The People's Choice

Ford Motor Co. this week unveiled its second entry in the compact car market and the sixth U.S. compact car: the Comet. Planned as the successor to the defunct Edsel, the Comet is longer (wheelbase: 114 in.) than most other compacts, will sell at less than $100 above the Falcon. Ford hustled to get it out because the compact car market is proving to be the hottest thing that has happened to Detroit in years.

Detroit underestimated the compact market, is stepping up production in a race to meet demand. Compacts now account for 25% of U.S. auto production, helped push output to a January record of 691,400 cars. Ford's Falcon has already nudged into third place in production (topped only by Chevrolet and the big Ford), grabbed some 30% of the compact market with sales of 100,000. It is rapidly approaching the well-established Rambler, which holds first place in compact sales with 112,700 to date. Production of both Chevy's Corvair and Chrysler's Valiant is still being stepped up.

Mileage Troubles. How have the compact cars done on the road? Ford's Falcon appears to be out in front. Its only troubles have been minor, e.g., an air vent grille that sometimes leaked (corrected), and it has run up the best record for gas consumption (average: 25 miles per gallon in city driving). Said a Detroit Falcon owner: "I'm driving the Falcon all the time; I've let my wife take the Thunderbird." Chrysler's Valiant also has had only minor troubles, quickly corrected, gets less mileage than the Falcon because it is a heavier and more powerful car.

General Motors' Corvair, most radical of the Big Three compacts, has had the most complaints, though many were the minor bugs that often afflict a completely new car. Chevrolet took advantage of the steel strike shutdown to correct most of them, including a slipping fan belt and carburetor icing. Biggest complaint against the Corvair is its gas mileage, which sometimes runs well under 20 m.p.g., rarely measures up to other compacts. Part of the trouble may be its gasoline heater, which eats up to a quart of gas an hour. Chevrolet engineers have also remodeled the Corvair's carburetors in the interests of saving gas. Though many drivers complain that none of the compacts live up to mileage expectations, they burn standard instead of premium gas, giving them a considerable price saving.

First Timers. The compacts are luring many new car buyers into the market. Six percent of all Falcon buyers never owned a car before, 21% have no trade-in, and only 12% buy the Falcon as a second car. The compacts are also cutting into the imported car market; 26% of all trade-ins are foreign makes.

Sparked by small car sales, auto sales were running 8% higher than a year ago, and at a 5,500,000-a-year rate in mid-January when sales are traditionally slow. Nevertheless, there is some grumbling in Detroit that sales are not better. One reason that most people ignore is that there is still a shortage in many lines as a result of the steel strike. The shortage is worst among the compacts; they are so much in demand that they are being rationed to dealers.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.