European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday. Novembers 1986 the stars and stripes Pago car Corner two new versions join compete1 series Mercedes 190 lineup now totals 7 the Mercedes Benz 190, introduced in december of 1982 and launched Onlo world markets in 1983, Ione or he most successful cars Ever manufactured by Daimler Benz of Stuttgart. With buyer demand High right from the beginning More than 100,000 units of the compact Mercedes 190 came off he Assembly line in the first year of production now Daimler Benz says the total production volume of the Mercedes 190 will clearly exceed the 700,000 Markin i9s6, the fourth year of  noting the Success of the compact 190, Daimler Benz announced that two new versions have been added to the Range making seven models in All available on the european Market the . Market now of fers five different 190 models. New arc the 190 e 2.3-Litcr Sedan and 190 e 2.6-Litcr six Cylinder and Here show Daimler Benz describes in part its new seven Model 190 lineup the two new Model the 190 e 2.3 and 190 e 2.6, will give fresh impetus to the compact series the series now meet ing the most diversified engine related wishes. Diesel car Drivers May choose be tween the economical 190 d 72 he and the More powerful 190 d 2.5 90 he. The Mercedes 190 102 he is the lowest priced Model while Drivers wanting higher Power output May choose the 190 e Llsup. The demand for even higher Power reserves Are met with the new 190 e 2.3 132 he. And to ensure refined motoring there is the new 190 e 2.6 with the six Cylinder engine 160 he. Sporty Drivers finally will find their demands fulfilled by the 190 e 2.3-16 with 4-valves per Cylinder 170 he Daimler Benz says there Are no class distinctions in this series. The 190 d docs not differ from the 190 e 2,6 interns of external appearance the firm says. The Only exception is the 190 e2.3-16 whose performance potential and Daimler Bent has added the new 190 e 2.6 heft and 190 e 1.3 sedans id the 190-Aerles lineup. Sporty characteristics Are expressed in special styling  regarding the new 190 e 2.6 Model Daimler Benz says the 2.6-liter six Cylinder engine fitted in this car is a highly versatile unit in that it is also fitted in the 260 e and the 260 be. And is thus the Only engine which Powers models from All three Mercedes Benz  of North America meanwhile has announced that it is add ing five new gasoline and diesel Modesto its lineup Lor 1987, bringing the . Specification Model count up to 14, these include five 190 sedans including the new 190 e 2.3 and 190 e 2.6, plus the 190 d 2.5, 190 d 2.5 Turbo and 190 e 2.3-16 three mid size sedans 260 a 300 a 300 d Turbo a station Wagon 300 to Turbo three Long wheelbase a class sedans 300 sol Turbo 420sel and 560 Sel and a limited edition Coupe and Coupe roadster 560 Sec sport Coupe and 560 so Coupe roadster. On the military Market in Germany meanwhile Only three .-specifieation Mercedes cars Are available lax free Sof Donly to German based id card Holder these can All diesels the 190 d 2.5-liter diesel Sedan the 300 d Turbo Sedan and the 300 to Turbo Turbo diesel tour ing estate station Wagon. Optimistic Outlook if the president of general motors predicts correctly then sales during the 1987 Model year in the United states should prove Strong indeed. Discussing sales in a recent pm press release f. James Mcdonald said we expect the 19s7 Model year to be another Good one for the Industry with total vehicle sales exceeding 15 million. This would mean three consecutive years of vehicle sales in excess of 15 million a first in Industry history. Underscoring our optimism for the 1987 Model year Are moderate inflation relatively Low interest rates High con Sumer Confidence and Bright employ ment  while presenting his optimistic 1987 Outlook pm Boss Mcdonald also noted that 19b6 Model year sales were the Best since 197g. Randy Barnett in Russ a Only the Brave buy automobiles by Jack Redden Moscow up1 russians say there Are two moments of happiness for a soviet car owner the Day he buys it and the Day he Sells it. In Between arc years of lining up for gasoline looking for non existent spar parts bribing repairmen and discovering that stale mechanics have stolen the bes parts of your engine. Just gelling to the garage is a Formida ble , with nearly 9 Mil lion people and halt a million private cars has a total of 22 Tow trucks two of