THE OMAHA SUNDAY HKK: OCTOBKK 22. 1011.
B
WHY KOIOR CARS COME HIGH
Big-gest Part of Cost Goes Into the
Making;.
A LOOK WTO THE FACTORY
Rfl Material and Labor, nsld
erable Bralna Onara Inlo the
QnalHr and Marketing
f Macblnra.
It may be argued thet the nO0.0"O motor
cars In uie In thla country to-lay repre
sent. sa'. 7.VX).Ono ttet has heen re
celv4 for them by' the various mitnii
farturers. anil that thin sum is bring In
crease4 at the, rate of from one-iiarter
to one-half billion dollars annually. These
are flirures that might make even our
modern Atsrtdins pause to rounder the
"profit" that muil lie In the produrtlon
nf motor-cars, but after a preliminary
Investigation they would be brought to
reallta that no more of this auui Is "vel
vet" than Is to be found fn any well
conducted tminufacturlna luicineim. The
I fo
th
fortunes that may have been niado In
automobile Industry are due wore
to the Immense volume of business done
than to any "hundred per cent, profits,"
and competition nowadays I" " kn-n
that manufacturers are forced to Mil
their products at an close a martfln as
la possible.
In order to realise that the largest
part of the cost of a motor-car U put
tnto the machine Itself, and pot Into the
maker's profit. It Is necessary to know
some of the elements that ao to make
up the modern automobile. First and
foremost, of coume. la brains, for the
motor-car la the product of a number of
master minds that worked and slaved for
years before the automobile, even In Its
crudest form, was ever seen on our city
streets. While the manufacture of the
motor-car In commercial quantities has
been In progress but a little over a de
cade, Ha fathers and forefathers havs
been the subjects of experiment, trial,
success, and failure for three times that
many year and we are now. reaping the
benefice of the Ideas and reseurchea of
the pioneers of those days.'.
Royalties am Petunia.
But It la not the salaries of these plon
ear or the royalties on their patents
to which we contribute when we pay
from one to six thousand dollars for a
four-wheeled, , Mlf-proprlled vehicle, for
one of the best known and most
Vital patents on a motor-car yields
its 6wntrs at the most but $13
for each automobile on which It I
used. The purchaser of a modern motor
car (eta what be pays for, for It Is the
tangible elements of materlul, workman
ship, and design that form by far the
greater part of the coat of an automobile,
and there Is less of a charge for the
dealer's name-plate than the public seem
to think. The maker's reputation helps
to eell the automobile, but It does pot
furnish a auftlclent excuse for raising
the price of the machine above th
amount for which another car of equal
actual value ia sold.
In order Jo know just what la "put In
to" a car, we Must go to Its birthplace,
the factory, and there see what a multi
tude of wheels speaking both literally
and figuratively are set In motion for
the production of een the cheapest auto
mobile. "A deal of fuss required for
the manufacture of "ne 'ear." you will
aay. Yet, but It requires no more "fuss"
to produce a hundred or a thousand
tlmea that number, and It must be re
membered, tliat every motion or opera
tion that we are there la repeated con
tinuously throughout the day and year
on the succeeding brothers of ths car
whose growth' we are following".
Now, besides brains, whut Is It that la
put Into a mntor-curT To be practical,
we might say from two thousand five
hundred pounds to two tons of Iron and
steel besides the aluminum, copper,
bronae, and other metals and alloys.
Tliat Is Jrue; but remember that each
ounce of these two thousand five hun
dred odd pounds of metal receives In
dividual attention from ona or more ma
chines and workmen, and that conse
quently we cannot say that we are pay
ing one, three, or alx thousand dollars
for a "lump mate" weighing from one to
two tona. It la not raw material that
forma the major Item of tha cost of con
structing an automobile although that
amounta to from six to sixty cent a
pound but rather Is It the Intricate work
manship required by each piece, large
and small. The wonderful development
during tha last few years of automatic
machines and tools that seem to do all
but talk has greatly reduced the number
of tlmea that each piece must be han
dled, but the moat up-to-date automobile
factory la still far from being like the
sausage-mill of the burlesque stage that
popular opinion would have It a mill
Into ona end of which Iron and steel ran
b placed, while from the opposite end,
when a crank has been turned, the com
pleted car Is withdrawn. Such a simi
larity might be the Impression received
by any one watching only the raw stock
receiving, room at one end and the ship
ping department at the other, but It Is
what goes on Inside, between these ex
tremities, that la the making of the car,
and It Is here that the greatest Hem of
expense will be found.
