New-York tribune. [volume], January 04, 1920, Page 12, Image 90

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Prosperous Year in
Auto Industry, Is
View of G. A. Kissel
Change From War-Time Ba?
sis Will Call for Big Out
pnt; Government Action
on Foreign Credits Factor
By George A. Kissel
President, Kissel Motor Car Company
In considering the future of the auto?
mobile industry wo are treating, with
something that is really a figurable
proposition.
The main reasons for feeling opti?
mistic for 1920 can perhaps best be
summed up in the following:
"I ?Almost total curtailment of auto*
?*? mobile production during the war
period.
???--During the war and for economic
"*' reasons, automobiles were used for
a much longer period, leaving many
unfilled outstanding orders.
0?Many people during the war pc
riod, have earned considerably
jnorc than ever before, thereby in
Mr. Kissel.
creasing the present range of buyers.
A?All agricultural sections have been
^ and arc now extremely prosperous,
therefore, very ready buyers,
cr?The general wealth of this coun
** try, coupled with the general spirit
of American prosperity, makes the \
car a necessity and it finds a ready j
sale with the multitude.
The approximate production of the j
automobile industry for the year end- ;
ed June, 1919, was 1,100,000. Based on i
the approximate proposed plans for the
year ending June, 1920, it is estimated I
that the .total output will be about '
2,700,000. The average life of cars
r.iade during recent years is figured at
about four years. On this basis manu?
facturers would have a healthy renewal
business ahead of them of about
i,500,000 cars annually, as well as new
business up to the point of market
saturation. The point of saturation is
roughly figured at 8,500,000, this figure
taking into account the increased use
of commercial cars. Production on this
basis of the 1920 rate would continue
through 1922. after which the great
bulk of production would be for re?
newals or replacements.
Conditions that might affect or pre?
vent such a proposed output because of
the excellent general business condi?
tions would come under two general
3;eads:
General labor unrest, which would
make manufacturing of all lines dif?
ficult, as well as cause general wage
earners to suffer.
The economic conditions of the
world, in which the United States
being the large credit nation, must i
play an important part.
Under the heading of labor unrest I
feel optimistic, because there is a gen?
eral feeling of capital and labor work?
ing closer together than ever before.
Also because labor in general is care?
fully analyzing and reasoning and ap?
plying itself in a way tha? is of mutual
benefit to all concerned. The govern?
ment is at least attempting to take
some definite stand in order to set out
some program which will assist in re?
ducing the general high cost of living.
Action is already taking place in regard
to the exorbitant income taxes and
levies, figuring these out on a different
basis and in such a way that they will
not become the ultimate burden on the
ultimate consumer.
The extremely important part comes
under1 the credits to be established, as
well as the basis for establishing them,
and in doing so we must consider the
wealth of those countries and their ob?
ligations in order to arrive at a net
figure from a credit standpoint. We
r.?u-t, however, go far beyond that, be?
cause in my mind the credit of a coun?
try will have to be considered on prac?
tically the samo basis as the credit of
a corporation or individual, and that is
on the "character of the country" and
its "capacity to accomplish results."
In view of the fact that we are the
large credit nation of the world, and
the one that these other countries look
to for help on foodstuffs and materials
in general, as well as money, I feel very
optimistic that our government will
take the character of those nations with
which it is dealing and the capacity
which they have for accomplishing re
. ult., as the all important factors, and
from that basi_ grant them excellent
credits and loan them large amounts.
AC Spark Plugs Take
Trip to "Roof of World"
Function Perfectly When New
Altitude Record in Airplane
Is Set by Roland Rohlfs
With the pesee-tima flights of the
American airplane drawing the focus
of the spotlight that is thrown on tho
mo. t spectacular feats, AC spark plug,
were afforded an opportunity to d?_
??r:gui_h themselves in a comparative?
ly new fltld of achievement durin-?
-, rj,,? ***** ...?
Th.R? plug?, vA\W.h arc seasoned
laurel winner? on the road racins
cour?? ?nd the automobil?? ?pecdway,
proved ?- dependable in the ?parkin;;
of airplane engine?, as evidenced by
the fact that new world's altitud)
records for triplanes and seaplane?
were established during the la?t
twelve months by AC equipped air?
craft.
la the realm of the air the most
notable accomplishment, in which AC'_
?partiefpated was the climb with Ro?
land Kohlf? and the Curtiiis Wasp to
the roof of the world, six and one
half miles above Um ground, the pilot
Spending on AC*? to ?nsrk tho 400
hofsepower r-ngine that crrried him to
a height of 84,010 feet.
