Packard Company Makes Survey of Its Distribution ______ / Some Dealers Are Overstock ed by Other Makers and Flooded Market Soon Results. Motor ear dealers and distributors through their organizations and Indi vidually have been making so strenu ous a protest ngalnst the system of manufacturers loading them up with cars during low selling periods that results are In sight. At least prom ises are being made that It will not be done again. Just plain good business dictated a policy In the Packard company ngalnst forcing cars on dealers and distributers years ago. From years of experience In manufacturing and world-wide marketing of Its product the company established a set of principles for the conduct of Its en tire business. The first of this set is that the right principle shall stand before profit and be executed fear lessly even to the loss of business. This in Itself would have stood as a harrier had not experience taught that loading the retail organization with cars beyond its ability to dispose of them Is, in the long run over a period of years, a profit wrecker rather than a profit builder. Must Guard Reputation. An automobile company must not only look to its dealers and distribu ters to dispose of its product, but, to a considerable extent, guard Its repu tation for fair dealing with the gen eral public. It is the dealer and the distributer who comes in direct con tact with the public and we believe that the manufacturer, if he values his reputation and expects to preserve it on a high plane for years, must have dealers and distributers of high standing In their communities, firm financial footing and wholesome busi ness Integrity. The manufacturer must, bend every effort possible to keep his field organization at a high standard. Forcing cars on the sell ing organization in the long run makes for a lowering of this standard. Because of the system by which motor ears are built in America, pro duction cannot be regulated closely to demand when the demand does not remain at a constant level. Output cannot be kept fluctuating widely without heavy losses. The Ideal situ ation for successful automobile manu facturing would be that which per mitted a factory to work at Its pro duction peak the year around and have the field absorb the daily output Without demanding more. Quotas Without Analyses. Because of this, overstocking of dealers and distributers grew. Ip most cases a factory makes a con tract with a dealer or distributer with the number of cars that will be taken from the factory specified. Often these quotas are fixed arbitrarily and without an analyses of the market possibilities. » When the public Is absorbing auto mobiles as rapidly as they can be turned out and clamoring for more the dealer and distributer fights for as many cars as he can get. However, when the industry has overestimated market possibilities and a big re serve is built up before the rushing production can be checked down the overstocking sets In. Ths machines are shipped from ths factory, regardless of quotas. Ths dealer or .distributer Is notified that they are on their way. He may al ready have more ears stored than his oredlt will permit without much stretching. However, he must accept the shipments and pay for them. Fail ure to do so might cost him ths loss of his franchise. To do so, on the other hand, might stretch his credit to the breaking point. He takes the care, hoping business will grow bet ter. Many times he keeps on ac cepting more and more cars until hla eredit snaps. Retailer Slashes Price. Loaded with an Inventory beyond him the retailer many times begins slashing prices, through overallow ances on used car* taken In trade for new ones. He gets In some money, but his profit and sometimes an ac tual part of his capital becomes tied up In used cars. Slashing of prices again to dispose of this stock calls In the receiver. The overstocking plan of ths fac tory in a case like this la the almost direct cause of th* crash and the factory draws from ths community as Its penalty, a loss of oonfldenes, This is but on# penalty, however. Th# owner cannot be extended that service which the factory knows h* must have to continue buying its cars If the retailer In his district la being changed constantly. This leads to a direct loss in reputation, In confl uence and, over a period of years, in a genuine sacrifice of buainesa and profits. Study of the overstocking problem year* ago caused Packard to organize a plan of co operation with lta retail organization. The company demands a certain standard of any retailer and thora Is a thorough checking up be fore a new one Is appointed. EYES OF SCIENCE Only a few much-favored eyes of men of science have been privileged to look upon vitamins, yet everybody must have these nutrition factors in abundance to assure growth and sustain strength. Scott’s Emulsion for fifty years has earned world-wide repute as a builder of strength. It is die much favored food-tonic that sup plies vitamins in abundance. Scott’s taken regu arly helps grown people and children alike realize strength and vigor. BloonfefcL K.l * Ur* h Hudson Coach at Chicago Show One of the outstanding models to be shown at the Chicago show this coming week, is the Hudson Coach pictured above. This heactiful closed ear is the result of three years of experience in roarh building and sells for $1485 In Omaha.