AUTOS: The Battle of Detroit

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Too Big? Such careful planning and coordination between styling, engineering, production and sales have helped make General Motors the world's biggest manufacturing company, with 583,000 employees in 152 plants, and almost as many stockholders. One of its bulwarks is its depth of executive talent. Groaned a competitor: "Like Notre Dame, they've got ten men for every position." While Harlow Curtice has not named anyone to take his old job as the president's right-hand man—and thus be his heir apparent —there are many who might ultimately step into the president's shoes.*

Size, however, has its problems as well as its rewards. From a political standpoint, G.M. offers a tempting target. In the last two years under Curtice, while G.M.'s share of the auto market has risen from 41.7% to 49.9% (and Ford's has gone from 22.8% to 30.8%), Chrysler's share has plummeted from 21.3% to 13.5%. The former independents, which in 1952 accounted for 13.2% of auto sales, have dropped this year to 5.8%. Studebaker and Packard, Kaiser and Willys, and Nash and Hudson have had to team up to stay in business.

The Eisenhower Administration, which does not view bigness in itself as cause for antitrust action, is nevertheless considering eight possible auto suits involving such things as dealer contracts, finance-company tie-ins and sales of parts. And under an Administration less friendly to business, any new boost of G.M.'s share of the market might well bring an all-out antitrust attack.

If it wanted to, G.M. could probably drive Chrysler and the former independents to the wall by cutting prices low enough. Harlow Curtice has no intention of doing so—and for the sake of national security, no Administration would sit idly by and watch if he tried.

Thus 1955 will be a year of decision for General Motors as well as the rest of the auto industry. Harlow Curtice does not plan to help his competitors compete. As he says: "I don't see how we can stop people from buying G.M. cars." But he fervently hopes that they will be able to stand up to his Goliath and fight—and thus keep the long arm of the Government from mixing in the auto industry. Curtice thinks his competitors can do it, and so do they. For automen 1955 may well provide the answer.