GREAT DEMAND FOR OUR CYCLECARS |
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The New York Times
April 12, 1914
One Maker Says Foreign Business Alone Could Absorb Entire 1914 Output.
Cycle, light, and small car builders in America to-day face a demand, ready made and insistent, for American-designed and American-built cyclecars that would easily absorb every car that the several scores of American makers, who are now prepared, will be able to turn out during the present year, according to E. A. Scheu, president of one of the cyclecar companies.
"Our requests for agency allotments from foreign lands," said he last week, "would easily enable us to give up all of our work for 1914 to producing for markets already created for the cycle-light cars of America in Australia, New Zealand, Honolulu, South Africa, Japan, China, France, Germany, England, Italy and other countries. The American manufacturer in the newly-opened field finds the market awaiting him and thus stands differently from the the manufacturers in the field of larger cars, who were forced to do the pioneer work in opening up the markets of the world to the American machines.
Over on the other side of the world, in Australia, especially, I am informed that a company which finances dealers there and in Honolulu, New Zealand and South Africa stands ready to finance its dealers to the extent of half a million dollars for the purchase of cycle and light cars within the next year. That represents a great many cars. The representative from Australia, who recently spent some time in America, says that, "the American light cars are just what is wanted in that country, for the reason that American makers standardize their product and repair parts always fit and American prices are much lower than those of Europe.
"The dealers from Europe who have made application to our company are most anxious to secure American cars as their average price is almost $225 lower than that of English cars in the same class. And, besides, Americans have a good reputation now for making good roads and we of the cycle and light car field must live up to the standard set by the older manufacturers and uphold that reputation. Entering the field as we do with the world eager for our product, a misstep would be fatal as a matter of course."