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THE 'WHQLESALING‘ ESTAausHMENTs' OF THE
UNETED‘ STATES AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Thom for 1+» 0.5:... a M. A.

MlCHiGAH STATE. UNIVERSWY
Jack E. Fox -
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ABSTRACT

THE'WHOEESALING ESTABLISHMENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

By
Jack E. Fox

This thesis presents an explanatory description of
automobile wholesaling patterns in the united States.
These patterns are generalizations of the manufacturer's
wholesaling activities in regions and zones. The emphasis
of this analysis is placed upon understanding the distri-
bution patterns described by the use of maps. The dis-
tribution system of this industry is of interest because
it is the nation's second largest retail sales volume.

In 1961 its sales were estimated to have been thirty-
seven billion dollars or nine percent of the total yearly
personal income in the nation.

This study describes the present size and location or
wholesaling territories and centers. Based upon an under-
standing of the evolution of present patterns certain con-
clusions regarding further study leading to specific recomp
lendation are presented. Maps designed especially have a
most important place in this thesis. They afford the
reader the opportunity to see the wholesale automobile

distribution patterns currently in use. The maps have

Jack.E. Fox

been.made to show this information on a national, regional,
and local scene. Primarily they show the importance and
worth of a geographical study versus an economic or a mar-
ket analysis. It is hoped that the explanatory description
of present patterns of automobile wholesaling in the united
States will make a contribution in a beginning way along
the lines of achieving more effective size and location of
the wholesaling phase of the automobile industry. .

Research for this thesis was accomplished by interview-
ing many executives of the leading automobile manufacturers
and exchanging information by means of letters, files and
telephone calls. From information compiled a beginning re-
search was commenced and a group of 19 maps was made. It
is the purpose of these maps to make this thesis more easily
~understood. An important factor in the total research is
the author's actual experience as a member of a wholesale
establishment for 7 years.

In general the automobile manufacturers have not kept
abreast of the economic and cultural forces which are dynam-
ic and continuing as they concern their wholesale establish-
ments. Key to stability in a changing product acceptance
te»a.narginal relationship is a redefinition of the zone and
district. This realignment of wholesale territories should
have one ultimate goal and that is to secure optimum loca-

tion and maximum supervision of the retail-dealer organiza-

Jack E. Fax

tion. Men with academic and actual automobile wholesale’
eXperience should be selected to supervise the redefinition
of these territories. Within a manufacturers own organi-
zatim men with this background could be found.

It is the belief of the author that individual com-
panies will enjoy competitive advantage in direct propor-
tion to the wise exercise of Judgment in matching up the
sales territories of their zones and districts with the
changing market potential surrounding their major centers.
The key to the success of the study is the use of a well
designed series of maps making the analysis visual as well

as descriptive.

 

THE WHOLESALING ESTABLISHMENTS

OF THE UNITED STATES AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
By

Jack E. Fox

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Department of Geography

1962

El

 

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many individuals have contributed to the develOpment
and completion of this thesis. As much as I would like
to it would be impossible to name each. I wish to thank
the several tOp executives of General Motors Corporation,
Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation, and American
Motors Corporation who took time from their busy schedules
to discuss their wholesaling systems. In particular, I
wish to express gratefulness to Mr. H. E. Crawford, Direc-
tor of Sales, General Motors Corporation, Mr. F. A. Filie,
Manager, Sales Reports & Analysis, Mercury-Lincoln Division,
Ford Motor Company, and Mr. T. A. Berchtold, Assistant
Director, Public Relations Staff, Chrysler Corporation.

I wish to express my thanks to Mrs. Dorothy Feger who
saved me many hours of typing, and especial thanks to my
wife Electa S. Fox for her untiring effort and support from
the initial outset to the completion of this thesis. Lastly
and most important my thanks to Doctor Allen K. Philbrick
for his guidance, help and encouragement as my thesis ad-

visor.

Jack E. Fox
Peoria, Illinois
April, 1962

11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Chapter

I. AUTOMOBILE WHOLESALING PATTERNS
IN THE UNITED STATES . . . . . . . . . . 1

'II. THE REGIONAL WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT . . . 16
III. THE ZONE WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT . . . . . 39

IV. THE WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT IN
RETROSPECT O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 69

BIBLIOGRAPI-IY O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O 81

Figure
l.

2.

3.

9.

10.

ll.

12.

13.
1h.
15.
16.
17.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

General Motors Corporation - Buick
D1Vi81on O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

General Motors Corporation Chevrolet
D1V1Sion o o e o o o o o o o o e e o o e o o 0

General Motors Corporation Oldsmobile
DiViSion e o o o o o e o o o o o e o o o o o 0

General Motors Corporation Pontiac
D1v1810n O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

Ford Motor Company - Ford Division . . . . . .

Ford Motor Company - Mercury-Lincoln
DiViSion o o e o o o c o o o o e e o o o o o 0

Chrysler Corporation - Plymouth, Dodge and
ChrySJ-er O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

American Motors Corporation - Rambler
D1V1810n Q 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

Region - Zone Headquarter Cities of the
United States Automobile Industry . . . . . .

Aggregate of the Sales Regions of the U. S.
Automobile Industry (Regional Headquarters). .

Aggregate of the Sales Regions of the U. S.
Automobile Industry (Maximum Regional Limits).

Aggregate of the Sales Zones of the U. S.
Automobile Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cincinnati Wholesale Establishment . . . . . .
U. S. P0pulation - Cincinnati Zone . . . . . .
U. S. Income - Cincinnati Zone . . . . . . . .
New Car Sales - Cincinnati Zone . . . . . . .

New Car Sales - Dodge for the Cincinnati Zone.

iv

Page
19
20
21

22
23

25
26

27

33

36

he
52
5A
55
56
58

 

 

 

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (Continued)

Figure Page

18. New Car Sales - Mercury for the Cincinnati
Zoneoooooooooooo000000000059

19. New Car Sales - Oldsmobile for the
Cincinnati Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

20. District Headquarters - Cincinnati
Wholesale Establishment . . . . . . . . . . . . 6h

21. District Headquarters - Cincinnati
Wh0168819 Establishment o o o o o o o o o o o o 65

CHAPTER I

AUTOMOBILE WHOLESALING PATTERNS
IN THE UNITED STATES

This thesis presents an explanatory description of
automobile wholesaling patterns in the United States.
These patterns are generalizations of the manufacturer's
wholesaling activities in regions and zones. Regions and
zones represent the territorial organization for the whole-
saling of automobiles by manufacturers direct to retail
dealers. Wholesale establishments or manufacturer's sales
offices, as they are referred to by the Bureau of Census,
have been created throughout the United States and will be
identified by the name of their headquarters cities.

The automobile industry plays an important role in
the economy of the United States. It is the single most
important manufacturing industry of the nation. In addition
the industry is not limited to the manufacturing of auto-
mobiles and their component parts, but in recent years has
expanded into many other diversified fields.

The retail sales of automobiles in 1961 was estimated
to be thirty-seven billion dollars, which represented nine

percent of the total yearly personal income in the nation.1

 

1Editor and publisher Market Guide 1961, ed. Robert U.
Brown (New York, N.Y.: Editor and Publisher 1961) pp l-Séh.

- 2 -
Retail sales are generally divided into six categories;
food, general merchandise, apparel, home furnishings, drugs
and automobiles. Of these six divisions only the retail
sales of food exceeds the expenditure on automobiles.1

One of the important aims of the automobile manufac-
turers is the achievement of Optimal size and location of
wholesale establishments to gain efficient and effective
supervision of the retail sales activities. This study de-
scribes the present size and location of wholesaling terri-
tories and centers. Based upon an understanding of the
evolution of present patterns certain conclusions regarding
further study leading to specific recommendations will be
presented. It is heped that the eXplanatory description of
present patterns of automobile wholesaling in the United
States will make a contribution in a beginning way along the
lines of achieving more effective size and location of the
wholesaling phase of the automobile industry.

In the first chapter the origin of automobile whole-
saling will be briefly touched upon and the specific terms
to be used in the thesis will be defined.

The scarcity of capital among even the most successful
auto makers initially caused them.to rely upon the independ-
ent merchant as the principal distributor or wholesaler of

the product until the early 19203. It was in the 19203 that

 

lIbid. pp 2-3.

-3...

the major manufacturers began to organize and Operate their
own wholesale establishments for wholesaling functions ex-
elusively.l
The first step toward mass merchandising of the auto
was to sell to the retail dealers in the communities near
the manufacturing activities.2 Each.manufacturer acted as
his own wholesaler. The dealers could be anyone with the
necessary funds to pay for the product. Often the retail-
er had been engaged in the transportation business, perhaps
as a carriage dealer, repairman or livery prOprietor. As
time elapsed and the market grew, many of these dealers
would be offered contracts or franchise agreements with
the manufacturer. It was soon apparent to the makers that
this type of retailing was a vital link between the factory
and the ultimate consumer and held the key to their success
or failure. These first retail dealers were localized
around the factory and seldom.were more than 300 miles

distant. This arrangement of wholesaling by the manufac-

turer to such retail dealers was effective only in the

 

1"Ford Branch Managers Meet" Automobile Industries
July 2a, 1919, p 17.

 

ZFord Archive, Dearborn, Michigan, private files con-
taining materials from meetings between Mr. Henry Ford and
aides expressing ideas on how best to merchandise the Ford
product, 1926.

