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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1917)
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE : FEBRUARY 2.".. 1017. 3 N STUDEBAEER "GOLD CAR" TOBE FEATURE Created Sensation Last Year With Golden Chassis Again to Be Star Feature. A $30,000 GOLDEN CHARIO? Studebakfr does it again! With unfailing regularity Stude baker has annually supplied the au tomobile shows of America with their feature attractions. Each year has witnessed another new and strikingly original idea evolved by the Stude baker organization for the purpose of interesting, instructing and educating visitors to the automobile shows. Last year Studebaker apparently reached the apex of their originality when they startled the country with the famous "Gold Chassis." Not only was it the real aristocrat of the show, as it reposed in majesty on a robe of purple velvet, but it represented the biggest piece of gold plate work ever undertaken. While it was the most ex pensive chassis ever built, costing more than $25,000, it was standard in every detail. It was, in fact, taken from a regular day's run at the Stude baker factory. Certain parts were cut oat to show the workings of the in terior and the gold plating was then pot on and polished by hand. More than 350 ounces of pure gold were used and nearly 3,000 parts were fin ished in gold. This gold chassis is now on its second tour of the Pacific coast, where it is attracting huge crowds wherever it is exhibited. After its journeys are over it will probably be preserved by the Studebaker cor poration for the benefit of posterity. On Cold Chassis. Now comes the "Gold Car" an evolution of the famous gold chassis of a year ago. And it is even more wonderful and magnificent than the celebrated golden chassis. It is a series 18 Studebaker six cylinder, seven-passenger touring car, with the distinctive victoria top in place. It is the most expensive motor car ever built in the history of the in dustry, and yet it is standard in every detail of construction, with the excep tion of its brilliant gold and white finish. About 400 ounces of 24-karat gold were used in finishing the Studebaker "Gold Car" and as it stands at the show it is valued at more than $30,000. The entire chassis of this series 18 Studebaker is finished in 24-karat gold, from stem to stern, just as was the gold chassis exhibited last year. But mounted on this golden chassis is a standard touring body, also fin ished in purest gold and glistening white enamel. The victoria top is of beautiful white leather. The brackets supporting this top arc all gold plated. White Enamel. The white enamel body is enriched with hair-line stripings of gold. The lamp rim and reflectors, the bars sup porting the. lamps, the radiator, the springs, the hubs, rims and nuts on the wheels of the car, all are of a twenty-four-carat gold. All fixtures, such as door openers, little fasteners that hold the side curtains, screw heads and .bolts, are of gold. The top of the running board and all bolts connecting the fenders are of gold. Gold finishes the steer ing wheel column and all metal parts, and it sparkles in all its brilliancy from the brackets holding spare tire and rim. It glistens from the top arms, from the top brackets on the side, which hold the top when down, from the brake drum, from the clutch levers, accelerator, shifting gears and emergency brake from every metal part of the car. The genuine white leather, with which the car is upholstered through cut, harmonizes beautifully with the rich gold finish of this Studebaker. The armchair auxiliary seats are up holstered with the same white leather, with all the fixtures finished in gold. Th floor board in driver's compart ment is covered with white linoleum and trimmed with gold. Even the speedometer has a white face with Bold numbers, Auto Salesman Says He Has Developed Into a Car Chaser "Our one worry today isn't orders; isn't increased prices. We think not at all of that point of saturation; nor is it shortage of materials it is the freight-car situation," exclaimed R. C Rueschaw, sales manager of the Reo company. "Here I am, drawing a salary and carrying around the title of sales manager, and what I really am these days is a car chaserl I've been to every railroad office in Chicago; I've scouted and snooped around the yard and fraternized with switch engineers and yardmen and I haven't found the answer. "I can't figure it out at all," con tinued the Reo man. "I get all kinds of replies, but no answers that satisfy. Of course, I am not interested in rea sons why we don't get cars I want cars. The dealers are hounding