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Show m Motor Motions H MORE CARS, LESS PROFIT H By Hugh Chalmers. H Having just passed through a most prosperous H twelve months, it is very difficult for me to take H other than an optimistic outlook on the prospects H for next season. I do not believe, however, that H the public as a whole fully comprehends the great H changes that havo been wrought in the manufac- turing and financial departments of the various h companies engaged in the making of motor cars. R In view of proposed legislation aimed directly 1 at a business supposed to be earning dividends W out of all proportion to tho capital invested, I ' think a few plain statements on existing condi- B tions will be of value at the present time. 1 In the first place, the automobile business as H a whole is no longer one of big profits, only inso- H far as quantity production results in big pi o fits. H Today tho profit per car is a very small item. H Companies who have just accomplished a prosper- H ous year have done so only through their ability H to manufacture and sell in large quantities. H, Considering the great investment and risk in- Hj volved, the returns to automobile manufacturers H are not nearly so great as in business where less HJ capital is required and where there is compara- H tively less risk. H Take the case of the Chlmers Motor company H as a single example. The manufacturing profit on M a Chalmers car is about five per cent of its sell- H ing price. How many manufacturers of so-called H staple articles would be satisfied with so small a M margin of profit? B Motor car sales have increased tremendously, M but if they had not, car prices would still occupy H the same plane as they did six years back. It M would be impossible to incorporate improved fea- H tures in motor cars each season, reducing car m prices simultaneously, without a corresponding in- M crease in sales and production. H H The Boss Rubber company has just received H tho largest shipment of tires ever delivered to H any tire dealer in the Salt Lake territory. H This company is distributor for the famous H Kelly-Springfield tires and tubes. They are also H distributors for the Batavia, which is also a leader H of standard priced tires and for the well-known H Hartford line. This gives their customers an op- H portunity to buy any grade tire. H Last year the Boss Rubber company, although H a new concern in Salt Lake, did a large volume H of business and K. E. Kryder, the new manager H who has just arrived from Uiq east to succeed fl II. Dahlman, states that they are expecting to m double their business this season. H The policy of the Boss Rubber company has m always been to give the best of service and to Hb perfect this idea they have just put into use a m new service car. This car is equipped with an ( : air tank and all necessary tools for changing tires I and is always ready to answer trouble calls. Any 1 automobile owner in Salt Lake who wishes to Bj have a tire changed is very welcome to call the H j' Boss Rubber company and they will send tho H ' service car out and do the work free of charge. V The home office of the Boss Rubber company H ! is located at Denver and branches are located at H ' Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City. Next month H a branch will be opened at Butte so that the Boas H Rubber company can better take care of the de- H mand for Kelly tires in that section of the country. |