New-York tribune., 1922-01-08
Getting Back to Normal"
Is Phrase That Has No
application to Business
That Is Now Essential
Not All May Survive
Quality. Prices and Proper
Regard forPublicDemand
Essential 10 Prosperity
BY Henry Caldwell

HcStSIudy AFTERNOON IN tnc Grdn0
Central Palace the American motor
car maker and the American auto
mobile user each tactily asked the
other A pertinent question.
The car user and prospective u.s.
wanted to know if the car maker
was going to reduce his prices still
more.
The carmaker asked if the public
would buy cars literally this year if
he did further reduce prices.
1t is safe to answer both questions
in the affirmative.
Then the nquisitive public wanted
10 know how much greater the price
reduction will be during the year To
this thcle was no answer. Neither
Will there he any before the end of the
wear, At which time the car maker
will tell how many cars he has sold
and the buyers will know how much
they paid. and whether or not they
received full value for their money
After taking the testimony of all
the leading car makers. parts makers,
automobile experts on motor financing,
producing and selling; after analyzing
all Of their wise and otherwise opin-
ions. and knowing most of them these
twenty odd years past have come to
TIE conclusion that none of them
knows thing about the number of
cars that will be made or sold. or what
the prices will be at the end of the
year.
The Meaning Of "Normar'
Men often ask: "Do you think the
automobile business will ever get back
to normal 90 What in the world was
normal? In all of my many years OF
observation and connection with the
automobile industry l have never yet
Seen one single year in which it was
normal. 1t has ever been either abb
normally active or abnormally dead.
Can you imagine that the world will
ever give up the motor car for pleas
ure, utility or convenience? Then how
can you imagine that the automobile
industry will ever be down and out
IT may be bad this year, but it will
be good the year following.
few automobile manufacturers
may have to go back to washing cars
few statesmen may go back to the
their hackers may be crowded out, bu,
the automobile maker and automobile
buyer will toddle along hand in hanc
70 the end of the world
Cars, sales methods, service, garag
ing and every thing which goes witt
motoring will continue to improve, and
cars will be less expensive as the
years roll by, both as to initial cost
and for maintenance
Not a few men in the business be
lieve that we will eventually have but
two classes of cars, the very low pricec
and the very luxurious. | cannot
imagine motoring drifting into mo-
notony. look rather for greater ex.
preston of individuality on the part
of the car buyer. When all roads are
graded and have smooth surfaces The
desire on the part of the individual
motorist will more likely run TOWARD
a machine which looks different anc
performs better than the one owned
by the other fellow.
Bodies Lack Diversity
Car makers are at present building
almost entirely to price and there is
deadly sameness about automobile
bodies. In short time owners will e
In for the best chassis they can affor(
and bodies which express their tastes
We can already detect the rapio
passing of the so-callcd open car as the
rredomirating type. Within very
short time the open car will be de
Cidedly in the minority. 1t is plain t.
see that when the stamp of universe
approval has been placed upon thu
closed car and the automobile builde'
has reduced the price on this model
the next step on the part of the use
he tn |, =
. When this period of motoring arrive:
each car owner will keep his machn,
in commission for longer time tina,
Is now the custom. repair the chassis
and improve the body. from year t,
year. He will take more pride in tn
car he has owned for some time thar
the car he has just purchased. He il
still in the boy with "a new-toy stage O.
motoring and the car maker is still
turning out toys to amuse him, toy:
which are far from being righ
mechanically but which may have on,
or two little engineering experiment.
pr novel attachments.
Selling Points
My car has hot-spot, your car ha
stove. his car has fuelizer, som.
other mans car has a gasafler or
different valve action, new oiling sys
tcIii. W uSeC COcS tillS dl!lCHut 10 j ncS
things are mere selling points for tn,
moment.
Every automobile engineer in tn
world who knows anything knows tina
there are a hundred Fundamental
things about the modern car which ar,
all wrong. He knows the present form
OF transmitting the power from tn,
engine to the driving wheels is
waste. He knows that driver shoul<
aot be compelled to shift gears. II,
-nowe ignition is far from perfect, tina
fuel consumption is twice too higl
Rnd that there is too much Vibration
and lost motion.
r. But the engineer cannot change thes
things, despite the fact that he know.
how to improve many of them. tn,
manufacturer will not permit him t.
correct the car He could not afford
TO do so. He is all set to build and h.
must build and build more and more
each year along the old line, or with
as little alteration as possible, il
order to make money
Rapid Changes Not Desired
In addition to this, the public does
not want rapid change in either
chassis or body. We get accustome ed
20 driving IN a certain way and to re-
~s1d certain lines in a car as correct
1t would be a bother to learn how to
.ri'c an entirely new type of car, and
u We saw beautiful body which was
ideally different from the conven-
~,onal we would put !. down as a
freak.
+ An impressive example of this is
seen in the one ca. which has never
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