 

.1' TI

 

 

- u -

region immediately adjacent to the factory. It was not
satisfactory in the outlying areas of the United States.1
The second step in the evolution of automobile whole-
saling occurred when specific dealers in many of the larger
northeastern cities were given the Opportunity to become
retail-wholesale distributors for the manufacturers. An
example of this type of retail-wholesale establishment is
still in use by Buick Division of General Motors today.
In.Figure 1, it can be noted that the northern one half of
the lower peninsula and the eastern portion of the upper
peninsula of Michigan is controlled by a retail-wholesaler
with headquarters in Saginaw, Michigan.2
Exact boundaries of the land areas were described and
named in a contract between the factory and the retail-
wholesale dealer. The territory could be relatively small
or it could be one or several states in size. The size
depended upon several factors -- current business volume,
potential volume, and the availability of capital which

the independent dealer had to invest in such an enterprise.

These wholesalers were expected to organize a group of

 

tDuring this infancy period the auto manufacturers
were, for the most part, centered around the Detroit,
Cleveland, and Pittsburgh areas.

2Letter from.Jerry Hagan, Jr., Public Relations,
Buick Motor Division, Flint, Michigan, March 9, 1959.
This is the only retail-wholesale establishment existing
on Buick's distribution system.

   

\
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-5-

sub-dealers to whom.they would sell cars. The factory per-
mitted the wholesaler to make or cancel agreements with
sub-dealers without factory supervision. They would also
supervise management, sales and service problems with com-
plete authority. Along with their wholesale activities,
they continued to sell at retail.

The third step in diaposing of the product was the
establishment of manufacturer-owned retail-wholesale
branches. These branches were generally limited to the
very large cities, and served two functions -- first, the
retailing of the product to the public and second, the
wholesaling of cars to independent retail outlets in an
area surrounding the branch. The organization of manufac-
turer-owned wholesaling generally meant that the manufac-
turer was successful and currently had sufficient volume
and money to Operate his own wholesale establishments.
This was a step in the direction of greater control over
wholesale and retail activities in a particular region.

One might think that this third type of retail-wholesale
establishment, the so-called factory branch, would be most
advantageous to the manufacturer. This was not the case.
For one reason the manufacturers found it extremely diffi-
cult to hire a branch manager as competent as the owner of

the retail-wholesale establishment who had his own funds

mm"
.1 '~

 

c!

-6-

invested in the business.1 Their experience with hired
managers was generally poor as many of these individuals
were rather liberal in the expenditures of the manufac-
turer's money.2 This single disadvantage outweighed the
advantages such as direct-product delivery between the
factory and its branch, greater control over sub-dealers,
and reduction of over-all sales expense. From the begin-
ning of the industry to the present day few of the manufac-
turers have been successful in Operating factory-owned
retail-wholesale branches for anything other than training
their wholesale personnel.3

It is difficult to determine which maker initiated the
manufacturer-owned wholesaler. NO doubt it was either the
Ford Motor Company or Studebaker Corporation who were the
leaders in this movement. Ford as early as 1918 had factory-
branch wholesale establishments in thirty-four of the major
United States cities.“ These branches were not a pure whole-

sale business since manufacturing took place in many of them.

 

lFrom personal interviews with the director of sales of
two auto manufacturers evidence exists that this feeling
still prevails.

2Ford Archive, Dearborn, Mich., Personal notes to Ford
executives in reference to unsatisfactory performance of
factory owned retail-wholesale establishments, 1929.

3Ralph Cecil Epstein, The Automobile Industry,
(Chicago and New York: A.W. Shaw Company 1937FI pp A15.

 

ulbid.

 

4. Hi!

:F.§!

- 7 -

Boundaries were semi-fixed and oriented to the location of
the branch. Methods of transportation and current freight
rates were often the causes behind these flexible boundaries.l
Studebaker, at a slightly later date, set up a whole-
sale organization with more exact geographic territories to
handle their distribution system. They divided the United
States into branch sales offices and these branches were
sub-divided into smaller district areas. Five thousand or
more retail dealers were distributed among the districts of
Studebaker.2 Studebaker did not set up their wholesale
organization in a haphazard manner but rather oriented it
to geographical features and current economic conditions.3
The low-priced, high volume manufacturers were the
ones who led the way toward todays' wholesaling establish-
ments. It was not until the mid 19303 that the mediumrprice-
class makers produced sufficient volume of autos to be

financially able to move away from.the independently owned

retail-wholesale system.h Even today, we still have the

 

1Ibid.

 

2Ste hen Lon street, A Century on Wheels, (New'York:
Holt, 195 ) pp 1 1.

 

3Currently the Studebaker Corporation is Opening

factory owned branches throughout the principal cities
of the United States to rate 1 their product.

HMedium price class is a common term.used by the auto
makers. In 1961 Buick, Olds, Pontiac and certain makes of
Chrysler, Dodge and Mercury composed this grouping. In the
late 19303 and postwar years this group made up 50% of total
industry. Today it is 20%.

- 8 -

independent retail-wholesale establishment in existence.1

Cadillac of General Motors depends largely upon this type
of distribution. Until recent years their volume of pro-
duction had not been large enough to justify a factory-
owned wholesaling system. However, they do have at least
four such establishments in Operation in the United States
now. Their current plans call for complete abandonment of
the independently owned retail-wholesale system.by the
middle 19608. These establishments will be replaced by
seventeen wholesale Offices. Cadillac also has the largest
group of factory-owned retail stores in use among the entire
industry. These stores are to be found in the five largest
cities of the United States.2

Pontiac and Chevrolet Divisions of General Motors
maintain factory retail stores in their manufacturing head-
quarter cities, Pontiac and Flint, Michigan.3

The Chrysler Corporation has a number of independ-
ently owned retail-wholesale dealers. They call these
businesses "Associated Dealers" and are widespread through-

out the United States. They generally handle only one of

 

 

1Stephen Lon street, A Century on Wheels, (New York:
Holt. 195 ) pp 7 ~95. ‘

2Interview with H. E. Crawford, Director of Sales,
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., April 10, 1959.

31bid.

- 9 -

the Chrysler car Divisions. The Chrysler Corporation does
not Operate any retail stores.1

The trend and current objective of the entire industry
is to divorce themselves from any wholesaling system.other
than the factory-owned wholesale establishment. The pur-
pose of the manufacturer owned wholesale system is to give
the manufacturer more control through their own wholesale
organization over the retailing of their products. The
elimination of the existing independent retail-wholesaler
is a slow process. The entire matter is touchy and re-
quires a great deal of finesse.

The automobile industry's method of wholesaling their
product is not exclusive to them. However, they are pre-
sented an Opportunity that is probably unequaled in any
other particular industry. For the most part manufacturers
of other kinds of merchandise must take their retail and
wholesale establishments where and as they find them. The
car companies are in a unique position as they now exercise
control over location, size and other characteristics of
their outlets. In the auto business the direct-dealer or
independently owned wholesaler buys the bulk of his merchan-

dise not from.many manufacturers but fromone.2 Moreover,

 

»11nterview with R. V. Diegel, Distribution Manager,
Chrysler Corporation, Centerline, Mich., April 17, 1959.

aDirect-dealer is an automobile industry's term.refer-
ring to those retail dealers supervised and serviced by the
wholesale office of a particular manufacturer.

 

.1 r1

 

PI .3... Fa.
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V

1

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-10.-

they have or can have access to a wealth of pertinent data
to guide them in their plans and policies by using the
United States Automobile Registration Laws. The registra-
tion laws make available nation-wide marketing information
on a daily basis. Despite these conditions so favorable to
planning, the automobile industry's wholesale and retail
organization just grew without much control or regard.

Wholesaling as perfommed by the industry is not too
different from other types of wholesaling business. The
greatest difference lies in the fact that the wholesalers
are owned by the manufacturer and are maintained apart from
the actual manufacturing activities. The auto makers retain
title to the product and simply transfer the cars from the
factory to the wholesale business office for the purpose of
wholesaling. Through the wholesaler the title to the pro-
duct is transferred to the retailers. Often this transfer
of product is a paper transaction only. Before the exist-
ence of the factory-owned wholesaler, physical delivery of
product was made to the independent merchant wholesaler.
Actual shipment of cars from the manufacturer to the whole-
saler meant, therefore, a considerable inventory of stored
automobiles. The wholesaler in turn shipped cars to estab-
lished retailers oriented to the wholesaler's location. In
some instances this type of twoestep wholesaling still
exists today, but it is on the decline.

 

 

 

 

S... w :1 t

 

-11...

In other types of wholesaling activities such as small
finished items, agricultural machinery, home construction,
etc., over and under production can be allowed to affect
the price. Historically the wholesale price of automobiles
has not fluctuated between the manufacturer and the retailer
as frequently and as much as those of other industries.
While seasonal changes do affect the automobile wholesaler
it is not as pronounced as certain other major industries,
because with the technical advances of the auto, the public
now purchase them.the year-around.1

In the first portion of this chapter, the evolution
of the wholesale establishment has been discussed. It is
important that certain terms be defined before the contin-
uation of this discussion.

No two manufacturers are identical in their organiza-
tional structure. This is true even among the various
divisions of a specific corporation such as General Motors.
Oldsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet and Pontiac all differ from
one another. Because of these existing differences it is
necessary to establish several terms in order to describe
the wholesale establishments. The wholesale establishments

are found apart from the manufacturing Operations and are

 

1Simon Kuznets, Seasonal Variations in Industry and
Trade, (New YOrk: National Bureau OIIECOnomlc‘Research,

1933) pp ASS.

 

-12...

composed of several related categories of business offices
with varying degrees of authority. The smallest is referred
to as a "district". A district as described in this study
is made up of a defined geographic area containing a vary-
ing number of direct-dealers. The Ford Division and the
Lincoln-Mercury Division call this a zone. Because General
Motors, Chrysler and American Motors use the term."district"
to mean the same thing it will be used here also.

Next in degree of authority is the "zone". The zone
is comprised of at least two districts. The zone head-
quarters could be characterized as a focal point for the
districts. Since the term.zone is most widely used by the
auto makers to distinguish similar activities carried on at
this level, this term will be adOpted. The exception of
this common usage is the divisions of Ford Motor Company.

