The Big Three automakers are deep in crash programs to get into the market with small, compact cars. As small European and U.S. cars grabbed 15% of the market, American Motors presented fresh evidence of how profitable the market is. American’s President George Romney reported that in the fourth quarter of 1958 the company earned $21 million, or $3.56 a share, nearly as much as it cleared in the previous twelve months. Studebaker-Packard’s Lark sold so well in the first ten days of January that the company for the fourth time has raised its production.
The Big Three carmakers can still change their minds about bringing out small cars. But the chances of dropping them are small and the deadline for any major change close. By last week their investments in engineering, designing, new tools and dies, and a thousand and one other things were enormous. G.M. has already invested an estimated $200 million toward introducing its small car in August. Ford has laid out $150 million, hopes to come out in October. Chrysler has spent $100 million, after a slow start is hustling to come out early in 1960.
What will the new small cars be like? They will not be scaled-down or stripped-down versions of Chevies, Fords or Plymouths. They will be completely redesigned automobiles, offering almost the same comfort, convenience and even luxuries as present U.S. cars. While all the designing and other work on the new cars has been done in the deepest secrecy, details have been leaked out by tool-and diemakers and other suppliers. With this help, plus sneak shots of a Chevy model on the proving grounds, Motor Life, the auto trade magazine (TIME, Oct. 21, 1957), has put together its own preview of the new cars. The automakers have brushed off the sketches as speculative since the cars are still being designed and may well be changed more before they finally appear in dealers’ showrooms.
The cars will be considerably shorter than present models, with wheelbases ranging from 106 to 113 in. The overhang of 1959-model U.S. cars will be reduced, thus cutting the overall length by 2 to 3 ft. The new cars will be rounded and tucked in. They will also be much lighter. Wide use of aluminum, coupled with a redesigning of thousands of individual parts from bolts to caps, will cut the overall weight to around 2,500 Ibs., almost one-third less than the weights of the 1959 Ford, Chevy and Plymouth. This in turn will mean up to 25 miles per gallon of gas, an economy factor that will get more important as gasoline taxes go up. Yet the cars will not be minimum, European-style transportation. They will include U.S. features such as wrap-around windshields, offer most of the optional equipment now available in big cars.
GENERAL MOTORS will tempt U.S. car buyers with a rear-engine car. The engine block and pistons will be of a high-silicon aluminum that will give greater efficiency, permit a higher compression ratio. The six-cylinder, pancake-design engine will deliver 90 to 100 h.p., do 25 miles per gallon or better. G.M. developed the aluminum engine not only for greater economy in manufacture and operation, but also to lick the limitations of rear-engine cars, which require a very light engine or a short wheelbase. Since the rear engine will sharply reduce the transmission hump, the middle person in the front or back seat will have full legroom. The car will be of “unitized” construction, i.e., the body and frame a single unit welded together. Automatic transmission, power steering, etc., will be offered as optional equipment. Without these, the retail price will be slightly below $2,000.
FORD will bring out a car styled somewhat like its English makes, the Zephyr, Consul and Anglia. The initial impression, said a Detroit tool-and diemaker, “is not that of a small car, but of a standard car until you get close. It is handsomely proportioned and refreshingly uncluttered.” It will be first produced in a two-door hardtop and a station wagon on a 108-in. wheelbase; later Ford may fill out the line, including convertibles, using a 113-in. wheelbase. Ford is working to perfect its own aluminum engine. Initially, its small cars will use a newly designed six-cylinder, 90-to 100-h.p. engine conventionally positioned in the front, designed for upwards of 25 miles per gallon, will sell for about $2,000.
CHRYSLER will combine U.S. and European styling in a completely new blend. The foreign flavor will be most apparent in the center panels; U.S. styling will dominate the front and rear ends. To power it, Chrysler plans to have an aluminum engine eventually, but expects to start out with a new overhead-valve, six-cylinder cast-iron engine of about 100 h.p. Swivel seats, which have proved one of the most popular features of the 1959 Chryslers, Dodges and Plymouths, will be used to make the cars easier to get in and out of. Gas mileage will be “around” 25 miles per gallon, and the retail price without optional equipment will be in the neighborhood of $2,000. Chrysler will also offer power steering.
How much is the U.S. market affected by a desire for economy and how much by the feeling that present cars are too big? Last week U.S. car buyers were offering some answers. Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth all noted an upswing in the demand for six-cylinder engines instead of eight. In the first three months of this model year, Ford’s output of sixes rose from 16.4% as of last year this time to 22.6%; Plymouth’s went up from 15.6% to 18.9%; Chevrolet’s rose “considerably.”
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