them available Al night. In fact a russian s problems begin the moment he starts thinking about buying a car Auto shortages an not As severe As in years past but the soviet Union is a Long Way from being a nation on wheels. The United states with 238 million people produces about s million cars a year and imports millions More. The so Viet Union with 280 million  1.3 million cars in 1984 and imported none. About 30 percent of soviet car production was aimed Al Export. Half the remainder disappeared into state garages. A 2-year Wail is Normal for a car Tike inc popular compact Zhigui. A newspaper from Moldavia reported bribes for earlier delivery there averaged More than 1.000 Robin $1.450. New Volga about the size of the larg Plain unavailable these Are reserved for communist party officials. Even if cars were readily available most russians have to save for years to come up with the Cash car Loans do not exist. The average soviet income is 2,400 rubles $3,500 a year. The cheapest Zhi Guli carries a Price tag of 7,300 rubles $10.600. And a Volga is 15,600 rubles $22,600. Because the Supply of new cars is limited used cars do not depreciate in value. Up until s years ago used cars actually Cost More than new cars. When a person buys a ear it is in service for at least 10 years said the owner of an 8-year-old Zhigui. His car would still sell for 4,300 rubles $6,200. Twisted wrecks Good Only for scrap in the West sell for More than 1,000 rubles ,450 at the state run car lot in East Moscow. The trick to owning a car in the soviet Union it to drive it As Little As possible. A car is still a luxury reserved for special occasions such As journeys into the be loved Countryside. Only an estimated 10 percent of soviet car owners use their vehicles through out the year. Each Winter Canvas shrouded cars fill Moscow s apartment parking lots while the owners trek to Ward the subway in subzero tempera Tures. In Winter there ii the danger of rust " la soviet family Man in his mid-30s. If i got in an Acci Dent it would be a disaster. How would i Ever gel my car fixed this summer a passing car threw a Stone into his Windshield. When i saw this crack my heart stopped he said. The crack is Small but the thought that one Day i will have to get another item in Short Supply his voice tapered off Al the grim Prospect. And grim it is what makes us lose heart is the spar parts problem said Yevgeny Kopylov the head of the Moscow car repair facilities. When parti finally arrive from the factory the Quality is often poor. All this is a major cause for refusing to repair can and promotes switching of car parts speculation and the Black mar Ket Kopylov said. As with much of the soviet Economy the Black Market is the Motorist s last resort. Every Driver in Moscow knows where Sellers gather each night to Oner illegal spare parts Many of which have slipped out the Back door of state parts depots. I went to a shop in 1984 and like most people asked for a Complete set office tires said a Zhigui owner. They promised them in a year and a half but it will soon be two Yean and there is no word  stopped by police for using Bald tires he finally contacted a Friend from another soviet Republic who arrived by train lugging four new tires. No questions were the russian Driver Lucky enough to find parts faces a tougher Challenge find ing a Mechanic. Kopylov who admitted great difficulty in solving repair problems after a year on the Job says the sprawling soviet capital has Only 22 service stations and 700 service Bays. People wait for nine months just to have their cans painted he said. Corruption in the stations is rampant. Kopylov cited one Case of a War invalid whose new Axle was switched during servicing. After a barrage of angry complaints and two government investigations the dishonest mechanics were finally fired. But the russian car owners do not capitulate. Despite All these roadblocks the Auto Mobile Baa become a fixture on the soviet landscape. Westerners returning to Moscow after an absence of a decade Are struck by the City s traffic jams and the Long Linn of cart choking the highways Althe close of each weekend. Last Spring a russian Motorist condemned All can As he struggled to get Bis repaired. By mid summer he conceded that after having a car it is difficult to adjust to life without  his car was parked just outside his office so he could get away quickly for the weekend