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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 25, 1957)
TEN MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRI3UNE Thursday. July 25. 1957 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement. Advertisement Advertisement SPECIAL EDITION! Weather Sun, rain, snow or sleet, be sure to visit the Pontiac Calvacade and see the fab ulous new 1957 Pontiacs. DlAN-TAYift OMTIAC STAR CHIEF EDITION U.S. A ; ' "jl"! in I II .1 millennium i ' ' - . f i . " .i i.; i "p, t W' : ' ... ',4.1,.... Sweden Invades US. With VOLVO! VOLVO CHALLENGES FOREIGN CAR FEELD! A little ear that can nail its competitors to the wall, Z the Volvo is only e baby of a little over a year in this J country. "The Volvo is built by a firm in Gothenburg, Cw.il.n m rirm that h maAm tmrU fnr nvr thirtv years. This firm sent a group to this country to study U.S. production methods and find a type of "car that would be acceptable to both Americans and Europeans. They also wanted to incorporate into that cat as many U.S. parts as possible so that some would be inter changeable with American parts. The result of that re search wag the Volvo. This car combines the general comfort and convenience associated with an auto of Detroit design with the handling qualities that are ex pected of a thoroughbred Continental car. Added to these qualities is still a third, that of good general and detail finish and sound engineering. The Volvo definitely reflects strong Detroit influ ence in Its body design, roominess, and generous inte rior. Also, it is equipped with a standard three-speed transmission, a concession to convenience as opposed to porting requirements. While the Volvo can be driven Just like any stick-shift American car, its road manners are drastically different. To understand why the Volvo behaves as It does, let's take a look at the market it was riginally designed for. Sweden has its share of primitive roads, plus a very cool climate with long, frigid winters, almost no spring at all, and short tepid summers. In the northern part of the country the ground may be covered with snow six or seven months out of the year. So the Volvo is a car designed, among other things, to cope as well as pos sible with road surfaces that are rough, rutted, frozen, and slippery a great deal of the time. The result is a vehicle with go-anywhere abilities ' plus authentic sportscar road holding. It can be taken through turns at surprisingly high speeds without any - apparent body roll, without a murmur from the tires, - and with a minimum of effort on the part of the driver. ' It's a safe-cornering car and it feels like one. Funda ' aiaiitallv the Volvo is a TRACKER rather than a SLIDER. Much of the Volvo's good cornering "stance is de-i riveu irorn lis guoo wcigni uisinuuuuri. unwauni, ii is only slightly nose-heavy. Withr two people in the front seats, weight distribution is nearly even. With one or two rear-seat passengers, 50-50 can be hit on the nose! Because of the rough roads in Sweden, the Swedish owners of Volvos' aren't so performance-conscious, so in Sweden the Volvo is only a 50 HP automobile. But for American export the motor has dual-carburetors and develops 85 HP. Because of these facts about its depend ability, they're giving 5-year guarantees even to second and third owners in Sweden. This guarantee takes care of anything costing more than $40. It is easily under stood why such a guarantee can't be given in the U.S because on introducing the Volvo to this country, they chose to promote this car by racing it. Well, they raced it and in six starts it placed six firsts in its class! The Volvo his an honest, unaffected character and the job it understakes it does with craftsmanlike thor oughness. The ride and general tautness of the chassis, for example, never let you down. The car feels solid and secure at 40 mph and feels no different at top speed. which is over mpn. mere s no opay s" ui .va line vibration to give you the feeling at high speeds that things are beginning to come unglued. The car's shock-absorbing ability is up to good mod ern practice en average road surfaces, but when you hit bad roads in the Volvo you find its reaction hard to be lieve. You can charge at 50 mph through horrible rats and chuck-holes that would shatter both running gear and occupants of most cars. Yet you feel scarcely a ripple In the Volvo, and this statement is meant LITER ALLY, not figuratively.' " Inside, the Volvo is quite large and allows plenty of room. The front seats are canti levered from their for ward ends, allowing plenty of legroom for the rear-seat' passengers. The seats are firm, but very comfortable even after hours of driving. The upholstery covering the foam rubber seats is not fancy, but it's very attractive and serviceable. The whole interior was obviously laid out with much thought both for the comfort of the occu pants and for the long life of the car. The Volvo is 177" in length, 62Vi" in width, and is high. The weight is only 2140 pounds with all water, oil, and a full tank of gas. The gas tank, inci oenrany, noiai vyi gallons. Fuel consumption aver