OCR Text |
Show SOI GOOD I EVERYTHING It -- an ill wind that blows nobody good 1 Even war has some good re-I re-I suits. The civil war of a half-century ago taught mechanics to duplicate parts for firearms and to make machines ma-chines for doing this without the hith-J erto hand-labor method. From f ire-j arms to 6ewing machines, then to bloy-' bloy-' cles and finally to automobiles, those I same mechanics and those same shops . have turned. "Thus today we owe much of the, perfection and cheapness of the mod-; mod-; ern automobile to the mechanical ven- lures that were made possible and profitable by the large orders for war i needs." This is the opinion of A. V. Olson, gales manager for the Rand ill-Dodd ill-Dodd Auto company, who says that : "necessity is the mother of invention." "If there is anything more wonderful wonder-ful than the perfection of the present-I present-I day car price, quality and capability considered it has not been heralded to the world," says Mr. Olson "And most wonderful of all Is the fact with the rising of prices on foodstuffs food-stuffs and the like these wonderful cars are being Bold at prices very little advanced over last year, and, when compared with other things, ! very much cheaper than a few years back "The lover of luxury can today revel in road transportation that completely overshadows coaches of kings in past generations. "Nineteen seventeen will bring a still larger choice of shapes and colors col-ors than over before. The rlnrer leaf, model, with three or four-passenger accommodations, will be shown more than ever before. These styles of inclosed and convertible bodies will be more numerous, and the fit- tines for comfort and needs of the users will show a greater consideration considera-tion than in former years. "The use of the electric starter has done much to make the modern auto almost as fully equipped with conveniences con-veniences as the modern home. This is because the starter requires a storage stor-age battery of electricity, and, having this battery, it is not troublesome to fit electric lamps where needed or even electric tools for almost any purpose. "The electric horn has become standard and the electric speedometer speedome-ter is doubtlessly close at hand. "Lunch and even kitchen outfits can be had with which one can enjoy a warm meal en route. With such out. fits winter touring is becoming more popular, and the man who does not know what his neighbor is doing or how deep the snow is on hlg ranch certainly cannot blame the makers of the present-day automobile." J up-keop is now more important than competition in low price. The last has reached its lowest level. The former is nearing it every day. For instance, the owner of a medium-priced car has recently completed com-pleted an economy record trip nearly one and a half times round the earth with a repair bill amounting to the cost of a theater ticket, Charles Zenn. of South Bend, Ind., sends word that he has driven his machine over 30,000 miles and during that time has had a repair bill of 'l 11. This minimum repair bill Is hlghh significant in the Light it sheds on the present stace of HfiHency to be found In the popular-priced car. It exhibits the care paid to thorough construction construc-tion and the use of high -grade material ma-terial Indeed, the lofty level of manufacturing man-ufacturing ideals aimed at in the con. strurtlon of medium-priced cars today I reflects credit on the automobile .man- iii.c ui i in ihis count iy pounds capacity each for a military division. Today twenty-four motor trucks or less are doing the equivalent work. Armies today cannot live off the land. The enemy may have destroyed de-stroyed or taken all; hence an invader must provision himself adequately and to carry half of this tonnage in horse food when ten million men may be at tho front is humanly impossible. From ' The Army and the Motor Truck." by Rollin W. Hutcnlnson, Jr., in the American Review of Reviews for October, 1916. |