THE SUNDAY OREG ONI AX, PORTLAND, VOVEMBER 2, ? 1913.
PRICE GUTTING IS
DEALERS' PROBLEM
of business that comes more and more
with the number of cars on the market
and the gradual advance in age of the
motorcar business. The Auto Top Com
pany recently took over two stores
which front on Washington street
merely to handle their body painting
department, while they have utilized
the whole of their former space at Six
teenth and Alder streets for the top
covering and cushion filling work. This
has meant a reorganization of the
whole store, though the entrance Is still
at 525 Alder street. A member of the
firm said recently that if the present
rate of increase In business keeps up
they will have to move off Alder and
Washington streets altogether in order
to get sufficient space.
REO PRICES LOWER FOR. 1914
CAB BUILT FOR LESS
sk Dun's, Bradstreet's
r Your Own Banker
Autos Made Better at Lower
Cost, Says Riggs. .
One Phase of Automobile In
dustry Far From Settled,
Says H. L. Keats.
O
NOW, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, it behooves the dealer and the buyer to
look carefully to the financial stability of the automobile manufacturer who si
car he contemplates owning.
THERE HAVE BEEN SOME occurrences of late that should serve as a warning
in this regard. On the other hand, there hasn't been a failure that wasn't
scheduled. They were foreordained from the first inevitable. '
PACKARD ECONOMY CITED
PUBLIC TRUST AT STAKE
Subject Is Delicate and Dangerous
I One for Trade and Veteran
Points Ont Some of Situa
tion's Difficulties.
T BT H. Ii. KEATS.
In the manufacture of automobiles
today there is one phase of the Indus
try which as yet the varying factions
have not agreed upon. Of course there
will always be differences of opinion
as to the benefits of this or that
method of construction, and it is only
right and a good thins that this Is so,
because without Individuality the busi
ness would go rapidly to the dogs. But
In the very short time in which auto
mobiles have . become placed on their
firm footing1, the question of price
cutting and price valuation has been
the one topic certain to cause a bitter
discussion.
I have been back at conventions al
most without number in the East,
probably at more than most of the
dealers in town on account of the
length of time I have been in the au
tomobile business. At each one, this
topic has come up, and even with its
mere mention one could feel that there
was a spirit of antagonism between the
faction that was in favor of price cut
ting and the faction that was not.
Subject Is Delicate One.
It may be best at the outset to have
It understood clearly just what Is
meant by price cutting and proper
valuation. It is in a way a dangerous
ground and a difficult one, because
there is bound to be a number of peo
ple who feel that I am hitting them
individually. This is not the case at
all. I am speaking to the best of my
ability for the good of the industry in
general, and what Is good for the in
dustry as a whole is best for each one
of us in the long run.
Firms today are selling their auto
mobiles to the dealers (I am not talk
ing now of the public except Indirect
ly), in one of two ways. Either they
will say to them: "Here is an automo
bile listed at say $2!00 or $3500 as the
case may be. We have put its price
up there with an express purpose in
view, namely that you may be able to
give any prospect who comes along
quite a substantial discount by allow
ing him an exceptional price on his old
cur." Just imagine, for instance. Nat
urally such a dealer, who is given a
discount of 30 per cent or more as some
are on say a $3000 car, can afford to do
this. He has there $900 profit if he
sells the car for its face value, when
something around $300 to $350 would
be considered quite the - fairest profit
that could be expected. Even if he
sets out to-make-a profit of $500 on
each car he could still afford to allow
$400 more on an old car than he would
expect to make, and $400 is a large eum
anyhow for secondhand cars.
' Public Grows Distrustful.
But where he has the greatest pull of
all Is In dealing with the man whose
mind as to cars Is not' made up, who
has no particular favorite and whose
one determina'tion is to buy a car from
the man who will allow, him most on
his old one. Mr. Jones comes along and
says to-the dealer, "The Chalmers man
will only allow me so much for my car,
how much can 'you give me?'? and with
that the. man with the large discount
and the price on paper away above the
Value of the car can afford to offer a
value on the old car which would beat
all we could offer miles.
Another phase of the question is that
it tends to make the public distrustful
of our actions when not one dealer will
allow the same price as another. They
think we are all making these excep
tional profits, and fail .to realize that
there are some cars sold Just as low as
possible because of tire quantity com
bined with quality, while there are oth
ers which put the price up because they
know that they will not sell so many
and also because they rely on offering
big Values for second-hand cars.
