Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-22
In the Motor World
BY q. ADAMS HOWARD.

~ boost in prices of automo
~ biles for 1880. This raise
may not take in all the
various makes, but it is the con-
SenSuS that the majority of manu-.
facturerS will take this action. The
increases may not be great, but
they will be noticeable at least.
The Jump is not neceSSitated by
higher labor or material costs and
therefore, its cause may not be ap-
parent to many prospective BUYERS
who in latter years have been &C.
customed to see annual drop in
prices.
Cause of Price Raise,
The real reason is an economic
one. For years competition in the
automotive field has been great
For years manufacturers have
gone on with mass production,
cutting down prices here and
there, and because of the great
quantities produced have found it
to be profitable.
Now, mass production neceSsa-
rlly does not mean mass selling,
Some manufacturers would have it
appear so. But the difference can
De seen In the monthly reports of
the Department of Commerce. It's
figures are found without favorit-
ism or bias.
It is generally known that manv
factories have been treating their
dealers in deplorable way. Deal
erS have been forced to accept cars
that have been impossible to sell in
such quantities. Often when over
stocked with cars, the factories
will turn out a new model, with
shaved prices, and the dealers
have been up against it. The
method is unSound, and the deal
erS suffer for it. Throughout the
country there have been many
failures OF the dealers as result.
Just recently an additional cut
In prices has been announced by
one manufacturer. Those on the
inside know where the cut came
trom-it came from the dealer and
was forced upon him by the pro-
Queer. It is poor business and one
that is beginning to make itself
felt throughout the entire indus
try. If it were kept up there is no
telling what the result would be.
1t is said that there are cars now
selling for actual cost in the Ma
tional Capital. What is the dealer
and his sales force to get out of
this? Continuance of the present
system, and a system that is
almost universally true, leaves
nothing but bankruptcy ahead.
Solution Obtained.
A few wise heads got together
recently to find out what can be
done to alleviate the condition. At
present they have hit upon a solu-
ton that should afford temporary
relief. That solution is to cut
down on mass production some
what, increase the prices of the
coming new makes. and give the
dealers a better chance. This
may not be done in all the
branches Of the industry, but it
does seem that some dealers will
have a merry Christmas if they
can struggle past New Year.
The dealers should be aided in
their unfortunate situation. The
public can pass over the new prices
by the knowledge that what they
were paying before was a little too
cheap.
The Automotive Daily News,
publication devoted entirely to the
automotive industry, comments
upon the situation in a recent edi-
torial. Leaving out it's own in
tereSts, what it states primarily
is the case. 1t is as follows:
Some months ago the Automo-
tive Daily News printed an edi-
torial under the title Prices Are
Too Low We felt most earnestly
that the automobile industry has
been making a. mistake in it's
whole method of setting prices for
Its products. 1t has been the habit
OF great many manufacturers
to fix their production schedules
on the basis of the maximum out
put which they can hope to
achieve. This procedure led to the
bringing Of heavy pressure on
dealers whenever it proved diff
cult to reach the maximum pro-
duction schedule. There was no
safety factor to care for a possible
difficulty in making the producs
ton figure that had been set ~
the beginning of the year. We be-
lieved then, and still believe. that
many of the troubles that the in
duStry has had to contend with
came from this over-optimistic
method of setting production
schedules.
More Increases ForeSeen.
During the past several days a
number of manufacturers have
announced price increases. These
have ranged from $25 up to as
high as $3.50. We look to see a
general marking up of most lines
before the 1880 season is we'll
under way, and we note the ten
dency with a sigh of relief.
There is no reason to believe
that the addition of $25 to the cost
of the present lines of American
car manufacturers will drive away
single customer who had intend
ed to buy. Prices of American
cars are ridiculously low, anyway.
We venture to assert that no
other product that the American
public buys in quantity gives such