aged 31.1 miles-per-gallon during road-tests and local owners confirm this figure. In a nutshell, the Volvo is a short wheelbase car. but not a small car. It has the fuel economy and the nimbleness of a light car, but is free of the perform ance limitations and claustrophobic disadvantages of most of them. It has a great detal of zip and agility of a light production sportscar, yet it is a family-sized machine It's a skillful combination of good things from both sides of the Atlantic and as such is in a class apart. SPECIFICATION ENGINE: Type B16B four-cylinder, overhead-valve en gine. Bore 3.125 in., stroke 3.15 in., displacement 97 cu. in., compression ratio 8.2:1. Output 85 b.h.p. at 5,500 r.p.m., torque 87 to. ft at 3,500 r.p.m. Twin SU horizontal carburetors. Fullflow oil filter. CLUTCH: Spring-loaded single dry disjc clutch. . TRANSMISSION: Three forward speeds and reverse. Ratios: Low 3.13:1; SeconH 1.62:1, High 1:1, Re verse 2.66:1. PROPELLER SHAFT Divided propeller shaft for vibra tion-free operation. The center bearing is mounted in vibration-tree, sound-insulating rubber blocks. FRONT SUSPENSION: Independent front wheel suspen sion with coil springs and control arms. Double-action hydraulic shock absorbers. REAR SUSPENSION: Coil springs. Rear a .le with rubber mounted support arms, torque arms and track rod. Double-action hydraulic shock absorbers. REAR AXLE: Sturdy axle shafts in taper roller bearings. Hypoid final drive. ' rv STEERING: Hourglass worm and sector. BRAKES: Self-centering, hydraulic brakes with automatic adjustment. Lining area 144 sq. in. Handbrake operates independent! on rear' wheels. 4 TIRES: Tube iess, low pressure, whitewall tires 5.90-15". GASOLINE TANK: Capacity 9V2 U.S. gallons. ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT: Thief-proof armo-red cable between the. ignition switch and the ignition coil. Fan cooled generator (40 amp.). Sealed-beam headlamps. Battery, 6-volt, 85 amp nr. capacity. . . INSTRUMENTS and CONTROLS: Combined instrument consisting of oil pressure gauge, ammeter, fuel gauge, speedometer with mileometer. Self-cancelling directional directors (flasher type). Pull out type handbrake lever. Central gearshift lever. STANDARD EQUIPMENT: Double electric windshield wipers. Two sun visors. Ashtrays. Comprehensive tool kit and jack. Spare wheel. v DIMENSIONS and WEIGHT: Wheelbase 102Vi", over all length 177':, front tread 51", rear tread 51", over-all width 62W, height 60 W. Weight, including Tuei, on and wafer, !4U.tb. The Volvo Company reserves the right to change speci fications, designs and prices. The first landing of a Swedish Volvo in Los Angeles was just over a year ago, and has since spread along the entire west coast and Texas. It will soon be distributed over the na tion on a national distribution system. Since the first introduction to Med ford early th& year, it has received nothing less than excellent acceptance and praise by its owners. Dean & Tay lor Pontiac Co. was the first Oregon dealer, followed by every principle city in Oregon. The Volvo is in Sweden much a the Chevrolet is in America, being the top volume car in Sweden. Of interest Is the other industries associated with the Volvo Manufacturers, such as Diesel Engines, Trucks, Marine En gines, Tractors, Heavy Duty Trucks, PowerSaws, etc. The Volvo Company in Sweden is much as General Motors is in the United States. This car has been produced for over 25 years, hav ing originated from a truck family into fhe passenger car business. Many jf the qualities of rigid truck construc tion are noticed in the Volvo. On a recent "Dust" trip to the Lake o. the Woods, all the windows were closed upon leaving the paved high way. Taking a total of 40"- miles on two trips to the lake over the 4th of July, during heavy traffic and dust, it was noted not one particle of dust entered the car. This was also inclu- i sive of the trunk. It is difficult to close the doors on a Volvo when the windows are closed due to its air tight ness. .This was a stock car, not under coated any more than is stock from the factory. Any Volvo will do the same. Their body dies are near per fect, with unit construction cancelling any possibility of rattles, dust leaks or water leaks. One of the secrets of the trade with reference to how the dust leaks can be avoided seems to be the process in manufacturing whereby the entire body shell is dipped into a deep vat and the entire service is sealed to gether,' thus preventing rust, and pin size holes within the construction it self. Swedish quality prevails in the utmost detail, including the paint. The cars as they arrive here, need not be buffed to bring out the paint lus ter, they are in near perfect condition. A simple wash job to remove the pack ing solutions is all that is necessary. Parts access is a must with the present distribution system, since so many failures on early foreign car manufactures failed to make parts available, many Americans hesitated to risk the chance of not being able to have prompt service. We have a complete line of parts and sheet metal, and the fartherest point we need go is no farther than our Pon tiac source. Warranty