New Britain herald. [microfilm reel], March 09, 1926, Auto Show Section, Page 16, Image 16

About New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976

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NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD. TUESDAY, MARCII 0, 1920.
Success ol Industry
The remarkable quarter-century
growth Of the automobile industry
lias nKlurally brought with It cer
tain new and Important problems.
'hl'.f of thi-Bo !s tlio question of fin
(tnclnff retail sales of autonioblk-s,
Never liefore In th commeritlal his
tory of this country has thr-re been
a situa'lon pnsc ntliig such com
plex eliaract'-iisllrs an nro Involved
In the pi-ocfss of rendering auto
mohllrs available for purchase In
volume numli' n to a constantly
swelling percentage of the popula
t inn.
The part tin' automobile plays In
the economic life of the country Is
Lest realized when wo consider that
there are now approximately some
nineteen million motor cars In use.
and the annual output Is rlslnir rap
idly toward the flv million mark.
Were the automobile nn Investment
requiring only a few dollars, the sit
uation would be robbed of Its Intri
cacies. On the rontrnry, the opposite
is true, because the automobile Is
a unit of expense that cuts a very
considerable figure In the yearly in
come of the buyer.
In the early days of the Industry
when production was exeremely low.
purchasers paid cash, but as demand
srew and the automobile industry
increased Us physical capacity for
production, the vogue of hlch pres
sure salesmanship came Into being
Very quickly the market of all
cash customers was exhausted, and
the industry faced the problems of
finding ways and means of market
ing Us climbing production. Obvious
ly, the step to take was to make
it possible for people to buy out of
income and to pay as they rode.
This gave rise to a number of
schemes of financing retail sales,
and as far back as eighteen years
ago, a number of organizations be
gan to pay considerable attention to
this matter of retail finance.
The sharpening pressure of com
petition together with the spec
tacular growth of the automobile
business plus the period of easy
money, which we have been ex
periencing, has brought the prob
lem to a point where It must be re
garded as one of the gravely sig
nlfieant economic situations of our
nation.
There is no question but what we
have been observing a marked ten
dency toward the acceptance of very
loose credit methods. As a matter of
tact, In some sections of the coun
try, finance corporations and deal
ers have cooperated In sales plans
which involved less than twenty per
cent, of the purchase prlee of a car
as down payment and extended the
remaining payments over a period
r.:n,'.-ir.g from twenty-four to thirty
months. The eoundsr minds of the
Industry and the dealer trade body,
In general, soon naw that this was
overstepping the mark and If persist
ed In. would most certainly result
disastrously, not only to the Industry,
but also to the fabric of the coun
try's commercial life.
Today very apparvntly a marked
tendency to return to sane financing
plans and to discontinue purchase
methods which are obviously too
j fraught with the dangers of repos
j session. Nevertheless, this return to
safer ground must be accelerated
I considerably If th industry is to
tortify Itself against trouble. At the
present lime, there are four very
large national organizations dealing
in time-payment plans, find these
combined now do approximately ten
per cent of nil the business. The re
mulnlng nini ty per o nt Is handled
by some fifteen or sixteen hundred
concerns ranging in size from those
operating over a spread of two or
three states to much smaller com
panies operating In a single city.
Kcrery Indication shows, howe.r,
that as time goes on the propor
tionate amount of business done by
large companies will increase. tVn
Mralizntlon seems likely to take place
(in this business in much the same
way that It has become acutely
operative in the automobile manu
facturing business. And 1 believe
that we must look to these large
companies for the most assistance in
combating the evils of loose credits.
One of the chief dangers arising
from loose credits Is the fart that ii
Menus to produce an unhealthy infla
tion In the automobile manufactur
ing circles. For the time being with
the use of very low down-payments
and dnngerously extended remaining
payments. It Is easily possible to
move an Increased number of cars
Into the hands of owners. The
manufacturers In turn, see the pos
sibility of Increasing their own sales
and are apt to be influenced to
greater plant capacity, and larger
and larger output. The ball keeps
rolling merrily until there Is a be
ginning of tighter money or a pe
riod of unemployment sets in. Tn
such nn event these easy term sales
would be checked up with a tight
rein and the finance companies
would find themselves repossessing
cars at a terrific, rale.
It is generally conceded that the
repossession of a car means a loss
incured to the finance company, and
as the finance companies cannot,
possibly hope to operate entirely on
their own money, they, In turn, are
under obligation to the banks, and
so you can easily picture a critical
disaster all down the line, includ
ing the manufacturers who would
find themselves with large Inven
tories, great investments in plant
and equipment, and a market that
bad shrunk over-night almost to an
alarming degree.
It. is true that conditions vary so
far as time-payments are concerned
in various parts of the country, and
it. Is not possible to lay down an ex
act rule to be carried out. Inflexibly
everywhere. Nevertheless, the actual
figures over a period of time, which
have been developed by leading
authorities end statisticians rela
tive to the question of t line-pay
ments, do show that the safu plan of
financing a retail automobile pur
chase Is one which comprehends the
complete purchase of the cur within
a period of twelve inomlis.