In this case they use the term."district".

The highest authority in the hierarchial arrangement of
the wholesale establishments is the "region". The region is
an area that consists of two or more zones. General Motors,
Ford and American Motors all use the same term, region.
Chrysler uses a slight variation by calling it a "regional

area", but the activities and meanings are identical.1

 

1Interviews with the representatives of each auto
manufacturer discussed in this thesis provided information
regarding their individual organizational structure.

-13..

To facilitate the description of the geographical-
hierarchial arrangement of these business establishments,
a number of maps have been prepared. The first series of
maps to be introduced show the location of these business
functions. By comparing the various maps, similarities
existing between the several competitive companies can be
appreciated. The corporations selected for study are
General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler
Corporation and American Motors Corporation. All of the
divisions of these firms are presented with the exception
of Cadillac Division of General Motors, although there will
be references to this company too.1 These four corporations
represent the major portion of the United States' total
automobile manufacturing production.

The information displayed on the maps for the most
part has been furnished by the companies by means of written
material, company files and personal interviews with their
executives.2

The maps in the first series show the regional and

zone boundaries. Also designated on the maps are the head-

quarter cities. Figure l through.h are of the Buick,

 

1The Cadillac Division, General Motors Corporation, de-
clined to discuss their distribution system.with an outsider.

2The bibliography contains a listing of all personal
interviews and letters received from executives of the four
corporations.

-m-

Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac Division of General Motors
Corporation. To portray the Ford Motor Company, maps of the
Ford Division and the Mercury-Lincoln Division will be used;
Figures 5 and 6. One map, Figure 7 shows the Plymouth,
Dodge and Chrysler Divisions of the Chrysler Corporation.1
The Rambler Division of American Motors is also covered by

a single map, Figure 8. Figure 9 shows the headquarter
cities for the region and zone for each of the companies
studied.

The second series of maps, Figures 10, 11 and 12 are
aggregates of all manufacturers and show similarities that
exist among them.

The last series of maps show certain information needed
for a complete description of the zone, examples of which
are discussed in Chapter III. These maps are Figures 13
through 21. Figure 21 shows the district headquarter cities
in the Cincinnati Zone for the companies studied.

In summary, the automobile was readily accepted
throughout the United States from its earliest beginning.
Because of the diapersion of manufacturing Operations in
the northeastern manufacturing belt of the United States
during its early days and the lack of capital, the industry
had to depend upon an independently owned system of distri-
bution during the first thirty years of its existence. The

 

1Since production of the maps, the DeSoto Division of
Chrysler Corporation has been discontinued.

-15..

ultimate aim of all manufacturers became the manufacturer-
owned direct-dealer wholesale establishment. The present
type of distribution system gives the manufacturer more
control over independently owned retailing establishments.
The low-priced high-volume producer was first in reaching
this goal. By l9h8 all of the auto manufacturers either
had completely attained this goal or were approaching it.
The one exception to this was Cadillac Division, General
Motors Corporation. They too are aiming for a direct-

dealer distribution system by the middle or late 19603.

.-- 4.57!

 

CHAPTER II
THE REGIONAL WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT

In the hierarchial arrangement of today's automobile
wholesaling the highest authority is located in the region-
al headquarters.

The region has two primary functions. The first is
promotion of the manufacturer's product, its programs and
policies. In the second place, the regional headquarters
is the site of the manufacturer's highest jurisdiction away
from its central headquarters. The regional manager is emp
powered to make decisions that may affect policies.

The regional manager, as the highest power away from
the manufacturer's headquarters, must be an able executive.
He is supervised and advised by an assistant sales manager
generally located in the manufacturer's central office.

The regional manager receives from this authority the pro-
grams and policies that he is expected to place into action
within that area of the United States for which he is re-
sponsible. The regional headquarters is the intermediary
between the manufacturer and the customer.1

The region is composed of at least two zones. Often

the region will have four to five zones under its supervision.

 

1The manufacturer refers to the retail dealer as their
customer. Because of franchise agreement between the dealer
and the manufacturer, the manufacturer can only sell their
product to their retailer.

- l6

- 17 -

The region concerns itself with all activities that take
place within the zone.

The physical facilities of a regional wholesale estab-
lishment consists of office space in one of the modern
office buildings within the regional headquarter city.
Since visitors from the manufacturers divisional office,
the direct-dealer organization, and other related fields
of the auto industry are many, it is desirable that the
Office be convenient to local and long distant transporta-
tion. Also desirable are hotel accomodations which must
be close by, as well as sufficient and easily accessible
off-street parking.

The internal organization of the wholesale establish-
ment will vary among the several companies from a regional
manager and his personal secretary to a regional manager
plus a complete staff of assistants. The size of a
regional headquarters depends upon the volume a particular
maker has. Oldsmobile's Detroit regional office consists
of the regional manager, his secretary and the regional

service manager.1 Ford's regional office contains the

 

1Interview with H. E. Crawford, Director of Sales,
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., April 10, 1959.

- 18 -

regional manager, six assistants and the necessary clerical
help.1

.Ford and Chevrolet keep their regional wholesale busi-
ness offices separate from their zone business offices. In
the case of the smaller producers such as Buick, Oldsmobile
and Pontiac, the regional offices occupy one small segment
of a zone office, but this does not deter from the independ-
ence of the zone who shares the same facility.

As stated before the region acts as a buffer between
the manufacturer's tOp executive and sales departments and
the region's subordinate zone wholesale establishments and
the customer. There are two assistant sales managers in
each major company. Each is in charge of one-half of the
regions in approximately one-half of the United States.

In the apportionment of the United States into regions
manufacturers chose to follow the political boundaries.
This can be noted on Maps 1 through 8. The regional lines
correspond exactly with the existing state and/or county
boundary in all instances. It can be seen that with only
few exceptions no thought was given to physical or economic

boundaries when the region's lines were determined.

 

1Interview with Henry E. Edmunds, Manager, Research
and Information Department, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Michigan, March 26, 1959.

-19-

H .mE

 

 

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ZONE - REG ION
HEADQUARTER CITIES
OF THE
US. AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

HEADQUARTER LINCOLN-
CITIES CHEV FORD OLDS BUICK PONTIAC RAMBLER MERCURY

___Z _

 

 

Oakland 5 Lansing
8.. Joaa ‘ sum. 2 = ZONE
Dan-post 7 Pontiac

‘ H ‘ R-REGION
CC Ol'

 

Fig. 9

- 28 -

Perhaps the most important reason for the establish-
ment of regional and zone boundaries, oriented to political
boundaries, is expense. The manufacturer felt that a de-
tailed study would be costly and the resultant increase in
product sales would not be sufficient to justify the ex-
pense incurred.1

The Rocky Mountains are an example of a physical fea-
ture which does not influence the dictation of boundary.

It would be reasonable to think that the Rocky Mountains
would be a sufficient barrier to divide that land east of
it from.the Pacific coast. However, in the case of most
manufacturers, except Chrysler divisions and Chevrolet,

see Maps 1 through 8, the territory on the eastern slope is
considered part of the Pacific west. It is questionable
whether Denver is oriented to San Francisco or to Chicago.
The manufacturers for the most part chose to have San
Francisco serve as the focal point for Denver and surround-
ing area. Denver is more dependent upon eastern distri-
bution centers than those of the Pacific coast since their

transportation links are connected with Chicago. This

1Interview with.F. A. Filie, Manager, Sales Reports
and Analysis Mercury-Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company,
Dearborn, Mich., August 25, 1959. Several executives from
(nmmr manufacturers expressed similar feelings concerning
expense involved in a detailed study.

-29..

influence might tend to lessen in the years to come but
presently Chicago still is its focal point.1

The similarity of boundaries of those manufacturers
related to one another by corporation union is immediately
observed when viewing the maps. Surprisingly all of the
manufacturers whether related or unrelated have selected
similar areas to denote regions. A fair guess would be
that one manufacturer selected the boundaries and the
others noting their apparent success have copied theirs.2

Upon reviewing the maps, Figures 1 through 8, it is
seen how the auto makers divide the United States into
regions. The two largest automobile makers, the Ford Divi-
sion of the Ford Motor Company and Chevrolet of General
Motors Corporation divide the country into seven and ten
regions respectively. In recent years Chevrolet has out-
produced their chief competitor, Ford. This could be the
result of a better organized system of wholesale establish-
ments. Perhaps the most significant result of this differ-

ence is Chevrolet's almost continuous lead over Ford.

 

1.1. Russell Smith and M. Ogden Phillips, Industrigl

d Commercia Geo ra (New York, Henry Holt and
Company, 19571 pp WE-HIS.

2From interviews with executives of several manu-
facturers and their apparent lack of knowledge on how
boundaries were actually determined.

-30..

Historically, these companies have chosen cities as
regional headquarters throughout the United States which
were strongholds for the entire automobile industry. It
was from these points of strength that they have organized
their activities and extended them outward into the re-
gional hinterlands. Maps, Figures 2 and 5, show the re-
gional headquarters for each of the manufacturers. Notice
the duplication of regional headquarter cities. Because
Ford has a large assembly Operation in San Jose, California,
it was chosen rather than San Francisco. The only real
variation in the selection of a regional headquarters, is
Ford's choice of Philadelphia instead of Atlanta to direct
their southeastern wholesale establishments.

Oldsmobile, Buick and Pontiac annually produce about
the same number of automobiles. The regional wholesale
organizations are also similar. It is easily ascertained
that these three makers are related by viewing the maps.
Pontiac has its regional office in Pontiac, Michigan rather
than.Detroit. Other than this exception they have dupli-
cated the regional headquarters in all cities. There are
only slight differences in territories for which each re-
gion is responsible. To help describe the regions in more
detail see Figure 9, which shows the manufacturers and
their regional cities.

