Arizona republican., 1921-10-30

Many motor car manufacturers feel that there is a general miscon- ception on the part of the public as to the causes which have lead up to the almost universal reduction of prices on their products. It is felt that in certain quarters the i'm pression has gone forth that dur ing the period of higher prices, the automobile makers were reaping un- precedented profits and that it was the so-called buyers strike" which caused them to reduce the price to the public. Now that the retail prices of motor cars have reached figures even lower than they were before the war, and can be consid- cred as stabilized, the manufactur- CTS are in position to put before the public the short history of the recent period of re-adjustment, and by so doing make clear the real causes of price fluctuations.
 During the period of national spending which started almost with inc arnlistice and continued until about a year ago, the call for motor cars exceeded anything in the his tory of the industry. This caused a wild scramble on the part of many automobile makers for the materials necessary for quality production. Stockholders were calling for larger dividends, and managers were put to it to turn out enough cars to keep dealers ia line. The result was that in many factories, raw materials were purchased regardless or cost, and on a constantly rising market Wit,s each advance in the price or raw material, there had to be a cor responding advance in the price or es r717 el4 T1- sistent in it's demands for higher wages, and with factories all over the country calling for men, they were in position to get what they asked.
 These circumstances caused a most natural imitation in the price l of finished cars. And in most fac 1 tories it was necessary to maintain 1 these prices even after the excessive l demand for cars had moderated, be- cause the purchasing agents, in thelr wild scramble for raw material had ] over bought at the very top of the
 market and had stocked their fac- l tories with steel and other materials l far in excess of normal demands.
 It is true that in such factories cuts
 in the price of cars had to be made
 so as to move the cars on hand. 1 Operating expenses had to De met,
 sales organizations kept intact, and
 stockholders had to be satisfied with
 their returns, to say nothing Of the
 attitude of bankers who had advanc- ed money for the purchase Of tnls l high priced raw material
 However, there were some fac- l tories which were more fortu1ately | fixed, or which had a broader vision of the temporary nature of the ex- | cessive demand. These factories did
 not buy raw materials in excess of
 their daily needs. They did not
 stock up with such materials at the
 top of the market, and instead oi
 attempting to greatly increase theil
 production they were content to turr
 out cars in normal quantities and
 supply their dealers in due course | A most notable example of this pol
 icy is that displayed by the Hudson
 and Essex organization. In com
 menting upon the recent cut in th' price of the Essex car, which now
 sells for SEQ less than ever before G. H. Moriarity of the Harold l.. Ar
 mold organization, said:
 Although at the time when thu public was crying for cars at an. price, we felt that the factory wa not taking full advantage of it's op portunities, we now see that the pol icy which it adopted was the wises and best for the good of the indus try at large, a. well as for the deal CTS. The Hudson and Essex factor