It Is plain that a prospective cus.
tomer who cannot see his way clear
to make complete payment fur his
car within twelve months, but who
asserts he can take cure of the. mat-
iter within eighteen months, must bo
j operating on an extremely narrow
margin. It Is perfectly clear that if
during this time even a minor enter
eney In his affairs should arise,
that foreclosure will have to take
place and the car be thrown buck
upon the finance company.
Repossession by the tinnnce com
puny under any idtuntlons, of course,
'not desirable, ami when these repos
'sessions assume large proportions,
the finance companies find them
selves in competition with automo
bile dealers.
The net of It Is that on about
liphty to eighty. five per cent of nil
automobile sales made at the present
writing, the dealers urn In reality
yelling iho curs to the finance com
panies and the transaction Is not
closed and completed so fur as the
dealer is concerned until the pur
chaser has completed all of his pay
ments.
The old saying that no sale was
made until the cash wan In the cash
register holds true with equal em
phasis In tho nulomobllo retail busl
ness of today. It Is always hard
under conditions of prosperity to
1 Impress upon the majority of people
jlhe necessity for safeguarding that
prosperity, Hut I believe that now.
during the time when practically
every line of buslnets In experienc
ing good times, when money Is
reasonably easy, and when employ
ment Is at high peak and wage
levels extremely satisfactory, every
one should bear In mlud that such
a fortunate situation enn be contin
ued only so long as the manufac
turer, dealer and finance company
present a united effort against loose
credits and lax time-payment
methods. This course, If adhered to,
Is safe, sound and over a period of
time the only profitable course. Any
other course certainly leads to disaster.
RKm;n aito service
More efficient automobile service
stations, with lower charges to the
consumer, were predicted by leaders
of the auto Industry at tho Second
World Motor Transport Congress.
SEE US AT AUTO SHOW
Space 13 New Britain Auto Show
Raybestos Brake Lining
Parker Vises
Ballcrank Bumpers
Weed Levelizers
Wonder Worker Products
National Standard Jacks and Hoists
Black & Decker Electric Shop
Equipment
Klaxon Horns
A. C. Spark Plugs
Scandinavian Transmission Lining
e Post & Lester Co.
WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS
14 Main Street New Britain
lWW o
Overland Sedan
Overland Sii Sedan
Willys-Knight "70'!
Six Sedan
5
Th
THE NEW SIX-CYLINDER
HUPMOBlLEi
Willys-Knight Great
Six Sedan
Trias f. o. b. factory. Klght
rtatrved to chan$a price and
tpiciflcatons without ytrttc:
The new Willys Finance Plan
means less money down, smaller
monthly payments; and the
lowest credit-cost in the indus
try. Come, get the figures.
Instead having the public wait
until March 28, Willys-Overland
makes the tax reduction on auto
mobiles effective immediately. .
this applies to any Overland or
Willys-Knight you buy now
R. C. RUDOLPH
127 Cherry St. and 6 Main St. Phone 2051-2
N o w I n the great Willyi.Ovetland line a ear for every parte
mmmfflgaBKawm
WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR OPENING liY OFFERING THE MOTORING
PUBLIC OF NEW BRITAIN THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BUY
RIES
Here is Hupmobile experience crystallized
and climaxed all the old sturdy soundness
with a new quality of brilliant performance
which has taken the public by storm. Here's
a six you must reckon with if performance
means a thing to you a six that is bound
to win you if you care one iota for the very
utmost and at the same time the most eco
nomical in six-cylinder motoring.
The New
re at Saving
First Quality
CORD TIRES
Carry Standard Manufacturer's Warranty and
Backed By Our Personal Guarantee.
HUPMOBILE SIX
NEW SERIES HUPMOBILE EIGHT There is not an eight power plant in
existence more soundly engineered, ncr a performance ptx, am which can surpass it
Tires Tubes
30x3 $8.50 $1.75
31x1 $11.50 $3.00
32x1 $15.50 $3.20
33x1 $16.00 $3.25
32x1 Yz $22.30 $1.00
33x4 y2 $23.00 $4.25
34x4 Yi $24.00 $1.50
35x5 $26.00 $5.00
29x410 $12.50 $2.95
30x195 $16.50 $3.75
TRUNKS
For Hudson and Essex
$20.00
Automatic Windshield
Wiper Vacuum Type
$2.75
Electric
Windshield Wiper
$4.50
FULLY GUARANTEED
Bumpers
$9.00 and up
Stop Liehts
$1.00 and up
Side Shields
$3.50
Bumperettes
$6.00 and up
Cigar Lighters
69c
Tube Patching Outfits
large size 30c
MOBILOIL
Sealed Cans 1 gallon 95c 5 gallons $4.25
City
afcon, Inc
Our Stock is the Largest and Most Varied in the City. We Carry Only the Best Obtainable and
We Back All Our Merchandise With Our Money Back Guarantee.
MAIL ORDERS FILLED. SPECIAL RATES TO DEALERS
Stanley Street, Corner Hartford Avenii - A. M. PAOXESSA, Manager
Domijan Motor Sales Co., Corner Broad and High
Now cn Display at the Automobile Show and by Hupmobile Dealers,
o
udd Auto Products Co.
161 ARCH STREET
OPEN EVENINGS TO 8 O'CLOCK
PHONE 3989
SATURDAY TO 10
V