Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-11
NEW CAR SALES
TO GET IMPETUS
Improved Styles and Cam.
paigns to HeIp-Basic
Conditions Questioned.

New models. price changes. improved
styles, automobile shows and special
campaigns will all add impetus to new
Car sales in 1929 according to B. H
Cram, president of Grams Automotive
Reports, In But it is a question
whether basic conditions will be strong
enough to support these sales after the
impetus has hsen given.
"If we assume" Mr.. Cram said, that
all conditions will be conducive to a
good automobile business in 1929. we
are still confronted by the problem OF
what the nature of the automotive mar
ket will be. The automotive industry
is 50 complex and presents such a
variety of aspects that no general set
of principles or assumptions can be
relied upon to apply regularly to all the
different branches. New-car sales may
be high over one period while used
cars will move so slowly as to materially
harm one part of the industry. Or,
low-priced cars may sell well. while
htgh-prtced car manufacturers may
show substantial losses. The trend is
seldom uniform throughout the industry,
and 1t is the determination of that
trend which is of the utmost impor-
lance.
Nineteen twenty-eight, for instance,
shows a strong increase in low and
high-priced car sales as compared with
1927. Available statistics show that to
date the former group increased las
per cent and the later 24.3 per cent.
On the other hand, medium priced car
sales have shown an increase Of only
! per cent.
"These data, in themselves, offer some
very interesting suggestions. Most of all,
they indicate strong low-priced car re-
covery from 1927, and yet circumstances
are such as to suggest that the current
sales volume, which mas been reSpon-
sible for this 14.5 per cent increase,
has not changed particularly. and that
he demand has not yet been filled. The
Spring and early Summer period pre-
Sents good market ordinarily and this
market should be in evidence in the
early part of the coming year. This
means that the volume producers will
show little change in their schedules
until after June.
Medium priced car sales, with an
increase in 1928 Of only per cent, were
not I'D to the general average estab-
lished by the industry. The chief rea-
son for this was the fact that producers
in this class did not change their models
until late in the Summer, and accord
ingly did not offer the same sales ap-
neal as the low and high. priced cars
did. However, after the new models
were brought out, sales began to in
crease over preceding months. although
they remained under the totals for the
previous year This lack of sudden
and sharp upward swing Is directly
traceable to the fact that these new
models we're too late to get into the best
selling season Of the year.
1T is too late in 1928 now to look
for any particular improvement. But
with the seasonal trend in 1929 sales
should move ahead rapidly for the
medium-priced cars. Undoubtedly there
is a large untitled market for this class
of car which should open up as soon as
the right season comes. If this mar
ket assumes the proportions to which
ii is entitled, that is, an increase as
large as the other two class marK aaS
nave had, the first six months OF 1879
should show a medium-p sales m
crease of about 20 per cent over the
same period of 1928.