Happy Exception at Chrysler

As they wait anxiously for the traditional spring pickup in sales, Detroit's automakers are predicting a 1968 out put of up to 9.3 million cars, which would make the model-year one of the industry's best. But auto salesmen, who are still in the midst of winter dol drums, are beginning to wonder. As a result of last year's 45-day strike, Ford production is still catching up, and sales are off 40% for the model-year thus far. General Motors is down 1% from last year in spite of such hot numbers as the Pontiac Tempest. Smaller American Motors is up 5.5% on the strength of its sporty Javelin but, while this is pleasing to American, it amounts to a mere drop in the industry bucket. Overall industry sales are down 8%.

Chrysler is the industry's happiest exception. Chrysler sales are up 6% to 444,700 cars thus far in 1968. And since the Ford strike sent many a prospective customer to a Chrysler showroom, Chrysler last week reported fourth-quarter 1967 sales of $2 billion and earnings of $107 million. That one impressive quarter overcame sluggish earlier business--and sent sales for the year to $6.2 billion. Chrysler's twelvemonth earnings of $200.4 million are 6% better than last year's.

Since he took over seven years ago, Chrysler Chairman Lynn Townsend, an accountant rather than an operating man, has introduced just about the tightest cost controls in the auto industry-even while approving major new spending for additional facilities. In the past three years alone, Chrysler has appropriated $798 million for new plant and equipment. Space has been increased by 14 million sq. ft., or 30%, and Chrysler is making more and more of its own parts, instead of depending on outside suppliers.

Meanwhile, Chrysler President Virgil Boyd, a dealer before he got into the manufacturing end of the business, has been busy increasing Chrysler dealerships. They have risen from 5,580 to 6,409 since 1962, and Boyd has respotted many of the dealerships in better selling locations. Last week Chrysler dealers were moving new cars at the rate of 3,800 a day.

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