European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 7, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday july 7,1988 the stars and stripes Page 13 Austin Rover Aims for military Market new Sterling gets Power increase in the United states the car i known As the Sterling while in Europe it s the Rover Sterling but in any Case this car ranks up there among the world finest sports luxury sedans. The new Sterling cars have been featured before in this column so there s no need for background information except to say that the Sterling bodies Are designed and manufactured in England by Austin Rover while the Power source comes from Honda of Japan. The Sterling sedans have been on the . Market for 18 months now and Are doing relatively Well in what has become a Tough Market for european imports because of the Dollar decline. During a recent press program near Frankfurt we had the Opportunity to drive the latest versions of the 800-series Austi Rover Sterling cars and to discuss the marketing picture with Christopher t. Franklin the chief of Austin Rover s Neuss based Ger Man division. Let s look at the Market picture first then Well discuss the cars. The latest Market development is tha Taustin Rover plans to enter the . Mili tary Market by no later than this autumn. It s not a question of if Only when " Franklin said adding that the military sales program will feature a full Sterling fran Chise with .-specification Sterling cars. It s an important Market and we look for Ward to serving it Franklin said. On the military Market Franklin say Austin Rover s primary Competition will come from Bow Saab and Volvo. Regarding the firm s american mar Ket Franklin says that Austin Rover is developing a Strong and High Quality dealer network for the Sterling cars and that while sales during the past year were slightly below projections the performance for a new entry in the Field has been satisfying. We re Back on the american Market to stay Franklin said and we look Atit strictly on a Long term basis. Our other International benchmarks Are the u.k., of course and Germany. The German Market is an extremely Tough one the Austin Rover executive said because the German and japanese cars cover some 85 percent of it. But we Hope to sell 8,000 rovers in Germany this year plus about 1?500 Range Rover 4x4s four wheel drive. The Range Rover provides the right image in Ger Many and in the United states As Well and it fits in perfectly with our passenger car lineup. Our goal is to sell 15,000 cars the sleek 827 Sterling 4-door luxury Sedan from Austin Rover is powered by a new 2.7-liter Honda v6 engine. Is photo annually in Germany and with Good products and a Strong dealer network that figure is  the Day s test program we drove the Rover 820 is with five Speed manual and the Rover 827 Sterling with a new elec tronic automatic transmission that features an extremely interesting sports Mode shift layout. The 820 is will be sold Only in Europe while the Rover 827 Sterling will be sold in the . Starting in september As Well Asin Europe. The . Version is called the 827 Sterling the Rover prefix  827 Model for both Europe and Amer Ica features a newly developed 2.7-liter v6 Honda engine of 169 horsepower. The 827 Sterling 4-door Sedan re places the 825 Model which was pow ered by a 2.5-liter Honda engine. The new 2.7-liter fuel injection engine with four valves per Cylinder 24valvesis an exceptionally smooth and silent unit and it plays a big role in Mak ing the 827 Sterling an important Auto Mobile on today s  driving the new Sterling we would define it As a luxurious and fast sports Sedan that could be driven All Day at High speeds without fatigue a real Long distance tourer and a Driver s  we reached 210 Kph 130 Mph on the autobahn the Sterling silent at those speeds with Only slight wind noise. Both handling and Road holding were impressive As were the brakes the Ster Ling s braking system incorporating anti lock Abs As Standard. We drove the 827 Sterling automatics that is the car that most americans will be will interested in and it features one of the Best automatic gearboxes we be Ever encountered. And with the a Mode it s great fun to use. The gear change system incorporates conventional cruising a and a sports a pattern and when you really want to move out just drop the lever into  the first three gears then produce the maximum Power in a fluid and perfectly timed manner not too Early and not too late. The Range is from 5,000-to-6,000rpm redline is 6,400 before the change to another gear is made. The punch i restricted to the first three gears but if you want fourth you can go for it by punching Down on the "s4" Button which is located alongside the gear change lever. Once "s4" is engaged the transmission will operate in a mod using All four gears. Along with the sport ing Side the a Mode is Good for driving in the mountains when you need that extra punch. In Short it s an ingenious  827 