The Big Parade

In Manhattan's big and fancy Waldorf-Astoria Hotel last week, General Motors opened the biggest and fanciest auto show of the new season. On the first day, 50,000 people crowded around the 38 shiny models, gawked at the musical review designed to show 50 years of motor history, were buttonholed by hustling salesmen with the old prewar invitation: "See how it feels behind the wheel."

But there was one difference between this and prewar shows: all the cars not only seemed to resemble each other, but also looked quite a bit like those put out by other manufacturers (see cuts). The demands of modern auto design--broad seats, big windows, low center of gravity--seemed to have ruled out most chances for individuality.

Making its debut at the show was the 1950 Cadillac. It had a new body 4 inches lower than last year's model, the same high-tailed rear fenders, and a new point for argument by amateur designers: a vertical chrome strip that broke the flowing lines of the body just ahead of the rear fenders. As an added eye-catcher, Cadillac was showing a $32,000 yellow convertible with upholstery of leopard skin and grey nylon satin and leopard skin floor rugs. Oldsmobile had a hard-top convertible with seats trimmed in green alligator hide, while Buick displayed a salmon-colored "Riviera" with a shocking pink interior trimmed in simulated broadtail.

But the hit of the show to dollar-conscious consumers was something much plainer, the Chevrolet. Though little changed in body style, the Chewy had an automatic transmission (a version of the Dynaflow), the first in the low-priced field, and a new engine delivering 105 h.p. Chewy hoped to put the "Power Glide" automatic shift on 20% of its cars this year. The price: $150 extra.

On almost all G.M. cars there was a significant change in pricing. Most of the extras that had formerly come on cars as "standard" equipment, although at extra cost, were now optional. Thus, a Chewy business coupe could be bought for as little as $1.250 f.o.b. Flint.

Record Year? The other motormakers were hustling as hard as G.M. for business. Ford cut the prices of its V-8 station wagon to $1,970, a drop of $148, put out a new six-cylinder station wagon for $1,895. It also wheeled out its new, though hardly changed, Lincoln, the last of its 1950 models. Henry Ford confidently expected his company would have its biggest year ever, said he planned to step up production 20% to 5,000 passenger cars a day during April, May and June. To expand further, he bought a 200-acre plot in Cleveland last week on which to build an $80 million engine plant and foundry.

Chrysler Corp. also was stepping up production. With the introduction of its 1950 Plymouth, Chrysler had also finished the parade of its new, lower and roomier models. Before long, it hoped to be producing 7,100 cars and trucks a day. As a sales point, Chrysler had also trimmed off extras so that a Plymouth could be bought for as low as $1,295 f.o.b. Detroit.

Record Six Months? Among the independents, Packard kept up with the price-trimming parade by lopping $50 off the price of its Ultramatic automatic drive, bringing it down to $175. And last week, Henry & Edgar Kaiser summoned K-F dealers and distributors to Willow Run to let them see their new models with an automatic shift (Hydra-Matic, purchased from G.M.) and K-F's new lower-priced, i oo-inch-wheelbase car. It hopes to get the small car into production by summer. Another new arrival: automatic transmission on the Studebaker, due sometime after April i.

With almost all the new models out, and retooling shutdowns over, automobile production rose to 126,045 last week, highest in four months. With that as a starter, automen predicted that 1950s first six months, at least, would be as good as --or better than--last year's.

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