European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 25, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                August 1985 the stars and stripes Page 9 car importers oppose ant theft proposal claim their business could be crippled Washington not a proposed transportation department regulation de signed to reduce automobile theft is being fought by a group of foreign car importers who say their business could be crippled by the terms of the the who make up much of the Gray Market in luxury Are supported by the Justice the debate Over the terms of the anti theft Rule As it applies to Gray Market autos is the most recent Battle Between franchised foreign distributors and Compa Nies that sell the same items at a lower Price by bypassing traditional channels for purchasing in the growing automobile Gray mar foreign mostly luxury european Are purchased for prices thousands of dollars below those asked by franchised dealers along with a lower Basic the cars Are made for the european Market and do not meet american safety and emissions these cars Are usually purchased for Cash by a citizen of the country where the car was then sold to so called direct importers for a the buyer of the car from the direct importer then pays a con version shop to modify the car so that it meets standards for safety and pollution the ant theft expected to be issued by the transportation department next would require manufacturers to place identification Marks on up to 14 parts such As engine and transmission of cars that have a High frequency of based on an analysis by the National Highway traffic safety administration of Auto thefts in the most frequently stolen cars included the Buick Toyota celica Cadillac Chevrolet Pontiac Mazda Chevrolet Camaro and porsche the transportation department has not specified which autos would be covered by the automobile thefts Rose percent in 1984 to from in 1983 first increase since according to data compiled by the Highway traffic the safety enforcement division of the department of As the regulation would not include As manufacturers the several Hundred Small companies that Are direct since these Gray Market Deal ers would not be Able to stamp the parts of the foreign cars they the cars could not be certified by the government for use in the United in papers filed with the transportation the automobile importers compliance the Trade group of the Small companies that help car buyers Purchase directly from has asserted that the regulation would effectively ban most direct Benjamin the executive director of the import said it would seek a Federal court order to prevent the ant theft regulation from being put into effect As pro in support of the direct import Compa the Justice department filed a Posi Tion paper with the transportation Agency arguing against the exclusion of direct importers in a position that echoes the Reagan administrations advocacy of marketplace the proposed Rule would frustrate certain Gray Market importers and help preserve or even increase the High prices of certain cars sold by authorized dealers in the United the Justice department about cars entered the United most of them from through the Gray Market last according to the transportation buyer Sav Ings ranged from to a depending on the Model and the amount spent to meet the safety and emission control this Federal officials the num Ber of such imports could mushroom to As High As while the proposed ant theft Rule appears to be the biggest immediate threat to the direct they Are also battling legislation in Congress that would restrict to original manufacturers the right to de Clare that a vehicle meets the promoted by the Ameri can International automobile dealers association and the National automobile dealers is being sponsored As part of the reauthorization Bills for the National Highway traffic safety adm Nistra the package will be acted upon this Point of order to viewers in saw a bloody Brawl in parliament thursday members of the pro communist democratic popular movement made comments that enraged members of the Cente right coalition that sup ports president Leon Febres viewers saw Liberal Deputy Carlos Plaza Aray with a pistol jammed in his bloody the nose of Lenin spectators in a Balcony hurled stones and spy plane crashes in Salvador san Salvador a officials Are studying the cause of the crash of a pilotless american spy plane used to gather information on leftist guerrillas for the Al Salvador armed the 20foot drone crashed Friday in Northeast Morazan a stronghold for the rebels fighting in the nearly six year old civil guerrillas ambushed a bus in the usually peaceful Western part of Al Sal Vador and wounded five Mili tary sources the attack thursday 35 Miles West of san Salvador on the Road to Santa came on the fourth Day of a rebel imposed ban on traffic on All the guerrillas had threatened to fire on vehicles Violat ing their or to Stop and destroy them at embassy spokesman Donald Hamilton said the cause of the drones crash had not been in Fred a de sense department said there was no indication the an r4e40 sky Eye surveillance drone made by Lear Siegler of Santa had been shot lash at in Al Salvador an experimental remotely piloted vehicle rpm being tested by a Small team of military personnel and civilian contractors crashed in an open Field about one kilo me Ter Miles South of san Carlos in the Morazan department of Al he said there were no injuries or prop erty and the salvadoran military recovered the who said the drone was oper ated by the United states in order to give intelligence support to the salvadoran armed provided few other another official in the citing information from the Southern come in said the plane took off from an Airfield in san which is on the Gulf of he said a military helicopter was sent from a base in sout Central Honduras to retrieve the which was the second reconnaissance Craft known to have crashed in Al Salvador since the civil War began in a conventional plane crashed into a Volcano near san Salvador in october killing four Cia officials give out Little information on the but they speak highly of the intelligence they officials say the intelligence and the growing ability of Salvador military to make Good use of it have played an important part in turning the tide of the War in favor of the officials say the use of air Power and Hig Altitude photographs makes it harder for the insurgents to operate in Large the sky Eye is capable of carrying several sophisticated surveillance cameras and sen including a High resold Tion television camera with zoom