Show KNOWlEDGE OF A CAR Public Today Looks at Construction Rather Bather Than Beauty I Before Buying Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the automobile business today is the publics rapidly growing knowledge of the vital construction of a motor motol car I This increase of Intelligent interest in automobile mechanism Is characteristic tic of an age which President Taft de described described scribed the other day as the automo automobile automobile bile age Just a few years ago it was the custom cus custo to tom among purchasers o of au automobiles to look at the cars on view In a few salesrooms and to decide on the make which made the strongest appeal to the eye The motive that inspired the average customer th then n was to become the possessor of a car that had a fine appearance Accordingly the features which were examined were the color of the car the shininess ot of its trimmings the appearance of the upholstering and the general makeup of the car from the viewpoint of good looks It was sel seldom seldom dom that a prospective purchaser made any kind of an e a Inspection ot of the mechanical construction Nowadays It is entirely different From the number of questions that are hurled at a salesman by a great major majorIty majorIty Ity of prospective purchasers it might appear that everyone had attended a special school of instruction in the prin principles principles of motor car construction Some of these queries are of a character to stump the salesman unless he Is thoroughly thor thoroughly acquainted with the general Ideas of automobile building and the particular ideas embodied In the mak making making ing of the car which ho he represents They ask now about the motor the bore and stroke the transmission the clutch and the other vital points of an automobile while formerly they were accustomed to ask merely whether the car comes in any other color besides red or whatever color the particular model on view happened to be While this is true of the questions broached d I in the salesrooms It Is particular true during show week at the various booths |