything short OF
this would be equivalent to inten-
tional deception. and no one knows
better than does the dealer that
nothing permanently profitable was
ever born of deceit. r.... -.
The manufacturer has a right to
expect that dealer will so organize
his business as to adequately and
aggressively look after his interests /:
that he will maintain a show room
and service department in manner
that reflects credit on the car he rep
resents: that he will permit no efforts
to be spared to create a market for
whatever cars the manufacturer may
produce, and that he will regard his
Encouragement with the manufac-
turA as a moral as well as a business
obligation. ..r
Assuming that there may be some
dealers at your convention who may
regard themselves as relatively I'M
important to the industry, i want to
say most emphatically that the only
small dealers are those who have. a
small idea of their local Importance
to the manufacturer, or a small idea
of the future advantage of making
themselves the foremost dealers in
their community
a dealer is of little or great i'm
portance in exact proportion to his
local standing with his buying pub
lie, however large that public may
-. Id To al 80