In this flight the piyg? wsre called
??pon to function under th? great?* .t
ct temperature differenco?, the motor's
fr.wendous explosive h.at being a.
?n? end, while tho temperature was a?
3ow nn 44 ?egr**? below _,ro a.
Kohlf?'* highest point of climb. I)e
j-plta the unparalleled severity of thU
test, neither a miss not a cracked \
-tlajft vas ?otad- atword?n* ta th?
I?
.
Engineering Creed
Of Harry C. Stutz
1 BELIEVE, first of all, that the real
business of anything mechanical
is to work well and wear well.
Therefore, I hold simplicity, strength
and serviceability above all else.
I believe, on the'other hand, that
an engineered product can be both
strong and well designed. Then
beauty can be built around these '?
features.
I hold that true beauty is always
simple and .so avoid all unnecessary
embellishments.
Real beauty, too, is based on gen?
uineness, and it cannot be obtained
by using cheap or imitative mate?
rials. 1 insist on the best of every?
thing and never tolerate substitutes
or "seconds."
Having strength and beauty, I
bear in mind the point of economy
and insist on applying the very limit
of practical engineering to the
motor, so that it may get the last
ounce of power out of every drop of
fuel.
A motor car can never bo any
better than the shop in which it is
built and the men who build it.
You can't get quality except in a
rigidly disciplined shop from which
all workmen except the most con?
scientious and expert are barred.
Finally, I believe there is a point
in any factory's expansion where
the penalty for increased produc?
tion may become decreased quality,
and I will never build any more cars
than I can build well.
Brief History of
The Maibohm Car
Original Company Making Wag?
ons Dates Back to the
Late Eighties
Some American concerns producing
automobiles to-day can show ancient
lineage. Among these is the Maibohm
Motors Company, of Sandusky, Ohio,
makers of the Maibohm "Light Six."
In 1888 this company was called the
Maibohm Wagon Company. It was in
Racine, Wis., and began business under
the personal supervision of the father
The six-Cylinder touring car, the new Rco model, is a five-passenger machine. It is getting lots of attention at
4 h A JlltPfAItt ahnt?
the current show
After learning the theories of automo-1
bile construction he topped off his i
education with five years of practical
work with the Locomobile Company.
In 1910 tho elder Maibohm turned
over to his son the active management
of the plant. An experimental depart?
ment was organized and work was
started on the Maibohm automobile.
This was a light car. The company
was ready to increase its production*
when the United States entered the
war.
One month after the armistice was
signed the Maibohm plant burned down.
This proved to be a blessing in dis?
guise. Undivided attention was now
given to the manufacture of three new
Maibohm models, temporary quarters
were rented in Racine, and within one
week the new factory was turning out
cars. The company was now faced with
the problem of finding a new location,
and Sandusky was selected as the
future home of the Maibohm car.
Twenty-five acres of ground were
purchased for the erection of the new
The Stephens Motor Works turns out ? hat is called the "Salient Six" line. The
four-passenger touring .model has striking lines.
of H. C. Maibohm, now president of !
the Maibohm Motors Company. Be?
sides building the running gear of
carriages and wagons the members of
the new concern interested themselves
in coach work.
The successes made by Ford, Olds
and other automobile pioneers con?
vinced the coachmaker of Racine that
the future of tiis business lay in the
manufacture >of automobiles. His son
was educated with this end in view, i
??????? ?????
buildings, and options were taken on
enough additional land to take care of
future growth. In April, 1919, the
company moved into its new location,
Hiid occupied temporary quarters pend?
ing the cosnpletion of its new build?
ings.
Despite this handicap and the fact
that certain materials were almost im?
possible to obtain in sufficient quanti?
ties, fifteen "light sixes," on an aver?
age, were turned out each working day.
Appersqns Keeping
?p Past Record for
Distinctive Cars
Originality and Appearance
Are Keynotes Stressed in
New Models in Sedans and
the Larger Limousines
By T. E. Jarrar?
Vice-President, Apperson Automobil?
Company
Some time back our company saw
that the demand for inclosed types
was increasing. It could be seen that
the inclosed car was coming more
and more into popular demand. At
first, of course, the inclosed bodies
were thought of only for winter use,
but as their general adaptability for
all year service was learned, and as
improvements simplifying theif con?
struction were made, the public came
to see that the inclosed type of body
is the ideal one for constant all-year
driving. Therefore, nothing was more
natural than that the Apperson
Brothers should consider getting into
a pretty general production of in?
closed cars.