The four divisions of the Chrysler Corporation have
divided the United States into five regions. Presently

- 31 -

they all use the same boundaries regardless of the divi-
sion of their product volume. A description of these
boundaries can be found on the map, Figure 7.

The last of the manufacturers to be described is the
Rambler Division of American Motors Corporation. Since it
is the newest volume manufacturer, they have conservative-
ly develoPed their regional wholesale establishment.1
American Motors has divided the United States into a much
different pattern than their competitors. With just four
regions it is doubtful whether this partitioning was done
with.much aforethought. They have followed their compet-
itors example in choosing the largest and most important
city in each region as the headquarters with no apparent
thought to its geographical location in relation to the
remainder of the territory involved.

The automobile manufacturer, in placing regional head-
quarters of Operation, seldom orients them geographically
to their sub-ordinate zones. They have placed the regional
headquarters in a particular city within the region which
has the largest automotive market.

Figure 9 helps to describe the Maps, Figure 1 through
8: The chart shows the duplication of regional head-

quarter cities by all the manufacturers. In each case the

 

1Interview with R. Abernathy, Executive Vice-President,
American Motors Corporation, April 20, 1959, Detroit, Mich.

 

 

i4

 

 

‘u.

‘t

I]

- 32 -

regional headquarter city is a market and distribution
center for a considerable territory.

Figure 10 shows that the manufacturers have chosen
the same cities as their regional headquarters. To what
degree are the same geographic areas assigned to these
regional headquarters? The six most pOpular cities were

chosen for cOmparison. Detroit, New York City and Chicago

 

are used by all manufacturers as regional centers in the
east and middle west. On the Pacific coast San.Francisco
is used by six companies. In the Southwest, six manufac- ';
turers use Dallas and in the Southeast five use Atlanta.
Using these cities to make area comparisons, it will be
discovered that half of the United States is common to all
manufacturers.
The regional headquarter cities are the six most
important market or economic centers in the United States.
It must also be remembered that the selection of these six
cities goes back to the late 19203.
If the areas in black on Figure 10 were put together
they would cover more than one-half of the land area of the
United States. The pOpulation of these same areas would

total 107 million or 60% of the country's pOpulation.1 This

 

1Editor & Publisher Market Guide 1961, ed. Robert U.
Brown (New York, N.Y.: Editor & Puinsher 1961) pp l-56h.

 

 

 

 

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same area represents 56% of the United States' total eXpendi-
tures for automobiles.1 The area also has 63% of the total
United States' personal income.2

The westernmost area which is colored black is con-
trolled by San Francisco and has the greatest land area of
the six regions. It is second in pOpulation and personal
income but is first in the United States automobile market.
Perhaps the explanation for this larger auto market is the
lack of public transportation in the large urban centers of
Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The Chicago region is second in land area. It is
fourth in pOpulation and automobile market and third in
personal income.

The third in land area is Dallas. This area's pOpu-
lation and personal income is in sixth place. Its auto
market is fifth. The lack of urban development eXplains
why it is low in income, population and market.

The fourth territory is Atlanta. Of the six regions
compared, the pOpulation, market and income is probably the
most evenly distributed in this region. There are no ex-
ceptionally large urban areas to be found. It ranks third

in pOpulation and market and fourth in personal income.

1Ibid.
21bid.

-35..

The Detroit region is fifth in areal extent. The
area represented consists primarily of Cleveland, Toledo
and Detroit. Its pOpulation and income is fifth and market
is sixth.

The smallest territory is that focused upon New York.
It has the largest pOpulation and personal income. The
higher deveIOped system of public tran3portation undoubted-
ly causes the auto market to be second.

While the area common to all manufacturers is con-
siderable, the difference is also vast. On the map, Figure
11, the maximum limits that a particular regional head-
quarters covers 13 shown. The outreaching boundaries are
caused by those several manufacturers which have fewer re-
gional headquarters. A specific example is the San Fran-
cisco - Los Angeles region. The maximum limits on the
Canadian border are caused by Chrysler and on the south by
Rambler. Going back to maps, Figures 7 and 8,of the indi-
vidual manufacturers it will be noted the exact territories
that comprise this westernmost region.

The maximum limits of the territory assigned to Chicago
are surprising. From this city the largest portion of the
United States is controlled as far as automobile wholesaling
is concerned. Rambler has its borders extending the farthest

west and south.

-36..

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- 37 -

Detroit and New York City have the least territories
assigned to them. However, they control the greatest market
from their vantage points.

On map, Figure 10, the black areas are those around
the six regional headquarters which are common to all manu-
facturers. The gray pattern is that territory which is
common to at least one-half of the manufacturers. This
map divides the United States into six separate regions.

It can be noticed on the maps, Figures 1 through 8, that
there is a considerable amount of land area assigned to
regional headquarters of different companies which does
not coincide. Corporation ties influence much of the con-
currence in territory where it occurs. For example, Buick,
Oldsmobile and Pontiac boundaries are very similar. Com-
pare them to the Lincoln-Mercury or the Chrysler divisions
and the similarity ceases to exist.

The conclusion may be reached that there is no signifi-
cant reason behind the plotting of regional boundaries.
Existing political boundaries are followed with little
thought given to the physical or economical geography of
an area.

Perhaps a given manufacturer could strengthen his
wholesale organization and market penetration if known
facts such as pOpulation, income and the annual new car

registration were more carefully analyzed before the actual

-38-

plotting of boundaries. To know precisely what exists
within a given territory an actual field survey would have
to be made. Such surveys should be conducted by peOple
who are familiar with the auto industry but who are also
academically trained and qualified.

The manufacturers have made almost no changes in
their regional boundaries since the 19303. They have
failed to take advantage of the Opportunity to base their
territorial organization upon up-to-date information, which
could be made available by a thorough study of their region-

al territories.

CHAPTER III
THE ZONE WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT

The evolution of the automobile manufacturer's dis-
tribution practices were discussed in Chapter I and the
regional wholesale establishments in Chapter II. In this
chapter the zone wholesale business office will be de-
scribed. It is this level of wholesaling where the pro-
grams and policies are placed into action or reality.

The lowest order in the hierarchy of the automobile
industry's wholesale offices is the zone. Its districts
have no offices as mentioned in Chapter II, the zone is
controlled by a regional wholesale establishment and rep-
resents the closest tie between the retail organization
and the manufacturer. The degree of success that a manu-
facturer enjoys is often attributed to the efforts in the
zones.

There are several important reasons for the existence
of this type of wholesaler. First, the zone arranges for
the product delivery to the dealers. This is done in such
manner as to reduce delivery time to a minimum. Second,
the zone provides the necessary related services both in
business management and product to keep the dealers in a
favorable position best to serve the customer. Third, the
zone provides the division's central office with detailed

information regarding business and product conditions and

39

-b,0-

acceptance as it is found in the United States. Lastly
and most importantly the manufacturer controls the dealer
or retail organizations through the zone offices.

The zone wholesale establishment had its most impor-
tant development during the period from 1925 through 1935.
As mentioned in Chapter I, Ford and Studebaker originated
the wholesale business offices as early as 1918.

The early market was limited to the larger pOpulated
centers of the United States as a result of the mechanical
inability of the product and the lack of roads on which to
Operate the cars. As the product and roads advanced
technically new car sales increased too.

The manufacturer first established the zones' head-
quarters in those cities where the product was sold in the
largest number. Little regard was given to the territories
assigned to these zones. Not until the late 19303 was there
much attention given to the location of these headquarters.
Historically the location was determined by selecting the
economic or market center of a certain territory. Because
of the expense involved few manufacturers changed the
original site.1

The zone wholesale office is concerned with all phases

of business whether it is the distribution of the product,

 

 

1Interviews with executives of four auto makers
expressed their individual companies views as to why the
zone wholesale establishment existed.

 

-ul-

acceptance of the product by the public or the reaction of
the dealers and their customers.

The zone wholesale office must provide to the region
and central office the reaction of the retail organization
and the general public which greet the policies and pro-
grams of the company. Reaction is very difficult to meas-
ure except by the relative success or failure of the
specific program in question. It is the duty of peOple at
the zone level to interpret reaction and forward this in-
formation to the higher authority for review and comment.
Often comments will affect the future of a product and the
development of sales promotion programs or of policies to
be set forth on service problems.

The zone organization within the headquarter city
consists of a group of department heads, secretaries and
other clerical help. The exact size of a zone depends
upon the volume of sales of a particular make of automo-
bile. The Ford Division of Ford Motor Company will be
used as an example of a zone office. The zone manager is
the chief executive and has two assistants. One of his
assistants supervises the activities of the district man-
a861's, those men who are in constant contact with the
aiPact-dealer organization. The other assistant directs

the departments of the zone such as service, business

 

-ug-

management, truck and fleet,1 distribution, office services
and parts and accessories.2

A. slightly different example of zone organization is
afforded by Buick, which is a smaller manufacturer in total
volume. Buick maintains similar type zone offices with the
exception of the truck and fleet, office services, and parts
and accessories departments which they do not have. Buick's
zone manager has only one assistant and less personnel with
which to Operate the smaller organization.3

Examination of Figures 1 through 9 will show where the
automobile manufacturers have located their zone headquarter
cities. It will also indicate that the headquarter city is
generally in the largest single market within the zone.
This does not mean that the headquarter city is geograph-
ically centered or that it is situated to give the best
service to the majority of its retail dealers.

Chevrolet and Ford are likely to locate the head-
quarters centrally in their territory of responsibility

and thus serve all four mythical corners fairly. Examples

 

1Fleet is a term common to the automobile industry
meaning the purchase of two or more cars or trucks by the
same consumer. Such companies as Hertz Renth-Car and
Avis Rent-A-Car are fleet accounts.