on the Volvo is being of fered through our sales organization in the same manner as Pontiacs. BULLETIN: '57 Pontiac Close Outs in Process We have 21 new Pontiacs on order and 8 demonstrators to close out prior to the new introduction of the 1958 Pon tiac in November. Thore of you who have been waiting for the end of the model run for your summer savings, would be wise to place your orders now. Only 5 Station Wagons left. General Motors Announces Pontiac Dealers To Handle Vauxhall Car This Fall General Motors recently announced to the public that their British manu factured Vauxhall will be handleo through the Pontiac Motor Division Distribution System. This seems to be the result of .an ever increasing de mand by the American public to seek small economy cars, both from the second car viewpoint and from trV young family group. Little is known about the Vauxhall with regard to performance and price at this time, since GM has made manv changes in their current models for American consumption. It does have a wrap around windshield and resem bles a small Chevrolet or Pontiac in basic styling concept. It is a 4 door car with approximately 54 horsepow er, 3 speed, and noted for quality con struction and gas mileage upwards of JU miles per gallon. It is expected to retail under $2,000.00 on the East Coast, and perhaps slightly ; higher on the west (-oast. The first introduction will be in the New England states, and will perhaps be shown on the West Coast some time close to the year end. Dealerships will be limited at the beginning. How ever, it is felt when shipments in crease Medford will have Vauxhalis available. With GM entering the field it places- almost every manufacturer in the foreign car field except Chrys ler Division. Speculation 'seems to fa vor Chrysler to attempt some tie-up in the future to add to their present distribution of products. GM announcement tends to add weight to the ever expanding market for thr 2nd car and economy car, priced for the working man, and made to handle our transportation needs. It seems unlikely that any American manufacturer will attempt to compete with foreign cars through manufactur ing them within the United States at this time. 4 . . , , i X K' . &r 1 fsr' ; BOB TAYLOR Says: With the development of our Sales and Service facilities shown above it has become obvious that we could cater to a larger share of the automo bile business in Medford. Our conclu sions have been along the line of get ting a car that could be "Taylored' to every family, regardless of price or size. This foreign car trend has brought our attention to the need for Working Man s Car and a second car for the growing family of teen agers. In obtaining the Renault and Volvo dealerships also went the re sponsibility of service and parts, as well as being sure we had the prod ucts that were tops in their class. We sought to obtain both these lines for several basic reasons. v First we knew any introduction of an additional foreign car line to Med ford had to compete against an al ready established market by -volks- wagon. I hat meant we had to obtain a car to sell in competition to it, and fortunately some Frenchman and i must have lost sleep over the same problem. We feel the Renault Dau- phine will bear your consideration in this field, and welcome your compari sons. The fact that they are now the number 1 and 2 car in sales indicated we made a wise decision, and that the gap between the two is narrowing quite rapidly. Our Volvo line we consider the Quality performer, which from all in dications can be called the Cadillac of Foreign cars in the low price field. We knew our neck was out when we accepted a new car to the area, and we knew if we said it was a good car, our customers expected us to back it in that manner. Apparently we were correct in our selection of Volvo, as . it has given its purchasers everything, plus more than we told them it would, in the line of Quality, Economy and Depreciation. We hope to add the Vauxhall line this fall. However, we at this time do not have any additional information than the article discussed on this page. If we do obtain it, we will be able to offer cars from $1,695.00 on up to Pontiac's top Star Chief Line. It is our sincere hope that our past dealings with our customers will reward ui in their continued patronage and investi gation of the products we sell and service. Pontiac will have their new car an nouncement sometime in November, and from what I read in all the ad vance notices, we will have another "Daytona Bomb," with all the effort being placed behind it to bring Pon tiac to its rightful position of 4th place in sales among American built, cars. It has become increasingly ap parent that too many people are pay ing more for the supposed low price 3 than they could have purchased Pontiac for, consequently in the future you will probably see Pontiac go after , the price advertising and better in form you of our positions in that field. On August 13, 1957, we will begin a 1-year contract with KBES-TV for a film entitled "Men of Annapolis" which has a top national ranking, and I'm certain you will enjoy it. We hope to