us to ship. Factory is turning them out faster than ever before. We have little warehouse facilities for Reos never stay at the factory beyond the day they are made in normal times. "As a result of this freight car shortage a condition has developed that is unprecedented. The 'drive away' is something unique it has re sulted from the frantic efforts of deal ers to get automobiles." New Firm Evolves from Auto Device Sales Co. The Auto Device Sales company lias purchased all interests of the Mc-Farland-Palmer company and has in corporated a firm to be known as the National Auto Accessories company, with a capital of $40,000. It has al ready opened branches at St. Louis, Des Moines, Denver, Minneapolis and will open retail accessory stores in six of the surrounding states within the next few months. The rise of the Auto Device Sales company in Omaha has been phenomenal. It started here as a new firm last October and now has forty men on the road with over 1.000 dealers handling its goods. The G. L. W. spring oiler, the Perry auto lock, the Eisen regulator and the J. T. wind shield cleaner are devices which are controlled exclusively by this firm. Mr. Page continues as president and general manager of the new corpora tion, O. T. McFarland as secretary, ud Charles M. Page as treasurer. Studebaker Gold Car SPARK PLUG FIRM IN GREAT STRIDES Champion Company Becomes Largest in World After a Modest Beginning. SHIP WHOLE CARLOADS A striking example of what has been accomplished in the compara tively short life of the automobile industry, can be found in the record of the Champion Spark Plug company of Toledo, O., manufacturers of spark plugs for all types of gasoline motors. From a small beginning, with a pro duction of less than 300 plugs a day, this Toledo concern has shown a re markable growth and today it stands, it is said, first as the largest pro ducer of spark plugs in the world. Few men have figured more promi nently in a commercial success than R. A. and F. D. Stranahan, president and treasurer respectively of the company. It is duo largely to their untiring efforts and keen business foresight that the Champion organi zation was lifted from comparative obscurity into the front rank it occu pies today. The manufacturing of spark plugs appealed to them as air unusual op portunity for building up a permanent and profitable business. They had confidence in the stability of the auto mobile industry and foresaw the growing demand for motor car acces sories such as spark plugs. They moved from Boston to To ledo so as to be near the big motor car factories and although llicy started in to manufacture spark plugs on a small scale, it was not long before the quality of their prod uct attracted the attention of a num ber of the more prominent automo bile builders. The first big contract closed called for delivery of 100,000 plugs in twelve months. Others fol lowed and in 1912 the business had grown to such an extent that it was found necessary to move into newer and larger quarters. The original floor space was 300 square . feet, which has been increased from year to year until the Champion factory of today boasts of more than 100,000 square feet of floor space, and has a production capacity of 100.000 spark plugs per day. Ship Whole Carloads. The Champion company is the only concern manufacturing spark plugs with a business large enough to war rant its shipping carload lots. And carload lots mean a great deal when it is considered that a finished plug weighs less than four ounces. A large portion of the Champion product is contracted for by the auto mobile manufacturers of the I'nited Slates. Such cars as Ford. Overland. i Studebaker, Maxwell and over eighty two others use Champions as regular factory equipment. In addition, the company manufactures spark plugs ! for marine, stationary, tractor, mo I torcycle and aeroplane engines, iit fact tor any type of gasoline motor. Its export shipments alone amount to more than 50.000 plugs a month. Climbs Steep Grade to Show Worth of the King The King conquers again. This time winding up the ten-mile Mount Diablo grade on the high gear, there by being awarded the Oakland Trib une High Gear Challenge trophy, and adding still another to its score or more of stock car records in the car owners' service test category. The tortuous climb was made during the middle of the San Krancisco Automo bile show and was a sensation of this pioneer coast display. Tire Bill This Year to Reach $350,000,000 Mark It is estimated that more than $350. 