2Interview with Henry E. Edmunds, Manager, Research
and Information.Department, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Michigan, March 26, 1959.

3Letter from Chris J. Edmonds, Public Relations,
Buick Motor Division, Flint, Michigan, August 12, 1959.

-43-

of this can be noted on the Chevrolet map, Figure A. It
will be observed that in the southeast Number N6, Birming-
ham and Number N7, Jacksonville; in the southwest, Number
10, Dallas; in the midwest, Number 1h, Kansas City and
NUmber 16, St. Louis, are all important market centers and
also almost equally centered in their specific area of re-
3ponsibility. In the more heavily pOpulated northeast,
the larger cities such as New York City, Philadelphia and

Boston are used. Here, because of the tremendous market

 

and great number of retailers, it could be said that the
zone offices are located with accessibility and dealer
control foremost in mind.

Ford Motor Company, as seen on Figures 5 and 9, Oper-
ates twelve fewer zones than its chief competitor, Chevrolet.
Ford with its 35 zones has fewer geographically centered
zone cities than Chevrolet. An interesting fact comes imp
mediately to mind that Chevrolet continually outsells Ford
in the United States. Can Chevrolet's prolonged leadership
be directly attributed to a more highly develOped system
of wholesale establishments?

The other manufacturers vary in the total number of
zone wholesale establishments. Oldsmobile is next to Ford
with.28 zones. The divisions of Chrysler limit their whole-
‘sale offices to 18. All of the manufacturers have made some
effort to geographically center the zone headquarters but

in most cases it would appear that the maker preferred the

- uh -

largest single market city rather than a smaller but more
centrally located one to serve the majority of dealers.

In nearly all instances, the facilities for the zone
office are above average and are found in modern buildings.
They are also conveniently located to the various medias of
transportation within the city and with those connecting
the city to the remainder of the zone. Adequate off-street
parking is necesSary for the numerous visitors from the re-
tail organizations, regional and home offices and the many
others who have business with the wholesale establishment.

Not all of the zone offices are found in the central
business districts. In recent years many of the companies
have placed them.in the outlying sections of the zone city.
Chevrolet Division of General Motors combines its zone
operation with a General Motors Parts Depot or Chevrolet
Assembly Plant if such a facility is available. Ford and
Idncoln-Mercury of the Ford Metor Company frequently use
the same facilities and also locate in either a parts depot
or assembly operation.

Chrysler Car Divisions and Rambler, as well as Buick,
Oldsmobile and Pontiac of General Motors generally follow
the same pattern in locating their wholesale offices away
from the manufacturing operations of their firms. It is
not unusual to find Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac as well
as Chrysler's Divisions located in the same building.

Not only do the several competitive manufacturers tend to

 

-45..

locate in the same cities but they also tend to establish
themselves in the same facility.

Examining Figure 9, it will be seen that the manu-
facturers and their subordinate divisions have tended to
locate in the same cities. Some of the larger auto makers
such as Chevrolet and the Ford Division have situated in
more and smaller cities than the others, but even here there
is a definite pattern.

Figure 12 was designed to show the land areas that the
manufacturers assign to zones. This map was patterned after
Figure 10. The area in black represents that land area which
coincides with all manufacturers located in a specific zone.
Figure 9 indicates that of the twenty four zone headquarters
shown on Figure 12 fourteen are used by all manufacturers.
In five cities at least seven of the manufacturers are pre-
sent and in three cities there are six manufacturers. To
complete the map, the immediate metrOpolitan area of Houston
and Jacksonville is shown in black since only five manufac-
turers are to be found here.

Figure 12 shows that the composite area in black covers
only a little more than twenty five percent of the total
land area of the United States. This same area, however,
has approximately forty four percent of the total pOpula-

tion of the United States. Of greater importance is the

 

 

S a: 1

 

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- A7 -

automobile market it represents, which is fifty two percent
of the nation's total.1

Fourteen of the twenty four zone headquarters shown on
Figure 12 are represented by all of the manufacturers. Nine
of these fourteen zones are in the top ten automobile
markets of the Uhited States.2

The smallest area in black again, is metropolitan New
YOrk.City. It is also the largest automobile market. It is
evident that the six zones adjacent to the New YOrk zone are
smaller in area than many of the others shown on this map.
Deepite their small area these zones represent a substantial
portion of the total Uhited States market.

Further west, the zones are larger in area. The second
largest market is Los Angeles. Compare the size of the Los
Angeles zone with that of the New YOrk zone. The majority
of the Los Angeles market is restricted to the built-up
metropolitan area whereas in the New York zone the metro-
politan area is the whole zone.

The third and fourth largest markets are Chicago and
Detroit respectively. Chicago resembles the New Yerk zone
in size of its territory and market.

nest of the areas in black, 15 out of 20, on the map in
Fig. 12 are found in the manufacturing belt of the Uhited States.

 

1EditOrdc Pablisher Market Guide 1961, ed. Robert U. ’
Brown New YOrk, N.Y.: Editor & Publisher 1961) pp. 1-56%

2Ibid.

-ua-

This belt, for the most part, lies in the northeastern
part of the country.

The areas in gray on Figure 12 represent that land
which is used by at least one-half of the manufacturers.
These areas are oriented economically to the black areas.

From.the map we find that fifty percent of the manu-
facturers have zone headquarter cities in common. It
might be concluded that the zone's land units are similar
to one another. However, if we were to duplicate Figure
11 on a zone level we would soon discover that the manu-
facturers do not use the same boundaries. This is also
true of manufacturers in the same corporation.

Dodge, Mercury and Oldsmobile's Cincinnati Wholesale
Establishments were selected for comparison because they
are in the same price class and theoretically are of
equal desirability by the medium-price-class buyer.

Cincinnati is located on the Ohio River near the
southwestern tip of Ohio. It is important as a major
distribution center for the area immediately north and
more important for the area south, southwest and south-
east as far as the Gulf States. The Cincinnati metrOpol-
itan area is composed of several Kentucky cities, Newport,
Covington, Belleview and Fort Thomas, the Ohio cities of

Norwood, Cleves and Milford and the Indiana cities of

- “9 -

Iawrenceburg and Aurora. These cities represent a pOpula-
tion of over one million.1

Cincinnati is a leading transportation center of the
United States. It is served by seven railroads each of
which has major terminal facilities. It is a leading river
port with freight coming from the lower and upper regions
of the Ohio River via the Mississippi, Tennessee and Kanawha
Rivers. As a port, it is a transfer point to and from.var-

ious means of transport. Its role as a trucking terminal

 

is also important. It is served in air travel by three
trunk carriers and two feeder type airlines. It also has

a terminal which handles great volumes of trans-continental
bus travel via the north and south routes.

Cincinnati is also an economic and distribution center
for the mid-section of the United States. It has important
banking facilities including a Federal Reserve Branch.
Proctor and Gamble, Kroger and Avco Manufacturing have
headquarters in Cincinnati. While General Electric's head-
quarters are elsewhere, it has the distinction of being the
city's largest employer. It has many diversified industries
among which are found soap and its associated household and
beauty products, large machine tools, assembly of cars, car
parts manufactured by Ford and General Motors, the produc-
tion of steel, several electrical firms and brewing and dis-

tilling.

 

11bid.

-50...

Cincinnati is a cultural center and has been outstand-
ing for over a century. Its two excellent universities
hold prominent places in education, medicine and music.

Cincinnati has become increasingly pOpular as a con-
vention city for the United States because of the number of
large and fine hotels and excellent convention and exhibit
facilities.

These aforementioned reasons combined explain why the
automobile manufacturers have selected it as a zone whole-
sale establishment's headquarters. Chevrolet also selected
Cincinnati as a regional headquarters.

Notice on Figures 1 through 8 the different areas which
the eleven manufacturers have assigned to the Cincinnati
zone. It is interesting that each.manufacturer has taken
a different view of what territory should be assigned to
this zone.

Since the three manufacturers, Oldsmobile, Mercury and
Dodge have different ideas about the territory for the
Cincinnati zone, a brief description of the geography of
the outlying territory of the zone will be given. From this
rheadquarter city, portions of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West
Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia and Illinois are controlled.

/// The region encompassed varies from areas which are
highly developed economically and culturally to some of the
most undevelOped, illiterate, and poverty stricken to be

found in the United States.

 

-51..

The economic and cultural resources and prospects are
diversified. Some of the peeple in the land area of the
zone have incomes per capita as high as any region in the
United States, and others incomes of the lowest found in
the United States. Cultural aspects range from excellent
schools and well-educated peOple to areas where the inhab-
itants have had little or absolutely no formal education
or schools to attend.

(/"f

The area in the Cincinnati hinterland is made up of

 

great extremes. These contrasts are reflected in informa-
tion on several maps prepared to describe the geOgraphy of
the Cincinnati Wholesale Establishments of the Middle Ohio
Valley.

Figure 13 was designed to describe the total territory
of the three manufacturers. As shown on fine map, a special
type symbol is used to indicate the difference in the ter-
ritory assigned by each.maker to their Cincinnati wholesale
establishment.

Mercury assigned almost twice the land area to their
Cincinnati zone as Oldsmobile and Dodge did. The city of
Cincinnati is nearly in the geographical center of Mercury's
and Dodge's land area. It is apparent that as far as
Oldsmobile is concerned, Cincinnati is not located with
regard to its area of responsibility. There is a reason

in the case of this wholesale business office. In 1956

-52-

 

CINCINNATI

WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT

 

 

m MERCURY
___ OLDSMOBILE
- DODGE
AGGREGATE

JEF 61

Scale in Miles
GET 1 x l Jioo

 

 

 

 

Fig. 13

 

-53..