____ FLINT PLANT ADDS ANOTHER BUILDING The formal opening of the new ad ministration building of the Flint Motor company, of Flint, Mich,, De cember 21, signalized the 20-year de velopment of Flint from a city of 80, 000 population to 130,000 people. Flint Is the second largest center of automobile building in the country. The close of Michigan’s logging days found Flint, Mich., searching for new industries to replace the -r-l. W. C. Durant and J. Dallas Dort established the Durant-Dort Carriage company. This company developed an industrial, business and residential district In Flint that Is still prominent in the city’s life. Durant first concentrated his re markable automobile genius upon the development of the Buick Motor com pany, which led to the growth of the ’’Buick section," a city within a city. He next turned his attention to the Chevrolet Motor company, which under Durant guidance developed an other, the western section of Flint. Two years ago W. C. Durant an nounced that he was about to de velop another industrial section at the south gateway of the city. With almost miraculous rapidity, a modern industrial plant was erected for the Flint Motor company, which now for more than a year has pro duced the Flint six motor car. The new administration building com pletes the picture of a plant one half mile long, situated on Michigan's main highway of travel, the Dixie highway, and provides offfees for the administrative departments. The plant Is architecturally beautiful, well landscaped Hnd Is termed the last word In manufacturing conveni ence. CADILLACCOACH IN BIG DEMAND So great has been the demand for the new CadlHae coach that J. H. Hansen Cadillac company has several unfilled orders on file for cars of this body style. This coach body, mounted on the standard V63 chassis with its V-type, 90 degree, eight cylinder motor and four-wheel safety brakes, represents a car of true Cadillac quality that at it's open car price enables the man of moderate means to secure the fin est and latest motor car creation at a price not much in excess of many of the lighter motor cars. NEW YELLOW CAB TRUCKS EFFICIENT That big companies and large cor jporattons have placed their /tamp of approval on Yellow Cab one-ton trucks Is attested by the long list of owners representing some of the fore most industries in the country, oper ating Yellow Cab equipment. A few of the familiar names mak ing use of this exceptionally rugged equipment are: Cudahy Packing com pany, Chicago; Fleishman company, New York; Tnterborough News com pany, New York; Milwaukee Journal; Schulze Baking company, Chicago; Parmalee Transportation company, Chicago; Chicago Bailv News; Stand ard Oil company of New York and California; W'ashburn-Crosby Milling company, Minneapolis; United States Treasury department; J. R. Thomp son Restaurant company, Chicago; Corn Products company, New York; Associated Pipe Bine company, San Francisco; Pacific Oil company, San Franclsce; R. H. Macy, New York, and numerous others. WILLS FINANCES ON FIRM BASIS "Wills Sainte Claire, Inc., enters 1925 In a remarkably strong and organized financially condition," C. Harold Wills, president, says. “The company has a net worth of approxi mately $10,000,000 and of this amount approximately $3,500,000 are quick assets, with cash on hand In banks and government certificates of ap proximately $1,700,000. There are no loans, mortgages or outstanding In debtedness of any kind other than current accounts, which are very low. No trade paper Is being Issued and all available cash discounts are being taken advantage of. The year 1924 closed with very satisfactory operat ing results and the statement shows the company to be In a healthy and prosperous condition. “With the unanimous acceptance of the Vogue series eight and the new six and the general prosperity which I believe will be enjoyed during 1925 Wills Sainte Claire, Inc., has every assurance for the biggest and most successful year in Its history." And you can't make the sun shine where there's moonshine. And nothing's Important, I think you’ll confess. That adds not a whit to man's hap piness. -©—-u Dddee Brothers TYPE-A SEDAN / Its smooth, quiet performance is a matter of common observation. People who pay no particular atten tion, as a rule, to the finer shades of chassis operation, are instantly im pressed by the restfulness of , the car in action. $1245 f. 0. b. Detroilt $1995 DeXvered O’BRIEN-DAVIS AUTO CO. 28th and Harney Sts. Telephone HA. 0123 Sales and Service Branches at Council Bluffs, la. Denison, la. Auto Schools Are Great Benefit to Motor Industry J Principle of Mechanics Are Taught Students First; Drawing Easy to Learn. In a good automobile school, in stead of starting the course by teach ing the students how to drive, that is the last thing covered, if indeed it Is covered at all. For the main thing is to get the princlplea thoroughly clear to the students and to make them under stand why certain things happen, rather than to demonstrate that they do happen. Anyone can learn to drive In a few' hours, because it is simple. But to get an accurate knowledge of motor car design and construction that will enable the student to think and talk correctly about motor cars, and to know good or bad design when he sees It, the work must be constructive and thor ough, and it must start at the be ginning. First Step. For example, the first step in building a Kuick car Is to rivet the side members and cross members of the frame together. A properly con ducted class in an automobile school will be drilled on these points. They will be told where the greatest strain on the frame occurs under various conditions; they will be told why the outside cross members are not rivlted to the extreme ends of the frame, instead of being placed at certain distances from the ends. They will be told why channel sec tions are used for the side members and cross members; why angle braces are used; why reinforcement plates are triangular in shape and flanged at the