GM's Knees

Last week President Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. took the lead in his industry by announcing that prices of General Motors' entire 1934 line would be upped from 10% to 15% because of rising costs of labor and materials under the NRA automobile code. Of equal interest to motorists was his announcement that all GM's new models would feature independent front wheel suspension, which has been used sparingly in Europe for several years. Said Motorman Sloan:

"The simplest way to explain it is to say that we have put knees on our automobiles. Each front wheel will be attached individually to the chassis by its own soft spring. When it encounters a bump or a hole, it will rise or fall independently, as your leg is lifted or straightened by its knee without affecting your other leg or the equilibrium of your body. The result will be that the wheel, not the passenger, will get the jar."

Detroit was sure last week that other makers, notably Ford, were secretly fiddling with their own knees.

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