Fine motor coach work comes
naturally to Appersona as it is a
natural heritage of the well known
Apperson taste in motor car designing.
It is a fact, recognized throughout
motordom, that the Apperson Brothers
pioneered in the field of custom made
bodies. They lead in design as they
lead in construction of their chassis.
A brief reference to photographs of
Apperson cars of years gone by
shows how Apperson genius grasped
the basic points of good taste in body
building as they early conquered the
problems of the internal combustion
motor.
Perhaps no year has been so pro?
lific in artistic results as the present
one. Both as to construction and
attention to detail, it need only be
Speedometers and Clocks
Universally Popular at the Olympia Automobile Show, London
Total number of Cars at the Show fitted with SMITH'S SPEEDOMETERS. F 157
Total number of Cars at the Show fitted with other makes (10 different makes) . . 110
Total number of Cars at the Show fitted with SMITH'S MOTOR CLOCKS./ 99
9
THE WORLD'S STANDARD SPARK PLUG
K , ?^ ???%? w r^* r* Used exclusively,on all British machines flying the Atlantic. Their
I ( _ Pf I JCi i superior construction has proved them dependable under all con
? ?1-4? V*? M, a-?\mS Ke+hmf ditions. Highly efficient for all types of engines, motor cars, motor
cycles, commercial vehicles, airplanes and airships.
Sole distributors for America:
S. SMITH & SONS, Inc.,
154 Nassau Street, NEW YORK
said that these inclosed bodies
furnished by the Apperson Brothers
match, in every particular, the justly
famous Apperson chassis, which is a
product of twenty-six years of intensi?
fied engineering and manufacture.
Originality and distinction, coupled
with good judgment and discrimina?
tion, place these motor coaches in a
class by themselves. They are offered
in every conceivable type.
From our line you can get a fancy
town car, a big, luxurious limousine,
a classy brougham or the close-coupled,
low, rakish appearing sedans and
sedanettes.
Resales Are the Acid
Test of' Car Popularity
There is probably no test of the
real value of an automobile to-day so
strong as that of repurchase. From
the moment that a man or woman buys
a car and his or her name becomes
public property through the publication
of state registration lists automobile
salesmen set out to win them over to
the cars which they are selling.
So, after an owner has tried a car
for a few months or a year the real
merits of tho car, or its defects, if it
has any, from the standpoint of his or
her particular requirements, must of
necessity have a strong bearing when
the time comes around to trade in for
a new one.
"And it is right here,"* says Harry
J. De Bear, manager of the Maxwell
Chalmers branch in New York City,
"that we stand firm. We have a
high percentage of resales on Chalmers
cars. The Chalmers line has been sold
on Broadway for more than twelve
years and we have many owners who
have literally grown up with the com?
pany. We are mighty proud of our
long list of historic owners, if we may
! refer to them in this way."
Hails Cadillac's
New Plant as
"Most Modern"
Collins, President of Com?
pany, Describes Building
in Which Future Big
Output Will Be Made
?-?
By J?. H. Collins
President and General Manager,
Cadillac Motor Cwr Company
The most modern automobile factory
in the world! That is the way engi?
neers describe the new plant now be?
ing erected for the Cadillac Motor Car
Company in Detroit.
From the standpoint of railroad fa?
cilities the site could not be surpassed.
It comprises forty-six acres, with the
main line of the Michigan Central
Railroad on one side and the freight
tracks of the Lake Shore <fc Michigan
Southern on the other.
The buildings of this new plant will
contain 2,100,000 square feet, or forty
eight acres, of floor space, room
enough for 700,000 people to stand
without too much* crowding.
All the buildings will be four stories
in height, but to allow for the inevi?
table expansion they have been so de?
signed that two additional stories can
be added at any time. In the design
and construction of this new factory
a number of interesting features have
been worked out by the du Pont En?
gineering Company, of Wilmington,
Del.
On the concrete floors will be laid
heavy maple flooring to provide com?
fort for the workmen, who find con?
crete too unyielding a surface .on
which to stand all day.
Of the eight buildings comprising
the factory the largest is the manufac?
turing building, 890 feet long and 600
feet wide, with a total floor space of
970,000 square feet as at present being
built, or 1,750,000 square feet when it
is carried to its ultimate height of six
stories. The courts between the wings
will be covered with glass roofs at the
height of the first floor ceiling^-This ?
will give an area on the first floor 800
feet long and 600 feet wide, or 480,000
square feet.