Concealing Parts.
Th tendency of modern design Is to
conceal as great a number of the working
parts as Is possible, and In looking at
many a motor the layman might see
only a one or two piece iron casting
Slaving but very few visible moving
pteree; but if he drives a car or Is at
all familiar with Its construction he will
Vnuw thst. hidden In the Inner recesses
if th machine, are pinions for harness
ing the explosions, connecting-rods for
transmitting the power to the crank
abaft, and valve fr controlling the ad
mission and ejection of the tests. Some
of these parts,' such as pistons, 'cylinder
casting, and the era n I: -case, are com
luratlvely large, and It Is consequently
difficult to realize that there are ap
proximately . fifteen hundred separate
J.-!-" modern automobile ' mutor:
but thla number includes parts of the
magneto and carbureter, aw tbrso cir
vital member of the power-plant. Of
course ome of these fifteen hundred dis
tinct pieces are In duplicate, such as
luve-etetn. bolts, nuts, and c jinucllni;-
roils. but the large majority musl b
fitted earate!y, and each part require
Individual attention And not only does
each piece netd to bo iamile.t separately,
but some paits require several operations
before tlicy are made of the proper aliape,
sue. and quality to (111 their places In
th completed whole.
( oiiiBlleatrd Casting.
Ccuaiaer, for example, tbo cl.r.dia.
Thee are not movlr.g parts, tho r exter
iors require no attention except at a few
pvtnta. and yet their hi., valve- pockeie
water-Jaeke'.s. un-l the openlni.a milks
them the most c implicated hm:iv,j r
the tl.liri car. in fact, l!,a majority of
automobile manufacture wLuia lb
Hinder casilnss for their moto: from
otlur concern provided with special
foundry equipment and corps of skilled
moMers. Hut thn product loa or these
complicated r.tstlngs Is only the begin
ning of the nn.omlng thst the cylinders
must receive. They must be bored snd
ground out so that the Interior will be
as smooth a glass, the valve-pockets
nd openings must be finished, the sur
faces smooths off where adjoining cyl
inder or pines are to be connected, holes
must b drilled and threads cut In a
ooxen places; and all of this work muse
oe oori without Injuring the resting or
raising- Its temperature above a alven
point, for with every explosion the thin
nails or each cylinder must withstand
a pressure of from four to five hundred
pounds per square Inch.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the more
cheaply a good car Is to be produced the
greater must be the Investment In tool
and other equipment-snd yet It Is the
cost of such tnn. nines that really de
termines th selling nrl of an auto-
mobile. The car of the olden dsys, built
Pie ny piece In the small machine-shop,
cost three times as much as the better
automobile of to-day manufactured In
establlchments having millions of dollar'
worth of tools and equipment. Hut thla
Investment In tools saves labor and In
creases the quality and quantity of the
output and thereby reduces th cost of
production.
talforni Parts.