have it on around 8:30 p.m. so the entire family may see it. We wish it were possible to avoid commercials, and repeat programs. However, that's our only way of saying hello, and pay ing for the show. Cal-Ore Machinery will be our co-sponsor, and from our discussions I'm certain our commer cials will not bore you but .educate and inform as a commercial should. We'd like to boast just a little about our service facilities, since we are not outdone by any dealership in -Medford, either by size, or service. We are now the 3rd oldest dealership in Medford, and I'm beginning to feel the wear. I look forward to the com ing years serving you in the transpor tation business, and invite all of you to use pur facilities and service to satisfy your needs. We'll do our best to accommodate you. . - '.;,.-T FRANCE REPELS GERMAN VW ADVANCE WITH "PRINCESS Head room, seating capacity are difficult to describe without trying it out, since it seems impossible to have so much room in a small car. The ability to make a complete circle in 28 feet is the equivalent of making a complete turn around on Medford's Main street between the intersections, with cars parked on both sides. (Not recommended for. obvious reasons.) Having each wheel individually suspended offers the rider extreme comfort on bumpy roads, since the overall ride is unaffected by small chuck holes. Some of the handy accessories that are standard equipment are: I. Locking steering post; 2. Electric wipers; 3. Crash panel rubberized; 4. Plastic inte riors; 5. Individual bucket seats in front; 6. Dual heater (windshield and under back seat); 7. Water cooled motor (car may sit and idle for heater warm up); 8. 2-quart oil capacity (80c oil changes); 9. Filtered heater air; 10. Venter windows on all 4 doors; 1 1. Turn signals; 12., Dual horns (inde pendently controlled); 13. Smart stvling; 14. Lack of noise and vibrations. Shipments of Renaults will be arriving sometime late September, which are currently unsold, therefore during the month of August ycu may come in and drive this sensational Renault and obtain first choice on the colors arriving. Those who own them have cut their gas bills by two-thirds, not even considering their reduction in depreciation which is a small diminishing figure. We have sufficient parts on hand to completely rebuild 3 cars and again our parts supply is no farther than our closest Pontiac supply house for Pontiacs. We urge you to drop in and see this New Model of an Old Time Manufacturing Concern in France. About 2 years ago Renault,'- Inc. of France became concerned about the growth of the Volkswagon sales in France as well as the lag in 'sales of their own Renault. At that time a decision was reached to restyle their cur rent rear engine economy car into a product that could be sold price and feature wise to combat the creeping menace. The end result was the "Dauphine" (in English meaning "Princess") Renault which has become a sen sation in the United States in the past 4 months. Starting at the bottom of the Bile in registrations in the States they have grown to the 2nd place position in less than 90 days. A recent remark by the Renault Manufacturers while visiting New York City was their intention to be' the number V foreign car in the United States within 1 year. They have scheduled their production for it, and their shipments will be felt before long in the Medford area through the Dean & .Taylor Pontiac Co. Agency. The Renault has many inovations already accepted by the American motorist through the efforts of Volks wagon having proven the worth of a small rear engine motor for economy. It has an inline 4 cylinder 32 horse power motor, which has what you call a "Wet Sleeve" piston chamber, making it unnecessary to ever rebore the motor. The total Parts Cost for a motor overhaul is close to $54.00 complete. The average life of the motor prior to overhaul is about 40 thousand miles. Some of the outstanding features of this small family car is the 4 doors, rea: window vents, conventional 3 speed forward (Electric Clutch option at extra cost, re quiring no clutch), large trunk in the front end, crash proof windshield, hideaway spare' tire, individual wheel suspension, 35-40 miles per gallon on regular gas, ease in parking and steering, light weight body construction, top speed about 65 miles per hour. They have a slide roof model in the 4 door also. This car perhaps .more than any other foreian car reauires a true demonstration since it has so many fine improvements and advantages over all other competitors. It is priced locally at $1,695.00 plus freight from Seattle of $56.00. Ship ments' may soon arrive in Portland which will decrease the freight to approximately $30.00. Open 6 Days a Week Till 8:00 P.M. Bob Taylor emphasizes that his agency is open 12 hours a day 6 days a week to accommodate the greatest possible num ber of people interested in buying a new or used car "We realize that a person who can af- . ford to buy a car, must put in his working hours in order to obtain that necessary in come, thus we are open during the off hours of our customers, in order that they may have plenty of time to shop."