Motors

Back from the warmth and flowers of Hawaii where many a U. S. businessman takes winter's rest, John North Willys, of Toledo, last week: 1) reduced the prices of all Willys-Knight Standard Six models by $150; 2) hired every man who applied for factory work in order to reach a required production of 2,000 cars daily; 3) received reports from salesmen that they had sold 30,000 cars during March; 4) notified Willys-Overland stockholders that their net income last year had been $6,341,519, the equivalent of $2.04 on each company share.

How the individual is less, and the corporation is more, has been shown by the comparative smallness of the estates of many founders of famed businesses. Thus James W. Packard's total estate was last week estimated at $7,000,000, whereas recent net annual profits of the Packard Motor Car Co. have been some $10,000,000.

Dodge Bros. (Edward G. Wilmer, president), having figured a production schedule that permits them to sell a new 6-cylinder model (the Standard Six) for $875, last week abandoned production of the old 4-cylinder car that for many a year stood them in good sales stead. Its price had been almost as much as that of the Standard Six. Other current Dodge models are the Victory Six and the Senior.

Result of the three Graham brothers* investing some of the millions, which they made by selling out their truck manufacturing business to Dodge Bros., in what is now called the Graham-Paige Motors Corp.: 7,500 cars made this March; 2,428 cars in March 1927; about 12,350 cars and $350,000 earnings in the first three months of this year; 6,006 and $185,798 loss in the first three months of last year.

Hudson Motor Car Co., which this year remodeled its Essex as a "Super-Six," reported last week that the innovation increased sales of both Essex and Hudson cars. During the first three months just ended, the company manufactured 91,500 cars, a new high record. During the same three months of 1927 it produced but 74,000. Chairman Roy Dikeman Chapin and President R. B. Jackson count on continuing into April the present production of 1,550 Hudsons & Essexes each day.

*Joseph B., Robert C., Ray A.