Evening star., 1941-01-12
Defense Likely
To Curb Normal
Auto Output
Plants Face Giant
Task Turning Out
Military Orders
BY DAVID ]. WILKIE,

DETROIT, Jan. 1.-THE motor
car industry'S chiefs would like to
make 4500,000 passenger cars and
trucks during the next II months,
but probably will fall considerably
short of that volume Nevertheless.
there will be little idle time in the
plants during 194l.
Scheduled for delivery from the
Nations automobile factories this
year are thousands of aviation en-
gines large numbers of military
trucks. artillery carriages. hundreds
of small Army tanks. millions of
dollars worth of shells, thousands
of tractors machine guns. ammuni-
ton parts and scores Of other items.
Because the bulk of this heavy
program is to be produced in Spe-
cially built plants, the car makers
assert that on the basis of present
orders, they could go ahead with
normal output of passenger cars and
trucks for peacetime uses Few of
them believe, however. that con-
tracts yet to come can be absorbed
without curtailment of normal &C
tivities.
Early Effects Seen.
In some quarters the opinion is
expressed that this Curtailment may
make its appearance as early as the
beginning of the second quarter of
the year. At about that time the
Ford Co. hopes to begin shipping
Pratt & Whitney aviation engines
from its new airplane engine plant
Later in the summer the S20,000.-
900 Army tank arsenal being built
for Chrysler Corp. will begin to roll
out the 25-ton portable fortresSeS"
and Packard's new plant. in which
will be built 5000 Rolls-Royce avia-
ton engines. will be functioning we'll
before the end of the year.
Construction operations are being
pushed on all three of these new
factories. Machine tools and other
equipment already have been plan
ned to be ready for installation as
soon as the buildings are finished.
Buick also has entered the arms
program with announcement of
plans for a S24.3l3.l50 aircraft en-
CINE plant in Genesee County, Mich
Ford has just announced plans
for magnesium alloy foundry to
produce castings for aviation en-
gineS, but he is expected to utilize
the manufacturing technique of the
Pratt e. Whitney factory rather
than that of the Ford automobile
assembly plants in making the
horsepower double Wasp air.
cooled radial engine The projected
assembly schedule calls for a fin
ished engine each hour, or about
Is a day
Big Output Planned.
The tank production program
contemplates the completion of five
of the machines each eight-hour
shift. The tanks, whose chief arma-
ment will be a 75-millimeter gun
will be powered with 400 horsepower
radial engines.
Packard will start production of
the Rolls-Royce engines at the rate
of about one day and step the
volume I'D until it reaches $40 a
month. Six thousand Of the en-
gines are intended for Great Brit
ain BY the time these have been
shipped Packard expects to have
its production technique developed
to its maximum efficiency.
BY the beginning of the second
quarter of this year the motor
car industry will have had its 194l
model automobiles in production
pproximately six months. If it
maintains the volume attained dur
ing the last three months of 1910
the aggregate output of current
models will be close to 100000
units. 1t has on hand in storage,
transit and in dealers hands right
now more than 100000 new cars
A continuance of high production
will keep that reserve" at per-
haps an even greater level.
There has been no suggestion. say
the car makers, that a complete
suspension of normal production &C
tivities may be required. Thus, rea-
son some trade observers, if the
industry can reach the beginning of
the second quarter of the year with
a reserve" stock of 100000 new
vehicles on hand it may want to
taper off output volume regard
less of the status of armament
requirements.