Evening star., 1931-12-27
AUTOS BIG GUNS
READY FOR ACTION
Industry Prepared to Make
Every Effort for 1882
Trade.
Special Dispatch to Tho Star

Special Dispatch to The Star.
DETROIT, December 26.-Two weeks
I hence the automobile industry will roll
its big guns of business promotion into
New York City in an effort to capture
1882 trade. The forces will be massed
in cooperative attack to recreate buy
Ing power the country over
The aggressive attitude of the auto
mobile magnates is backed by the Ger
tainty that indifference sooner or later
must yield before the mounting volume
of delayed purchasing.
Survey This Week.
This week surveys have disclosed that
production for the first IL months of
this year Is approximately ZOO, 900 cars
below the level of 1890, during which
business labored its way through the
seasons in the first drastic curtailment
that depression brought about.
The comparative totals (unofficia)
credit the automobile factories up to
the end of November with turning out
2.34sol9 units against 3,34s,855 in the
corresponding period of the previous
year. On the sales side, 1t also Is re-
Vealed that for the first time in more
than 80 years, automobile registration
in America has failed to 20 ahead. This
Is shown in statistics from a trade
paper source. 1t computes the number
of cars on the roads of America during
December as 25,95l ,425, compared with
26,523,779 in 1880. Passenger car reg
istrations, it Is stated, declined 25 per
cent during the last IL months. There
was drop shown from 23,O42,840 to
22,457, 1897.
Trucks Show Increase
Trucks, on the other hand, have in
creased fractionally to total 3,4e4,0 ,028
in 1881 from 3480, ,939 in 1880.
AS pointing further toward the con-
clusion that a famished condition
exists in highway transportation re-
placement, Alfred Reeves, general man.
ager of the National Automobile Cham
ber OF Commerce, asserts that stocks of
cars in the hands of dealers continue
abnormally low. He finds that retail
sales have exceeded production by at
least 100000 cars, with the used car
market probably in little better shape
than at the same time one year ago.
Mr.. Reeves, who was in Detroit this
week. believes that the potential market
for replacement has been building up
because of cars going out of service.
I'VE do know" he says, that the
country is built up on the use of high
way transportation, that high gasoline
consumption shows cars are being used
even more than last year and that re-
placements are going to be bigger
factor next year than normally"
Mr. Reeves adds that the national
automobile show in New York should
be the springboard for the beginning of
the selling season. In connection with
it, leaders of the industry are to broad
cast on coast-to-coast radio hook-ups
for two weeks at the same time that
newspapers and posters will be stress
ing the shows value as a business
Stimulant.
Additional Offerings.
Among those whose offerings are
promised on or before January g. which
is the date of the New York show open
ing. are Cadillac and La Sale, the Oak
land Motor Car Co., Hudson-Ess
Chrysler and its divisions. in addi-
ton to others whose plans are not pub
liclv known even at this late date.
They will supplement the Buick, Chew
rolet, Studebaker, Pierce Arrow, Rockne
and Graham-Paige preliminary show
ings that fave become current in re-
cent weeks.
Never in recent years has new model
interest been concentrated during De-
| CenlDCT ana JdLudLy W tliC oduic CA
tent, and those lin the know" as to
what is coming say that great surprises
! are still due.
AS an instance one builder with an
established position and name that
has stood since the earlier days is to
come forward with something different.
1t will be in the form Of single
chassis which will mount either a six
or an eight cylinder engine, as the pur-
chaser may elect, with only $100 differ
ence in the price for the eight-cylinder
performance. This maker, it may be
| added, Is not Ford, whose plans for
| 1892 at this writing are still secret.
The Chryslers, it has been officially
stated, will extend the floating power
principle from the Plymouths to skies
and eights in the 1882 lines, which are
to be completely new from the ground
up" Other builders are believed to
have surprises ready to spring which
will challenge comparison and add zest
to the competitive lineup.
! Copyright 1881. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Incl