AUTOS: New Entry

When Nash’s President George Mason decided to explore the market for a small car four years ago, he took the public in as a partner. Mason had his engineers and designers build an experimental model, the “N.X.I.” (TIME, Jan. 16, 1950), then showed it around the U.S., inviting suggestions from 250,000 car buyers. This week, as the result of the partnership, President Mason brought out a small, peppy economy car, the Metropolitan.

The Metropolitan looks much like a baby brother to Nash’s Rambler. It has a short wheelbase (85 in.), a four-cylinder, 42-h.p. engine that gets 40 miles to the gallon, and a top speed of 70 m.p.h. The front seat will hold three adults, the rear seat two children.

To take advantage of cheaper labor. Nash will make the cars through two British firms (Fisher & Ludlow for bodies, Austin for engines), import them to the U.S. in two models, a convertible and hardtop. Price at ports of entry: $1,469 for the convertible, $1,445 for the hardtop (radio and heater $129 extra).

Out of the Red. President Mason, 63, has an initial order for 20,000 of his new Metropolitans, and if it goes over may set up a line in the U.S. to produce the car. A pudgy (240 Ibs., 5 ft. 9 in.), moon-faced engineer, he climbed up through the auto industry working for Studebaker, Dodge, Chrysler, then took over Kelvinator Corp. in 1927, at a time when the company was overexpanded and losing money. Mason turned the losses into profit, then had the job to do all over again in 1936 when Kelvinator merged with Nash, which was losing $1,000,000 a year. Poking quietly around the plants, talking directly to workers rather than through memos, Mason bolstered Nash with new models, jacked up dealers, cut Kelvinator prices, and streamlined production lines. By 1940, Nash-Kelvinator was in the black, where it has been ever since. Last year, on a gross of $478,697,891, greatest in its history, the company netted $14,123,026.

Cars are 70% of Nash-Kelvinator’s business, will become even more important when its merger with Hudson (TIME, Jan. 25) into American Motors takes effect at the end of this month. Hudson’s cars, which have not been selling well, will probably be redesigned to bring them more in harmony with Nash body styles. To save money, production of both Nashes and Hudsons will be concentrated in Nash’s Kenosha, Wis. plant, while Hudson’s huge (3,000,000 sq. ft.) Detroit plant will get a thorough modernization for production of parts and a new V-8 for the full line of American Motors cars.

Ahead of a Trend? With Ford, G.M. and Chrysler all fighting for a bigger share of the market, Automaker Mason has his work cut out for him. Nash, which made 135,394 cars in1953, has cut production 30%, and the company has had to cut itsdividend. Mason thinks that there is a trend to small cars, for city and suburban driving. If the Metropolitan catches on, he will be in a position to step up production rapidly. However, the car’s handicap is its price. The Rambler Deluxe is only $100 more, and Ford and Chevrolet come within $200 of it, f.o.b. Detroit, on their cheapest models. But Mason thinks hard selling can put the car over. Says he: “Our refrigerator boys are selling, and they had a tough time. If they can sell, the automen can.”