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Streamline. Last year Fierce-Arrow startled the automobile world by exhibit ing a streamlined car, the Silver Arrow, at the automobile show. Only five were specially manufactured. This year the Silver Arrow will be a production job. But Pierce Arrow, a high priced car, has necessarily a high priced, therefore a largely conservative market. This year will see automobile companies making three kinds of cars, the standard traditional type, the semi-streamline, and the streamline which is the gamble of Chrysler & Foy. Chrysler is not taking this gamble with his big volume makes Plymouth and Dodge, for the results of a failure with them would be too costly. But even with De Soto it is a big enough risk, involving millions in new tools and dies aside from the possible loss of sales. But it is not all gamble: rather it is an attempt to rationalize a device that was born a generation ago as a buggy with an engine under it. Later the engine was put in front to substitute for the horse. Thus the automobile gradually acquired a shape that was just the reverse of that most efficient for overcoming air drag—low in front and high behind instead of high in front, tapering behind. The new De Soto is an approach to the sweeping curve of a tear drop. Its front mounds up in a smooth curve over the engine, with headlights and other gadgets embedded in its solid structure. The hump of the tonneau is in the centre rather than at the rear of the car. The engine is over, not behind, the front axle. The rear seat is moved forward some 20 inches from its old place on top of the rear axle to slope off the body. The front seat has been widened eight inches to hold three passengers comfortably. When and if streamlining is completed the running board will disappear and the engine will move to the rear. But that time is not yet. Such is Chrysler's attempt to give the automobile a shape of its own, to get further ahead in the automobile race of 1934. But he has by no means got that race to himself. General Motors which came out of Depression with 45% of U. S. automobile business is digging in to hold that gain and get more. The shakeups which took place in General Motors (TIME, Oct. 23) were evidence of the internal struggles of that company to improve its position. William Knudsen, new executive vice president in charge of operations, who previously was Chevrolet's big push, is now putting his shoulder to the whole company for a still bigger push. Ford also has changed its ways. Ford has lost ground in recent years because it persisted in making cars to the exclusion of ringing Ford bells in the public consciousness. Two months ago however Henry Ford did the unprecedented by taking a magazine (FORTUNE) into his plant and telling about his business. A month later he gave newsmen beer and a welcome such as he has never given them before. His advertising, sales promotion and merchandising for 1934 is planned on a huge scale. Instead of being, as usual, a month behind other companies on his new model, this year he was a good month ahead of them. By Christmas week his plants were turning out 2,000 cars a day while other companies, impeded by the tool makers strike and finding difficulties in putting their new "knees" into production, were struggling to get a few cars ready for the automobile show.