On of the demand growing out of
th increased use of automobiles Is that
II parte of cars of like model shall be
Interchangeable, so that broken or worn
portion may be replaced without the
necessity for extra fitting. In former
days thla accuracy would have Increased
tho cost of production greatly, but un
der modem methods It fits In perfectly
with the conditions of machine manu
facture. To render like part Inter
changeable, all must be of exactly the
same size and shape. Till ' means that
all holes must occupy the sain relative
position' to ona another In every dupli
cate plecr, end that far greater accuracy
must prevail than could ba obtained
merely by means of . measurements. To
facilitate matter, the multiple, or "gang"
drill has been Introduced, by mean of
which a dozen hole may be drilled In a
piece In the time thst would ordinarily
be required to bore one. This I on ma
chine, but it consists, of twelve or fif
teen drills, each of which is set In a
movable spindle. Thl allows each drill
to bo set Independently of the other,
and thus any combination of location or
six of holes may be obtained. But even
with such A machine, properly set, suf
fhinnt accuracy cannot be obtained to
meet the rigid requirements of modern
automobile construction without the ad
ditional use of "Jig." These ar steel
plate In which hole have been bured
corresponding to the proper location of
the holes to be drilled In a certain piece,
The holes In the Jig are provldod with
guides of the proper else, and these di
rect each drill to Its place.
five Thousand Pieces.
And ao each part of a modern cr may
be taken as an Illustration, th machln
operations and processes described, and
tha amount of time and labor necessary
for the completion of each computed.
with astonishing results. Th statistician
would find, probably, that there ar ap
proximately five thousand different pari
lo a car; that there I an average of five
handling and as many distinct opera
tion required by every piece; and that
no surface 1 left rough or unfinished,
for all are milled, bored, ground, polished,
or plated. 11 'woti(d tell you that to
make any of these piecesexcept th
simplest screw, bolt, or nut In evn th
beat equipped shop outside, of an auto
mobile factory, would cost 'from on to
one hundred dollars, and evn then thr
would not b th certainty of obtaining
the perfect fit that la assured by the In-
terchungeablllty-of-part feature of mod
ern motor car production. Klve thou
sand part at an average eost of Ave
dollar each represent a total outlay
of t.UX) that would be needed for the
manufacture of a single high-grade car
by thl piece-meal method and no al
No-Rim-Cut Tires
Now Have Your Ideal of a
Non-Skid Tread .
rf s vif ar ;
The Winter Tiro
Ia wet or wintry weather evenr
motor car owner demands a non-akldl
device. Boms roadj are impassable,
and ull ore unsafe without it.
Chain are most inconrenlcut, easily
broken and ruiuom to tires.
Metal projection wreck the tire
tread by the constant diction between
the rubber and ruetal.
Rubber projection which ore short
or suit, too quickly wear vtX to be prof
itable. For three year our expert have
worked to meet these objection. To
give you the utmoet iu a Nou-Skid tire.
Note the Result
Here is a tire which combine all
these adwtutjjjcs:
A double-thick tread
, A very touch tread
Deep-cut blocks, widening- out at
the bottom. .'
Countless edrs and angle to grasp
the road. ,
This tread Is
added to our
Nc-Kliu-Cu t
tites. lv is vul
canized ontothe
tireg. When the
Non-Skid trend
wear off, alter
thousands ot
miles, you still
Have the regular
.h.tOa tread.
(i00DVEAR
No-Rim-Cut Tire
With or Without Non-Skid Tread
rhe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Oblo
Omaha Branch-2020-2022 Farnam Street.
lowance ha ben made for tetlng or
sscmhl'ng.
Thn In addition to the men who are
In direct contact with the actual con
struction of the car there are thoee who
experiment with and develop the new
parts and machines, and who are Int
mately concerned with the birth of each
year' models. These Include a email
army of engineer, designers, draftsmen.
chemists, metallurgists, snd testers, who
have at their disposal laboratories and
experimental equipment that are not sur
passed by the finest technical colleges of
the land.
And then, of course, there ar th ex
ecutive, sales, bookkeeping, and clerical
forces which must bo maintained by any
large manufacturing concern. But the
cost of manufacturing a car must Include
these expenses, as well a those con
cerned moro with the direct production.
It Is no wonder, then, that In order to
sell a small but high-class automobile
for twelve or fifteen hundred dollar the
annual output must be counted by the
thousand. Harpers Weekly.
