European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 20 the stars and stripes tuesday september 20, 1977 modern living cars looking for the cheapest by Bill Walker projects editor he assignment amid some of the most exotic and High priced automobiles in the world find the cheapest  the Frankfurt International Auto show visitors Are dazzled with $30,000 italian imports sleek megabucks Mercedes and lavish one of designer cars. In this sea of costly cars inexpensive Basic Automo Biles Are usually shunted off to the Back Corner of displays near an exit or behind a hospitality Booth. A Day of rambling through the show s exhibition Halls turned up More than a dozen models which today might be consid ered Low priced Given the facts that inflation and the sagging Dollar have almost put an end to the under-$2,500 Road car and the average Price for Detroit models with extras transportation prep etc., is now Well Over $6,000 in the states. All prices quoted at the Auto show include the 11 per cent German added value tax which can be dropped by . Forces personnel provided the right paperwork and legwork is done in Advance. However Only two of the cars the Renault 5 and the Ford fiesta offer .-specification models and All other cars could not enter the . As purchased. In the Battle for the lowest priced car available to any buyer in Europe a Vener Able French entry and a bouncy restyled italian Model Are almost dead even at the Basic list Price without any optional or extra charges. Cheapest of All cars at the Auto show is the Fiat 126, Selling for about $2,600. A slightly dressed up version of the 126 is the Bambino Selling for about $2,735. This car is pointed toward the housewife and students and Young people explained Arnold Kallath German Fiat director. The 126 has an air cooled 594 cubic Centi meter cd motor that develops 23 horse Power and is the successor to the Long running Fiat mini the 500. Best known of All Economy cars is the citroen 2cv. This 40-year old design with a 23-horsepower engine is probably the most popular Rock Bottom Economy car in Europe. The car often called the Duck for its very flexible Waddle Type Springs gets Well Over 45 Miles to the gallon and is priced at about $2,610. The 2cv for Deus Chevaux literally two horses was first built in 1947 from a 1936 design. It has changed Little from the 1930s Conception. Plexiglass windows Flap out instead of rolling up and Down a Canvas top Rolls Back and the tiny 500 cd engine puts out enough Power to barely get the car Over the 60 Mph Barrier. But the car keeps going and going. Recent German Auto tests reveal the 2cv is the cheapest car to operate in Europe beating the legendary Volks Wagen 1200 in operating costs by several tenths of a cent per mile. We sell 20,000 to 25,000 of these units in Germany alone year in and year out said citroen representative Rene Roth child. It is a car for the family who must have room and who do not want to pay a lot of Money for a  in addition to the 126 and the 2cv there Are several other models at the show classed by the automakers in the Basic Economy car Range. Here is a rundown of the least expensive cars marketed by each company citroen in addition to the 2cv the firm offers a new front wheel drive hybrid that resulted from the Peugeot citroen combination. The citroen in at about $3,565, May be the successor to the 2cv if that old design Ever loses its Market. The 600 cd engine delivers 32 horsepower and will push the car to about 72 Mph. The car is a modern design two door with folding rear seat and a Hatchback. Dat Sun Dat Sun has done Well on the european Economy Market with its cheap est entry the 1200 Cherry f ii. This two door front wheel drive car with a 45-horse Power engine is sold through nearly 2,000 dealers in Europe. The Basic f ii Sells for about $3,910. The Cost of by Victor k. Mcelheny new York times f repair Bills Are any indication the often criticized automobiles made by american manufacturers Are slowly becoming More reliable according to the Hertz corporation the car rental company that is the nation s largest non governmental purchaser of cars. A subsidiary of the Ria corporation Hertz lately has been buying some 80,000 cars a year in the United states and run Ning them 10 to 13 months. According to Craig r. Koch Hertz s vice president for Fleet and operations administration the company s own maintenance costs have been following the National trend. Nationally the average annual repair Bill As a proportion of All expenses on cars has come Down from 28 per cent in 1950 to 24 per cent in 1972 and to 22 per cent in 1976. In general the cars Are better Koch said. There Are fewer of those irritating problems especially in the first 1,000 Miles. There also is an improvement at the top Over 30,000 to 40,000 Miles particularly from the wide use of radial  Koch said that the ase of radial tires improving fuel Economy giving cars More stable handling almost doubling tire life and decreasing the Chance of blowouts meant less Down time for the Hertz flee of cars. Radial tires he said Are one of nine technological improvements in cars in the last decade that Are most responsible for holding Down costs and improving reliability. The eight other improvements he listed Are electronic instead of mechanical ignition disc brakes the use of plastic bottles to recover overflow coolant from Radia tors catalytic converters to improve fuel Economy while still controlling tailpipe pollutants Overall weight reduction an automatic parking Brake release in creased window area and the steering column engine lock to reduce the risk of theft. The decline in car repair costs As a percentage of All expenses in owning an Auto Mobile is significant Koch said because the proportion of per capita income that americans have been spending on their cars has changed Little since 1950. In 1950, the Overall per capita costs of running a car including depreciation fuel License fees insurance in Terest and repairs was$194. Car operating costs Hertz s estimated total Cost per Mil for a t�76 car operated at 10,000 Miles a year for three years. Total 28 08 depreciation License insurance interest Gas Oil lubrication " maintenance 12.77c 4.45 3.029 5.31 2.08 maintenance a percent of All car operating Cost. 28.0% 24 0% 21.5% 22.0% 1950 1972 1975 1976 Overall car operating exp be As percent of per capita Pera dial income. 