European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday. December 11, 1986 the stars and stripes car Corner korean made Pontiac to debut Jan. 2 the new Pontiac lemans to dub i on Jan. 2 at the greater los an Geles Auto show is a thoroughly cosmopolitan automobile. It was designed in Germany it is being manufactured in South Korea and it will be sold primarily on the mar Ket. The German deign and engineering crimes directly from the front wheel drive opel Kartell the Lumans an off Spring of thai car in Boih appearance and engineering detail. And that is Good news for potential american buyers because the Kadi to a highly aerodynamic subcompact which arrived on he european Market in the autumn of i984, has been rated High by automotive experts since its first appear Ance on european roads. And these ratings have been reflected in Strong sales right from the Start. The Kartell s korean made counterpart the Pontiac Lumans will be featured on inc general motors stand atthe greater los Angeles show through Jan 11, then will be displayed at other major . Auto shows and special exhibits eventually arriving in Pontiac dealer ships in Laic Spring. Where the korean automobile Indus try is concerned it is no longer a stranger to the United slates the Vanguard car being the Hyundai motor company s Excel Sedan which was introduced in late february of this year. The Hyundai subcompact have sold extremely Well in the United states with the first year sales total expected to exceed 150,000, according to Hyundai new South korean factory the Pontiac lemans cars Are shown Here moving toward the trim and final motor America officials. But Back to the Pontiac lemans. The korean firm that is building the new la mans is the Jaewoo motor co., ltd., Jaewoo describing its manufacturing Plant As the newest and most modern in the the Jaewoo company a 50/50 join venture Between the Jaewoo group of Korea and general motors corp. Of the Assembly area Al Jaewoo molar s new factory in Pup on. A Seoul suburb. United Stales invested $425 million to modernize and expand the Plant at Pup Yong a Seoul suburb. It is in this new Plant where some 167,000 lemans cars will be manufactured annually. Jaewoo motor co said in a recent press release that its production facilities were upgraded and enlarged to manufacture the lemans subcompact. Pm chairman Roger b. Smith who visited Korea to Cheek out he new production facilities said recently thai the car being made in Korea was designed by pm s opel operations in West Germany so in a very real sense this vehicle Isa product of the Best that Germany Korea and the United Stales have to Smith added that it was the Korea Economy s remarkable performance that had inspired general motors to make additional investment in the Dae woo motor co. With the new plan Jaewoo motor co. Has the capacity 10 annually build 233,000 passenger cars including 67,000 units of inc new lemans10,000 trucks and 5,000 buses Jaewoo says that More than s25 Mil lion has been invested for new testing facilities with lest equipment coming from Japan inc United states Germany Britain and other european countries. The opel firm a subsidiary of general motors is responsible for design and engineering of the Pontiac Lumans a noted and Many of opel s production processes Are also being used in Dae woo s new the Jaewoo motor co. Makes cars buses and trucks for the Domestic korean Market and now for the .Market, the Jaewoo group of Korea it self is involved not Only in can but in trading construction and a diverse Range of manufacturing group ranks 49th in the 1986 for tune listing of the 500 largest Industrial companies outside inc United states. Randy Barnett three versions for the 87 Model year Chevrolet Monte Carlo cars retain popularity by Marsh All Schuon new Vork not for 1987, shoppers Are going to find a narrower Choice in the showrooms Bui the gaps will not be widely apparent. While 32 of last year s models have disappeared 289variations remain and they Span a greater Range than Ever. Automotive news the Industry publication that each year computes the subtractions and additions notes that the biggest proliferation of Nate plates occurred in 1970, when buyers could bog Gle themselves with 375 possible picks. This year though there is every sort of drivetrain and configuration every thing from front wheel drive coupes to four wheel drive station wagons and util Ity vehicles. Packages big and Little. Convertibles. Snarling ass arid Gas-sipping4s. There arc new cars such As Cadillac s allanic and the cd Ryster Maserati roadster. And there arc. Happily some familiar faces. Three of the familiar ones Are called Monte Carlo and they remain As Success Ful for Chevrolet As the first Monte Carlo was when it rolled out As a personal sporty car in 1970. The three versions an is an is and u new for 87 Aero Coupe continue to be built with a full Frame As opposed to most of today s unit bodies and they stand As prime examples of car wheel drive Detroit Iron. An automatic is the Only transmission available although you can have the Auto Matic with three or four speeds. The bases engine is a 4.3-Liler v-6 thai delivers 145 horsepower. An optional 5-Liler is puts out 150 lip and inc is has the same engine hopped up to 1 so horses. The is lest car metallic Gray and sporting a padded Gray Landau roof was a car to inn at. There was Power every thing. It had Whitewall tires. There was a big ashtray. There was a six Way seat. Monte Carlo Aero Coupe is the Fastback version in Chevrolet s super sport is series. The headlight control was the wonderful old single Knob that should never have been reinvented. You re not supposed to like such Auto mobiles these Days but the is reminded me of nothing so much As my old Cadiz lacs quiet soft overblown. I loved it. The new Aero Coupe is meanwhile is a son of oversized Camaro and its name is a bit misleading. The Fastback body style docs improve aerodynamics slightly but the car s coefficient of drag the measure of How easily it slips through the Breeze is 0.36, poor by today s standards. The is sport Coupe on the other hand is an honest statement. This hot nodded Coupe is a totally different treat ment of the is body style a muscle Carout of the Pasi and one of the Nice things depending on your viewpoint is the statement it makes about its Driver. The is sport Coupe is an anti social looking thing. To be sure there is new technology in the engine controls that give it reasonable mileage but its old Appeal is obvious when As you Park in a 6-Ycar-old passerby starts jumping Upland Down hanging onto his father s Arm and Yelling dad dad that s the kind of car i want the car is in Point of fact sort of is heavy at about 3,400 pounds just about what a Monte weighed when in was introduced 17 years ago and in still does t handle All that Well. In in t even really fast which is its chief reason for being. But it does grow on you. The test car was Black with red strip ing. There was minimal trim with no glint of throme. The car has gorgeous five spoke Alloy wheels mounted with Goodyear eagles and their fat footprint coupled with rear wheel drive made the is scary on rain Slick roads. Like the is there was a Silver Gray Interior but in this Case the car had a Black band with More red stripes across the face of its dash. Beyond the two spoke wheel he instrumentation included a Large 6,000 rpm tachometer the same size speedometer with a lipreading of 85 Miles an hour and four Small gauges for volts temperature Oil pressure and fuel. The Monic Carlo holds is gallon with the is and 17,6 Gallons in the v-6 version which Means it can pass a lot of Gas stations. Economy is rated Al 17 Miles per gallon City and 24, Highway with the big engine and 19 and 26 with the smaller Power Lam. That is excellent for a car of the Monte s size although fru Jalily is hardly a reason to buy it. The Oase is costs j11,306, and that ranges upward to $13,463 for the is sport Coupe and $14,838 for the Aero Coupe is , you can count on another $4,000 plus. It is probably just As Well not to dwell on what used to be. In 1970, the sticker Price was $3,123. Information and military Market prices on the 1987 Monte Carlo series cars Are available from general motor military sales representatives at the cafes new car salts Points on the Var ious bases in Europe
