European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 09, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes saturday. September 9,1989 revived War of warranties takes new twists in Detroit Detroit a another Battle in the Auto motive warranty War May be on the horizon after a nearly three year cease fire and the front May be on America s highways instead of at Dealership service  Early 1987, the nation s big three automakers extended existing warranties and used the new Guaran tees As bait to snare buyers of new cars. On thursday. Oldsmobile took a Page from the european luxury car makers warranty Book and introduced a new three part program for 1990 Oldsmobile buyers. Two Days earlier Toyota motor corp. Boosted its warranty on powertrain and safety equipment to five years or 60,000 Miles from three years or 36,000  s new program offers buyers a three year bumper to bumper warranty with a $ 100 deduct Ible after the first year a Chance for new buyers to return their cars within a month for full credit for another new Oldsmobile and a Roadside assistance  the first three years or 50,000 Miles which Ever comes first Oldsmobile owners will be Able to Telephone for help anytime their car is disabled for any reason from an empty Gas tank to a major mechanical failure said Oldsmobile general manager Mike Losh. Because of Oldsmobile s sales volume the move May prompt other general motors corp. Divisions Aswell As Ford motor co. And Chrysler corp. To rethink their warranties. What you re going to Sec is a big ramp up in the Overall warranty coverage on the part of everybody said analyst Joseph Phillippi of Shearson Lehman hut ton inc. In new York. Improving warranties can be costly for automakers who shoulder most of the Cost through dealer reimbursements but won t give exact numbers. The Oldsmobile warranty announced thursday is unique in of. Other pm divisions offer the Basic three year. 50,000-Milc warranty with the exception of the Cadillac Allante which carries a seven year 70.000-Milc warranty. Changes in the 1990 version of the Cadillac warranty will do announced next week when the division formally introduces its cars for the coming Model year spokesman Norb Bartos said thursday declining to , which introduces its 1990 Model cars next week and Chrysler which shows off its 1990 cars a week after that have Basic warranties of 12 months or 12.000 Miles in addition to longer powertrain and rust Protection coverage. Chrysler offers More extensive Basic coverage for its larger More expensive cars. Officials of both companies said there were no immediate plans to change warranties. Mercedes Benz is offering a four year 50.000-mile warranty with a free towing provision for its 1989 and 1990 cars. But the number of vehicles covered by that plan As Well As those offered by other makers of imported luxury cars does t approach that of Olds  Oldsmobile warranty announced As the pm division introduced its 1990 Model cars May be transferred if the original buyer Sells the car while it s Cov ered by the Basic warranty. The warranty stems from Pilot programs pm ran on the Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme and the Pontiac grand prix last year said Losh who was general Man Ager of the Pontiac division before moving to Olds Mobil earlier this year. He said fewer than 0.5 percent of the Cutlass supreme buyers taking part in the Pilot program returned their cars for other Oldsmobile is. The program also offers free overnight accommodations for Drivers whose cars need that much time to be fixed if the Driver is More than 150 Miles from Home. Quaker fraudulently hyped oat bran Texas officials say Austin Texas a Quaker Oats co. Has duped Consumers by claiming its Oatmeal can help reduce the risk of heart disease the Texas attorney general s office said thursday in an announcement that also said they were suing the nation s biggest seller of hot Cereal. We arc in the Middle of an oat bran craze in this country that was primarily started and prompted by Quaker in order to cell its products attorney general j in Manor said at a news conference. Consumers have been duped. Quaker s claims arc largely not True he said. Spokesmen for Chicago based Quaker Oats defended the advertisements saying they feel the advertising is truthful and is supported by scientific evidence. We expect to prevail in this litigation said Luther c. Mckinney senior vice president of Quaker s Law and corporate affairs. In the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Texas depart ment of health in a Dallas stale District court the state said Quaker Oats ads were Replete with cd Aggra Lions half truths and  one of those ads reads studies say that just two ounces of Quaker Oats a Day along Wilh a Low fat Low cholesterol diet can help lower your cholesterol almost 10 percent. Other studies say that s enough to reduce your risk of heart attack by nearly 20  state claims Quaker s own tests showed that Only a 3 percent reduction in risk could be realized i Oatmeal was added to a Low fat Low cholesterol diet. And thai reduction applied Only to women if they ate 25 percent More Oatmeal than Quaker recommends As a regular serving Mattox  said Quaker Oats has a Good product but it s Only Cereal. It s not a heart attack Previn Lalic. _ Ron vote Roll a spokesman for Quaker Oats said that the and was cleared by the Federal Trade commis Sion which reviewed it after complaints were lodged by the Center for