1932-07-07 — Page 11

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 1932.

THE CHINA MAIL.

ANTHE MOTORISTS' PAGES

Automobile Supremacy

Battle

Old Guard Fights It Out For 20 Years

VETERAN COMPANIES KEEP LEADERSHIP.

17 CONCERNS IN FRONT RANK

every

been on the roll 16 times.

years.

Two Disappear.

rank,

ever.

1,000 Plymouth Built Here. Every Day.

New. finer Plymouth cara are being shipped from the mammoth Plymouth plant in Detroit at the rate of more than 1.000 a day. Above is shown the end of the assembly lines, where four half-mile long assembly lines converge to a final inspection line where the ears are meticulously in- spected before shipment.

once each.

Guard has

HAZARDOUS TRIP

..IN AFRICA

Britisher and Wife Attempt Crossing.

WEST TO EAST

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A DEMONSTRATION.

in

VALLEY HONG KONG.

with Buick; Essex with Hudson; The veterans march on. Inurod to hardship, unfamiliar Pontiac with Oakland; Erskine with defeat, proud with the and Pierce-Arrow with Stude- pride of victory, the grenadiers baker; Viking with Olds and of the Old Guard of automobile Ajax with Nash. Four of thesc manufacturers hold the van year have been dropped.

The veterans have gathered and Dodge, twice each; Cadillac, after year. Weather-beaten and

atrength with the years rather Hupp. Hudson-Essex, Reo, Dur- hard-bitten, they have had few Seventeen companies in 19 than lost it. Their percentage of ant lines, Maxwell, Chandler-

dis- casualties in nearly two decades. years and only two have

Only 17 companies have rank-appeared. No better evidence is the total production has risen Cleveland and Saxon, once each.

steadily, although not quite un-

Ninth place: Studebaker and ed among the first ten producers needed of the strength and fight interruptedly, and their position Maxwell-Chalmers, 4 each; Ree, in 10 years and only two of them ing power of the Old Guard.

being carried Few striplings are left

the trailers Territories to Upper Volta, crossed have died, an extraordinary re- Year after year they have led the to-day is more impregnable than 3: Nash, Oakland and Olde, twice

attached to both cars. cord of virility when hundreds of way into the fray and have come with the potential strength to each; Hudson and Durant lines,

the Nigger River into Nigeria, and have come and out unscathed except for shifts take their places. Their power

The first stage of the journey passed through Sokoto and Kano other concerns

a foot of position among themselves. has become the more pronounced Tenth place: Nash, 7; Olds 3;

A British motorist and his wife has already been completed, and] (two of the oldest cities in the gone, leaving scarcely print on automotive history to Reo, Cadillac and Hupp, not now with the steady dwindling in the Hudson, Hupp, Durant and

Mr. and Mrs. R. Nichols, of Mr. Nichols has cabled from Lake British Empire), arriving soon afmong the big producers, stand number of contenders.

Saxon, twice each; Chalmers, Aecra, Gold Coast Colony-are at Chad that he and his wife have after at Maiduguri, near Lake mark their passing.

The list of leaders is short but, sturdily in the second

present endeavouring to cross. the covered 1,700 miles of bush and Chad. a campaign Save for the first two positions, once.

to desert tracks in 12 days: there has The most difficult and dangerous irapressive. The names of Ford. veterans of many

Mortality Heavy.

African continent from West Buick and Willys-Overland have and abundantly able to look after which have been held only by

East. This is the first time that been no trouble from overheating, part of the trip is still ahead of Ford and Chevrolet since 1922,

Mortality outside appeared among the first ten in themselves.

the Old the journey has been attempted he says, as had been anticipated them, or from Lake Chad they These valiant and honourable there have been frequent shifts

been exceedingly by motorcar, although a motor in view of the heavy loads and a have to strike northwards through one of the 19 Chevrolet and Dodge, a little contenders have left an indelible in the relative standing of the

history of "Big Ten but the rivalry has heavy in recent years. Eight cyclist recently succeeded in get temperature of 100 in the shade. the Toureg territory of Tibesti; From Acera the two explorers they will then be faced with the younger, have appeared 17 con- impress upon the secutive times and Studebaker motor cars. Keen rivals as they bee chiefly among themselves. lines of cars have been erased ting part-way across

Mr. Nichols, who is chief Goy passed through the Gold Coast hazardous crossing of the Libyan an equal number. Hudson has have been in their respective Until the last two years, when from the roll in the last year

Oak-price classes they have stood strength of dealer organisations and three or four more will go in ernment Transport officer of the Colony and Ashanti to Salaga the desert before they reach the Egyp land has been on 12 times and shoulder to shoulder for almost has been a vital factor, most of the near future. In the field to- Gold Coast Colony, is driving a City of the Thousand Wells, once tian frontier, and follow the reis- only 19 companies 9-h.p. Riley with a van body, whilst the biggest slave centre in West tively safe easy route to Cairo.. Nash 11:

20 years in fighting the battles the advances and retreats have day are of individual transportation and been the result of public accept-fabricating more than an insigni- his wife is using a three-year-old Africa, and the city from which After, a rest here they will con- Durant Goes Up.

of Sheba is supposed tinue, overland as far as possible, ficant number of cars a year and touring car of the same type. For the Queen or rejection of annual Maxwell and its successor, creating the greatest manufac-ance

two or three of them are doing many thousands of miles water to have purchased her slaves, to London, which they expect to Chrysler, missed only one year-turing industry in all history.

very little.

