Detroit's New Line-Up

As summer begins, the U.S. economy has pretty well scaled back to its pre-recession peaks of production. On the Federal Reserve Board's production index, industrial output for May hit 108% of the 1957 base--three points above April and six above the recession low in February. And Washington economists predict that in June the index will rise to within a point or two of the alltime high of 111% set in January of 1960.

The economy got its biggest lift in May from the auto industry, where production was up 9%. Not since 1929, the maiden year of the model A. had Ford sold so many Fords in May. Over at General Motors, Chevrolet enjoyed its best month this year and the second-best May in history. Sales rose 52%.

All told, during 1961's first five months. General Motors accounted for 49% of all domestic auto sales, Ford for 31%. Chrysler, which once considered 17% of the market its "traditional" share, dipped to 12%. Though still a member of "the Big Three" in assets and plant capacity, in sales Chrysler is now closer to being in a class with American Motors, which has 7% of the market. Trailing far behind, in an unhappy class by itself, is Studebaker-Packard, with 1% of domestic auto sales.

Studying those figures as time for the annual model changeover approached, automen totted up the hits and misses among the '61s:

GENERAL MOTORS

Chevrolet, as in 18 of the past 20 years, continues to be the fastest seller. Its registered sales in the first four months were off by more than 100,000 from 1960, but its share of the market held fairly steady at 21%. Chevy lost part of its sales to its own brother, Corvair, which scored with the Monza--a hot-selling, bucket-seat job that increased Corvair's market slice from 3.3% to 5.6%, second highest among individual compact models.

In the middle-priced market, G.M's high-performance Pontiac rose from 6.1% to 6.5%, of which a 1.9% share was supplied by its smaller version, the Tempest, which has a four-cylinder engine that brings its price down into the Corvair bracket. Long-ailing Buick and its new smaller Special model climbed from 2.5% to 4.1% of the market, thanks to less chrome and more performance. (One competitor calls Buick's mechanical performance this year "about the best in the industry.") Oldsmobile, with a loyal core of repeat buyers, inched up from 5.3% to 5-5%. though its smaller F85 model brought in only a disappointing 1.1%. Cadillac, more conservatively styled than in years past, remained the biggest-selling luxury car, increased its share of the market from 2.4% to 2.7%.

FORD

The clean-styled Falcon continued to lead the compact field, boosted its market penetration from 5.9% to 7.9%. In so doing, it cut into sales of the standard-sized Ford, which slipped from 15% to 13%-Mercury also slid, from 2.5% to 2.1%, partly because it looks too much like the Ford. But its little brother Comet more than made up the slack by spurting from 1% to 3% of the market.

In the high-priced field, the Thunderbird rose from 1.2% to 1.6%, helped by an optional bendable steering shaft that folds back for easier entering (90% of the buyers demanded it). Lincoln Continental, which offered a two-year warranty, also rose, but to only .6%.

CHRYSLER

Virtually every one of its models is a sales disappointment to Chrysler--a fact that Chairman Lester Lum Colbert blames chiefly on bad publicity resulting from stockholder dissension and the conflict-of-interest scandals (TIME. July 11 et seq.). Once-mighty Plymouth has skidded from 4.9% to 3.3% of the market, and the European-styled Valiant has not made up the difference, rising only from 2%_ to 2.1% despite a $100 price cut. Valiant's new and costlier twin, the compact Dodge Lancer, got only a discouraging 1.2% of the market, and the middle-priced Dodge Dart, newly styled with a bomb-shaped tail end, dropped from 5.3% to 3%. The middle-rung Chrysler is a bright spot: it reduced minimum prices, lifted its market from 1.2% to 1.6%. But only one out of every 500 cars sold in the U.S. today is the luxury Imperial.

AMERICAN MOTORS

Sharp competition from other compacts stalled the fast advance of Rambler. Though the restyled little American skipped from 1.7% of the market to 2.1%, the bigger Classic dropped from 4.2% to 3-6%. Rambler plans no major style changes for '62.

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