European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 2, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse Pope 10 the stars and stripes monday june 2, 1980 Corner the new Rover 3500 from eng land went on Sale in the United state last month and it was my pleasure recently to drive the first Rover 3500 to arrive in Europe. My Brief Outing with the Rover came via Courtesy or the Chapman automobile firm of Ramstein Germany and the drive in the aerodynamically sleek British machine was a pleasant one indeed. The Rover is a relatively fast luxury automobile with every conceivable convenience from air conditioning to Side window defrosting units and if one were limited to just one word on Rover description then civilized would be my Choice. The Rover cruises along silently at 103 Miles an hour the fuel injected 3.5-Liler v8 pulling 3,300 rpm at that Speed. At 108 Mph the engine remains quiet with 4,000 rpm on the Rev counter. The car can be held on the autobahn All Day at that Speed if you re not concerned about fuel Economy which the Epa estimates at 25 mpg for the Rover on Highway duty and 15 City not exactly in the fuel spar in category. The Power steering is super Quick and precise and the five Speed Gearbox Auto Matic is optional at $350 extra is quite smooth. The Rover goes from Zero to 60 Mph in just under 10 seconds and tops out at nearly 120 Mph. So it s no Slouch by any Means and it would never be a Dull car to drive the current Hatchback design the Rover has five door the Luggage space is cavernous when the Back seats Are flipped Down and there s even a lot of room when the Back seats Are upright. The car seats four in Comfort and five with no problem. Seating position is first rate and the leather steering wheel is adjustable to whatever Angle you wish. So Are the seat backs. A Power lock system seals All five doors at the touch of a Button and the windows Are Power too the Driver operating them from a every possible luxury feature As Standard the Rover s Only options Are automatic transmission As noted and Sun roof at $450. Cruise control also is Avail Able. The Rover 3500s Are being produced by British Leyland for Stock both at Chapman s and Larry Miller s cars International Stuttgart and will be Avail Able in six weeks. In the United states the Rover 3500 is Selling for $15,900 while on the military Market they sell at $13.200. Plus delivery costs. Subcompact Cadillac moving from British cars to american models a Detroit Trade publication reported recently that Cadillac will offer its first sub compact car As a 1982vi Model. Lon Huffman spokesman for the luxury car Cadillac division of general motors corp., said such an offering has been Dis cussed but he did not know if a decision had been made. Auto companies generally do not publicize product offerings so far in car reportedly called Petite by insiders would be a twin of the front wheel drive replacement for the Chevrolet Monza and Pontiac sunbird. These replace ments code named a cars Are scheduled the British Rover 3500 designed for the is. Market the new Rover luxury car features Leroy Yumlu styling Good performance from its a for introduction by Chevrolet and Pontiac about a year from now according to Ward s automotive reports. The Buick and Oldsmobile divisions ofom which offered twins of the Monza until a few months ago would also get the new front wheel drive Model along with Cadillac but still a year after Chevrolet and Pontiac. The new a car the first Small car that would be sold by All pm divisions would have a 99-Inch wheelbase compared with 97 inches for the Monza and 105 inches for the a body line of compacts now being sold by All divisions except Cadillac. If Cadillac does get a subcompact a car it would be about two feet Shorter and 1.500 pounds lighter than the Seville the smallest Model in the Cadillac lineup at the moment. New Chrysler compacts and while speaking of smaller cars the Chrysler corporation has started tooling its Hoy 3.5-liter v8 engine Tat Comfort Able seating. The Hatchback design pro Vides nut Luggage space. Sas photo Newark del., Assembly Plant for production of the advanced 1981 compact car lines with which it Hopes to regain financial said the Plant will be closed until mid August for a $50 million conversion the largest capital expenditure in the Plant s history. The conversion will add sophisticated new tools welding machines conveyors and other equipment. The retooled Newark Plant will build four door Sedan and station Wagon models of the 1981 Plymouth reliant and Dodge Aries compacts. Chrysler plans to build up to 600,000 of the fuel efficient front wheel drive cars next year. Most officials agree that Chrysler s financial situation is hopeless unless it finds Strong Market for the