Of course they have their arguments
to produce as to why they should put
the price away above what the car Is
worth Just so as to be able to reduce it
when necessary, but I have never been
able to'get over one side of it. and that
Is that no two men pay exactly or any
where -near the same price for their
cars. Supposing these two men meet
and talk over prices, they will soon find
that one of them has been charged
more than the other, and each will come
to the' conclusion Immediately that
there is something wrong in the state
of Denmark.
. "i rl'halmnn Situation Cited.
TVith those automobiles where the
price is put so low by the manufactur
ers that the dealers could not in any
case make more than perhaps $300 on
a car of such a price, how can we pos
sibly allow anything more than the
strict value of a second-hand car, and
any one will tell you how difficult it is
to get even genuine value from such a
car today when there are bo" many
around ?
The Chalmers car is sold for such a
low price already today simply because
of the number that are sold. The mar
gin of profit Is as small as is possible
already without "any price cutting, es
pecially when it is remembered that
Chalmers dealers give a generous in
terpretation of the word service.
It seems to me that in process of time
such methods ef securing sales will die
their own death, for which we shall be
thankful, though we wish some means
could be discovered of hastening their
demise. This can bo accomplished
through the newspapers, which have
done so much to enlighten the public
as to the snares and pitfalls with which
some irresponsible dealers or manufac
turers have strewn the paths in days
gone by.
AUTO TOP FIRMS EXTEXDIXG
Body Painting Also Proves Busy
Industry In Portland.
The increase in the number of auto
mobiles now in use in the state has
given rise to a surprising increase of
work in the nature o repairs. Gener
ally, in thinking of the upkeep of the
motor, such parts as rear axles, gaso
line, engine trouble, spark plugs and
carburetors form a few of the parts
that flash through one's mind. This, of
course, is largely taken care of by the
rter.lers themselves or by a. repair shop
But sucli matters as body painting, and
more especially top roverlng, seem to
lie in a sphere of their own.
Top repairing and re-covering is an
expensive and costly job. partly on ac
count of the time-taken by the skilled
workmen, partly on account of the pe
culiarly tough yet pliant wood em
ployed to make the bows and stays.
In this connection one or two firms
recently have had to move to larger
quarters or else to increase their floor
space to handle the increasing amount
Highly Successful Season Completed,
Few Changes in Design.
The Reo Motor Truck Company an
nounces a lowering in the price of its
famous model J, two-ton heavy duty
truck from $1800 to $1860 chassis only.
The body prices remain unchanged. The
wheelbase is standard at 130 inches,
but an optional wheelbase of 146 inches
permits the installing of a 12-foot body
without an overhang at the rear. An
Important Improvement in the hydraul
ic governor provides somewhat more
speed without appreciably increasing
the fuel consumption. This remains,
therefore, the same truck that has
made so big a reputation as a hard
worker. The business of the past sea
son has been very heavy, and a -brisk
foreign business has developed in ad
dition to domestic. One of the latest
shipments was to the Hawaiian Is
lands, where eight of these trucks are
now in operation in Honolulu.
OLDS GROSSES ROCKIES
MARTLAXD CITY TO SEATTLE
KUX IS SUCCESS.
Mountain Ranges Fail to Impede
Progress Entire Lapsed Time
Over Three Months.
Loaded 'with three passengers and
1200 pounds of baggage, a powerful
Oldsmobile has completed a trip from
Maryland City to Seattle, after three
months on the road. J. A. Snyder, spe
cial representative of an Eastern con
cern, was the driver; and he carried
several thousand toy balloons which
were released along the way for ad
vertising purposes.
The big white six negotiated the
entire trip under Its own power except
for the stretch between Easton and
Cedar Falls, in the Cascade Mountains.
Mr. Snyder was Informed that the Sno
qualmie Pass road was absolutely Im
passable, but after viewing the high
way from the train he expressed him
self as extremely sorry that he did not
drive his car.
. Transcontinental tours are of small
moment to Mr. Snyder, for he has made
two round trips from New York to San
Francisco and numerous other extended
Journeys in the same car, which he
piloted to Seattle over the northern
route. His machine has covered more
than 80.000 miles and runs as smoothly
as the day it left the factory.
The tourists went to the Coast by
way of Denver. Their route led
through Colorado Springs, Pueblo,
back to Denver, Cheyenne and Ogden.
