Evening star., 1923-10-21
BY FREDERICK c. RUSSELL.


According to those who follow closely
the major trends in automobiles the
development of the closed car into the
standard type is typical Of the marked
progress toward permanency in n1oto.
car transportation and in the automo-
bile industry.
The growing popularity Of the closed
car Is merely a matter Of observation,
but there are few motorists who appre-
ciate what this trend means to the busi-
ness of making, selling and owning
automobiles.
The comfort of enjoying protection
from the elements while motoring ap-
pealed instantly to the car owner, but
in view of the great improvements re-
vealed to the public in the latest mod
els and the new attitude toward auto,
mobiling Il now appears that physical
comfort is but one of the many ad-
vantages to the latest examples in
closed cars.
Good Time to Buy.
It is doubtful whether there was ever
a better time to buy cars than in this
era which has Just been entered upon
and the reason is at once apparent
when few facts are revealed from n
hasty glance into the most recent his
tory of motoring.
Take one year ago, for example.
There was the public cropping for some
type of car which would have the OBJ
iectionS OF neither the conventional
touring car nor the sedan. There were
numerous experiments. all OF which were
dearly paid for by the manufacturers
who misjudged the public's taste. and
by the motorists who bought unwiSely.
This represented a severe loss to
many manufacturers, dealers and mo-
torists. with the result that no one
spoke of motoring and permanency in
the same breath. The public did not
know definitely what II wanted in the
way of body type, and the nanufac-
turers had not been able to read the
future accurately enough to dispel the
belief that the automobile was still in
the experimental age.
Swing to Closed Car.
Then came a define indication from
motorists that they were going to swing
into the closed car, since they were
rapidly discovering that as the actual
through extending the service of a car
throughout all four seasons of the year
the closed car was the coming type.
This gave the manufacturers an op-
portunity to adopt quantity production
methods in the offering of closed cars.
There was definite assurance that the
public had begun to sense its car needs
clearly, and it was only question of
offering the most suitable type of car.
Thus within a years time the market
has revealed an entirely new type Of
car and with the American motoring
public taking three million new ma
chimes in the first three-quarters of the
current year it is in service in sufficient
numbers to show that motordom has
settled down to something permanent.
With the matter of car type definitely
settled one can buy machine today
knowing that it will bring in the used
hpnPa
what it is worth as an article of inti-
mate, allyear round transportation and
that there will be no extra depreciation
because the model has gone out of date.
What the Buyer Wants.
There will always be special cars for
but the car that IT, average person
wants is the one that is compact and
intimate without being cramped or
stuffy, heavy enough TO hold the road
from the elements without being "shut
in" powerful without sacrifice OF
economy, sufficiently roomy without
carrying excess passenger accommoda-
being unsuited to town and winter use.
Take any one of the many varieties
of four passenger coupes. touring Sc
dams, broughams and coaches and see
how well they meet these requirements.
They are mounted on what are
generally conceded to be the most
advanced and perfected chassis in
the entire history of automobiling,
and in this connection 1t should be
recalled that for the past five years
cars have been, delivering perform
ance greatly in excess of normal de-
mands.
Weight Handicap Removed.
They are considerably lighter than
many of the older types of open cars,
g fact which is chiefly due to the