These companies and ample supplies are therefore They, then traversed the Northern reach bout the end of June. 1920-and that by the narrow- Continued success of the lead-

make 34 lines. A decade ago est of margins. This combina-jera has not been due to chance

there were 182 companies in the tion.

however, has undergone or circumstance but rather to Ten companies whose names field. Most of the weaklings several corporate changes. First the sterling quality of their pro- have appeared most often among have been weeded out and in Maxwell and Chalmers were com- ducts, good management and the the first ten have made 38,345,000 striking contrast to other years bined and then, under the ability of their retailing organ- passenger cars in 19 years or only three or four concerns are command of Walter P. Chrysler, isations. They have had no lack

84.6 per cent, of the total turned in the slightest financial dif- they were merged under the of competition from hundreds of out by the entire industry.ficulty. Chrysler name. This amalgama- companies which have plunged These leaders and their totais tion, therefore, has included the into the battle with banners fiying are:- names of Maxwell, Chalmera, only to fall victims to the super- Chrysler, De Soto and Plymouth lative fighting quantities of the

Dodge, Old Guard. It is quite significant Chevrolet under the same flag, with the same allegiance now, that so few of those companies Buick has earned an independent rat-which have worn

the medal of Willys-Overland ing as have the divisions of honour have been too weak to Dodge

survive the rigors of the cam- Hudson-Essex The others in the front rank)paign.

Maxwell-Chrysler have been: Durant lines, 6 times; Vets Gather Strength.

Studebaker Olds and Reo, 5 each; Cadillac, Not many of the men who first;

Oakland-Pontiac 4: Hupp and Saxon, 3 each and sent these grenadiers into the Chandler-Cleveland, once, Saxon field now are formulating their and Chandler-Cleveland have plans of attack but the names Ranking from first to tenth concentration of the entire pro- been the sole casualties.

they gave their champions have Other names which have ap-survived to give them honour place, with the companies which peared have been: Marquette and to perpetuate their fame.

General Motors.

633

CHRYSLER

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Wanchal:

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Ford

Nash

Ten Who Lead.

Notwithstanding the sharp shrinkage in the number of lines the output of 17,263,000 in production

not included 6,641,000 manufacturers 2,610,000 among the first ten was 155,000: 2,493,000 in the first nine months of 1931 2,127,000 which gave an average in excess 1,985,000 of 8,000 or almost twice as many

of ther 1,912,000 as the average for any 1,268,000 other 18 years. 1,179,000 This seems to demonstrate 871,000 conclusively that we are no near-

have held them and the number of times, follow:-

er than we ever have been to duction of the industry in the lieved there is room in the field hands of the first ten. It is be-

for a few new companies, sound- First place: Ford 16; Chevroly financed and operated, with sound merchandising policies, and let, 3.

sterling products. Second place: Chevrolet, 8; Willys-Overland, 6; Ford.. 3; Dodge, twice.

Third place: Buick; 3; Hudson- Essex, 8; Chevrolet, Dodge and Chrysler lines, twice Willys-Overland and Studebaker, once each.

.

Meanwhile the forward march of the veteran grenadiers of the Old Guard will continue.

Long may they live to cherish their honourable traditions and bring new glory to their banners. each;

Fourth place: Buick, 8: Willys-Overland and Dodge,

ANTI-KNOCK FUELS,

The general availability of each; Chevrolet, Studebaker and anti-knock fuels has already en Chrysler lines twice each and abled engineers to raise the com Oakland-Pontire once.

pression of private car engines to Fifth place: Buick, Willys quite a considerable extent, thus, Overland and Dodge, 8 each; increasing both the power output Hudson-Essex, Studebaker, Oak and the thermal efficiency. Ac- land-Pontiac and Maxwell, twice cording to the concern which each; Cadillac and Durant lines, markets ethyl petrol in the U.S., this, trend is likely to continue, "super-compression" engines be- Sixth place? Maxwell, 4;ing envisaged as a forthcoming Hudson Essex and Willys-development, Figures are given | Overland, 3 each Studebaker, to show that in this way."en- and Dodge, hanced performance is attained Oakland-Pontiac twice each; Buick, Cadillac and without risks of bearing trouble, Chrysler Maxwell, once each. overhearing or increased con

once each,

Seventh place: Hudson-Essex and Dodge, 8 each: Chevrolet Studebaker and Oakland, twice each BuickĄ

Overland, Hupp. Roe Chrysler- Maxwell

Durant lines, once she

Place: Stud

Oakland

sumption.

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33, Des Voeux Road Central

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