CORRECT HORSEPOWER
FOR PRACTICAL MOTORS
'With their ever1 Increasing knowledge
of automobiles, the motor-wise public are
beginning to wonder, 'Just how much
power should a car hav In order to com
ply with all condition of road, weallier
and grade we may care to negotiate','
said an officer of the Marlon Kales com
pany In a recent discussion of thl most
Important subject of horsepower.
"There have been such a deal of stale
ments regarding horsepower ratings," he
went on, "such numerous bickerings as to
French, German, American, etc., rating,
that the mind of the man who want to
buy Is, a a rule, hopelessly muddled.
After years of motor, designing our engl
ner ha finally realized that a touring
car equipped wi a thirty-horsepower
motor had the proper amount of power. If
used In conjunction with the proper gear
ratio. In our model '36s' we hav found
th gear ratio that give th best result
In actual road work. This ratio ia three
and three-fourths to one, an unusual one.
but th resulting efficiency on hill,
through hub-deep mud and sands, verifies
our belief In It.
"Probably the greatest mistake In mod
ern auto building I the use of a motor of
enormous power whose working valu Is
hampered Immeasurably by an lmprac
tical gear ratio. They cannot mak hill
on rough roads on high speed and t-onse
quenlly have to overwork their motor
on second speed. These cars are wasting
thousands of gallons of gasoline annually
through power which Is not properly
transmitted. All this power Is simply
thrown away. 1
"In our Model 30s. geared at three and
thre fourths to one, we find that we
have a car of ample power for all ordi
nary circumstance and, best of all. a
car that will not hesitate at any hill
grade or road condition we ever care to
tackle. Our thirty-horsepower motor has
demonstrated Its rood ability the world
over by th cleverest driver that ever
sat behind a steering column and by th
veriest tyro in the art of running a motor
car."
MORE SPEED IK MICHELIN HUES
World's ftvad Itecord Lowered
Twice ganta Monica. .
Felice Naxsaro's long standing eutomo.
bile road record of 74.1 mile per hour,
mad by him three 'year ago In th
Klorio cup rac in Italy, wa broken
twice last Saturday over the Santa,
Monica, Cel., course, first by Herrlck's
National In tha 202-mile free for all, and
again, by Mer. In the National, with
which h won the Ul-nilla Hhettler trophy
eon teat. HeiTick averaged 74. 93 mile per
hour, while Mer' average waa 74.4 mile
per hour. Like Naxsari' Flat, which
previously held th rscord, both the Na
tional cars In Saturday' victorious con
teat, were equipped with, Mlchelln tires.
Motorcycle Note.
Th K. A. M. recently received addi
tional honor whan Ha former president.
Goodyear No-Rim-Cut tiree 10 overei.
r now tho most popular f to oa tho mark
Over 700,000 hmrm alraady been sold.
Tha fact tKat thjr save ooa-kall on lur4
kas brought myriads of motorist to them.
Now tho patented tiro 'tho leading tiro
of tho day como equipped, If yow wish, with
a perfect Naa-Skid treed.
What It Meant
This double-thick tread, in addition
to all else, reduces danger of puncture)
by 30 per cent.
These deep-cut blocks, with their
countless edges and angles, give more
resistance to skidding than any other
device that ia known.
Their wide bases prevent breaking
off, and they distribute the strain over
ni large a surface as the smooth-tread
lire. This is immensely important.
Th grooves don't fill up. Tho air
rushing through them keeps the tire
cool.
Oge glance will show you that eo
other non-skid device in egietencecan
compare with this Goodyear creation.
On No-Rim-Cut Tire.
And this device comes on tires that
can't rim-cut tireg 10 oversize. It
tomes on the tireg which have saved
motor car owners millions of dollar
this year.
It la another reason why men who
know are demanding tho Goodyear
No-Rlro-Cut
tire.
Our tire hook,
kasoci oa twelve
year of tiro
makiaf.lefUled
with fact yo
should know.
Ask s to mail
it to you.
