European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 04, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday. May 4, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13 89s Are first Good caddis in years by Marsh All Schlon no York times the car is gorgeous Stellar the Star of the show. Its roof is mostly Glass sweep ing up and Over and shining like a Bald Pate in the rain. The body is red. A dark Cherry laminate enclosing a 430-Horsc-Powcr v-12 up front and wondrous technology everywhere else. This i no pure design exercise mind you. This is a running automobile a spectacular concept car with a 48 valve engine and electric this and elec tronic that. It is named the solitaire and it has been rolled out As one of the High lights of the recent National Cadillac week Celebration. Unfortunately the Battery is dead. They told us we d Only have about an hour s Worth of juice if everybody kept opening the doors said Vince Muniga a Cadillac Public relations Man. I guess they were  like nearly everything else on the Soli Taire the doors operate electrically so itis impossible to get behind he wheel but that is solved when Vince goes off to find a Mechanic. He slides under the Chassis with a wrench does something mechanically mundane and the Driver s door pops open. Good. Because this is the kind of car you need to sit in at least once in your life. It is the stuff of All those Many magazines you read As a kid. It is yes indeed the car of the future the fact that National Cadillac week was not actually official that it was pro claimed by Cadillac itself does t mat Ter. It was Good old fashioned Detroit advertising hype and it was swirling not Only at the show with the solitaire in the general motors building on new York s fifth Avenue but also at dealerships around the country. We wanted to celebrate our new Suc  said Carver Hendrix As the live music and hours d oct arcs played out be Hind him. Hendrix who is an assistant general sales manager for Cadillac noted that do Villa sales were up 22 percent from last year. That s Worth celebrating particularly since this is do Villa s 40lh year but it is shabby compared to Fleetwood sales which Are up 46 percent. What that Means is a whopping in crease in Cadillac s slice of the luxury Market which is now 17.4 percent up from 13.2 percent in 1988. And at least some of the Cadillac peo ple wandering the new York show agree when you say that it s about time that these new models Are the first Good cad Dys in years. The face Woods for instance. There is the Coupe and there is the Sedan with base prices of $29,825 and $30.300, respectively. They arc Cadillac of the old school Long Lithe comfortable and quiet. They also look like Cadillac which is a refreshing change from the finless wonders of the recent past. Driving the Coupe which in my Case was metallic Bronze with beige leather Interior was an exercise in time travel carrying you Back to the Days when Cadillac could fairly say that it was the Standard of the world. The 4.5-Liier v-8 puts out what seems like pathetic Power at 155 horses but the engine is packed with stump pulling torque and acceleration and Highway performance arc everything they ought to be. The car moves from a standing Stop to 60 Mph in fewer than 10 seconds and it cruises at speeds that will put a revolving red Light in your Mirror before you can say. But.  driving position is comfortable what with a till and telescoping wheel and there is All the Good stuff that defined luxury before the japanese figured out How to squeeze it into an icon oboe. The Fly Atwoods have grown along with the Devil Les they now measure 202.7 inches for the Coupe and 205.6 inches for the Sedan whose wide rear doors arc very Limo like allowing easy entry and wrapping neatly into the Root. The cars weigh about 3.500 pounds but fuel Economy remains More than decent at 17, City and 25, Highway. For 89, the four Speed automatic transmission has been re tuned to eliminate Busy Ness ending the constant shuttling Between gears in City traffic and on Long Steep Hills. And while nobody is claiming the Fly Atwoods Are sports cars handling is really quite Good. The cars arc compe Cadillac s Fleetwood Sedan above and Coupe de Ville for 1989. Tent at Speed on almost any Road. With electronic Load leveling the new Cadillac also maintain their formal pos Ture at the curb no matter the cargo. For the Driver a Slouch can be corrected at the touch of a Button and the scats actually adjust in 22 ways. And then there is the electric Lear Windshield whose heated layer of trans Parent Metal gets rid of ice in three min utes Flat. There is the Electr Chromic Mirror that automatically turns Gray and Glare less when headlights hit it from behind and there is a resistor coded ignition key that is matched to an engine module to thwart  the neatest