Evening star., 1924-03-09
Declares american Automobiles
Are Superior to European
Col. Tict,euor Says Hand Work Nepe,
Can Hope to Meet Machine Competi-
ton Regardless of Time Consumed.

That America is now supreme and
will retain that supremacy in auto
mobile construction is the contention
of Col. Carl Tichenor, production
manager of the Rickenbacker Motor
Company,
When 1 say supreme l mean not
only in volume of production, but in
quality OF the car as expressed in
terms of luxurious riding qualities,
durability and economy" says Col
Tichenor, who, by the way, was in
charge of Liberty engine and aircraft
production for the United States gov
ernment during the war. and is rec
ogniZed the world over as a leading
authority on this subject.
THE American product has met, in
open competition. the best that Eu-
rope can produce; has met 1t on its
own ground and in other foreign
countries, where even yet the super
stition prevails that handmade
product is superior to machine
made one.
Big Market Abroad.
South America. Australia, and
even Switzerland, in the very center
of Europe. are buying our cars heav-
lily, and in spite of former deep
seated prejudice against what. ac-
cording to their standards, used to
seem an inferior product.
Its superiority had to be demon
strated most conclusiyely before that
superstition could be uprooted.
THE European finds it difficult to
understand our principles of manu-
facture, and he is temperamentally
they do get into his consciousness.
That is why 1 say we will main
tain our supremacy. We will main
tain it in the same way We have
achieved it
IF you ask a European he will
tell you we do not use skilled ma
chinists in American production.
I'm this idea he is wrong. We do
ed machinists in the world-but we
use them in the most efficient man
ner-namely, to make the skilled ma
chine.
Concentrate on Result.
Europeans concentrate their atten-
ton on the method. and their pride
on the procesS-whereas both our
concentration and our pride is on the
finished result. They enjoy playing
with the problem-we care only for
the answer.
"Your buyer does not ask how his
watch is made, but only that il Aeep
accurate time.
"If it prove in the long run to live
longer: to be more consistent in per-
formance: to stand harder usage, and
to cost less in upkeep and repairs.
then he is still less inclined to in
quire as to the process by which it
was made.
What matter is it that an automo-
bile is handmade in every detail If
it will not stand up in cross-con-
tinental journey beside a fiivver?
''And yet that is the fact about the
best handmade product.
Value Under Strain.
Put your highest priced handmade
European car in the hands of the
average owner-driver "a physician,
for example, who uses it twenty-fou
hours a day, gives it no care and lots
of abuse-and its reputation for per-
forTnance would soon vanish
"On the other hand, the chauffeur
reasons, IF the old man paid 10000
for this boat, it's got to go or / will,
for he will never blame it on the
car So he sees that ii does run.
''If a handmade car is better, then
it should stand up under as hard
usage and as little care as machine
made one.
And this IL will not do.
start the best handmade car in
the world in a. race across the North