Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-23


n industry, with large and small
manufacturers coming to
grips with rivals in the sharpest
competition for public favor that
ever has famed in the arena of the
Nations greatest industry.
Events of 1920 more than ever
have convinced manufacturers. re-
CARELESS OF financial stature. that the
buying public simply wants the best
car it can get AT the fairest price.
and that the maker who can supply
this demand is the one whose treas
ury will be enriched the greatest
when the current year draws to
close Name plates. the industry
has learned. are substantial only as
the car they grace is substantial.
Accordingly. no one in the indus
try from the least to the greatest
is willing to concede that any rival
is so firmly intrenched that it is
futile 10 attempt TO wrest business
from him. 1t can be done by pro-
ducing an automobile that is finer
than his rivals finest
And SO the battle RACES
The public is not sitting back idly
waiting. 1t has learned its lesson
from past wars. In every similar
instance in the history Of motordofn
it is fully aware the greatest spoils
go TO the man who buys any Of the
cars that spring into being under an
aura OF intense competition.
The public is preparing again to
reap another harvest. If it bought
good car last year or the year be-
fore. il knows that il can buy a still
better one in 1927.
Competition in no other OF its man
ifestations is more truly the life of
trade
Price tags. IN one way. are not
criterlons OF the locale OF the strug-
gle. If it is bit more undignihed
IN the lower-price tiers, it is not less
intense. Competitors in the $1,000
class may be pushing each other
more gracefully, but at the same
time, they are pushing Just IS hard.
In no other way is the keenness
of the conflict so obvious as in the
addition of new lines by many of the
most prominent of the manufactur-
ers. As the maker of the four steps
forward with light six. the manu-
facturer of an eight steps back to
meet him part way with light eight.
It's fight and the idea has caught
the imagination of the whole indus
try. No manufacturer wants to be
out OF IT. None can afford to be.
One of the big advantages which
the buyer will reap from this upward
and downward surge in the industry
is that gained always from a strong
dealer organization in his commun-
ity. An automobile may be a fine
product mechanically, but. in the
final analysis, it is no stronger than
retail organization. If the dealer,
then, is given an opportunity to in
wade other price territory, by the
acquisition OF more costly or less
costly line than the older car he
represents. he is given an excellent
start on the road TO greater financial
strength.
With two or more fields open 10
him where but one was available be-
fore, il. is relatively up to him to
strengthen himself If he proceeds
with aggressiveness and wisdom. he
will fortify his position and intrench
himself more solidly than ever be- |
fore
The profit the buyer will get here
is obvious. A dealer who acts with
aggressiveness and wisdom is not
content merely to get business. He
IS as anxious 10 hold his clientele |
as to acquire it. Accordingly. he
will be guided by the principle that
a pleased customer is likely to be a
permanent customer.
A pleased customer, every dealer
knows, is one that is convinced he
gets his moneys worth in automo-
bile and in service for that automo-
bile.
The dealer has been given no in
considerable lift in improving the
standard of his individual service by
the manufacturer. Here again is
result of competition. If the manu-
facturer is forced TO turn out a bet
ter car to meet his rivals best offer
ing it stands to reason that he must
turn out product that will require
less in the way of service. Obvious
ly, then, the dealer will have fewer
actual service needs to meet because
Of the mechanical Improvement in
the product he represents. AS re-
suit, he can give better. more salts
factory and less expensive service
to the relatively fewer cars that will
need minor or major improvements
and adjustments after they have left
the salesroom floor.
Here, again, to the buyer belongs
the spoils.
There are other aspects to the sit
ustion, of course. If the buyer is
enriched by being given a better au-
tomobile and better service on that
automobile he, in turn, must enrich
the manufacturer of the car and the
dealer who retails it.
If the buyer is to continue TO reap
harvests OF this kind. he has a re-
sponslblllty 10 meet. If the automo-
bile industry is to give him a better
product at lower price, he must
buy in volume that will warrant
continuance of this industrial policy.
The manufacturer who has reduced
his perunit profit is out TO make it
up in volume profit He has no
doubt that he will do so. of course
He doesn't worry any longer about
saturation point if he can continue
to make automobiles better and bet
ter. The overcoat maker never is
worried by the fact that there may
be Saturation point. The satura-
ton point in shoes, for instance. was
reached 400 and