Oldsmobile's volume had increased sufficiently to require
a new zone wholesale establishment with headquarters in
Indianapolis. As a result this new zone took much of the
Cincinnati's territory including Indianapolis. From.the
standpoint of service and accessibility, the Oldsmobile
headquarters is the most remote and it is difficult to
render equal service to all areas of their zone.

Figures 1h, 15 and 16 show pOpulation, income and
total sales of new cars by counties in this Middle Ohio
Valley region.

On the map, Figure 1h, it can be observed that the
population of the Middle Ohio Valley is concentrated in
the area north of the Ohio River.

On the map, Figure 15, the pattern of income in the
Middle Ohio Valley resembles that of population. ,,
Especially obvious is the lack of income in the interior of
Kentucky, away from the urban areas. This is also notice-
able in Tennessee.

A similar pattern exists between income and pOpulation
within the Ashland-Huntington-Charleston industrial complex.
The pOpulation and income of the area to the south, east,
and west of this manufacturing center are also much alike.

The area immediately north of the Ohio River shows
income by counties to be considerably higher than that of
the area south of the Ohio.

 

 

u.s. POPULATIONZ- CINCINNATI ZONE

 

 

.....
eeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeee
eeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeee
sssssss
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
sssssssssssssss

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Figures Shown In Hundreds
2 US Bureau Of Census 1959

 

13!" 59

 

 

Fig . 11+

 

 

-55-

 

 

u.s. lNCOMEz- CINCINNATI ZONE

    

I
Over 3101

 

$100
$ so

sso
$10

$no
32.5

‘15

Figures Shown In Millions

2
US Bureau Of Census 1959
JR? S9

 

 

 

 

 

- 56 -

 

 

NEw CAR SALEsl- CINCINNATI ZONE

 

 

1“”
to
SM
5%
to
2“
., 3W
0

13y County-Dodge-Olds -
Hercury Only From
R 1. Polk Data 1959

 

Ill" 59

 

 

Fig. 16

 

 

-57..

The over all picture portrayed on Figure 15, shows
low income throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia
with the exception Of the several large cities of Louis-
ville, Nashville, Knoxville, and Paducah.

The counties where the majority of new cars were sold
in 1958 are shown on Figure 16. There is an obvious re-
lationship between both car sale and pOpulation and income.

It is to be expected fewer car sales are found away

 

from the industrial or urban centers of the Ohio River

 

Valley. The inhabitants north of the Ohio River in the
Combined areas of the Agricultural Interior and the American
Manufacturing Belt of Indiana and Ohio have a larger income
potential for the purchase of new cars.

Maps 17, 18 and 19 show the 1958 sales Of new Dodges,
‘Mercurys and Oldsmobiles. These three maps will show
similar inter-relationship to maps, Figures 1h, 15 and 16.
Likes and dislikes of the customer for the individual
:maker's product, the merchandising ability of the retail
organization of a specific manufacturer are additional im-
portant factors in explaining why one manufacturer outsells
the combined totals of the other two auto makers.

On Figure 19, Oldsmobile outsells both.DOdge and
‘Mercury even though it has been seen on.Figure 13 that
Oldsmobile's Cincinnati zone has a smaller territory to
influence than does Mercury and Dodge. Sales in relation-

ship to the pOpulation, income and total available market

'58..

 

   

 

 

NEW CAR SALES — DODGE
FOR THE "
CINCINNATI ZONE

Ohio ,

mag
wee/$925

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x
0'" 31
21 to 30
8! to 20

’E 3 to no

a Per ‘l‘ea “m

0‘ Mission

III a

 

Fig. 17

 

 

-59-

 

 

 

NEw CAR SALES - MERCURY
FOR THE "
CINCINNATI ZONE

......
......
.....................

......

 

I I ..... 00.; ':; ‘
.:::=sszse=: 'EEE °"°' 3‘

 

21 to 30

 

‘ Per Ten Thousand
Of Population
R 1. Polk 1959 Data

1!? 59

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 18

 

-60-

 

 

NEW CAR SALES-OLDSMOBILE
FOR THE “
CINCINNATI ZONE

 

 
           
         
  
 
 

m

\\\‘\§\\\\‘

\\\

"\\\\\

\s \\‘\
\\‘

 
 

 

 

3
Over 31

21 to 30

 

II to 20

 

3 to no

xPer Ten Thousand
Of Population
RI. Polk 1959 Data

 

 

 

1!? 59

 

Fig . 19

 

 

again show that the product is purchased where the most
peOple are found and the most income available. The lack
Of market in Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of West Virginia
and Virginia is marked.

More detailed information concerning the zone office
organization and how it is maintained to serve the retailer
and to promote the sales of new cars will now be outlined
briefly. The zone is divided into two or more districts
to achieve the desired goal. Generally the zone will have
from four to nine districts. The exact number Of districts
is dependent upon the volume Of new car sales and the geo-
graphic area Of responsibility.

The manufacturer is represented by a district manager
in each district. These representatives normally Operate
from their homes within the district. The location of a
district manager's headquarter city is subject to change.
Although there is a preferred city within the district
that is best for service to the dealers it is by no means
the absolute location. Often the availability of living
quarters will determine where the district manager will be
located.

As in the case Of zones, district headquarters are
seldom centrally located within the district. Usually the
largest pOpulated city will be chosen. The shape and size
of districts are seldom similar to one another. The district,

historically, has followed the same general boundaries since

 

-62-

the beginning. It is not unheard of for one district
manager to travel through anoflaer district manager's ter-
ritory to reach one or more of his dealer points. It ap-
pears that some thought was originally given to the align-
ment of zones and their districts, but the task of making
realignments from time to time seems so tremendous that
very little is ever done.

At least one manufacturer, the Ford Division, bases
their district managers in the zone's headquarter city.
These districts are then divided into pie shape wedges
using the zone headquarter city as the center. This is
more easily done by Ford than other makers because of its
large volume. In the case Of Oldsmobile or Buick it would
necessitate more overnight traveling since their zones take
in more territory. It does allow the zone to distribute
the work load more evenly among their districts which is
a point in favor of the Ford method. As is often the case
of the other makers the district managers in the large
metrOpolitan areas, New York, Chicago and Detroit, will
call only upon the city dealer. In some instances this
type of district will provide the manufacturer with more
volume than certain midwestern and southern zones. The
efficiency that can be expected from these large volume
districts is questionable.

The district headquarter cities for the several manu-

facturers are duplicated just as the region and zone have

 

-63-

been. On Figure 20, the district headquarter cities for
Oldsmobile, Mercury and Dodge appear as found in the
Cincinnati zone.

What are the duties Of the district manager? The dis-
trict manager is the direct tie between the wholesale
establishment and the retail organization. He must act as
the official representative in matters pertaining to public
relations and customer relations both for his retailer and
the retailer's customer. He must be able to answer or find
the answer to all questions concerning the product and to
seek help from his supervisors in solving the dealer's
problem.when the need arises. The district manager is ex-
pected to advise and even manage the direct-dealer's busi-
ness. He must be able to stimulate and lead the dealer's
sales management and sales force. The district manager is
expected to analyze a financial statement and suggest cor-
rections for all unsuitable conditions. He must be able to
produce and deliver on a moments notice the many things for
which the dealers ask.

The manufacturer expects the district manager to sell
his product to his dealer organization and to provide the
maker with a fair share of the market as far as his price
class is concerned. This is to be accomplished in a busi-
ness like manner by direct or indirect leadership for the

district's retail organization. The district manager in

 

-6l+-

 

DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS

CINCINNATI WHOLE SALE ESTABLISHMENT

 

 

 

 

J dig/FL

 

 

 

 

 

MERCURY

OLDSMOBILE

DODGE

MAXIMUM COMPOSITE
JEF 61

Scale in Miles

190

If I I l r:

5.00

 

Fig. 20

 

 

-65-

 

DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS

CINCINNATI WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT

 

HEAocolgfiRTER DODGE MERCURY OLDS

 

 

CINCINNATI _,_.____D_____L._ D1 D
INDIANAPOLIS Dali
DAYTON

LOUISVILLE
LEXINGTON
NASHVILLE D
BLOOMINGTON
KOKOMO -

 

 

 

 

 

 

t3 til: E3
E3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mmhmmambH

MARIAN
JD COLUMBUS

 

 

 

00000

1 PORTSMOUTH

 

 

12 HUNTINGTON D
13 CHARLESTON D

 

 

 

 

 

 

D - District
I '- Four Districts Headquartered in Cincinnati

2 ‘ Two Districts Headquartered in Indianapolis J" 52

 

 

 

Fig. 21

-66-

his district is the number one executive representing his
company and is expected to act accordingly.

Figures 20 and 21 tell exactly where these three
makers have situated their district managers. As indi-
cated on the map, Mercury's Cincinnati zone takes in more
territory than either Dodge or Oldsmobile. On Figure 21
Mercury has eight district managers with four living in
Cincinnati.1 Of the remaining four, two are in Indian-
apolis, one in Nashville and one in Huntington, West
Virginia.

Dodge on the other hand has apportioned the zone into
ten districts. It would appear from.Figure 20 that the
district headquarters are so located geOgraphically so that
the representatives have less traveling to do than either
the Mercury or Oldsmobile district managers.2

Oldsmobile has five districts in the Cincinnati zone.
Knowledge of the exact boundaries of each district shows
that two of the district headquarters are located for best

service to the majority of the dealer organization. These

 

1Interview with.F. A. Filie, Manager, Sales Reports
and Analysis, Mercury-Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company,
Dearborn, Michigan, August 25, 1959.

2Interview with D. M. Craik, Manager, Marketing,
Chgysler Corporation, Centerline, Michigan, August 2h,
19 9.

