European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 24, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes monday october 24, 1977 Corner cars using less gasoline Are major goal in Detroit by now there s no one with a Remote interest in american cars who is not aware of the big change in Detroit the Down sizing program. So much has been writ ten about it that the Reader May cry and for that matter the writer May add regardless much remains to be writ ten. The change has been termed one of the most important in american automotive history and that sums it up properly. The current army and air Force Exchange service cafes Auto show at the Heidelberg officers club in Patrick Henry Village offers car fans the Opportunity to take a look at the big the show near Heidelberg with More than 50 vehicles on display ends at 8 . Oct. 24, then moves on to Rhein main air base near Frankfurt on oct. 28 and runs through oct. 31. It s a solid show with All of the . Makers represented and a great Deal of Effort has been made to bring the cars to Europe quickly. Most of the new models made their debuts in the . Only three weeks ago. Best Range Dale Woodward the cafes car show coordinator said this fall s exhibition offers the Best Range of cars we be Ever presented and he predicted that More than 25,000 people would attend the Heidel Berg show alone. We had 25,000 Here last year he said and Well probably top that figure for this the main purpose of the exhibition Woodward said is not to sell but to give people the Opportunity to look around in Spect the new cars get the feeling for them and receive information. The exact prices Are listed on All of the cars and the various sales representatives have information on every regarding the specific automobiles at the cafes show i made a visit in opening Day and despite writing about the Down sizing of the new cars i was t prepare for it visually. Upon entering the Heidelberg officers club one encounters the general motors cars in the lobby and the first thing that struck my Eye was the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon shrunk beyond my expectations. The big Olds is Long gone now and you d better believe it. From the front the Olds Salon appears very narrow but All around it s a hand some car weighing some 700 pounds less that last year s Model. All of the new pm intermediates now on a bodies Are truly new cars not just redesigned jobs and that s one of the things that makes the 1978 Model year so interesting. Other pm makes along with the Oldsmobile Cutlass pm is featuring the Down sized Chevrolet Malibu classic the grand prix Pontiac Coupe and the car that started it All the Chevrolet Caprice classic. Another pm at traction is the Buick Lesa re sport Coupe with the 3,8-liter turbocharged engine the Only american production car with Turbo Power. General motors officials at the cafes show said that the new Oldsmobile diesel will not be released for Export until next year probably in january so it was t possible to have the diesel there. Among other pm offerings however were a Cadillac Seville Chevrolet Camaro Corvette and Nova and a Pontiac trans am. Chrysler models the Chrysler corporation whose High mileage twins Plymouth horizon and Dodge Omni won t appear until january features its Chrysler Lebaron and the new magnum be a specially intermediate from its Dodge division. Chrysler is also represented by several models from its popular Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen series and by the Well established Chrysler Cordoba. Ford s new ones Ford of course could t show up with out its much publicized Fairmont and Mer Cury Zephyr models and Ford has two of them to look Over a Fairmont station Wagon and a Zephyr Sedan. Ford is going All out on these cars predicting sales of 450,000 Fairmont the first year and if that works out the Fairmont would beat the 1965 Mustang As the Best Selling new Auto nameplate in american automotive history. The Fairmont and Zephyr Are 200 pounds lighter than the cars they Are re placing the Ford Maverick and Mercury come but they Don t appear much smaller in outer dimension. Both cars have a clean and somewhat european boxy look about them with efficiency the obvious key in Overall design. In Early test reports and analysis from american automotive magazines the Fairmont and Zephyr Are rated High in handling ride and general responsiveness. Ford s other offerings at the cafes show include an Ltd ii and Ltd Landau a thunderbird and a Mercury Cougar these cars appearing absolutely huge when compared to most other 1978 models. Three Mustangs Are also shown the Mach i v-6 with the open to roof design of Spe Cial interest. By William k. Stevens Detroit not gazing troit s Crystal Ball can be a risky business but amidst the Haze some things seem Clear about the american car of the future. In the next seven years the Auto Compa Nies main task one to which they Are committing tens of billions of dollars is to build cars that use less gasoline. To reach the congressionally mandated aver age of 27.5 Miles per gallon by 1985, the Auto makers will pursue two main Strate Gies. The first is to continue to make cars lighter and smaller by shaving pruning shearing and whittling them Down and by using More Light materials like plastics and aluminium. The second is to attempt to refine the internal combustion engine to its Peak of efficiency. That s for the 80s. For the 90s and beyond there is the possibility of exotic new engines requiring no gasoline at All but it is far too Early to Tell How live the possibility really is. In the near term expectations Are that the shrinkage of american cars will Proba Bly proceed in a halting overlapping Fash Ion. In 1985, the family car will weigh about 3,000 pounds roughly the size of today s compacts and Down sized inter mediates. Ford and Chrysler both plan to follow general motors next year in discontinuing its biggest cars and putting somewhat smaller family sized autos in their place. And by 1985, the v-8 engine should be virtually a thing of the past. The vast majority of cars will have four Cylinder engines the rest Sixes. Despite the increased use of turbocharging to boost performance the engines of 1985 will deliver less performance As a group than those of 1978. Diesel engines which Are said to improve fuel Economy by As much As 25 per cent Are expected to have a firm role in pm s plans. How big the role will be de pends partly on How american Drivers take to diesels. Oldsmobile has introduced the first american diesel a full sized Model this year. There s apparently no diesel in Ford s future but Chrysler is planning possible use of the engine in the mid-1980s. Ford and Chrysler will do less scaling Down than pm largely because they were not so heavily committed to big cars in the first place. But like pm they Are working on ways to improve the efficiency of conventional engines. More widespread use of electronic controls is in the cards. The really exotic engines lie at least a decade away although development Workon Many of them is proceeding now. One is the Gas Turbine engine. It has fewer moving parts than a conventional engine is lighter and potentially can use 30 per cent less fuel. Another Long term Power Plant is the much discussed electric motor. Its main difficulty is said to be that under the limitations of present Battery technology its Range is too severely limited. All of the Auto companies Are pursuing Battery technology and some engineers believe that a practical electric car May be possible a decade hence. Iaac offerings american motors is represented by it Complete line including jeeps the Rene Gade and Cherokee chief models among them. For 1978, am s top attraction is the Concord a refurbished Hornet but a much More attractive car with improved suspension. American motors has three of the new concorde on display 2-door and 4 door models and a Wagon. All Are visually pleasing and they re the right size. The firm is also featuring the new pacer Sedan and Wagon with v-8 Power the Sharp amx sports Model with detail changes at front and rear and the Matador Barcelona Coupe and Wagon. As previously mentioned jeep four wheel drive models Are featured at the show As Well As Utility trucks wagons vans and recreational vehicles from Ford Chrysler and general motors. A few Harley Davidson cycles Complete the lineup one that certainly gives an Excel Lent Sample of what s new on the american automotive Market. Randy Barnett More than 50 new american cars som of which made their debuts earlier this month in the United states Are being a congregation of cars featured at the cafes car show. This photo shows some of the cars displayed at the Heidelberg officers club in Pat Rick Henry Village. The show end there oct. 24 and moves to Rhein main a for a run from oct. 28 to 31. Is
