THE MOTOR TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19980, 23 December 1926, Page 6

THE MOTOR TRADE.

Despite the fact that weather and other conditions have been anything but favouri able as regards motors and motoring, i motor dealers report a successful year. ■ Peculiarly enough, October and November, which are usually '‘boom’' months in the lr : trade, were particularly slack, but this ! was more than compensated for in the • 1 earlier part of the year, and during the ie present month. Although few actual sales 3r were reported during the Exhibition, the ig effects of the motor show were far-rcach-id ing. and at least two motor dealers in as the" city can point to recent sales as a id i result of the buyers haying previously le viewed their cars in the motor pavilion, so As a selling proposition, American cars as s till hold pride of place, and notwith--13 i standing the undoubted quality of British e ' and Continental productions, they are, 10 with one or two exceptions, but :h 1 suitable for New Zealand conditions. Then, ot ! again, their price is against them, and lv 1 p le average man who can have everything ? e he desires in the shape of a ear for any thing between £250 and £6OO (between which figures he has a huge range of to American cars to choose from), will hesitate to pay half as much again for a I British car from which it is doubtful if 0 be will receive better service. A case in point may be cited. A leading English rv firm has recently put on the market, a / beautiful six-cyliii.hr job, designed prim • ’ nrily as a colonial model and there can Ik es no doubt that it is eminently suited for d work in the Dominion. The price, how k! ever, for + he man who wants a car to use. V I is prohibitive, for it cannot In sold here ■s’ under £IO6O. When one compares this • ’ with the 20 nr more American highpowered six-cylinder ears of undoubted

worth which can be purchased for half I that price, one can easily see why so few British car are being sold. The totally enclosed car is becoming more and more popular, and the past year has seen a , greater proportion of this type sold than of the open car. Four-wheel brakes, also, are more in demand and to be thoroughly up-to-date, latest models must be fitted with them. In tyres also, the American product is meeting with a readier sale than the British and Continental product, although it is pleasing to note that one huge British tyre manufacturing concern, which has recently completely reorganised its works, is pressing its American competitors closely on the market. What is considered by some dealers to he the greatest set-back of the year, is the fact that the general distributors of several , popular American cars, for which they are agents, have issued an ultimatum that the dealers must handle these cars solely, which, of course, precludes their dealing in one or other of the smaller Continental or British makes. The position has now arisen that the traders have had to drop one or other of the agencies, and consequently are left with cars on hand, for which‘they will, eventually, necessarily be unable to give proper service. Nevertheless, the year has been a satisfactory one, and among the Dunedin motor dealers an optimistic spirit prevails.