Evening star., 1954-10-03

came with the present Cadillac,
Buick and Olds models, which are.
not expected to change greatly In
1885, Pontiac and Chevrolet this
year produced virtual duplicates of
their 1853 lines, but will fall into
line in the coming year with wrap
around windshields and other late
GIN characteristics. At least, this Is
the scuttlebutt around a town where
top secret" would be far too low
classification for an imminent styl-
ing change.
The Trading Choin
Having designed and produced q
new model, GIN turns it over to the
dealer, who has standard gimmicks
for getting rid Of his merchandise.
The first step is to line up new
car prospect, and make trade with
him on some such basis as snob
appeal. Then the job is to sell the
first customers two-year-old trade
in to a second prospect, usually by
means Of the practically new"
gambit. f.#'''&I .
What to do with the five-year-old
trade-in? Sell it to someone else
as good. economical tranSporta-
ton" This leaves the dealer with
a 1946 model that is beginning to
show signs of wear. This can be
either "a jalopy for the kid" or "a
second car: you know. the wife can
go shopping in it," More often than
not, there is no trade-in involved
here. But If there is, the 1899 or
1910 vehicle that comes in Is al
most certain to be scrapped.
Dealer price wars are Of little
concern to GIN, which figures its
profits on sales to dealers. not on
what the dealer nets in trading
with the retail customer. Inflated
trade-ins are not the worry of GIN.
except insofar as they cause deal
er's business to fail and GIN loses
q retail outlet.
But even here, GM has things
pretty well under control. It grub
stakes - and controls - dealers
through q 25-year-old outfit known
as the Motors Holding Division.
and can finance, tide over or freeze
out destitute retailer pretty much
according to its whim.
Room for Expansion
There Is. Of course, always room
for expansion In the automobile In
dustry. and GIN Is making plans for
more production. But realistic views
of the auto market seem to point
at q fairly constant production in
the neighborhood Of 5 or million
cars a year. So when GIN looks
around for new worlds to conquer,
1t invariably casts an eye on the
non-automobile fields.
Though 1t frequently Is over
looked, the fact is that GIN is not
only the worlds leading car pro-
ducer, but is large manufacturer
of home appliances. diesel engines.
aircraft engines and locomotives as
well. Merchandising in these fields
presents special problems.
AS far as users Of diesels, airplane
engines and locomotives are con-
cerned, they are not as susceptible
as John @. Public to the two-tone
body and the extra strip Of chrome.
The best way to sell a railroad loco
motive is to prove that the new
model will do the same job as the
old one. but cheaper and better.
There are indications that GIN.
which helped bring about the rail-
road revolution that killed OF the
steam engine, is now plotting coup
that will topple the diesel from its
throne. The gas turbine seems to be
the answer.
In home APPLIANCES the problem
is different. The same man who
would never let year go by with
out new car will cheerfully let his
wife slave over q 20-year-old stove.
wrestle with the ice trays Of q pre-
war refrigerator, wash with an old
wringer-type washing machine or
shake down the ashes in an obsolete
coal furnace. This perverse streak In
the American male Is Of concern to
GIN, which makes the modern ver-
sions Of all these products.
So q big merchandising problem In
GINS future is to get home appli-
ances on q rapid-turnover basis. A
new stove every five years, q re-
frigerator every three. even an occa-
sional trade-in on the old furnace
are things GIN would like to see be-
come part Of the American way OF
life.
How this is going to be accom-
plished is question for the future
to reveal. But one thing Is certain:
When loose dollar is lying around
Ia America. a.General Motors sales
man is never far away.