Evening star., 1931-06-27
SALES
PICKUP EXPECTED
Executives in Industry Be-
lieve Buying Power of Pub
lie Has Grown.
BY DAVID J. WILKIE.
Written for the Associated Press.

DETROIT, June 27.-At time when
some 100000 or more motor cars that
are long overdue in the junk-pile are
being forced to give up their last ounce
OF endurance by motorists reluctant to
invest In new cars an unusually brisk
business in the service departments of
the different automobile companies
would seem logical conclusion.
1t is one of the anomalies of the
situation through which the industry
has passed, however, that most of the
service departments have felt the tight
en1ng OF the purse strings just as much
as the new car sales departments
Nevertheless there has been no falling
OF in the operation or motor cars. On
the contrary, cheaper gasoline in many
sections, ideal driving weather and the
start of the vacation period have COM
bined to increase the mileage record of
all types of cars.
See More Buying Power.
Out of this seemingly ambiguous Situ-
alton automobile executives see only
constantly increasing accumulation of
potential buying orders, which ulti-
mately must be released. Automobiles,
they say, have been wearing out during
the last year much faster than replace
ments have been made. The result
must be that when general business
again approXimateS normal condition
the automobile industry will face tre-
mendous demand for new cars.
With this will come, too, other lead
erS believe, a further improvement in
the used car situation. Distributors
have been able to improve their used
car inventories during the last few
months by more conservative trade-in
practices and by more careful handling
of accounts. During the Spring buying
period finance companies also aided in
the effort at general betterment by
thorough investigation of the financial
prospects Of potential installment pur-
chaserS.
Manufacturing activity continues to
taper off, and total output figures for
June undoubtedly will show an appre-
ciable drop over last month. In the
retail division, preparations are going
forward for the handling of an in
creased demand for cars as the mid
Summer seasonal lull passes.
Talk about the huge number of OBJ
soleScent automobiles and the posSibil-
tiles of their continued operation is
heard in all quarters where the pros
poets of the industry are discussed.
While sales executives admit there is
great deal of theorizing going on in
these discussions, most of them point
out that the return of prosperity to the
industry depends upon the setting up
again of a normal demand for its prod
uct. This demand, they say, is being
created by the wearing out Of cars still
in operation.
Purchasing Restricted.
In supporNof their hopes for an up
ward curve of the salesgraph within
the next few weeks, retailers point out
that purchasers of cars so far this year
did not aggregate an approximately
normal number. They are convinced
that, while some of the stored-up buy
ing may be withheld from the market
until the new models are brought out
in the latter part of the year, some of
it must be released before that time by
reason of necessity.
Activity has been resumed in the re-
search division of the industry after a
weeks 1ull while automotive engineers
assembled at White Sulphur Springs,
w. Va, to talk about everything con-
cerning an automobile, from fan noises
to the general construction of motors
and motor-car bodies. Practical devel-
opments in design rather than idealistic
conceptions of the car Of the future
occupied the engineering chiefs. Many
of these developments, it is understood,
already have gene beyond the expert
mental stage.