New-York tribune., 1920-12-05

entirely different, according to a leader r
II the industry who takes as an Illus
tration of this point the fact that al
though "automobiles are now largely
considered necessities with many peo-
Pile and indeed are widely used for i'm
eortant business purposes, still there
ire many thousands Of cars in the
nands Of persons using them as luxu-
rles.
at is commonly supposed that many
Of these cars are unpaid ior and will
be taken back by the sellers-probably
enough to supply a, appreciable part
OF the legitimate demand for business
cars in 1921. 1t is the opinion of many
that the automobile market is very
much oversold Yet every one who
has studied the farm market for trac-
tors knows that the surface of this
held has barely been scratched"
Look for Early Improvement
Other automobile manufacturers are
hoping for Improvement in 1921.
Changes III styles and other parts of
the manufacture to stress utility fen
lures that are expected to have a
strong selling appeal form the basis
Tor much of this hope in all branches
OF the aUtomotive industry.
The Pierce eArrow Motor Car Com
pany is optimistic as a result Of the
Surprisingly hearty response to the
the public about the middle Of last
month. The company is not get in
full ewing on the production Of the
new models Of passenger cars and
trucks, but based Oh the present re-
sponse the outlook in the United States
and abroad is excellent according TO
George NJ. Graham, vice-pres ident~ Mr..
Graham added that "we feel it Vii
perhaps be April before we are in
full swing"
f. c. Chandler. president Of the
Chandler Motor Car Company, SAID
I'VE believe the automobile business IN
general is progressing quite as well as
II not better than many other of the
principal industries of this country"
Many Proceed Cautiously
There is a noticeable tendency among
many manufacturers, however, TO pro-
ceed cautiously and not TO take too
much for granted in the expected trade
revival. Some are convinced that the
spring demand viii be fairly heavy,
considering conditions, but others. as
for instance. A. G. Nancy, director Of
distribution of the H H. Franklin Man
ufacturlng Company, are unable 10 see
sales demand far in the future
There is no question about the de-
mand for cars" said Mr.. Maney, "but,
since large portion of new sales in
wolves trades, it is easy TO see how any
business depression can slow up sales
Of new cars because of the determina-
tion of TIE owners to continue running
their old cars We are trying 10 meet
only dealers demands"
Mr.. Nancy believes 1t well 20 stress
utility features, saying: Eve are some
what led to believe that the public N
stringent times demands moro for its
money. Consequently economy, service
and utility features stand out promi-
nently in a time like this and we. to a
degree, attribute our comparatively Y
large present sales 10 that feature, be-
cause economy has been and is our
strong point"
Utility Stressed to Utmost
Utility Is still the first desideratum
in the manufacture of Ford cars, Mr.
Brownel said. I'VE apprehend there
viii be. on the part of the other manu-
facturers of cars trucks and tractors,
a stresslng toward utility ieatures," he
said. but as this company has always
made utility the first essential, we can
not stress II any more"
In making plans for next year il is
interesting to note how pre- uction is
holding UP IN some factories Esti-
mates vary from SO l-3 per cent TO
nearly leo per cent Of normal fot 1920
Inter- sting figures are presented by
Mr.. Nancy, Of The Franklin Company.
Schedules for the contract year ended
August 81, 1920, required 29O cars a
week. Production during that period
was 2l0 cars q week, WITH the highest
rate obtained in May and June, at fifty
cars day.
Sales Figures Interesting
Schedules for the new year Begin
ming September ] called for 825 cars
for October, and dealers took us in
that month. Mr.. Nancy also presented
/ teresting sales figures showing that
net sales for May, 1913, were 1897. 81
and for the same month Of this year
were S2,890,973. showing decline from
the sales for March, which were So
191 ,976. In October this year sales be-
cause OF the reduction In price. were
considerably lower than In May, al
though the number OF cars was only
eleven fewer. The total for the month
was S1,T17.858. Sales for the first SIX
months we're $3.50 cars, amounting to
$l6,56A 1858