The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-09-07

lie can do much to assist in the
smooth operation OF service plans.
Take Motorists On Tests
Automobile dealers no longer are
| averse to permitting a fair.minded
motorist to take a ride with them
in a. new model when merely
testing it out. Matters of design
and quality are discussed frankly.
A fortunate feature in connection
with this new attitude, as one
dealer points out, is the abolition
Of automobile gossip which. gem
orally Is admitted to have been q
handicap to all concerned.
The motorist learns much through
closer contact with the trade. On
test ride with a dealer and his
service manager, one motorist
learned to appreciate what trouble
an organization is prepared to go
| to. in order that a car shall ride
right. He came to learn that a
different ride can be had from cars
of the same make and year but
| of different body model. and that
the placing OF the passengers, is
another important factor in COM
| fort The matorist returned to
his own car with a long list of
ideas that are certain to be prof.
table to him.
A few of the outstanding matters
observed during this contact with
automobile row showed him the
| following:
That it is not possible to obtain
speed and hill climbing performance
with the same ratio Of reduction
at the rear axle. Ii the car is
geared low it viii do tricks on
hills but will not attain top speed
on the level. IL 1t Is geared high
It win attain top speed but viii
not be capable of doing the unusual
on hills. ~
That when selecting car, it is
important to ask the dealer what
gear ratio is being used in the
demonstration. and then choosing n.
ratio best suited to ones particular
needs.
That best performance is as much
matter Of fine adjustment of the.
various units OF the car as design.
and that what a car will DO not all
ways is question Of how well it is
made az how well 1t is tuned.
Role Of Psychology
That psychology plays an import
ant role in making q demonstration
usually the hest ride a motorist
ever has In his car, regardless of
its make.
An experiment made by an auto
mobile man and one of his best Gus.
toners sheds some light on the psy.
Geological phases of this process of
letting the public see behind the
scenes. The two were riding in
car of exceptional reliability and
over wicked stretch of highway.
taking turns at the wheel. When.
ever the automobile man sat on the
rear seat and the customer took the
wheel the car did mot seem to ride
as well. in the opinion Of the latter,
as when he sat on the rear seat.
This. despite the fact that a rear
seat position generally is considered
to give a rougher ride when nego.
tiating uneven roads.
The psychology of it was that the
customer feared the road and pic
tured himself going into the air
every time the car came to q par
ticularly bad stretch. His expert.
ence had been that cars could no!
ride such roads without consider
able bouncing. He could not be.
lieve a modern car would be any
exception to the rule--not while he
could see the holes in the road.
Explaining the significance of
this, the automobile man said that
the satisfaction which most people
get out Of trying out new cars can
hA
most invariably a salesman does
much of the driving and obviates
any possibility of form Of fear
spelling the ride.
Find Fewer Faults
One man in the repair business
says that when he drives. customers
cars for them they find fewer
faults with them. Recently a mo-
torist complained that his car
would not go over 40 miles an
hour. When the mechanic took
the wheel the speedometer showed
SO, though no repairs or adjust.
nlents had been made.
Automobile men are telling the
public these things and the result
is~a new type of cooperation. The
automobile business, in the past,
has suffered to some extent be-
cause the public has not known
enough about the stagecraft of the
industry and trade.
Trade secrets once, these details
Of the automobile world now are
being given to the public in the
hope that the information will be
used to good advantage,
Used car conditions have FASTENED
cooperation. The progressive auto.
mobile buyer today knows lust
what he is doing when he shops
around for various allowances on
his old car. Even models about 10
Be discontinued in favor Of. new
ones are sold openly at attractive
discounts rather than to hide dis.
counts in liberal allowances.
You're just disguised with |
your old car" a dealer told
friend when the latter thought he
was ready to trade in and buy 4 |
new car. Wen tune it up and
you'll be able to run it another
six months. It isn't good business
to sell cars to people Just because |
they're desperate"
That sounds almost unbeIlevsble.
yet e may b. poiuted o,,t thoe ehis