They also made two trips from Ogden
to Salt Lake and there picked up two
more passengers. This made the party
consist of . five persons with 1200
pounds of baggage. From Montana, via
Island Park, a start was made west
ward on one of the Denver automobile
tours. Twenty-eight cars in all started.
They experienced eight days of steady
rain, and Mr. Snyder's car was the only
automobile to finish the run: three of
the cars on the tour going in the ditch.
Mr. Snyder crossed five divides in all.
Old-timers told him that because of
the condition of the country, it would
be impossible for him to get across
this stretch of mountains, but he came
through in splendid shape and broke
all automobile records ever established
in that part of the country.
J. M. Studebaker Is Eighty.
J. M. Studebaker celebrated his 80th
birthday on October 10 by doing a big
day's work at his desk at South Bend,
supervising the properties there and
in Detroit controlled by the corpora
tion which bears his name and of whose
board of directors he is the chairman.
The anniversary was fittingly observed
throughout the entire Studebaker or
ganization. Congressman Buys Studebaker.
Among the recent deliveries of Stude
baker "35" cars in Washington was one
to Congressman Johnson.
TWO HANDSOME NEW CARS RECENTLY PURCHASED BY LOCAL MOTORISTS CREATE MUCH FA
VORABLE COMMENT. .
II . , - - " i- jwt V , " - ' x '
i V if - i ' . St v j -
Experts in Own Shops Now Test
Parts Formerly Purchased on
Outside Years of Patience
Produce Perfect Machine.
"A motor car of the highest type can
be produced for considerably less than
was possible two years ago or even
one year ago," said Frank C. Riggs,
the Portland representative of the
Packard Motor Car Company. "After
years of patient investigation, design
ing, testing and proving out six-cylinder
cars, the Packard Motor Car Com
pany has developed a type which prom
ises to remain substantially unchanged
for several years. With the greatest
burden of development work behind
us, with better manufacturing facili
ties and more complete standardiza
tion of parts. In conjunction with in
creased output, we are able to produce
a six-cylinder 38' at a lower cost
than it was possible to make our fam
ous four-cylinder '30.' The latest model
'38' is a more able car than the '30' as
well as being smoother and having
even better' riding qualities. The de
sign is more extensive, the quality of
the material is better and there are
many added refinements promoting
comfort and convenience."
When the Packard Motor Car Com
pany laid the foundation of its busi
ness it was with the idea of concen
trating upon the chassis, having open
and closed bodies built for them, and
taking advantage of manufacturers who
were specialists in their own particu
lar lines of work for ignition, cylinder
castings, radiators, gears. springs,
wheels, frames, special drop forgings,
wind shields, tops, steering parts and
so forth.
"Experience proved, to our regret,
however," said Mr. Riggs 'yesterday,
"that to make the best gears we must
make them ourselves; to make the most
perfect steering parts we must pro
duce them in our own shop; to have
bodies that would be pleasing in design
and at the same time of the most dur
able quality, we must organize and
completely equip a department for
their manufacture.
"Time was when material purchased
on the outside was heated and quenched
according to what some man thought
by the color of the hot metal was about
the right temperature. Today we have
expert chemists with the most accurate
and exact Instruments reading the tem
perature of our furnaces day and night,
so that the man who actually puts the
material in and takes it out, does so
in answer to the ring of a bell Instead
of because he thinks the heat about
right. Guesswork has been reduced to
an exact science. In order to obtain a
100 per cent maximum service result.
"It's not much more expensive to
make a thing right than to make it
wrong; to make all of them to one
standard than ' to have a widely-varying
result. High-grade articles and
high-priced articles are not necessarily
the same. It has even been the policy
of the Packard Company to make the
high-grade product and avoid the name
of being high priced.
"Quoting past history it Is only nec
essary to call to mind our 1907 Model
'30' at $4200, when the standard price
In the trade for that size at that time
was $5000. There can be no doubt
that our product, even of that date
was of the very highest grade offered
though far from being the highest
priced.
"When we produced our first three
ton truck at $3700 every one cost us
more than the dealer paid for it, and
as soon as we could manufacture it
profitably at the $3700 price we
changed the list to $3400, and began
the fight over again.
"Our '2-38' chassis Is an exceptionally
fine piece of motor car mechanism.
