National Show
Extra trains ran to Manhattan for the 28th National Automobile Show. The motor makers had spoken well, well in advance. President W. S. Knudsen of Chevrolet Motor Co. presented the new line of Chevrolets; Chairman Roy Dike-man Chapin* of Hudson-Essex had made the first offer of a 6-cylinder four-door sedan to sell in the $800 class--the Essex at $795. President Edward G. Wilmer of Dodge Bros, spent more than $67,000 to hire Will Rogers, Fred & Dorothy Stone and Paul Whiteman's Orchestra to entertain over the radio and incidentally to announce Dodge Bros.' new 6-cylinder model, the Victory Six. John North Willys cut prices on all Whippet models and priced one, a sport coupe, at $545, which is $5 less than the price of the corresponding Ford model. And William Crapo Durant made the prices of his 4-cylinder Star match those of the Ford.
Within the show price became of little import. The beauty of car bodies drew attention, the mechanics of motors drew questions. Body colors were brilliant on almost every car. Effective was the Reo Flying Cloud phaeton, grey with red line striping and with red leather upholstery. Effective too was the Cadillac touring car finished in cream & gold and with pigskin upholstery.
Four out of five cars had closed bodies, for the most part hung low. Radiators were high & narrow, hoods large, front fenders flaring. People who tried sitting in the cars found them roomy & comfortable. On dashboards was this and that to make driving less worrisome. On the bottoms of almost every car were four-wheel brakes.
While visiting the show there developed the question of measuring the money's worth offered by the various manufacturers. There was no common divisor for all of the 300 cars shown. Body type was no modulus, nor price, nor size as measured by wheelbase. Yet price considered with size, as arranged in the following tables, might give some clue. Because every motor manufacturer produces a four-door sedan or a model very like one, the data pertains to that type of car.
FOUR CYLINDER CARS
Chevrolet $675. Dodge de luxe $950.
Chrysler 52 795. Star 570.
Dodge 875. Whippet 585.
SIX CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 115 inches or less)
Buick $1295. Moon $1295.
Chrysler 62 1245. Nash 995.
Chandler 995. Nash Special 1335.
Dodge 1095. Pontiac 825.
Durant 65 895. Oldsmobile 1025.
Erskine 885. Studebaker Dicta-
Essex 795. tor 1195.
Falcon-Knight 1195. Velie 2065.
Graham-Paige Wolverine 1295.
(unannounced) Willys-Knight
Hupmobile 1395. (Standard) 1245.
Jordan 1395. Willys-Knight 70 1495.
SIX CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 116 inches to 120 inches)
Auburn $1395. Moon $1345.
Buick 47-S 1495. Oakland 1145
Dodge Senior 1650. Peerless 1295
Hudson 1325. Studebaker Com-
Kissel 1495 -mander 1495.
Velie 1585.
SIX CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 121 inches to 125 inches)
Chandler $1525. Reo Flying
du Pont 3400. Cloud $1845.
SIX CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 126 inches to 130 inches)
Buick 50 $1995. Nash $1925.
Franklin 2790. Packard 2285.
Hudson 1950. Pierce-Arrow 3350.
Willys-Knight 1995.
SIX CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 131 inches and over)
Chrysler $2945. Packard $2685.
duPont 4930. Stearns-Knight 3450.
Marmon 3565. Willys-Knight 2850.
EIGHT CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 125 inches or less)
Auburn 88 $1695. Kissel 1895.
Chandler Royal 1995. La Salle 2350.
Elcar 1395. Locomobile 1975.
Gardner 1495. Marmon 1395
Hupmobile 1875. Marmon 1895.
Jordan 1995. Moon 2195.
Velie 2095.
EIGHT CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 126 inches to 130 inches)
Auburn $2195. Gardner 95 $2295.
Diana 1995. Locomobile 2850.
EIGHT CYLINDER CARS
(Wheel base of 131 inches and over)
Cadillac $3395. Peerless $2345.
Cunningham 8121. Packard 3750.
Kissel 2395. Steams-Knight 4650.
Lincoln 4800. Studebaker 1985.
Stutz 357O.
* President of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the Manhattan and Chicago shows, he was in effect host to the thousands who crowded through the exhibition rooms. And it was not strange to hear him hailed familiarly. He was one of the first men to manufacture automobiles. All men notable in the industry know him.