Our own sales kept right
along, but we knew that sooner or later they would drop off. I thought
seriously of cutting prices, but the costs of manufacturing everywhere
were out of control. Labour gave less and less in return for high wages.
The suppliers of raw material refused even to think of coming back to
earth. The very plain warnings of the storm went quite unheeded.
In June our own sales began to be affected. They grew less and less each
month from June on until September. We had to do something to bring our
product within the purchasing power of the public, and not only that, we
had to do something drastic enough to demonstrate to the public that we
were actually playing the game and not just shamming. Therefore in
September we cut the price of the touring car from $575 to $440. We cut
the price far below the cost of production, for we were still making
from stock bought at boom prices. The cut created a considerable
sensation. We received a deal of criticism. It was said that we were
disturbing conditions. That is exactly what we were trying to do.
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