new compacts cars technologically similar to the general motors a body models. Randy Barnett Little mopeds motoring into big deals the joke goes something like this. The Guy walks into a Cycle store looks at a moped and asks the Salesman what will this thing get Well with average use about two months to the gallon to Salesman replies. End of joke. But make no mistake. The Little mopeds provide super economical transportation averaging from 30 a 16q Miles to he Gal Lon from their one gallon tanks. As practically everyone knows a moped motor and pedals is a two wheeled pedal vehicle with a single Cylinder engine of just under 50ccs, and rated at Between 1 and 2 horsepower. The average moped is capable of speeds from 25 to 30 Miles per hour while the slower models called sofas top out at about 20 Mph. While mopeds and sofas have been used for decades in Europe it was t until 1972 that they achieved Legal status in the United slates the stale of Michigan being the first to give the mopeds the Green . 44 slates plus the District of co Lumbia have said Okay to the moped and have set up specific Laws which define and regulate the motorized bikes. The six states still to pass moped Laws include Alabama Alaska Idaho missis Sippi Missouri and Utah. All six Stales however allow mopeds on their roads if registered As motorcycles. The rules vary in the 44 states and the District of Columbia some requiring Driver s licenses some not some requiring registration some not and the same for insurance and helmet use. Minimum age for operation meanwhile is 16 years in most states 15 years in a few others. For exact details on moped operation and Laws in All slates write for the pamphlet state moped Laws 1979/1980" from moped association of America. 1001 Connecticut ave. New Washington d.c., 20036. The moped association of America Points out in its pamphlet that the population of mopeds in the United states reflects great Progress. Estimated at fewer than 50,000 at the beginning of 1975, the moped population is expected to reach the one million Mark this the mopeds Are Selling Well in the . Military Community in Europe too with two Purchase programs available i the cafes concessionaire Bike boutiques in Germany and 2 major cafes stores throughout Europe. The Bike boutiques located in Mainz Kastel and Fuerth shopping Cen ters and a new one now at Einsiedler Hof Cavern Between Kaiserslautern and Ramstein All feature three different makes. These Are the Mot Becane from France the Ratavus from the nether lands and the Vespa from Italy. Tom Dewell manager of the Mainz Kastel Bike boutique says that the Bou Tique sold More than 150 Mot Becane and Belavus mopeds last year and that the Vespa has just been added to round out the selection. Because a majority of states lists a 30 maintenance session Maurice it Bart a Prugel factory Ftp Antn Lillif for mopeds explains maintenance procedure to a group of cafes sporting goods department Supen sors. The major cafes stores throughout Europe hate sold More than 1,200 of the motorized mopeds since the first of the year. Polo for s i s by Mclean Mph Speed limit Dewell says that the Bike boutiques concentrate on moped models that perform in the 25 and 30 Mph ranges. Hawaii however allows 35 Mph while other slates Are Low at 20 and 25 Mph. All models sold in Bike boutiques Are de signed for Export to the United states Dewell says and they May be taken Back Wilh ones household goods. Average moped weight is from 100 to 125 pounds. To ride a moped in Germany both Ger Man and Usa eur Law specify that one must be 16 years old and also obtain an operator s License. Liability insurance fees Are Low Dewell says about $40 a year for mopeds and sofas. Dewell says that sofas and mopeds at the three Bike boutiques sell from for $549 to $859. While the new Vespa motor scooters engines of 100. 125 and 200ccs sell from $999 to $1,499. Any sofa moped or motor Scooter sold by a Bike boutique May be serviced and maintained there the service department also doing the warranty and guarantee work. Meanwhile at the major cafes store throughout Europe the mopeds Are also Selling very Well Wilh More than 1,200 purchased since the first of the year. Customer demand has exceeded our Supply from the Day we began carrying mopeds in our larger stores says William Schultz merchandising director at cafes Europe Headquarters in Munich. Mopeds arc especially popular Wilh the soldiers and airmen at the More Remote bases and says Schultz adding that Many mopeds arc being purchased through the deferred payment Only one line the French made Peugeot moped is sold in cafes is about $530. So it s a Case of mopeds on the move and while they re economical in these fuel conscious Days they re also a lot of fun Hal s Why they re so