Conveniently located near the manu?
facturing building will be the heat
treat building, 500 feet long and 80
feet wide. In this building magic is
performed which is entirely beyond
the ken of the layman, in bringing
metal parts to just the hardness re?
quired to withstand the particular
service of those parts.
The assembly building will be the '
second largest building in the plant,
800 feet long and 360 feet wide, with
a total floor area of 620,000 square feet.
As in the manufacturing building the
court will be covered with a glass roof,
giving an unbroken area 03i the ground
floor of 188,000 square feet.
A considerable portion of the assem
bly building will be devoted to paint?
ing operations on chassis, wheels,
bodies and metal parts. The body is
upholstered and trimmed up generally
in this building, which will also con?
tain the enameling equipment for
enameling fenders, hoods, radiator cov?
ers and dozens of other metal parts.
The space occupied by the final
painting and enameling operations will
be supplied with air from which all
dirt has been washed, so that no stray
speck of dust will settle on a freshly
painted surface.
The storage building for finished
cars and service stock parts, adjoin?
ing the assembly building, will be 480
feet long and 140 feet wide. More
than half of this building will give
storage for 1,000 finished automobiles,
which will be of great assistance to
the factory in making prompt deliver?
ies to customers. The remainder will
be devoted to the storage of service
stock.
Directly adjoining the storage build?
ing will be the "loading dock," with
trackage for the placing at one time
of fifty railroad cars for the delivery
of finished Cadillacs.
Nash Sold Everywhere
Since the Nash Six with its per?
fected valve-in-head motor made its
initial appearance at the automobile
show three years ago it has estab?
lished a record in the hands of own?
ers throughout the world. There are
Nash distributors now in many coun?
tries of the five continents of the
world.
Looking 'Em Over
The Nash Six chassis is one of the
big attractions at the automobile show.
Refinements in
Type 59, the W
Cadillac Eight
A new model, the Type 59, ), -^
sented by the Cadillac Motor ??r (**
pany for the coming season. *??$*
this car the Cadillac Company em?
pi?tes its sixth year of eight-cylina ',
production with moro than g__!!
eight-cylinder cars on tho road m
The new model shows a continual
of substantial Cadillac constrv?;
features. cn>i?
The ten standard body styles in_l__
seven inclosed and three open mo_ ?
New body lines are most evident in ._'
familiar touring model. This ye?-,
car has been lengthened out and __T__? i
on a 132-inch wheel base, elim'S
body overhang at the rear and nrwif
mg a roomy rear compartment, ??__
as excellent road qualities. Extra ??T
seats are generous in size and w.H^
holstered. m ??
There are two other standard __?_
models besides the touring car, a pw
ton, the Cadillat four-pas.enpe'r mein
and a two-passenger roadster. {u?? I
have the low lines and mode?in_T<
semi-sport cars without departing fJ_
substantial Cadillac characteri??c.
Besides the three open cars there?,
seven standard inclosed models beS
built this year. In addition to the __fl
known four-passenger Victoria niodt?
there will be a smaller two-passen??
coup? on the same lines. w
A four-passenger Sedan on the 18.
inch wheel base and a seven-passem?
I Suburban on the 132-inch wheel b?_
are continued from last year. I
Service onAllRadiators
Our specialized stock o? Harriton
Radiator Cores end peseta enable
?us to give you service on your car
.regardless of the type of radiator
with which it is equipped. The
well known Harrison Hexagon
Cell ?construction is the lightest
per square inch, shows highest
?cooling efficiency. Leakage is al?
most unknown in a Harrison Core.
New York Branch :
239-241 W. 56th St.
Phone Circle 1600.
SSBl^Rs?aWvi?B
, GENERAL OFFrce^S .
,::pE.jncnT, .?/* MifcM .
t?flliil^
THERE'S A TOUCH OF TOMORROW
IN ALL COLE DOES TODAY
Radiant in Beauty?Brilliant in Performance
Unconventional?Exclusive?New
CAT THE
Automobile Show
Space A9
RUSSELL L. ENGS, Inc., Dist,
1804 Broadway, New York, at 59th St.
Tel. Circle 510
Cole Motor Car Company, Indianapolis, U.S.a.
Creators ofoAdvanced ?Motor fas