 

—67-

two districts are Cincinnati and Charleston. Oldsmobile
with five districts outsells Mercury and Dodge combined.1

From.Figures 20 and 21 it is indicated that the dis-
trict managers of Mercury are in their assigned terri-
tories overnight more Often than the district managers of
Dodge and Oldsmobile. In the case of Dodge it is doubt-
ful if their men are away from their headquarter cities
overnight. Oldsmobile district managers in Louisville,
Lexington, and Charleston spend two to three nights per
week in the district.

Again referring to Figures 20 and 21 it could be as-
sumed that Dodge has districts organized with fewer dealers
than either Oldsmobile or Mercury. Dodge has 22 to 26
dealers,2 per district, while Mercury has 35 to hh dealers,3
and Oldsmobile 26 to 39 dealers.h Generally, those dis-
tricts which have large metrOpolitan cities assigned will

have fewer dealers.

 

1The writer is acquainted with the organization Of the
Oldsmobile's Cincinnati zone. He served as the Assistant
Office Manager-Car Distributor and later as a District
Manager in this zone.

2Interview with D. M. Craik, Manager, Marketing,
Chrysler Corporation, Centerline, Michigan, August 24, 1959.

3Interview with F. A. Filie, Manager, Sales Reports
and Analysis, Mercury-Lincoln.Division, Ford Motor Co.,
Dearborn, Michigan, August 25, 1959.

hSOurce of Oldsmobile's research information is from
the writers personal files.

 

 

- 68 -

Are the manufacturers more interested in serving the
majority of the dealers or the dealers with the greatest
percent of the sales volume? Manufacturers Often refer to
the eighty percent dealers. hGenerally this refers to a
minority of dealers who provide the factories with eighty
percent Of its total volume. Today the manufacturer con-
centrates most of its effort on perpetuating this minority

group who provide the bulk Of the business.

 

CHAPTER IV
THE WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT IN RETROSPECT

In Chapter II the regional wholesale business estab-
lishment was described. It is the highest authority away
from the manufacturer's headquarter but its role is rather
limited. The region overcomes its lack Of centralized
personnel directly assigned to it by having authority to
have its job accomplished through its subordinates within
the zone wholesale organization - region to zone to dis-
trict.

Examination of Figures 1 through 8 shows the differ-
ence among the manufacturers in the way they partition the
United States into sales regions. Political boundaries
are used almost exclusively in this partitioning. Also,
note on Figure 9 the duplication of regional headquarter
cities by the majority of the manufacturers. The maps
also indicate this. Here the duplication ends because the
territory assigned by the various makers to their regions
is entirely different.

It is doubtful that a redefinition of the land ar-
rangement at the regional level would appreciably increase
the sales of the product or improve accessibility to the
regional headquarters. Because of the nature of its
responsibilities the region headquarters serve strictly

in a supervisory capacity among all makers.

69

 

- 7o -

Chapter III described the zone wholesale establish-
ment with the aid of Figures 1 through 8. The manufac-
turers' programs are put into action at the zone level.
This is accomplished by the zone's personnel, particularly
by the district managers.

While the duplication of zone headquarter cities by
the manufacturers has been noted, the division of terri-
tory of the United States into zone wholesale establish-
ments is also different for each maker. The only similar-

ity is use of county and state political boundaries for

 

zone boundaries.

As evidence of the different Opinions how best to
divide the United States, examination Of Figures 1 through
8 and 10, 11, and 12 show the differences in land arrange-
ment used by the manufacturers. It is especially obvious
on the last two maps which show in more detail the Cin-
cinnati wholesale establishments of Mercury, Dodge and
Oldsmobile. On these maps the only notable similarity is
the use of Cincinnati as the headquarters city of the three
areas.

Figures 20 and 21 indicate that the manufacturers are
apt to headquarter their district managers in cities where
competitor district managers are found. Once again the
land area assigned to the individual district is complete-
ly dissimilar.

 

- 71 -

It is possible that the manufacturer or the parent
corporation could be benefited tremendously if a detailed
study were made of the United States and a more efficient
territorial pattern were devised for the zone wholesale
establishments. From the interviews granted by tOp execu-
tives of several corporations and their divisions it is
evident that such study has been contemplated and in some
cases a weak effort has been made to get research leading
to that end started. In only one case, the Chrysler Cor-
poration, is a study actually in prOgress. In discussion
with Chrysler officials it was discovered that the peOple
assigned to the study had never served in the field as
either a zone department head or as a Chrysler district
manager. The success of this particular study is yet to
be measured.

From interviews with the same executives it could be
concluded that the management of their various corporations
are reluctant to start such research as they are doubtful
of the benefits compared to the expense to be incurred.

In the three previous chapters it would appear that
the manufacturers have cOpied each other's wholesale system
in principle and express the same concept of wholesaling,
however different they may appear to be in detail. With
this in mind it could reasonably be assumed that if manage-

ment saw the difference existing in the present zone

 

-72-

territories among the different makers of cars in contrast
to the almost unanimous duplication of headquarter cities
and personnel structures something would be done to profit
from the study of these differences which represent manage-
ment experience in the industry as a whole. Each manufac-
turer is trying to find an Optimum location to best handle
a particular portion of the United States.

Is it possible to redivide the United States into more
efficient market areas? Ideally the zone headquarters
should be established in an Optimum location within a land
unit where it will provide the most effective supervision
and service to the majority of the retail dealers. Theo-
retically the zone headquarters should be so located that
maximum effectiveness may be achieved in relation to the
zone business Office and distribution patterns.

The manufacturers recOgnize that they have a problem
in the division of the United States for an effective
Operation. In the interviews with the several executives
a willing audience was found concerning how best to ac-
complish a redefinition of the wholesaling territories.

The expense, time, and misgiving concerning the probable
results were the major Obstacles in the case of approval
for such research.

Men with recent field experience in the industry should

be selected to conduct such study. An effective effort in

 

- 73 -

research can be conducted only in the field and not from
behind a desk in the manufacturer's headquarters. It was
found that when attempts were made to start research men
chosen were Often those with a marketing background who

had no knowledge Of the wholesale establishment, to say
nothing of the duties and problems of the district and zone .fip__
managers or of the retailers. In other cases candidates
for these jobs were men who had been displaced and were

biding their time till retirement. Of lesser importance

to such study but still a factor is the ability of the re-

 

search personnel tO portray the information by graphic
methods, such as maps, in order best to describe what the
circumstances are in a specific territory.

The time needed for such a study is difficult to esti-
mate. Since the forces which.make such a study necessary
are dynamic and continuing, with the constant changes in
pOpulation, income, industrial growth and other associated
economic and cultural factors, such research needs to be
done on a continuing basis. Using the personnel Of the
industry itself from its permanent sales organization and
a small but specialized research staff would be ideal for
a continuing study.

Los Angeles is an example of an area where such a con-
tinuing study would be beneficial because it is undergoing

continual change to a greater extent than most other

-m-

territories. From a continuing study within the organiza-
tion of any car maker it could be determined exactly where
in a given territory a product enjoys its best acceptance.
Also, those areas of the city with the most income could be
pinpointed. With available information, the manufacturer
could discover which dealers were responsible for the most
sales and the market area in which they achieve their
greatest success. Areas where the product had poor accept-
ance could be determined and the manufacturer could learn
whether it was the dealer's fault or possibly the poor
location of the dealer-point.

A manufacturer could also keep up to date on the
economic and cultural changes taking place within a com-
munity or those cities with multiple dealer-points. Is the
area deteriorating to the point where urban renewal is
necessary or contemplated? If such a plan exists how will
it affect the existing market and dealer points? Is a
dealership change Of location desirable? After an urban
renewal program has been placed into effect will the pend-
ing plans for the area require a dealer point in the near
or distant future? These are all point elements of which
a manufacturer should be currently aware. Such information
is available, but must be assembled so that appropriate
personnel may adapt these facts to fit their particular

needs.

 

-75..

The manufacturer Often forgets that when dividing the
zone into districts the work loads or volume potential
should be foremost in mind for the district managers. The
majority of the manufacturers divide their zones into equal
parts by dealer and not district manager work loads.

Along this same line the makers Often place too much
emphasis on those dealers that sell sixty percent or better
of their product's volume. Upon checking upon these dealers
it was ascertained they can be found in small cities, poor
income areas, as well as the larger cities. In brief, the
sales productivity of a particular dealer does not neces-
sarily mean that a large market potential exists. Do
manufacturers mistakenly place too much dependence upon
these sixty percent volume dealers?

Using Los Angeles as an example again, has the metro-
politan area been divided into the best possible district
alignments? To achieve the best results, the district
should be divided to provide maximum supervision of dealers.
In many similar areas of multiple-point dealer cities,
where more than one district is present, the work loads
are at present unevenly divided.

Several of the manufacturer's executives interviewed
admitted that work loads of their district managers were
Often unequal. In the case Of one manufacturer who had

recently realigned several districts, exception was taken

 

- 75 -

to this statement. They contended that their metrOpolitan
district managers had fewer dealers than did their country
district managers. Upon closer examination it was dis-
covered by the manufacturer's representative that in near-
ly all instances, the city district manager had between
three and seven less dealers than the country district
manager. More important was the fact that in each case
the metrOpolitan district had a sales volume from two to
eight times that of the country district. To go into the
differences even further it was discovered that in many
cases it took the metrOpolitan district manager the same
length of time to travel between his city dealers as it
did for the country district manager to visit his dealers.
As expected, it took the metrOpolitan district manager a
much longer time to handle a problem or program with his
dealer who might sell five cars a day as compared to the
country dealer who sells one or two per week.

These points had not been seriously considered by
this particular manufacturer. In the case of the men who
were interviewed, one had been away from the wholesale
establishment for eight years and had been a district
manager for slightly over one year. The other individual
was reaponsible for the recent alignment of districts
within a specific zone but had never served in a whole-

sale organization.

