Confidence in Cars

Only one major segment of the economy has yet to turn around: car sales. Last week President Lester Lum ("Tex") Colbert showed off Chrysler Corp.'s new line, predicted that the industry's calendar 1959 sales will rise to 5,500,000 or 6,000,000, well above calendar 1958's estimated 4,600,000. But even optimistic Tex Colbert felt that buyers are not yet as enthusiastic as the industry would like. Said he: "People still show some tendency to wait for further signs of recovery before taking on new obligations." To loosen consumer purse strings, Chrysler spent $150 million to face-lift its cars, installed a swivel front seat in many models to make it easier to get in and out.

General Motors will kick off its new model year with the Buick on Sept. 15. Last week the completely restyled Buick was already on the streets, being delivered to dealers (see cut). Ford said the new Mercury will be "totally new from road to roof," with 61% more glass space than the poor-selling '585. To make the overhaul complete, Ford's Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Boss James J. Nance, onetime head of Hotpoint and Studebaker-Packard, resigned under pressure after eight months as division chief. Under Nance, production skidded to 110,644 cars this year from 264,439 at the same time last year. Nance was replaced by his assistant, Vice President Ben D. Mills, 43.

The big worry in Detroit was still the threat of an auto strike. United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther promised to set the date this week for a strike, unless the Big Three fatten their six-month-old offer of a two-year contract extension. At week's end Reuther himself rejoined the contract talks for the first time since June 1, and both sides appeared optimistic. But wildcat strikes also continued to spread. Some 27,000 workers had walked off the job, by far the largest number since auto industry contracts expired 14 weeks ago.

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