Karle I.. Ovlngton, the aviator, distin
guished himself In "blrdland" by being
the first aviator to carry t'nitcd States
rnall In a cross-country flight. Ovlngton
d!d this at th Long Island aviation field
recently.
Approximately 45.oro motorcycles will be
built In the fnlted gtate In 1812, It Is
estimated. Thirty-two companies will
contribute to thla output snd all but 1,000
mac hine will ba made by twclv firms.
Richmond, Va.. will probably be the
next city to adopt the motorcycle for col
lecting mall. roKtmaater Kdgar Allen.
Jr., tin already tried out the plan, and
may ask the department to furnish the
marhlnes.
Wlnfleld Or ham of Huffalo ha been
appointed chairman of the transportation
and facilities committee of the I'. A. M.,
to succccl k. I lliifflngham. .Arthur
Uavldson of Milwaukee ha been named
a member to succeed UrHham.
Charle. 1). BlKsbe. Jr.. , ot the r(,p.
Ufn of th battleship .Maine, now being
raised In Havana
narboi, rode K'.OOO miles
N automobiles,
, ii lmmmmm I ail
cin nAn P Y PnCC mat
MU,UUU or more. You can et a
J 1 1 " v n ''1t lUUlUVUUg Cell
equipped with a sleeping compartment, hot and cold running water and a
complete kitchenette. You can get anything from 10 to 120 horse-power.
You can get just as much or just as little as you want. Its all a matter of
taste, requirements and price.
The Marion "Thirty-five" at $1,285 is built for those
seeking: a good high grade car that will meet all tho re.
quirements of every day life. It is built for those that
want a car better than the ordinary. And those that in
vestigate what it offers invariably find more than they
ever expected for the price.
Too many people make the serious mistake of judg- ?
ing- A' car's value by its advertised horsepower rating,
seating capacity, or some other single item. The motor,
of course, is essential, and the Marion motor is the most
efficient of its size made, but what of the rest of the car?
And it's usually "the rest of the car" that is "sadly lack
ing. It is here that it is "trimmed" in order to get the
price down a few dollars. And whenever you "trim" you
must naturally weaken. You can take woolen goods that
is mado into a standard $50 suit of clothes and make it
up to sell for about $30, but the tailoring the construc
tionwould not be there and the whole suit would fall to
pieces long before the $50 suit showed the first sign of
wear.
There is not a single weakness in the Marion. By
comparison it excels any car in its class on the market.
Those "parts which other manufacturers would rather not
mention, we feature. And we can feature any point or
any part of any Marion and easily prove to you its su.
perior strength and splendid construction.
For example: The most vital and at the same time
the weakest point in all cars to-day is the rear system.
The Marion rear system is, without exception, the strong
est made. It is the identical system we had in our famous
$1850 car. It is practically frictionless. There are five
double annular bearings in the transmission, two Timkin
Tho Marion Sales Company, Indianapolis, Indiana
THE MARION AUTOMOBILE COMPANY
2101-2103 FARNAM STREET
on his motorcycle last icason. Plgsbe Is
captain of the Lebanon (Pa.) Motorcycle
club.
Two thousand two hundred and twenty
five milea, from Philadelphia to Milwau
kee and back, on a motorcycle for $7 43!
Thia I the experience of John Bender
of the Quaker City. Bender went by
way of Harrlsburg and Cleveland and re
turned through Chicago, Albany and New
York and used !r4 gallons of gisolln
and four gallons of oil.
ELECTRIC TRUST COMES DOWN
Parent Concern and It Sabaldlarle
Get late gheranaa law
Itearrratlon.
