Excellence of New Chassis and Standardized Design are Main Features of the Automobile Show

The First National Exposition for 1923 Reveals the Standard Motor Styles

GEORGE W. SUTTON, JR.

NEVER, since the argument started as to whether the clanking juggernaut of Elwood Haynes or the wheezy horseless carriage of Charles E. Duryea was the first American automobile, have there been so few changes of a radical nature in chassis and bodies to report as are going to be displayed in the first of the big 1923 motor car expositions, the New York National Automobile Show, which opens at the Grand Central Palace, New York, on January 6th, and will carry on through January 13th. By the same token, there has never been on display, in this country at least, such a collection of fine, standard cars and never before has public interest in them been so great.

Eighty-three different makes of automobiles will be exhibited, slightly fewer than last year but the presence of 290 separate exhibitors of automobile accessories renders this show the largest automobile exhibition ever presented in this country. The European shows this year are much larger than ours, but that is because over there they have no enormous quantity-production companies turning out hundreds of thousands of similar models; therefore, their industry is made up of a larger number of manufacturers whose output is relatively small. The second holding of the Annual National Show will be in the Coliseum and First Regiment Armory, Chicago, from January 27th to February 3rd.

It was formerly the custom to make the New York Show the occasion for the introduction of the year's new models and no company of any considerable standing would dare let the event pass without revealing some amazingly novel change in body or chassis. Now, the shoe is on the other foot and no standard manufacture would dare appear with a massproduction model which differed very materially from the cars turned out by other manufacturers. In that last sentence you have the keynote of the trend of standard automobile styles in America at the present moment.

Maybe something secret is in prospect and will not be revealed until the opening night of the Show. I doubt it. At any rate, after consultation with all of the companies whose cars will be exhibited at the Show, and seeing photographs of practically all of these machines I do not hesitate to say that the Dagmar, produced by the Crawford Automobile Company, is the most radically "different" American car produced this year. This cleverly designed machine, which incorporates in its body lines much that belongs to Packard but also much which belongs only to itself, was shown prominently in this magazine at the time of its appearance a couple of months ago and there is no need to redescribe it here. The motoring public has grown more motorwise with the passing years and small changes in chassis and body mean more to it than they did. Hence, it is content to look over several hundred new models in search of minor changes which a few years ago would have passed unnoticed.

The exhibitors at the Show are:

Ambassador

Anderson

Apperson

Auburn

Buick

Cadillac

Case

Chalmers

Chandler

Chevrolet

Cleveland

Climber

Cole

Columbia

Courier

Crawford

Davis

Detroit Electric

Dodge

Dorris

Dort

Durant

Earl

Elcar

Elgin

Essex

Franklin

Gardner

Gray

Handley-

Knight

Hatfield

Haynes

H. C. S

Hudson

Hupmobile

Jewett

Jordan

King

Kissel

Kline Kar

Lafayette

Lexington

Liberty

Lincoln

Locomobile

McFarlan

Marmon

Maxwell

Mercer

Milburn Elec-

trie

Mitchell

Moon

Nash

National

Noma

Oakland

Oldsmobile

Overland

Packard

Paige

Paterson

Peerless

Pierce-Arrow

Pilot

Premier

Rauch-Lang

Rickenbacker

R. & V.

Knight

Reo

Roamer

Rotary Six

Saxon

Sayers

Standard

Stanley

Star

Stearns-

K night

Stephens

Studebaker

Stutz

Templar

Velie

Westcott

Wills-St.

Claire

Willys-

K night

You don't see any particularly new names in that list for the reason that the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, under whose auspices the National Shows are held, forbids the exhibition at the Shows of the product of any company which has not been producing automobiles for at least a year.

Have I given the impression that the Show will contain nothing new or interesting? I haven't meant to. There is much that is new and interesting but it is all in the nature of normal automotive progress rather than sudden and astonishing innovations in body and chassis design. Let us look over a few of the things the motoring public will see for the first time when the Palace doors open on January 6 th.

Franklin is out with a complete new line of body models. That in itself is an interesting development, especially in view of the new engine which was announced by the Franklin Company a very short time ago. Franklin has always been different in appearance and in operation from other American automobiles. It is by far the most popular of all our aircooled machines and its bodies have not always been understandable by those whose eyes are accustomed to the styles set by watercooled cars. A vast improvement took place in Franklin bodies last year and this year's cars are infinitely better looking than anything Franklin has produced to date. They appear longer, with straighter lines, and, except for the distinctive Franklin radiator, are very little unlike the accepted standard in American automobiles. The radiator is straighter than formerly, the tilt being practically eliminated. Among these new models is one called the demi-sedan which is quite similar in its construction to some of the European machines, in that it is a touring car with a permanent soft roof and sliding windows which allow it to be opened or enclosed at will. This is a real step forward in standard cars.

At the moment of writing, it appears that the little Franklin Four, announced during last year's Show, will not be present in the Franklin booth this year and, in fact, will not be seen at all during 1923. If this turns out to be the case, it is too bad because this little machine was expected to enhance considerably the growing interest in smaller air-cooled cars.