base. And by tiie time these rlasses are ready to pass on to the other chassis units they will be able to tell whether the frame on any car they see Is well fitted to do Its work, just by finding out what ma terial It Is made of, the weight of the car and an inspection of the frame Itself to see how it Is put to gether. Next Step .Motor. The next step would logically be the motor. The student In a good automobile school will first take up the study of the principles behind the Internal combustion engine. He will doubtless be surprised at first to learn that all such engines are run by the expansion of heated gasee, rather than by explosions. And then he will learn why It Is necessary to water-jacket the cylinders and ex haust valves, and what types of motors make possible th# greatest economy In water-jacketed apace— for naturally the smaller the water jacketed area the more economical the engine will be in fuel consump tion. He will learn that valves must have a certaig relation to the size of the cylinder bore, that certain ma terials make the best motor hearings. He will learn the theory and prac tice of lubrication, of drop forging, of heat treatment, of casting metals. From the motor th# student passes to the clutch, which hooks the power up with the driving mechanism or disconnects It at the will of the operator. Next comes the transrnis sion, the universal joints, the drive shaft, the rear axle with Its marvel ous differential gears and pinions, and then the less complex matters of running gear and other parts. Better Mechanirs. Good automohile schools will be a big factor in developing a better class of motor mechanics thousands of miles away from the big auto mobile factory centers. They will interest more of the young men in taking up motor car designing and building as a life work. And, best of all, they will succeed in giving thousands of people, both men and women, a good insight Into the things they ought to know before they pur chase a motor car for their own use and enable them to get the utmost efficiency from their cars. 20-Year Employes Honored by Reo Many Have Been With Veteran Manufacturer More Than Two Decades. For a number of years the Reo Motor Car company has followed ths practice of honoring those employes of the company completing five and 10-year periods of continuous employ ment. This year, while these two classes of steady workmen will con tinue to be rewarded, two new classes will be established when Reo honors the workers who have been with the company steadily for. 20 years and for 15 years. It Is of more than passing interest that this veteran automobile manu facturing company, which has just celebrated its own 20th anniversary, should hate a group of employes who have been with the company steadily, almost since its organization. This year there are 10 men repre senting executive and production de partments, who have been with the company 20 years. Eighty-seven men are completing their 15th year with Reo, while 106 have been on the pay roll continuously for 10 years. The class completing five years’ service Includes more than 400 names. Twenty-year men are to receive a newly designed emblem with the "twenty” in Roman numerals of white gold set In a field together with a carefully selected diamond. For the 15-year employes, there la an emblem In which the number of years of serv ice is designated by Roman numerals in green gold. This badge is jeweled with a ruby. Coming soon after the announce ment of Reo'a extremely low labor turnover for 1924, the establishment of these two new claese* of honored employes is especially Interesting. Reo is known to have the lowest la bor turnover In the automobile man ufacturing Industry, and it Is quite probable that lta figures would com pare favorably with the beet from any industry where large numbers of people are employed. And we’ll lose all our molars, The dentists all say. If we don't, like the cattle, Eat roughage like hay. Dodge Brothers Slated to Open Canadian Plant Will Be Ready for Produetion in Toronto in February— Machines Will Also Be Dodge Brothers' new Canadian plant, scheduled to begin operations In February, will be a factory of real productive rapacity, and not merely an assembling station. The factory will be in Toronto, Ont.. and will displace the one estab lished by Dodge Brothers several years ago at Walkerville, directly across the river from Detroit. The buildings acquired for the purpose In Toronto are among the finest erected by the imperial government for muni tions work during the. world war. Their original cost was $1.250,000 and subsequent improvements represent an investment of another $500,000. Facilities are available for one of the ^ largest automobile plants In Canada. The Canadian business will be con ducted by a subsidiary company. Dodge Brothers (Canada) Limited, in corporated under the laws of the do minion. it will govern its own pro duction and formulate its own poli cies, in liarmonv with those of the parent organization and with the re quirements of the countries to be served. K. R. Clarkson, it is an nounced, Is general manager. Mr. Clarkson, a native Canadian, has rep resented Dodge Brothers in Canada nearly 10 years. "The natural preference of Rritish subjects for products manufactured by fellow subjects of Great Britain, together with the possible tariff ad vantages, make it entirely logical for Podge Brothers to produce cars in Canada for export to other British territory," said Mr. Clarkson. "This was the thought in mind In establishing a manufacturing and as sembllng plant in Walkerville several years ago. The output of this plant, however, was practically all absorbed in Canada and we