Sterling seats five adults in com fort and the Interior on the test car oozed luxurious appointments including Power leather seats the leather an extra 2,750 Marks about $1,500 and air conditioning also extra at 3,200 Marks $ 1,800. With automatic the base Price for the Rover 827 Sterling is 49,490 Marks $28,000that Price including the 14 percent German value added tax. With a 5-Speed manual the Cost is2,500 Marks less $1,400. In the states the car will probably run in the $20,000 to $25,000  also spent some Road time with the Rover 820 is this one powered by a 2-liter,16-valve engine of 133 horsepower. It was a Strong enough performer cruising easily at 110 Mph and capable of 123 Mph. The Inte rior was nicely done with such typical Brit ish touches As Wood trim on the doors an dash the Wood trim also found on the Ster Ling. The 820 is had a manual 5-Speedgearbox which provided Quick and easy changes and acceleration through the gears was fast and smooth. This one is priced at 32,990 Marks about $ 19,000the Price including tax. Summing up these Are extremely inter Esting cars and we look Forward to the 827 Sterling s introduction on the military mar Ket this fall if not earlier. Randy Barnet Auto columnist Ford s escort May get some Mazda treatment1  Detroit up Ford motor co., now Riding High As the world s most prof Itable automaker boasts that it alone of the nation s big three car makers still Sells a domestically made subcompact car in any appreciable numbers. But that May soon change at least to some degree As Ford plans to give the next generation of its venerable escort subcompact a bit More International Fla Vor both in design and production. Ford still ranked behind Industry giant general motors corp. In terms of sheer size said it has spent millions of dollars to keep its escort updated when such Industry rivals As pm and Chrysler corp. Have either ended Domestic Small car production altogether or sustained production of an aging  spent close to $2 billion for the original escort program in the United mates and Many hundreds of millions snore for a new engine upgraded mechanical components and styling Revi Sions to keep escort competitive said Robert l. Rewey vice president of Sale operations for Ford s North american automotive operations. To me that is a serious commitment by Ford to the concept of building an Selling subcompact in the United states he added. One reason for escort s Success it has been the Best Selling subcompact import or Domestic for six years running is that it has undergone several major updates since being introduced in late 1980. The latest up Date involves the mid-1988 Model with re styled fenders bumpers rear Quarter panels an taillights. But future plans Call for the next generation of escorts due in 1990 to share some major components like the floor pan and transmission with Mazda s 323 subcompact. It will also be offered with Amanda made engine As optional. Mazda s involvement with Ford which owns 25 percent of Mazda is not new. It has been involved with devel Oping several other Small Ford cars for the . Market including the mexican built Mercury tracer also derivative of the Mazda 323 and the Ford probe now being assembled at Mazda s new Assem Bly Plant in Flat Rock Mich. Some of the new escort production will most Likely be done at Ford s Plantin Hermosillo Mexico. This would allow Ford to take advantage of considerably lower labor rates enabling it to keep production costs of the program Down. But that May raise the ire of the United Auto workers Union during the next round of labor negotiations also due in 1990. With More production shifted to Mexico i be got to believe that the next time around the Job Security provisions will have a lot More Teeth to them said Industry analyst Michael m. Luckey head of the Luckey consulting group inc., in Cresskill . The Law will have to be a lot More careful about How enforceable these pro visions Are he  Law won a ban on Plant closings from All . Automakers in its last round of labor negotiations which began with Ford last year. But car makers May still indefinitely Idle plants because of slow vehicle sales. Slower sales May be part of Ford s future especially in the Small car Market Luckey said. Even Ford May not be running Flat out in three year s time. They May not be at full capacity in car production by the because More transplants will be coming on line he said referring to the growing number of . Plants being built by Jap anese car makers. The new escort will also be assembled at Ford s Wayne Mich., Assembly Plant where the current Model is now built. But its Edison ., Plant which also builds the escort these Days probably would be freed to assemble another vehicle possibly a Light truck. And while . Jobs May be preserved if Ford keeps its Edison Plant open theuay will most assuredly argue that this nation s traditional car makers will have one less Assembly Plant building Small affordable cars