The Washington times., 1929-05-01

WIbuOub 0A444NAAIy bhob BhO va
1t is easy enough to say that
the motoring public wants color in
the cars It buys. That Is a gen.
eralization. But when one gets
down to the task of saying that
this particular individual member
of that public wants this specific
color car, complications begin to
creep in.
However difficult it may be. color
Is a problem that the industry has
scIVed. 1t has done so with a
snloothness, q certainty, general
absence Of confusion that has fooled
many into believing that there never
really was a color problem. OF
course, the dealer has had, and con.
finues to have, his difficulties with
the variety of color completes his
patrons show.
The Good Old Days
There are times even when GER
tain dealers have longed for the
good old days when all cars were
black or pretty close to 1t. A typ.
ical occasion Of this longing relates
to q woman car buyer who was
looking for q sport roadster of a
certain make. When she dropped
IN, EOaQSCSES were moving LdlTIy
slowly and the dealer had q gen.
erous stock on hand in a variety
of colors. AS q matter of fact
woman looked them all over care
fully and decided that none of them
would do.
Just at that moment, the dealers
nostalgia for the good old black car
Movu hnNnn ma acute
All customers, of course, are not
Hike that. II they were, there would
be no dealers to sell cars to them.
Selected by Experts
In the first place, 1t is prevented
by the fact that most of the color
combinations used on motor cars
are selected by experts who, If they
do not know always what the public
will like, at le; 1t know enough about
harmonies and pleasing tones more
or less to dictate taste. They miss
now and then with a green or a yell
low or something else, but the mis-
take is short lived in this period of
quick change.
Sc Within limits, the public really
does goodly share of the color
suggesting. The automobile in
dustry, in this respect, enjoys the
huge advantage over many others
in that it is equipped to feel almost
instantly the pulse of the consumer.
Where it uses the "go and no go'
method of ascertaining the worth
of a certain feature as the public
appraises it, the word to 'go" or
stop" comes back quickly.
An illustration Of the solution of
the color problem by the industry is
provided by virtually any concern
in the field. Since the fastest seller
and the slowest seller represent
slight differences from the average,
however, they are less typical than
others. One that is a general speci-
men is a company that manufac-
lures several popular lines of skies.
Its attitude, as explained by one
OF the executives, is to provide a
limited choice Of colors, three for
each model. These combinations
are created by artists who know
harmonies Of tone and shades that
will appeal to the eye. These varied
creations are put before the poten-
tfal buyer and, in placing his order,
he specifies his favorite Of the
three or more colors. The order
as it is transmitted to the factory
by the dealer quickly establishes
the response to that particular
series of optional shades.
Geographic Influence
This does not mean that If II
out Of the first 20 buyers demand
a green car, five blue ones, and the
remaining four orange that the
factory thereafter adopts the pro.
portion 11-5.4 as long as 1t retains
that specific series of colors. It is
much more precise than that. 1t
takes into consideration that the
next 20 buyers may change the
figures and that the third 20 NAV