There are behind it 11 years of the
kind of specialization on each element
at a time described above. It Is prac
tically the only high-grade car de
signed from the ground up for the
installation of the ideal three-unit elec
tric system In the Ideal way.
"The Packard '2-38' Is the first Pack
ard offered the public with a bodv built
outside the Packard shops as well as
our own regular body. The difference
between the Packard built body and the
contract body is best indicated by the
II II
,4
difference in price. The contract body
is made of different materials and with
the sole end in view of producing a re
sult at a price. It is made by prob
ably the largest manufacturer of mod
erate service bodies in the world, and
we believe represents the best value
at anywhere near its price of anything
of the kind that Is offered."
More of Coffin's Books Here.
Howard Coffin's book on the ad
vantages of the six-cylinder automo
bile over the four-cylinder has created
so much interest among motorists in
the city" that C. L. Boss, who has al
ready disposed of three large consign
ments of the- books, has had to order
still another. This is now here, and
those owners who have not yet re
ceived the ; copy they asked for can
have the same now free of all charge
by calling or writing to the C. L. Boss
Company.
a mirror vhoh reflects a ray of light
thrown on it from a lighthouse on the Island
of La wis. over 50O feet away.
?5 X'iv- thtf-?
HI if
I.N
SOME WERE OVERDUE, in fact. Thanks
to the splendid demand for cars, which we
and other responsible concerns were unable
to supply in full, some of them were accorded
a longer lease of life than their product
or experience or financial backing entitled
them to.
THERE WAS NO EXCUSE, however, for
any buyer being in ignorance of what im
pended. That was easily foreseen.
LET US SUGGEST that now, you who are in
the market for a car look into this matter as
. it deserves. You owe it to yourself and us.
ASK BRADSTREETS OR DUN'S. Or if
you are not a subscriber, ask your Banker
to investigate and inform you. He will do
it gladly.
ASK HIM WHICH ARE the five financially
strongest automobile manufacturers.
YOU WILL FIND that the Maxwell Motor
Company is one of the five and it will not
be fifth in point of stability either.
HAVE HIM ANALYZE the latest financial '
statements of these five strongest and tell
you which have the greatest amount of assets
in proportion to liabilities including bond
ed indebtedness, etc., of course. We think
he'll tell you the Maxwell Motor Company
is one of the leaders.
PERHAPS YOU DIDN'T KNOW there's
been so much confusion in this matter
that the Maxwell Motor Company has no
connection whatsoever with the iateMaxwell
Briscoe Company except that this concern
Maxwell Motor Company (inc.)
Detroit, Michigan
Seattle Automobile Company, Seattle, Wash.
Boone, Skinner & Co., 603 Washington St, Portland, Or.
T. J. Toner, District Manager, 405 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, Cal.
A. V. Davis, District Representative, 222 Oregon Hotel, Portland, Or.
HUFF'S MANAGER TALKS
ELECTRIC STARTER ADDED TO 1914
C D. Hastings Announces No Radical
Changes to New Car, Though Re
finements Are Features.
The new Hupmobiles, as announced
for 1914, will contain no radical
changes from the previous year's mod
els. Numerous refinements
provements, however, have been added
which give the cars a far greater
value than ever.- C. D. Hastings, gen
eral manager of the company, said the
following coTrcerninar the new Hupmo
bile: "The Hupmobile was the first me
dium priced car on the American mar
ket with the long-stroke motor. This
advanced type of motor is now being
adopted by all progressive motor car
manufacturers. for it is common
knowledge among experts that it is
more effective and efficient than mo
tors of the square type.
"Perhaps the most important addi
tion that has been made in the new
'32' models is the provision for the in
stallation of the "VVestlnghouse electric
starting and lighting system on all
types of cars. This is furnished at a
slight additional cost, with other op
itonal equipment such as over size
tires, demountable rims, spare rims,
etc.
"The Hupmobile body design will re
main the same. The construction we
have adopted enables us to get our
cars closer to the ground than any
other type, with the exception of the
underslung style.
"The color scheme of the new cars is
slightly changed. The running gear is
deep, rich red, with black stripes and
this, together with the black body,
makes a very pleasing combination.