000.000 will be spent in the purchase of tires for pleasure cars alone dur ing 1917. The estimate is based on the number of cars in use, the average mileage, the guarantees ordinarily made with tires and on other figures of tire consumption by car owners in the past. Suburban Motorist Finds Good Way to Save Money "You'd be surprised to know how much Mary and I have saved since we got the car," said the first suburbanite. "How's that"'" inquired his aston ished friend. "Well, you see. every Sunday morn ing we eat a light breakfast and start out tora spin. Around noonve hap pen to be near the Joneses or the us to stay to supper." Smiths and. of course, we drop in. "But you have to pay them back, They invite us to stay. Then on the dont' you?" way back we have to pass the Will- "No, that's the best part of it. Since iainses or the O'Henrvs and thev ask we trot the car we are never at home." MOTORED to stand the grind of long-distance runs and the sudden bursts of speed, the Apperson Roadaplane is the peer of the warplane in power, speed and raechan- ical dependability. It glides over the road as the plane glides ; through space a ride in one offers a new thrill in motoring. .' "6's" and "8's," seven, five and "Chummy Roadster" (four-passenger)' bodies, 3,000 lbs. long wheelbase, perfect balance, luxurious upholstery $1690 to $2000, f.o.b. Kokomo. See the Roadaplane at the Show. Apperson Motor Co., Distributors llVZn'1'' SPACE 3 OMAHA AUTO SHOW ' APPERSON BROS. AUTOMOBILE CO, KOKOMO, INDIANA. U.S.A. Apperson Roadaplane uir if 1 w m Undoubtedly the Industry' Crowning Achievement From your point of view this announcement is most important. For herein we set forth the achievement toward which this company has aimed for the last eight years. This achievement in a word is the completion of our gigantic organization to a point where we can make and market a complete line of automo biles under one head. 1 This means tremendous economies much great er than ever before. This means the elimination of all waste, all lost motion and much greater factory efficiency. This means an even higher grade of cars at much more attractive prices. All of which means a substantial saving for you on the next car you buy. For now and for the first time in the history of the automobile business we as one single organiza tion offer the public a full and complete line of automobiles. ' This concentration this greater efficiency this more effective means of pulling together is going to set a new standard of low priced high-grade automobile values. For we operate on the basis of one executive organization . one factory management one purchasing unit one sales expense one group of dealers to plan, produce and sell all Overland, Willys and Willys-Knight models. Buying power is concentrated. Costs are dis tributed over all these cars, i The savings are enormous. As a result we are producing cars of exceptional quality and marketing them at unusually low prices. Every car is built to a rigid standard of per formance, comfort and appearance. The new models are listed in this announcement. They include Overland models from the snappy comfortable $665 Light Four to the beautiful Light Six Sedan at $1585. They include also the big, handsome Willys Knights from the Four at $1285, to the super efficient Eight at $1950. These new models establish price records, value records and performance records which we believe will prove to the public conclusively that the vast economies of vast production are the key note and manufacturing secret of the greatest value for the least amount of money. Overland Light Six Models i Roadster, 116-in. wheelbase (Illustrated) . $970 Touring, 116-in. wheelbase $085 (See iln Clowd Can) - Willys-Knight 7 Passenger Models WILLYS-OVERLAND, Inc., OMAHA BRANCH Four Cylinder Touring, 121 In. wheelbase . $12815 Eight Cylinder, 125-in. wheelbase ( Illustrated) $1960 SALES ROOMS ' 2047-49 Farnam Street. Douglas 3292 Overland Light Four Models SERVICE STATION 20th and Harney Streets. Douglas 3290 Overland Big Four Models (SasalaodMedUii) Overland and Willya-Knlght Closed Car Roadster, 104-tn. wheelbase $850 Touring, 106-in. wheelbase 1665 Sport Model Country Club (Illustrated) $750 Roadster, 112-In. wheelbase . .... Touring, 112-in. wheelbase (Illustrated) (See ! CloMd Can) $835 $850 See our exhibit at the showSee our complete line at our retail sales rooms "Made in U. S. A." Overland Big Four Coupe, 112-in. wheelbase $1250 Overland Big Four Sedan, 112-in. wheelbase $1460 Overland Light Six Coupe, 116-in. wheelbase $1385 Overland Light Six Sedan, 116-in. wheelbasel roc (must rated)11585 Willys-Knight Four Coupe, 114-In. wheelbase $1650 Willys-Knight Four Sedan, 121-in. wheelbase $1950 WUys-Knight Four Iimoiuune,121-iii. " $1950 AUprtcMl.b.ToM I f) I?