thing if you like gadgets is the Power storage compartment with twin cup holders. Touch a Button and it zooms Forward Between the front bucket scats. Hold the Button and it oozes , honestly in t a Lay to Day car with a Power bin More impressive than a concept Model with a dead Battery automakers urged to Cater to older Drivers Auburn Hills Mich. Iii automakers w ill have to substantially change the Way their vehicles interiors look and function if they plan to do Busi Ness with an aging and More safety conscious population according to several leading designers. But car makers who possess the technology to accommodate the needs of aging motorists Are lacking a concerted Effort to make changes that would be meaningful to buyers whose hearing and sight Aren t what they used to be said the automotive stylists who participated in a recent symposium on Interior design. The event was hosted by Monsanto chemical co. A supplier of plastics used in vehicle interiors. Ron Hill chairman of Industrial de sign at the Art Center College of design in pasc Dana Calif said car makers have stepped up efforts to recruit people to the less glamorous jobs of Interior de sign. Hill who spent 31 years with general motors said common design flaws in All vehicles can easily be changed to acco Modaty the nation s aging population. Blue numerals on Black in dash Board instruments is the worst you can do Hill said because As a person grows older such instruments become difficult to read. It is easier to read larger yellow or Orange numbers he said. Instrument housings that can be adjusted for distance arc also needed. Hill said. Many older people cannot focus closer than about 40  he also said that More upright seating or swivel seals used by pm in the mid-1970s in some cars arc needed because Many older Drivers cannot even reach Over to change the radio station while driving or comfortably get in or out of a car. Participants touched on another press ing Issue vehicle safety and How some car makers have done Little More than the minimum to promote it. They said Auto makers Are meeting the letter of the Law but not its spirit. Questions were raised about the viability of air bags to be seen in increasing numbers under a Federal Law requiring cars made after sept. 1, 19s9, be equipped with passive restraints. There is a popular misconception that air bags will replace seat belts and nothing could be further from the truth said Homer Lagassey a retired Ford motor stylist now director of design for the Troy Pioneer group in the Detroit suburb of Madison Heights. There will be 3 million air bags on the Road by 1990, and people still have no idea what they Are All about said Lagassey stressing that automakers must educate people about them. He also asked who might Bear the Legal responsibilities should an air bag fail to work properly after being stored in a steering wheel or dashboard for years after the car warranty expires. Who s responsible the car manufacturer the supplier the dealer he asked. The Legal profession will have an absolute Ball with this one. Lagassey who spent a 47-year career working with All three major . Car makers said air bags Are worthless in Many accidents which involve a second third or fourth hit. They re not much Good when Thuv re lying Limp in your Lap after the first  he said the majority of accidents occur at oblique angles rather than head on which raises the question of what can be done to maximize safety in future Interior designs. The Seal is most critical. Thai s your body Shell or your survival Cage la Gassey said stressing it must keep ils occupant firmly in place at All times even during violent crashes. To do that he said the seat should be fixed in place with the floor pedals and instrumentation adjustable exactly opposite of what we have  Many car interiors still include Sharp edges and controls which can Cut occupants like knife Blades during an Acci Dent. Lagassey said. An integral Structure called a Bird Cage could also be incorporated to make sure the car s family capsule remains intact when hit he said. These things can be built today la Gassey said. A Lascar race car Driver will not get in a car w Ithol a fireproof suit and four Point safely harness. Air Craft pills have been wearing those things for 40  yet every Day he said millions of motorists ignore their three Point seat Bells or shoulder harness a sad Compromise to begin with. You can slip out of them on the unlatched Side in a Strong Impact he said. Compounding the problem is the development of 140-Mph sports sedans which share the same roads As cars driven by older people who do not have the proper reflexes to safely operate a car at less than half that Speed Lagassey said. We arc turning our cars into the hands of an Harp american association of retired persons member that s the problem he said