"A genuine rain vision ventilating
wind shield, improved type of tire car
rier, which permits the tire tj be fas
tened without strapping, a larger gas
oline tank (enough for 200 miles), a
magneto rain shield that protects the
ignition system in wet weather, bet
ter upholstering throughout the entire
car these are some of the most im
portant changes. The line for 1914 in
cludes the standard '32' H. P. touring
car, fully equipped, at $1050; with
starter, $1200; roadster at the same
price: six-passenger touring car, fuHy
equipped, at $1200; with starter,
$1300; coupe, which is furnished only
with starter, $1350."
SELLING FIELD IS ABANDONED
United Auto Company Plans to Give
Energies to Ilepairing.
The tTnited Auto Company, which
since 1907 has been the distributor of
Maxwell cars in the Northwest, has
virtually retired from the selling field
for the present. E. E. Cohen, manager.
recently voiced his Intentions as fol
lows:
"We have decided to stay out of the
selling end of the business for the pres
ent and to devote our entire efforts to
first-class repairing, made possible by
the service of expert machinists and
fully equipped shop. "VVe have taken
on the Splitdorf Magneto Agency and
In addition to our repair shop, we have
equipped a magneto room which ex
perts have acknowledged to be one of
the best plants In the country. Our
Russell Stair is a thorough magneto
man direct from the factory, and his
presence, together with the fact that
wo have a complete stock, of Splitdorf
purchased, through the U. S. Courts, all the
assets, not only of that, but of several
other concerns.
WE STARTED WITH A CLEAN SLATE
with plants worth many millions, with
ample cash on hand to take care of our
manufacturing operations, etc. '
WE HAVE NO BONDED INDEBTED.
NESS no outstanding notes or debts of
any kind except current open accounts
not yet due.
AND TODAY WE ARE nine months old
with orders on our books for more than
thirty thousand cars.
HAS THAT RECORD EVER been
surpassed in this industry? We submit
the account of our stewardship ask Brad
street's, Dun's or your Banker for further
particulars regarding the operations and
stability of this Company.
THEN YOU'LL FEEL SECURE on that
point and, when you compare the cars as
carefully, there will be only one answer,
"Yours will be a Maxwell."
THERE ARE THREE MAXWELL
MODELS the "25" for $750; the "35"
for $1225, with electric starter and lights;
and the self-starting 7-passenger "SO-e" for
$1975. A handsome illustrated booklet
descriptive of each model tells How and
Why we can give such values. Send today
for the book on the Model you are.
interested in.
risiftrt
parts, puts us in a position to give ex
pert service to users of Splitdorf Igni
tion. "However, we expect to have a sensa
tional car to announce late In the
Spring selling around -$900, Portland
delivery, with full electric equipment."
"Cap" Adamson Forsakes Pony.
Constable "Cap" Adamson. of Helena,
Mont., has forsaken his pony for a mo
torcycle. "It's hard for an old stager
like me to give up the pony," says Con
stable Adamson, "but constables have
to keep abreast of the times. And for
out In the country arrests there ia
nothing like a motorcycle." Recently
Adamson made a trip into the country
about 14 miles, made an arrest and was
I ttAnlr I .UA fl 1 1 J . 1
. v 1 1 i ii iinn iii.t i wiium nave laiten me
The Oregon Top Co.
Auto Tops Made to Order and Re-Covered.
Covers, Backs, Cushions, Side Curtains
and Dust Hoods
AGENTS
Peerless Auto
E. H. KUHLMAN, Manager
East Eighth and Hawthorne Avenue
Phone East 1373
c;v.,'av?ga!'.r??iii'i;f.a!i.f
NOBBY
TREAD
These two famous tires are
in use on more cars thru
out the world .than all other
non-skid tires put together.
Sold
BALL0U&
Broadway
practically the whole day with a horse
and buggy," said the constable.
Two Big Contracts.
Each of two contracts recently as
sumed, by the Studebaker plants in De
troit specifies the delivery of more
than $1,000,000 worth of automobiles
during the coming season. The con
tracts are with the Phelps Motor Car
Corporation, of New York, and the 1.
Markle Company, of Chicago.
Missouri .Governor Is Convt-rl.
Ex-Governor Hadley, of Missouri,
has become a Firestone convert. A Na
tional touring car delivered in Kansas
City to the former chief executive of
Missouri, was equipped with the non
skld tires, made by this company.
The only exclusive
AUTO TOP and
SEAT COVER FAC
TORY in Portland.
Seat
FOR
Top Dressing
CHAIN
TREAD
by
WRIGHT
& Oak St.