That 07 per rent of the business In
electrlo lamps has been In th hand
of a slnrJe trust or combination may
have been suspected by the purchasers
of such lamps long before the United
States Department of Justice began Its
Investigation. Thero waa an electrlo
. 1 i
The Most Popular and Practical
of All the Popular Priced Cars
1
like everything else, you get exactly
- I
S f Five-passenger, fore-doer tourlnf eex: thlrtr horse- X ' V
! X. , 0 power; whtwl base HI Jnchse; t.r. JIM No-rim cut type; , S
Flve-passengcr, fore-doer tourlnf eex: thlrtr horse
power; vIimI base HI Inuhss; t.r. JIM No-rim cut type;
two gas lamps; thrse oil lamps; ell-blar enameled witn
traaa fronta; magneto; horn; tool-kit; oiler; quick tire re
pair kit ami pump. Top extra, l'rlcc, l.KkS.
trust. That-trust haspli aded a drslre
to obey the Ehcrman law as construed
by th Biiprrmu court of the Cnltod
State, and has consented to a decree
by the circuit court for the northern dis
trict of Ohio, forbidding all trade prac
tices held to be In contravention ot the
law.
The General. Electric owned th Na
tional Lamp company. The National
Lamp company owned or controlled a
large number of subsidiary manufac
turer. And nearly all th factories not
In Its centrol were dominated by th
Westlnghouse Electrlo and Manufactur
ing company. Thus, when the Uenerul
Electrlo and tho Westlnghouse Interest
combined to fix price for selling and
resePIng lamps, competition waa killrd.
For a term of years th future seemed
secure, because, though anybody might
manufacture tho old carbon filament
lamp, alxteen-candlepower, the trust
owned patent on the tungsten, tantalum
and other metallnted film lamps, and
would not sell these to any dealer who
did not take hi eupply of unpatented
ntS yOUr needs or fancv from $350 to
one-senfprl tnu or n k; tmU,.:x
roller bearings in the differential, two roller bearings in
the axle and one in the drive shaft. The housing is made
of aluminum instead of iron which cuts the weight of ihe
car 82 pounds. The gears (made of chrome Vanadium
steel), are so thoroughly and finely fitted that all jars '
noises and jolts are absolutely eliminated. Under any
condition this car will run smooth and silent. The brake?
are exceptionally large and heavy. '
, Compare the Marion rear system with the Tear system
of any other popular priced car you know of, and the Cdn
trast will show you unexpected strength and value in the
Marion, and no end of faulty and weak spots in the other
car.
The Marion has a pressed steel bottle neck drop frame
with side members re-enforced. Lots of leg room and big
doors. You will not find this design in any other car sell
ing for less than $3,000. Unusually large Timken bearings
in the differential make possible an extra large axle shaft
and a stronger differential hub. And you also find tho
very best upholstery. Not leatherette, but real hand
buffed leather over genuine white curled hair. The wheel
base measures 112 inches; the tires are 4-inch, quick de
tachable no rim cut type.
These are a few of the facts you must bear in mind
when picking your car. Look further than a motor
or a rim. Dig into the essentials. See what holds the car
togetheron what its operation depends and you will
get a line on the life of the car, and the comfort or dis
comfort you will get out of it.
The dealer below will be glad to give you a thorough
demonstration at any time or any place you say. A tele
phone call will bring him to you. Ask our dealer or
write us for a catalogue.
lamp from the mine source. No dealer
could afford te ln without the tungaien
lamp.:. Therefore, no dealer could af-fo-d
to patronize an Independent fac
tory making the carbon filament lamps.
Now. by court order, price fixing, dis
crimination In tho sale, bf - pRtented
lamps, refusal to sell needed parts to
independent manufacturers and alt un
fair trade competition are f jrbiddeu; and
the National 1-ainp company, with all It
subsidiaries, Is ordered dissolved. The
General I.'lectrlc, which owns thcmr may
go on with their business under It own
name, and not otherwise. Attorney Gen
eral Wlckrrt-hain declares that the last
named principle has been accepted vol
untarily by tho General Electric In the
dissolving of eleven other subshllarfoi
In electric supplies, which had been pie
tendlng to compete with their real owner.
Brooklyn l.ugle.
A Scrlons Breakdown
reault from chronla constipation. Dr.
King' New Life Fill cure headache,
stomach, liver and bowel trouble. 20c.
Tor sale by Beaton Drug Co.
what you pay for.
it
