Word: forded
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Last week the Wall Street Journal tried to scoop the industry by coming out with a dope story, illustrated with sketches of the 1955 models of Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. Those who have seen the new models thought that the Journal had picked up some old blueprints of the Chevrolet; there have been at least two new designs since that model. Ford executives were frankly surprised at the sketch of the front end of the Ford: it looked like a Studebaker, bore little resemblance to their 1955 model. The most accurate sketch was of the Dodge, with a flat hood...
...Ford will have a new body for Fords, the first complete change since 1949. Lincoln's body will be basically unchanged but three or four inches lower...
Most dealers blame overproduction for their troubles, chiefly because of the race between Ford and Chevrolet for first place. Others blame dealers themselves for the wild & woolly sales blitz last fall to clear out 1953 stocks to make room for new models. The result: customers got the idea that they could almost name their price, and they are still trying to do it. Old-line dealers think that the trouble is due to lack of sales savvy on the part of new dealers...
...Ford and General Motors were for the most part able to steer clear of such get-rich-quick newcomers. But many independent automakers were forced to take them on, and now they are in trouble. Said a Chicago dealer: "The weak sisters shouldn't have been in the business in the first place. They came in during the good years and made their pile, and now they're squawking...
Although both Ford and General Motors have issued stern warnings against bootlegging, they are not anxious to bail out their dealers by cutting back production or lowering prices. For one thing, the Justice Department is already looking into the auto industry, worried because Ford and G.M. have gobbled up 83% of the auto market in their production race. Any price cut would only hurt such staggering independents as Studebaker, Hudson and Kaiser even more, and bring antitrust agents to Detroit at a dead...