Evening star., 1931-11-29
LARGE RELEASING HELD AHEAD
ON AUTO INDUSTRY'S HIGHWAY
Next Business Boom Probably Will Find
Public Disposed to Enjoy Spending
Rather Than Investing.

market numerous new ideas in design.
1t would be an easy matter for the
industry to justify the offering of
wholly new types of cars using economy
as the excuse. Offer Of such cars in
either good or bad times would greatly
swell sales.
A point which only the economists
who study trends with a fine tooth
comb are able to discover is the effect
of the years trend toward purchase
of lower priced cars. If the old rule
that you get what you pay for holds,
then 1888 will find many of the cars
bought this year ready for replacement
of. let us say, 100000 cars of the
5000 or under price class are going to
last as long as the same number of
machines in the $1,500 category.
Potential Buyers.
No estimate has been made of the
number of potential buyers. This would
include the millions of persons who now
do not own cars of any description.
answer is that they will come into
the active market when the industry
discovers who they are, individually,
and makes the necessary sales appeal.
A survey of one high-priced apart
ment revealed that there were many
occupants without cars. The reasons
were interesting as well as varied.
Three persons in the building were
beyond the age where they felt they
should undertake to learn to drive,
but had no one to drive for them.
| While able to afford a car they were
not able to afford paid chauffeurs.
Two women, widows, were planning
to buy cars in the near future but had
not been asked to buy. They had not
taken the trouble to do any actual
shopping and were on no automobile
dealers mailing list.
There were in the apartment a num-
ber of young people who desired cars
of their own. Two of them could have
persuaded their elders to sign on the
dotted line had there been some as
siStance from automobile statesmen. The
other minors were either graduating
from college in a few years or were pre-
pairing to embark upon the business
| world They were already thinking of
cars of their own, purchased out OF
their own income.
On one street in typical suburban
district where there are no homes selling
for less than $25 900 there are only two
out of seven families with more than
one car. Each family can afford two
cars. In each there is an extra person
who could learn to drive. In several
of the homes there are two persons be-
sides the owner who can drive and who
could use cars to good advantage. One
of the homes cost $780, 900, is occupied by
people of means and has but two cars,
1928 models in three-car garage.
Nation Only Half Sold.
With an increasing realization that
America is less than half sold on auto
mobiles the fear of the saturation point
becomes less of a factor in checking
sales aggressivenesS. There is a grow
ing disposition to view the future with
new confidence and a belief that i'm
proved roads. fewer hazards, better cars
and a greatly increased desire to travel
will combine to open up new domestic
markets counted in terms of millions.
Easier operating cars alone will bring
into the market hundreds of thousands
of women, semi-invalids and even
cripples.
Big buying is ahead on the automobile
post road.
I CCopyright, 1881, by the Russell service)