The Motor World

NZ Truth, Issue 811, 28 May 1921, Page 8

The Motor World

.. » — * (By "Croak.") / Prices and price cutting are being anxiously discussed m the motor world m the Old "Bart. Since November, and, indeed, further back, manufacturers have been unsettled, and while published bal-ance-sheets suggested that rates had not been so highly remunerative as the public were inclined to imagine, many were compelled by economic .conditions to revise their catalogues and to announce lower terms. The immediate eff act was to cause the buying public to adopt a wait-and-see policy m the hope that the whole market would be universally affected, and that prices would fall still further. The uncertain situation thus created induced a number of leading firms to guarantee purchasers against apy fall and thus indicated the confidence of manufacturers m their ability to meet market fluctuations. But even this offer cannot be said to have inspired the public to resume their de-: marid for cars, and it may be taken for granted that it is with the cnjeet of stimulating buying that a number ol firms later took a decided step by announcing further reductions. A reformer m 'Murka recently evolved a brilliant idea to stop "speeding" cars. The plan was to erect ridges on all main roads, becoming more frequent m the more congested parts, so that the man who dared to travel at more, than a tevr miles an hour was sure to break a Bpri»g, "or something else," as the reformer states: Reminds one of the "hurdles" erected on 'the Hutt-road, about ad©-, cade ago by the Petone Borough Council. It IS II New "Sfprk mo-oar drivers are all supplied with a book of traffic instructions, with "Thou shalt not kill" m big staring letters on the oover. Something more emphatic than that— "A life for a life," say — would be needed- to steady some of •em m Wellington. n n ?i A member of the board of directors of the Automobile Chamber of Commerce sums up the valiip of the motor car: "Product of brain and brawn, I fill man's primary need for transportation. I aid the progress of civilisation by bringing men closer together. "I render employment to millions: I speed production and the delivery of the world's goods. I increase the value of property. I place the country within the reach of the city dweller, and bring the city to the doors of the country folk. "To the farmer I have been a Godsend. I save him time and labor. The manufacturer depends upon me to carry merchandise from source to factory, and on to the markets. I proclaim the wares of the merchant. I swell his profits. "I am the feet of the salesman, boaring him to greater service, to more and greater riches. I bring the physician In time to save the stricken. I keep his mind keen and his hand \ steady. I bring roses to the cheeks of pallor. "Woman realises her Independence through my offices. ' . "To youth I mean the wholesomeness of the great outdoors, the poetry of mortloh and the romance of changing scene. To age I bring rejuvenation, through diversions others than the hearthstone.. I attend man at his birth. Throughout the span of life I am the cradle, the saddle, and the rocking chair. I am the bearer to the final place of rest. I am the new common carr.ier. I am the automobile."