science in the Public interest a Washington based consumer rights group. _ the Texas lawsuit filed under the Texas deceptive Trade practices consumer prot Calion act  court to prohibit the company from continuing its allegedly misleading ads and seeks $10,000 in civil penalties and additional court and investigative costs. Assistant attorney general Stephen Gardner who is prosecuting the Case said inc lawsuit is part of an ongoing examination of food manufacturers health claims. Sex rep. Jenrette freed from jail Fairfax a. A former . Rep. John Jan relic was released from jail thursday after serving a 30-Day sentence for stealing a Necktie and shoes from a suburban Washington discount store his attorney said. He was released in a Normal procedure. He will begin performing Community service soon attorney Stephen Merril said. Junr Kllc 53, was sentenced to a jail Lerm and 200 hours of Community service last month after he was convicted of two counts of Petty larceny for shoplifting at a Marshall s discount department store in nearby Tyson s Corner last do camber. The former democratic congressman from South Carolina was also placed on two years probation and ordered to continue psychiatric and alcoholism treat ment. At his sentencing Jan relate said he was sorry and did t know Why he stole the items. I can Only say that i la never be Back. Why i let this happen i Don i know he  added thai the conviction had dashed his Hopes of regaining his License to Pra Clicc Law. Pc Noelle a member of Congress from 1975 to 1980, served 13 months in prison after his conviction on bribery and conspiracy charges in the a scam con Gressional sting operation of the 1970s. In that Case Fri agents posing As Oil Rich sheiks offered bribes to members of Congress. Because genre Ltd is still on probation in thai Case he will Likely face a hearing before a Federal probation Board which will assess the latest conviction meal said. But no hearing has been scheduled he added. Stateside Mazda to study whether to make luxury car line Irvine Calif. A Mazda motor of America inc. Has formed a task Force to study the incr inc company should make a luxury line for the . Market to compete Wilh Honda s Acura Nissan s infiniti and Toyota s lexus. Mazda Riding High on its hot Selling roadster Miala made the announcement wednesday. Aside from the Miata sales for the no. 4 Jap anese car company in the United states have been lacklustre. August sales increased ii percent from 1988 to 35,131. Including 5,029 Ziatas. Sales would have dropped 5 percent without the Ziatas which were not available in August 1988. For the first eight months of 1989. Sales were off 6 percent to 209,480. Toyota motor corp. Nissan motor co. An Honda motor co. All have or will have separate luxury car divisions in the uni cd sales by the end of the year. Mazda s announce men was inc first official indication it might do the same. Preliminary data system for space station delivered Houston a an Early version of inc Dala computing system that will eventually Fly aboard the Freedom space station was delivered to Nasa inc system s makers said. The delivery by ism is the first computer hardware and software for the space station s data management system. Engineers at Nasa and its Contr actor Compa Nies will use the Early version to test i hair design for inc space Slation s other subsystems. Programmers will use it As a working Model on which to write and test software programs. The system will provide data processing and local communications for the station s Basic operations and payloads. Ism performed the work for Mcdonnell Doug Las space systems co., a major contractor for the National aeronautics and space administration. Measles cases reported on Sharp Rise in . Atlanta a More measles cases have been reported in the United Stales already ii year than in any since 1980, As a decline in the childhood disease has come to an abrupt halt. The National canlers for disease control in its weekly report thursday said 10,115 cases of measles had been reported through last  s nearly five times the 2,170 cases reported Al the same time last year and is the highest total since 1980 s 13,430. The cd said in vaccinated Young children particularly in Oul Brcak proc inner civics Are one of two major impediments to wiping out measles in the United states. The cd said theother is the failure of vaccinations to protect some people which has allowed outbreaks in highly vaccinated school populations. Everyone born since 1957, when measles was so widespread that americans had some natural immunity is considered a potential measles risk. Man convicted of plot to kill Mother with Snake Linden Ala. A jurors deliberated Only nine minutes before convicting a Man of plotting to kill his Mother Wilh a Rattlesnake. Reginald Wayne Pope 37, could be sentenced to life in prison for his conviction wednesday on a charge of criminal solicitation. Prosecutor Wade Drinkard called Pope one sick  prosecutors said Pope met Snake handler Keith Davis by Chance at a restaurac. Davis testified Pope asked him about the possibility of using a Timber Rattler to kill his adoptive Mother Kathleen Ethridge. Davis contacted police and he wore a concealed microphone to record Laler meetings with Pope who offered him $300, with the Promise of More later to release a Snake at his Mother s House. Pope was arrested in october. "1 loved him so much and i thought he loved me mrs. Etheridge said of her son