are now preparing to enlarge production enough to leave a good surplus for export. "The population of Canada Is slightly less than S.000.000. The per capita ability to nbsprb automobiles I" substantially the same as that of Jhe Fnited States. The dominion govern ment, realiz.lng that manufacture of automobiles in Canada for Canadian consumption exclusively would have Insufficient volume to permit prices comparable with those in the I'nited States, amended the tariff regulations, making Canada a free trade country for export. That is, raw materials imported into Canada for manufac ture. and parts or units brought in for assembling, are assessed at the time of entry and the duty is re mitted when the completed motor ve hicle is exported. This naturally makes more desirable the expansion we have always had in mind. "As soon as possible after the opening of the Toronto plant in Feb ruary, produetion will be on a much larger scale than In the former Cana dian plant, to rare for the ever in creasing Canadian and other British j demand for Dodge Rroter* motor cars." STUDEBAKERAGAIN j WINNER OF TROPHY Permit No. 1 to tour the Ynsemite valley, a trophy sought eagerly every year by every automobile on the Pa cific roast, has been awarded for the fifth consecutive time to 8tudet>aker. Each year there is a race to see who shall be first Into the valley. To get there means a 24-hour grind through seetrlingly Impassable roads, snow banked and drifted as high as the enr, and around trees blown across the unseen trail during the stormy winter. No tackle, towing or Other aids to motoring may be used. The car must go In under lls own power exclusively. At 8:1 r> In the morning of January 4. Chief Ranger (•’. S. Townsiey of the California forestry service found nut aide his cabin In the valley, which during the winter Is made an "island by the towering drifts without. Wil liam J- Silva. Studebaker dealer of Modesta, Cal., in a Standard six du p'ex phaeton. "Well, winter Is over and spring will he coming soon." he said. "You fellows with your Htudebakers are as sure a sign of the seasons as the first robins. For five years you have taken away permit No. 1. Gue«s 1 may as well have a rubber stamp made for you. How did you find the going?' Silva had to admit that the going had taxed every resource of the Standard six car. In places he had to back up several times and buck drifts like a battering ram. Several other places a start had to he made with shovels CREEPER HANDY j FOR REPAIRING A creeper Is a handy thing about the workshop far getting under the car to make a repair or an adjust ment. It not only provides a means of getting under the car. but keeps one off the dirty oily floor, as well as protecting the health during cold and disagreeable weather. It is ao simple to construct that no shop or private garage should be with out one. It consists of a frame made from two bv two ends and tine half by three boarda aliout three feet long A pillow is provided for a head rest and caster rollers, the latter permitting one to slide under the tar with it.—Automobile Digest. 3,560,813 CARS MADE LAST YEAR: Automobile production for Decem ber as estimated from shipping re ports to the National Automobile chamber of ropimerce today totaled 211.665 cars and trucks. This brings the total United States production for the year to 3.o«0,513. The Canadian figures of certain companies, how ever. are not included, #o that the grand total is estimated to be dver 3,650,000. Report* from dealere throughout the country indicate that the business Is in a very strong position. Stocks on hand of both new and used vehi cles are light and the winter outlook Is Improved over last year. MOTORISTS WANT SAFER MACHINES Safely has become of such primary Importance In motoring that owners are giving more consideration thin . ever before to safer type* of motor cars, according to I- E. Corcoran, general sales manager of the 1 lei re Arrow Motor Car company. "Prudent owners now are demand ing cars which are safe not only from the standpoint of pedestrians and others, but which afford the occu pants themselves a high degree of protection,'' said Corcoran. "Anyone who has driven or rlddi n in the larger, more substantially built type of motor car has experienced r sense of almost complete immunity from danger. A larger, more stable car. Is safer much In the same wiV as a well built cruiser i« safer then a flimsy canoe. "For that reason, an Increasing numlier if motor car buyers are re garding i he higher first coat of tlio better class of automobiles ns h sensi ble form of Insurance which protects themselves and their families, as w- d as others." UNIQUE BELGIAN TRAFFIC RULES Nf-w Belgian roa«l t raffle* r^trula* turns, which «o into effect in Feb ruary provhle that a limit will no b*n?»*r apply to motor tars. So says an AsHociale•' >,,2 />/,*, for the months of changeable weather and difficult in a1 winter car ^vm, oau*.* ‘TtlV^ho “f/HWl ifa? It is fitted with carpet and curtains that harmonize with IC/r VfJ%S ilO'* /vl'l'y the color tones of the two wide, deeply upholstered seats. * It enables you to keep comfortably warm, yet have plentv ■- of fresh air since the Fordor Sedan is equipped with Cow l Ventilator and The Fordor Sedan w indows that lower by revolving regulators. t You cannot own a car that offers you better value or more widely useful service. And the greater economy of operating a Ford lends emphasis to the practical worth of this car to you. Coup« - 9520 : £2 SkxrcCjj^tor ^om/iany^ Ok npai Ckrk danxmmabla Detroit || rimaandatarkaranMSua* , I fc AH>n~.r*y **» THE NEAREST -- AUTHORIZED FORD DEALER ji VISITORS ARE ALWAYS W ELCOMF AT AIL FORD PLANTS ||