12.9% 12.9% 14.5% my. I�72 14.5% 1376 1 the statistics were pulled together by Hertz from such sources As the motor vehicle manufacturers association the american Petroleum Institute the depart ment of transportation and the National association of Fleet administrators. That Overall Cost per person constituted 12.9 per cent of the disposable per capita personal income in 1950 of $1,510. In 1976, after the worldwide inflation intensified by the 1973-74 Arab Oil embargo the Overall per capita costs of owning and operating a car in the United states had risen to $926. This constituted 14.5 per cent of the per capita disposable income of$6,409 in 1976. The per capita figures on car related expenses were calculated by Hertz to tune out the effects of inflation Between 1950, when there was about one car for every four inhabitants of the United states and 1976, when there was one car for every two americans. In 1950, the average Cost of owning and operating a car was $724, and in 1976 the figure was $1,812. This increase was almost exactly in line with the consumer Price Index. While the Overall per person Cost of run Ning a car had increased slightly More than three times from $194 to $926, con Sumer prices increased about 2.5 times from an Index of about 72 in 1950 to 170.3 in 1976, according to the figures used by Hertz. The Cost of operating an intermediate car for three years at 10,000 Miles each year has been calculated by Hertz for the years since 1950. In that year the Cost was 10.9 cents a mile. In 1976 the figure reached 25.1 cents Amile. The 1976 figure included 12.77 cents for depreciation 4.45 cents for insurance 3 cents for interest 5.3 cents for fuel and lubricants and 2 cents for maintenance. Overall in 1976, americans spent $198 billion to own and operate almost 110 Mil lion cars and $125 billion More to run a total of 27.6 million trucks of All types Ford the Ford entry in the Low Price Range is the new fiesta. The Basic euro Pean Model manufactured at Saar Louis Germany has a Price tag of about $3,810. This car is almost bigger inside than it is outside boasted a Ford representative Udo Reinhold. We believe this is going to be the Amer ican car of the 1990s,1 he explained in list ing the merits of the 1,000 cd front wheel drive Model. The . Version has a 1,600 cd engine and . Safety bumpers. A car dealer who is now marketing the highly successful Capri to . Military buyers in Europe said he can t wait for the first ship ment of fiestas to his Dealership. This car will be an american favorite he said. Leyland the British entry in the Low Price class is the mini 1000. The 39 horsepower Basic Model Sells for about $3,130. Very popular with students an economical car All in All a very Good buy for the smart shopper said a Leyland sales Man surprised at the interest in his cheap est offering. Mazda this firm offers the 323, a $3,865 Hatchback pointed toward Stu dents Young people and apprentices just learning their Trade and buying a first car said company representative bar Bara Thies. It is also for some women a second car in the family she said. The car was introduced in february of this year and a total of 9,000 units have been sold through August by the 550 Mazda dealers in Germany she said. Mitsubishi the firm is new to Europe and its entry in the Economy Market is the 1200 Lancer priced at about $3,910. Company spokesman Harald Linke said sales have been Good Overall since Startup of sales in april. Five thousand cars have been sold he noted but most of them have been our biggest and most expensive car the $6,000  opel the Russel sheim based manufacturer is a major Force in the european Small car Market. The opel entry the Wadett is a $4,000 car which sold Over 350, 000 units last year. The car is built for people around the age of 35 who go to work every Day and want Good transportation said company rep Erich Kupfer. A dressed up version oriented toward moderate wage earners and a special rally version for Young people give opel a wide Range of cars All within a few Hundred Marks of the Basic Selling Price. Renault Germany s largest importer offers the r5 in the Economy Range. Advertised Asle car in the United states the r5 has a Basic Price of about $4,435. It s for Young people and Young families who want a Nice car at a Low Price the Renault spokesman said. Renault sold Over 30,000 r5s in Germany last year headed. S1mca Chrysler s French division has a very competitive entry in the Low Price Field. The Simca 1000 has a Price tag of about $3,000. The 944 cd motor gets Over 32 Miles per gallon and will go travel almost 80 Mph. Toyota the 1000, Toyota s plainest vehicle was termed by a Salesman a second car for ladies or Young people who do not have much Money for More expensive  the car Sells for $3,517. Volkswagen vow is probably the Best known Small car maker in the world. Its lowest priced modern design car is the Polo priced at about $3,750. We Are making nearly 300 of them a Day at the fac tory and about 700 derbys a Sedan ver Sion a Day said vow Engineer Jirgen Schober. The Best vow seller is the Golf or Rabbit As it is known in the . The car has a Basic Price of about $4,130. We re producing about 2,500 per Day of this Model Schober said