The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-10-11
SENSE IN
PURCHASING CAR
Hearing Plays Very important
Part In Selection of a
New Automobile.
I(By ERWIN GREER. President Gree
College Of Automotive Engineering

I(By ERWIN GREER. President Greer
! College Of Automotive Engineering.
Chicago.)
Into every act Of buying there en-
tiers one of the five senses. We pur-
chase articles through seeing, feeling
and tasting. but very few Of us realize
that hearing plays a very prominent
part In the purchase of a motorcar.
Nevertheless, purchasing a mOtorcar
through sound Is not a novel idea,
neither Is 1t a new one, because every
salesman unconsciously advocates it.
AT some point In his argument he will
emphasize that the absence of noise,
due to the smoothness Of operation,
should be considered.
Purchasing by this method, of
course. necessitates the knowledge
that the engine with a low musical
purr means power and the ability to
do work without effort. This also APP
plies to an electric car where the
sound of a motor changes to a groan
when 1t is not of a capacity to care
for the work required.
Two Vital Sounds.
Anyone who contemplates the pur-
chase of a motorcar should know that
there are two vital sounds which de-
termine the solidity of the car or It's
lack of 1t. Where the body of a car
has been practically thrown to-
gether," to use an expressive current
phrase, the slamming Of a door will
emit a hollow sound which advises
him with an ear attuned to vibrations
of the quality of the car, and says to
him in SO many words, This Is q
cheaply built body" But the truth to
the foregoing manifests itself when
n slams the door of a well-built car.
Then there is the sound Of solidity
and stability which cannot be mis-
taken and the listener realizes that
here is a body not only correct in de-
sign but faultless in construction. II
is not a difficult matter for a man
with a knowledge Of values to be
blindfolded and merely by the sound
emitted by the slamming of the door
to describe the worth of the product
The 'tinny noise" is characteristic OF
those cars In which no consideration
has been paid to the making Of them
sound proof.
Comparable to Sounding Board.
The body of a closed car Is com
parable to the sounding board of a
musical instrument. Owing to the fact
that ii has six sides and is fastened
rigidly to the chassis every sound is
transmitted to the passengers. If the
car has been built correctly the comb.
nation Of every little minute sound is
a pleasing, low, purring, solid hum. If
on the contrary, the car has been
cheaply manufactured this sound Ii
missing and one hears in it's place the
Irritating, rasping noise which tears
the nerve
Buying by sound Is the second point
in the progress Of purchasing a motor.
al The first is sight and If this
meets with the requirements of the
prospective purchaser. it is more than
likely that he will give the salesman
al opportunity of demonstrating the
product. If the sound of the motor or
the car itself Is not pleasing 1t is more
than likely that his interest will die
out and all Of the salesman's argu-
ments cannot rekindle 1t.
While most people do not yet real
lie that sound does play such an Inn
portant part in the purchase of a car,
due possibly to the fact that they have
not as yet given 1t much consideration,
yet 1t is an important factor, and the
quieter the motor runs and the less
noise there Is in the body and In the
entire car the quicker win the pur-
chase check be made Out.
Try this method the next time you
look over q car and note how easily
you can appreciate the value Of a good
machine.