Automotive news. [volume], April 15, 1946, Image 1

About Automotive news. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1938-current

Image provided by: Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library

                
* * The Newspaper of the Industry * *
01. 21, No. 3023
Climax on Discounts Due This Week
l Sparks
The Golden Jubilee of the Auto
jPfemind* sober citizens what a silver
lining the industry can be, when
not bound and gagged by petty pol
iticians.
• • •
g If all the silly economic theories
Re re laid end to end, we would be
just where we are today, hoping
Ipiat commonsense would get a bet
ter toehold.
• * *
Q9n6 Out of 48
A reliable source predicts that
people will be involved in
highway accidents in New York
state this year.
Some Stuff
a If and when it’s able to or -
Agonize all dealer salesmen, the
AFL hopes to force dealers to
|pay a royalty to the union on
each car brought info the dealer
ship, it is reported.
H• • •
What An Act
New York drama critics decided
none was worthy of their annual
jward for the "Best Play.” What
Woeful Wallace and his
“Fantastic Figures?" It was a hit—
rthe Jaw, to business recovery.
• * •
Honesty Prevails
P Diogenes, if he were still looking
for an honest man, would not have
|p look far in Oklahoma City.
r For this you have the word of
Emmett Barbee, secretary-manager
the Oklahoma City Retailers
Assn. He reports that 90 percent
£f the people are honest at least
|bat percentage of those whose
credit applications are investigated
by his office.
" Besides, Barbee reports his office
is receiving more than SOOO a
Iponth in payments on "outlawed"
wts those over three years old.
Chevrolet , Ford Light Cars Due in ’47
By Pete Wemhoff
• Editor, Automotive New*
’ DETROIT. Chevrolet's
announcement of plans to produce
| cheap light car about mid-1947
9 stirred conjec
tures again last
week on how long
the presenf
demand for new
cars might last.
Several car
manufac
turers recently
have expressed
fears that, be
cause of slow
production and
higher prices, the
pinch in new car
| M. E. Coyle
*• les might be felt a lot sooner
U.S. Probing Tire Industry
WASHINGTON.—Attorney General Tom Clark announced Thurs
day that he had authorised a Fedrral grand jury Investigation of the
rubber tire Industry in connection with alleged violations of the anti
trust laws. The investigation is te be conducted in the Southern dis
trict of New York, he said.
Clark stated that a large number of complaints charging restraints
on competition and dlscrlminatory practices in the industry war
ranted a full and complete lnvesti|ratiooi. The investigation, while con
ducted in the southern district of New York, Is to be nationwide, the
attorney general said.
S6O-$41 7 Price Boost
Okayed for GM Cars
Pontiac Models Increased Average of $Bl Over 1942;
Buick Average Rise Is $77, Olds $107;
Cadillac Up An Average of $286
WASHINGTON.—CeiIing prices for General Motors’ Pon
tiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac 1946 passenger automo
biles were announced Friday by OPA. Increases, attributed
to engineering changes, range from S6O to $417.
Effective Apr. 11, 1946, the new price ceilings apply to all
Dealers Urged
To Hold Local
Jubilee Fetes
By George Deery
Staff Writer
DETROIT.—The combined influ
ence and leadership of all dealers
throughout the nation is being co
ordinated for the Automotive Gold
en Jubilee, May 31-June 1.
Active participation by dealers
will be supplemented by support
now being arranged from local,
state and national associations con
nected with the widely-spread in
terests of motordom.
Lee Moran, executive vice-presi
dent, NADA, endorsed dealer par
ticipation to the extent of their
ability in the following statement
last week:
“Every dealer is afforded an ex
cellent opportunity to add to his
civic and business prestige by pro
moting and cooperating with other
groups in the nationwide observ
ance of the Golden Jubilee.
“The social, economic and pro
gressive phases of the entire in
dustry have been unlimited in
their influence on the life of
every community. Depicting these
influences in speeches, pageants,
(Continued on Page 27, Col. 1)
than was previously expected.
Chevrolet's plans to bring out
its previously announced lower
priced car In about 15 months
seems to bear out these fears.
Moreover, in January of this
year, Jack Davis, general sales
manager of Ford, told this writer
that he expected Ford’s light car
to be out in about 18 months.
Plymouth and other low-priced
caj* makers maintain official silence
on such a project, but it is known
that all companies have been work
in* on such models for some time.
A stripped-down car, to sell below
the SI,OOO mark, will be necessary,
they feel, to capture the lower
income group which has been
driven out of the new car market
<B*« CHEVROLET. Pag* 30. Col. 5)
DETROIT, APRIL 15, 1946
sales of these cars until nec
essary adjustments are made
to reflect increased factory
costs due to recently approved wage
rate Increases, OPA said. The in
creases which take into account
wage and material cost increases up
to fall of 1940 apply for the most
part to cars which were manufac
tured some time ago and now are
in dealers’ hands.
While the new 1948 model Gen
eral Motors retail prices, exclusive
of allowances for engineering and
other changes, are on the average
2.5 percent below 1942 prices, after
allowances for engineering and
other changes, retail prices for the
various makes are higher.
The increases over comparable
1942 model prices, which on the
average are due entirely to en
gineering changes and improve
ments, are as follows:
Pontiac from $66 to $95, average
—sßl.
Oldsmobile from SB6 to $124,
average—slo7.
Buick from S6O to $l3B, average
—877.
Cadillac from $l4B to $417, av
erage—s2B6.
The more important engineering
and other changes include: im