An important development at the show is the first appearance of the new Mercer 6cylinder cars. There is nothing radical about the new Mercer. It is of the same 132-inch wheelbase as the four, which will also be continued by Mercer. The engine is a neat accessible machine of the overhead valve type and the new chassis increases considerably the usefulness of this famous car for the exigencies of modern motoring.

Another popular company to bring out a new 6-cylinder line in addition to its 4-cvlinder cars at the Show is the Dort. The new Dorts, in eight separate models, make one more in the growing list of 6-cylinder cars at less than Si,000. Two years ago there were only four popular cars in America in the less-thanSi,ooo class. Today there are approximately twenty-four and six of them are 6-cylinder machines. The body styles of the new Dort are a pleasing but conventional combination of gentle curves and long straight lines and the fittings are considerably better than the average in the lower price field.

The Stanley steam car, inspired, no doubt, by the eminent Dr. Coue, continues to get better and better daily, its new Model 740, all types of which will be present at the Show, are beautiful machines, indistinguishable on the outside from the higher grades of gasoline cars. Among the new Stanleys is a 5-passenger sedan called "The Utility" car. This is the Stanley Company's interpretation of the demand for a closed car at less cost than the usual machine of that character, but without the skimping which some manufacturers have practised to bring one or two models of their enclosed types down to the neighborhood of their open cars.

The R. & V. Motor Company, one of the few manufacturers of cars with Knight type engines, will reveal a brand new 6-cylinder model at the New York Show, with very important improvements, including a four-bearing instead of a three-bearing crankshaft and considerably increased power. The most radical change in the appearance of the R. & V. Knight cars is the elimination of the pointed radiator in favor of a nickel-plated radiator of flat front. The new R. & V. Knights have a wheelbase of 124 inches and remarkably complete equipment.

Introduced a few months ago, the Barley Six, built by the manufacturers of the Roamer car, will form a prominent part of the Roamer exhibit. This machine, which supplies one of the few unusual color notes in the Show, which, unfortunately, runs mostly to black or nearly black cars, does not give the appearance of being very much smaller than the Roamer but is considerably lighter and less expensive but no less roomy.

Several months have elapsed since the announcement of the appearance of the 6-cylinder Knight type models of the famous old Stearns, but the public has not yet had an intensive look at them. This opportunity will be presented at the Automobile Show where the new sixes will be shown along with the Stearns 4-cylinder models. The interest in Knight type 6-cylinder cars lies in the fact that while a number of 4-cylinder Knight type motors have been built successfully in this country, something has seemed to stand in the way of the progress of 6-cylinder machines built on this principle. The Stearns Company has been long established in the industry and has created an enviable reputation for reliability and conservatism. Therefore, its new 6-cylinder cars will receive more than passing attention from the motoring public. Their wheelbase is 130 inches, 5 inches longer than on the 4-cylinder models and the new designs are claimed to be absolutely free from vibration.

(Continued on page 94)

(Continued from page 74)

A new 6-cylinder machine in the moderate price class is to be put out shortly by Apperson, but it is doubtful if it will be ready in time for the New York Show. This does not mean a discontinuance of the Apperson 8-cylinder cars, but is an addition to the line.

Those are some of the highlights of the forthcoming Show, but there will be oodles and oodles of new models which I have not mentioned. For instance, entirely new series of 1923 designs will be revealed by Oakland, Anderson, Chandler, Dorris, Handley-Knight, Mitchell, Rotary Six, Velie and Westcott. A large number of companies this year have disregarded the previous custom of waiting until Show time to "spring" their new models and have brought them out the minute they were ready. A number of these have appeared in recent months and will be displayed for the inspection of the public along with one or two absolutely new additional models. Among them are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Cleveland, Davis, Dodge, Haynes, Jordan, King, Liberty, Peerless, Standard Eight, Stutz and Templar.

Locomobile's new models will be placed on view for the first time at the Show and will attract considerable interest on account of the fact that this famous American car is now one of the products of Mr. W. C. Durant. Those who look for radical innovations in the Locomobiles will be disappointed because they are changed very little from last year's standard designs, hut with a noticeable refining touch here and there.

Individual new models as additional members of their standard lines will be introduced by Ambassador, Columbia, Lexington, McFarlan, Moon, National, Noma, Oldsmobile, Reo, Stephens, Studebaker and Wills Sainte Claire. One of the points of interest in the Show will be the panorama top on the 7-passenger Marmon touring car which was brought out a few months ago. It is about the nicest thing in touring car tops yet displayed because it gives unimpaired vision, is easily managed and has a remarkably neat appearance.

During New York Show week a number of other expositions will be held in various parts of the town. Some of these will be well worth the trouble of a visit. Two in particular should be included in the itinerary of Show visitors—the Second Annual National Body Builders' Show at the Twelfth Regiment Armory and the "Overflow Show" in Madison Square Garden. At the former a number of beautiful custom-built bodies on American and European chassis will be exhibited and the visitors will be shown a vastly greater number of body building details than is possible at either the National Automobile Show or the Automobile Salon. At the Overflow Show there will be a number of interesting cars and one development of considerable importance to American motoring—the reappearance of the Crane Simplex in a new standard chassis of 6-cylinders.

Among other exhibitors at the latter exposition will be the Fox air-cooled car, the Coats steamer, the Sunbeam, the Minerva and the Driggs.