European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Wolff a head a for a m inf Areat id the plastic Panela grew however As the Auto Industry began to concentrate again on styling after years of focusing on fuel efficiency and pollution problems. Once you get beyond need fashion becomes important said Hull Aldikacti former chief Engineer for the Fiero. As car designers we have to realize we Are in the fashion indeed Many analysts of the automotive scene say current trends in the Market Are working in plastic s favor. Although even the most ardent promoter of plastic has to admit that steel body panels Are less expensive in longer production runs they Point out that those runs Are getting Shorter As buyers demand More variety. The Market is becoming More and More said David Cole director of the University of Michigan s automotive study Center. Instead of 200,000 units of one vehicle what we Are going to have is 50,000 units of four different reducing the Cost of changing models would permit Detroit to shorten its product cycles oven to the Point of reviving a cherished custom the annual styling change. Pm would like to go Back to the old annual Model change without the tremendous expense of developing All new products Cole said. The plastics approach makes a lot of the gleam in the Eye of both the plastics suppliers and Auto company designers is the possibility of leapfrogging the japanese and eliminating their $1,500 to $2,000 a car Cost advantage by changing the Basic Structure of automobiles. They noted that the japanese Auto companies simply took the manufacturing and Assembly techniques developed in the United states and developed them to a level of efficiency possibly not attainable in a Western culture. But ii the rules of the game can be changed the designers argue the american companies could get the upper hand. Everybody is talking about making modular sectioned under bodies with plastics said one Auto official. The idea is to do As much pre Assembly of the modules As you can and then snap them together with a Little adhesive like a kid s Model strength and durability Are not really an Issue the designers say pointing out that race cars and High performance aircraft already make extensive use of reinforced composite plastics. But Aldikacti who is now in charge of advanced engineering for the whole Chevrolet Pontiac Canada group at pm doubts that there will be an All plastic car soon. One reason is safety. Mild steel is very Good at absorbing Energy in a crash he said. Plastics do not have that ability nevertheless he agrees thai usage of plastic materials on cars is going to increase sharply in the next decade. It s a growth situation because plastics have been introduced to the design process he said. With that Many people working it they Are going to find plenty of workout Black to nor Holder Suzanne Ericson of self defence Center it Back financially. " people of Means on new York s mean streets self defense for the moneyed by Kay Bartlett associated press t he joint is jumping with Karat Ebrown belts and Black belts of varying degrees. It smells sort of like a new Carand there is a faint scent of Money. It s a place where men and women of Means learn to defend themselves on new York s mean streets. The new $ 1 million facility in a High rent District of Midtown Manhattan is called the executive sell defense Center. It May be the world s most expensive karate school but the operators say you get what you pay for. At some of those karate schools above fruit stands on the upper West Side you practically already need to know karate to go there snits Sharon Creal who holds a Brown Belt in karate and is the financial brains behind the operation. For a $1,200 fee clients at the executive self defense Center get fitness training and 10 lessons in Urban defense plus evaluations of their performances. An actuarial May venture that it would be cheaper to get mugged once every six months but what the Heck. Much of the backing for the school came from former parisian Model Suzanne Ericsson a swedish born blonde who is 5-Leet-11 and holds a Black Belt. Another investor wishes to remain Anonymous. The head instructor Ted West worked in the new York City prison system for 30 years and has taught martial arts for 20. At just under 6 feet tall he is a sixth degree Black Belt. His demonstrations against bigger opponents Are impressive. West a slightly balding Man of 55 or so easily dismantled the other karate teachers As they came at him with fists clubs and when he allowed it a stranglehold. The school has six self defense instructors and four fitness trainers. The training sessions by appointment Only Are videotaped. The Center has six private workout rooms half of them equipped with heavy bags and half equipped with dummies on which clients practice their moves. West has dreamed up 90 scenarios in which the Urban Dweller can be taught to fight Back. His tips Are practical but not invincible As he is the first to admit. The first is awareness. We Don t want to make people paranoid but we want them to know the Tiger is out West advises. We put them through simulated situations. Fear is Fine but panic is to be the Arcond strategy is damage control. If a mugger puts a gun in your face give him the Money. Or if possible disrupt his game plan. Substitute your own. Keep him off balance West says. If someone grabs you in the elevator and says he s going to take you to the roof to shoot you or rape you. Tell them you re not going to the roof. Tell them to do what they re going to do right there. At least he s not where he feels comfortable. That gives you an the third part of his strategy he Calls bombs that s when the client will want to use All the self defense systems he has been taught a combination of varying forms of the martial arts a bit of karate som Jujitsu i Ai Chi Chuan and Airdo. As Well As some Nice moves employing an umbrella. If he can t stand on his Hind legs he can t fight West says. The club is intended to be exclusive but not quite As exclusive As it is now. Only a dozen or so executives have signed up so far. The operators Hope a direct mail advertising Campaign directed at a selected clientele will remedy that. We went to Atay very limited says Ericsson. We want 300 to 350 members and we Hope to have 50 by the end of the West has dropped the ceremonial Robes the bowing the discipline of traditional karate lessons. The Type of people i m going to be dealing with Here have their own discipline they Are already inner disciplined he says. I can t ask a ceo to spend 20 minutes dropping Down and doing thumb pushups. His time is too valuable. We re drawing a different clientele. We Don t have the High school kid who wants to be the first on his Block to beat up his Ericsson adds there is nothing quite like it anywhere in the sunday december 15, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17