proved body styling and trim; more
comfortable Interior appointments;
redesigned, bigger and heavier ra
diator grills; improved cooling sys
(Continued on Page 28. Col. 1)
DEARBORN. Formation of a
low-price car division, in line with
plans originally made public in
19 44, was an-
nounced late Fri
day by Henry
Ford 11, president
of Ford Motor
Co.
Ford said the
new car will be
presented to the
public following
introduction of
the regular line
of postwar Fords
sometime after
January, 1947.
■r a
Henry Ford II
A. B. Pease, presently assistant
director of sales tor Ford, will be
named general manager of the new
division, with C. H. Carroll, director
of purchasing, as assistant general
manager. Successors to these va
cancies will be named later.
Additional manufacturing facil
ities for the new light ear will be
sought Immediately, Ford said.
Meanwhile, M. L Bricker, Ford
vice-president, announced that pro
duction of tractors at the com
pany’s Highland Park (Mich.) plant
was halted Friday night due to a
strike in a plant of a major sup
plier.
f a. Dealer Asks Writ
To Halt OPA ‘ Slur ’
NORFOLK, Va. Charging
damage to its reputation, Luhr
lng Motor Co. (Dodge-Plymouth)
last week filed suit In U. 8. Dis
trict court for the purpose of ad
joining OPA from continuing
the practice of sending out let
ters to new car buyers Involving
sales made by the company.
The company, headed by
Henry G. Luhrlng, charged that
while It freely admits OPA’s
right to investigate prices and
enforce controls, it believes the
letter exoeeds OPA authority by
implying that the company has
done something wrong and holds
out financial reward to the car
buyer if he reports to OPA as
requested.
It was pointed out that thus
(Sm SUIT, Pag* 20. Col. 5)
Production Slips
To 43,365 Units:
Packard Starts
By Mel Humphrey
DETROIT. With Ford
and Chrysler getting off to
a late Btart last week, pro
duction in the automobile
industry continued on the
downgrade with the total U. S.
weekly output dropping to an esti
mated 43,360 cars and trucks. This
was a drop of 2,579 units from the
previous week’s total of 40,944.
In the corresponding week in
1941, the auto Industry tallied
100,095.
Blame for the cut in last week's
output is shared by the dwindling
steel supplies, which kept Ford
assembly lines down until Apr. 10,
and a Briggs Body driver’s strike
Apr. 5 which forced all Chrysler
divisions to a four-day week with
the exception of Plymouth, which
resumed operation on the second
shift Apr. 8.
Packard, after being shut down
for 10 weeks due to a shortage of
parts supplied by General Mo
tors, was slated to resume pro
duction today (Apr. 15). Output
of 220 oars per day is expected
within a week.
Wlllys and Hudson remained
closed for the entire week, as a
(8m OUTPUT. Pag* 25, Col. 1)
Paris Price Showdown
Carlton Sees OPA Promoting Inflation;
Appeal to Congress Possible
By Bob Finlay
Managing Editor
LANSING. OPA is polntlessly
encouraging Inflation by maintain
ing ceiling prices on replacement
parts despite the fact that produc
tion in 1945 was 2% times that of
1941, it was as
serted last week
by C. C. Carlton,
chairman of the
Automotive Re
placement Parts
Advisory commit
tee.
Carlton, who
also is vice-pres
ident and secre
tary of Motor
Wheel Corp.,
asked this point-
C. C. Carlton
ed question:
Is it more Inflationary to spend a
$4 Per Year, 15c Per Copy
House Expected
To Push Action
On OPA Bill
NADA Amendment
To Be Clarified to
Restore All Cuts
By William Ullman
Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON. The
NADA - OPA trade discount
and handling charge tug-of
war is scheduled to take on
new life early this week.
The OPA extension bill was re
ported out last Tuesday and Is ex
pected to reach the House floor un
der a rule today or tomorrow (Mon
day or Tuesday). It is believed that
the bill can be disposed of within
three days.
Inclusion of the NADA devised
and sponsored amendment, written
to give dealers trade discount and
handling charge protection as of
March 2. 1942, was widely com
mented on here last week. This was
the only amendment, urged by a
single industry, to make the grade
in committee.
Opinion prevailing here Is that
the amendment carried for two
reasons: (1) It was so obviously
fair, and (2) NADA, including
both its dealers in the field and
Washington staff, was on the job
from the beginning.
It is understood that the Wash
ington staff was obliged to fend off
a rear-guard action of some of the
state association men. One man
ager in a state far removed from
Washington, it was learned, not
only sent a several hundred word
telegram to all of his House mem
bers, urging a program exactly op
posite to that being promoted by
NADA, but he also circularized the
trade with his proposal. His com
munications carried his name, but
he said that it represented the con
sidered opinion of his 1,000 or more
dealers.
The idea expressed by this
manager, it waa said, was slmilar
to that espoused by the National
Assn, of Manufacturers - com
plete and immediate elimination
of OPA. Events have proved that
the repeated contention of NADA
(B** BATTLE, Pag* 30, Col. 3>
couple of dollars getting your old
car fixed or is it more Inflationary
to be forced to compete in the mar
ket for new cars?
The advisory committee has
scheduled a showdown meeting
with OPA Apr. 18.
It was indicated that an appeal
to Congress might be necessary be
cause of OPA’s ridiculous stand.
In view of present production,
which is running about SIOO million
a month. Carlton said that there
is no valid reason for a shortage
of replacement parts
But in spite of this, there is a
shortage of critical items—an arti
ficial shortage created by OPA’a
obstinate refusal to lift ceilings
that bar production of unprofitable
but necessary Items
Cars and trucks are going off the
(Continues on Png* 25. CoL X)