 

- 77 -

The automobile manufacturers are understandably re-
luctant to spend the money outside of their own organiza-
tion to get research started. This reluctance perhaps
stems from.the feeling that their experience with.market
analysis has been relatively unsuccessful. This has
happened because almost all personnel selected to make
such a study were unqualified. The maker also feels that
thus far he has been relatively successful without making
such a study. Lastly he feels that someone else will make
the study and perhaps he will be able to adapt it for his
own needs.

Several manufacturers pointed to their recent studies
concerning the relocation of existing dealer points and in
some cases the actual closing of such points. When ques-
tioned about the facts which went into their particular
studies it was discovered that absolutely no field study
had been made. The facts that were available came from
rather hurriedly prepared reports from the zone manager or
his assistants in the wholesale establishments. On exam-
ination of several such reports it was doubtful whether
sufficient time had been spent in gathering the facts.
There was even evidence of some personal feeling entering
into the study rather than objective statements of fact.
Yet with these reports or studies this particular automobile

manufacturer was willing to spend and did spend several

 

- 78 -

million dollars on this program, and is continuing to spend
additional amounts.

It would appear that in the case of this manufacturer
who had and is currently designating millions of dollars
towards the realignment of the dealer organization that
all would have been considerably ahead if they had given
their divisions the authority to set up a department with
experienced men to make a thorough study of the existing
situation within their own organization, and prepare from
known facts and their own field experience, a master plan
for the future.

It is inconceivable that large corporations have been

so reluctant to devote the necessary time, effort and funds
to achieve a better organized wholesale business establish-
ment. All manufacturers currently place all emphasis on
the franchise dealer organization as it is known today.
It would then appear that to retain and enjoy more success
with this type of product distribution the most important
step is Optimum location by the alignment of the wholesale
establishment to best serve the retailer.

It is thought that the automobile manufacturers will
find that their continued success depends upon the efforts
of their wholesale business establishments. They are
bound to find it necessary to allot funds and personnel

to make studies Of the complex urban oriented develOpment

 

-79-

taking place within the United States. Makers will also
find more success in their study if they depend upon per-
sonnel drawn from their own wholesale establishments. Of
equal importance is the fact that these experienced whole-
sale personnel from the field should have among them some
personnel with academic background which will complement
the other requirements. This combination will help such
personnel to describe and analyze better the phenomena
discovered during field research.

Little doubt exists that now and in the immediate
future the auto market is changing. Evidence of this is
the trend that has taken place in the last three or four
years. There has been at least one car halt production
and one or two others have a doubtful future. NO automo-
bile manufacturer is exempt from loss of its product's
desirability. A well organized and supervised retail group
can survive despite changes in the marketing situation.
Key to stability in a changing product acceptance to a
marginal relationship is a redefinition of the zone and
district wholesale territories to secure Optimum location
and maximum supervision of retail-dealer organization.

The evolution of the wholesaling system in the auto-
mobile industry has been described. Its present devotion
to the wholly-owned company wholesaler has been explained.

Difference in the territorial arrangement among the big

 

-80-

eight has been geographically patterned on maps. Examina-
tion of the resulting pattern of the wholesaling of auto-
mobiles shows a great difference in territories and a
striking similarity in location of centers. It is the
belief of the author that individual companies will enjoy
competitive advantage in direct proportion to the wise
exercise of judgment in matching up the sales territories
of their zones and districts with the changing market
potential around their major centers. A relatively small
amount of research on such.matters based upon existing
personnel, academic and industrial, within the automobile
companies own organization at the zone and district level
will prevent a sizeable amount of loss in potential sales.
The maps presenting and comparing the wholesaling
patterns of the automobile industry in.this thesis are
convincing proof of the effectiveness of geographical
analysis in providing a means of accomplishing their

purpose 0

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Public Documents

 

U. 3. Senate, Subcommittee on Automobile Marketing
Practices. Committee on Interstate and Foreign
Commerce. Report 3-3865, 8hth and 85th Cong., 19 .

 

 

Books

Epstein, Ralph Cecil. The Automobile Industry. Chicago-
New YOrk: A. W. Shaw Co.,—I937.

 

Erskine, Albert Russell. History of the Studebaker
Corporation. Chicago: The Studebaker Corporation,

I92h.

Kuznets, Simon. Seasonal Variation in Industry and Trade.
New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1953.

 

 

 

Longstreet, Stephen. A Century on Wheels. New York:
Henry Holt and Co., I952.

 

Smith, J. Russell, and Phillips, M. Ogden. Industrial

and Commercial Geography. New York: Henry Holt and
Coo 9 19u70

 

Articles and Periodicals

Frederick, J. George. "Can the Automobile Business go on
Growing?" The American Monthly Review of Reviews,
(New York), Jun. 1920.

Scroggs, William O. "The Backbone of Prosperity,"
Outlook, (New York), No. 17, Apr. 23, 1930.

. "Five Million Car Year Heralds Industrial Gain,"
SaIes Management, (New YOrk), XVII, No. 1, Jan. 5,
1929.

. "Ford Branch.Managers Meet," Automobile
Industries, (New York), Jul. 2h, 1919.

 

 

81

-82-

59221132

Brown, Robert U. (ed.). Editor & Publisher Market Guide
1961. New York: Editor & Publisher, 1961.

Polk Company, R. L. New Passenger Car Registrations 1958.
‘Detroit: R. L. Polk Co., 1958.

Other Sources

 

American Motors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. Personal
interview with Mr. RoggAbernathy, Executive Vice-
President. Apr. 1h, 1959.

Ames, Gary W. Director, Public Relations, Lincoln-Mercury
Division, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Informative
letter. Aug. 11, 1959.

Berchtold, T. A. Assistant Director, Public Relations,
Chrysler Corporation Detroit. Informative letter
and material, Mar. 18, 1959.

Berchtold, T. A. Assistant Director, Public Relations,
Chrysler Corporation, Detroit. Informative letter,

Aug. 19, 1959.

Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. Personal inter-
view with.Mr. R. V. Diegel, Distribution Manager.
Apr. 17, 1959.

Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. Personal inter-
view with Mr. D. M. Craik, Manager, Marketing Staff.
Apr. 17, 19590

Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. Personal inter-
view with Mr. D. M. Craik, Manager, Marketing Staff.

Aug. 21+, 19590

Darling, Raymond 0. Educational Relation Section, General
Motors Corporation, Detroit. Informative letter and
material. Mar. 23, 1959.

Edmonds, Chris J. Public Relations Staff, Buick Motor
Division, General Motors Corporation, Flint. Infor-
mative letter and material. Aug. 12, 1959.

Edmunds, Henry E. Manager, Research and Information
Department, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn. Infor-
mative letter and material. Feb. 10, 1959.

-83-

Emerick, R. W. Director, Public Relations, Pontiac Motor
Division, General Motors Corporation, Pontiac. Infor-
mative letter and material. Mar. 3, 1959.

Filie, F. A. Manager, Sales Reports & Analysis, Mercury-
Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn.
Informative letter and material. Aug. 27, 1959.

Filie, F. A. Manager, Sales Reports & Analysis, Mercury-
Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn.
Informative letter and material. Sept. 3, 1959.

Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan. Personal interview
with Mr. Henry E. Edmunds, Manager, Research and Infor-
mation Department. Mare 26, 1959.

Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan. Personal interview
with.Mr. Benson Ford, Executive Vice-President, Ford
Motor Company and Director of Distribution Policies.
Apr. 2’ 19590

General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. Personal
interview with Mr. H. E. Crawford, Director of Sales,
G.M.C. Apr. 10, 1959.

Hagan, Jerry, Jr. Public Relations Staff, Buick Motor
Division, Flint. Informative letter and material.
Mar. 9, 1959.

Knight, William J. Manager, Public Relation, Cadillac
Motor Car Division, General Motors Corporation,
Detroit. Informative letter and material. Mar. 10,

1959.

Mercury-Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Michigan. Personal interview with Mr. L. B. Geithman,
Exgcutive Assistant to the General Manager. Aug. 25,
19 9.

Mercury-Lincoln.Division, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Michigan. Personal interview with Mr. F. A. Filie,
Manager, Sales Reports & Analysis. Aug. 25, 1959.

Mercury-Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Michigan. Personal interview and access to industry
records. Sept. 9-10-11, 1959.

Monroney, A. S. Mike, U. S. Senator. Washington, D.C.
Informative letter and material. Apr. 1h, 1959.

 

-eu-

Oldsmobile Division, F.M.C., Detroit, Michigan. Personal
interview with Mr. F. L. Foerster, Regional Manager.
Apr. 10, 1959.

O'Keefe, Andrew V. Assistant Public Relations Director,
Chevrolet Division, General Motors Corporation,
Detroit. Informative letter and material. Apr. 10,
1959.

Pichurski, John R. Manager, Public Relations, American
Motors Corporation, Detroit. Informative letter and
material. Feb. 17, 1959.

Pichurski, John R. Manager, Public Relations, American
Motors Corporation, Detroit. Informative letter and
material. Mar. 13, 1959.

Porter, K. R. Director, Public Relations, Plymouth Divi-
sion, Chrysler Corporation, Detroit. Informative
letter and material. Mar. 11, 1959.

Roman, Walter J. Educational Relation Section, General
Motors Corporation, Detroit. Informative letter and
material. Feb. 18, 1959.

Warden, Mayo. Community Relations, Chrysler Corporation,
Degroit. Informative letter and material. Apr. 6,
19 9.

Wylie, Frank W. Director, Public Relations, Dodge Divi-
sion, Chrysler Corporation, Detroit. Informative
letter and material. Mar. 11, 1959.

 

 

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