Imperial Valley press., 1929-07-27
OAKLAND ADDS
MODEL SHOP To
ASSIST DEALERS

Purchasing a car in She early
days of the automobile industry en-
tailed no obligation on the part of
the manufacturer to the buyer be-
yond delivering il in satisfactory
running condition and keeping it so
for reasonable length of time. The
purchaser gave little thought to the
cars probable trade-in value, or 20
the quality and accessibility of SER
vice facilities for keeping it in good
running condition.
But this picture, like many an
other connected with the industry
has done a complete about-facc in
recent years. Today's puyer is con
cerned not only with the style and
performance promised by the new
model, but he also wants 20 assure
himself, of the soundness of his in
vestment from resale standpoint
and of the completeness of the ser
vice organization which will. keep
his car tuned up
Service, instead of a side issue of
the dealer s business, has become a
major factor in swaying the sale of
a new car, according to r. A. Arm
strong, service manager of the Oak
land Motor Car company. 1t is
more important chan color or quic k
pickup in the permanent satisfac-
tion the car will bring the owner. &.
"Years ago owners cared little
about service because they seldom
ventured beyond the territory scrv-
ed by their home dcalcr,' Arm
strong said. "But today the motor
ist, whether touring New England
or the national parks of the west,
wants to feel that should his car
require attention, he is within easy
calling distance of service station
where, he may get genuine factory
parts and factorytrained men 20
work on his car. He wants to know
that service facilities are uniform
and good wherever he may be.
"In anticipation of this need ohe
progress manufacturer is aiding his
dealers in many ways to place and
maintain service facilities on the
highest plane possible. Service
supervisors stationed in all quarters
of the country keep constant watch
over the dealers shops in the ter
ritory;. service instructors drill the
men in the proper repair methods,
and schools maintained - the fac
tory put the mechanics through in
tensive courses in ear repair work.
Gas d further step in this dircc
tion we maintain at the plant al
Pontiac, Michigan, what we call ;
"Model 8 Service Station.' This il
laid oli2 to serve as i. pattern fol
the dealer in planning his own shoE
and shop work and tools. We also
use it to demonstrate correct repair
methods to dealers mechanics who
visit .ehe factory. BY doing this
work in the model shop the dealers
shop men get the 'fecl' of the shof
and go home with derinite ideas OF
how to improve their own local ser
vice s ations.
"The model service station serves
IHlIu pui poSc Ill IHdl II pIoNiuN'
suitable place where student
mechanics may perform their 'labo-
re 5ory' work. Each week classes OF
dealers mechanics are brought in
from their field for instruction at
the factory. BY doing their work
in the model shop they also &c. the
feel of it and return to their own
home shops with constructive ideas
"The model service sta ion with
1920 square feet of floor space, is
designed in size and equipment to
meet the needs of the average Oak
land Pontiac dealer, and has a capa
city of from Is to 90 ears day
Equipment is absolutely com
plete. We know of no essential too
or machine on the market which we
did not include, yet we avoided put
ting in anything of an eXpcrimcn al
nature.
"The result is a shop ideal from
every viewpoint for ,-he dealer },
needs. and one which members OF
our dealer organization in many sec
tionS of the country are using as
model to put their service to then
owners on a new high basis. >