European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday january 25, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13 car Corner the 1991 2-door Hatchback escort . Explorer debuts in March. It replaces Bronco ii. Spring arrivals on . Market new from Ford escort explorer Ford motor co. Is presenting two new cars for the new decade the escort and explorer with sales to begin this Spring. The new escort replaces the original series which was introduced in 1980. While the explorer replaces the Ford Bronco ii sports Utility vehicle. The outgoing escort a functional car that enjoyed great Success was the most sold car of the 1980s. More than 7 million were sold worldwide with the . Figure lopping 3.2 million. With a background like that the new escort had better be Good and Ford says that it will be. Co engineered with Mazda of Japan Ford owns part of Mazda and similar to the new Mazda protege within the 323 series the escort will be available in three body styles 2-door and 4-door Hatchback and 4-door station Wagon. It has three series the Pony two door the la 2 and 4-door Hatchback and 4-door Wagon and it 2-door Hatchback. Ford plans to unveil the it series next month at the Chicago Auto show. Ford says the escorts arc new from the ground up and that the interiors offer a much larger package with about the same exterior size As the preceding Model. Regarding the body design Ford says the aerodynamics and Semi flush Glass Cut the drag co efficient to 0.35. The pre Vious escorts had 0.39. Standard engine for the Pony and la series is a 1.9-Litcr unit with 5-spced manual transaxle while a 4-Spccd Auto Matic is available As an option. The escort it is powered by a 1.8-Lilcr twin Cam 16-valve engine with 5-Spccd Man Ual. A 4-Spccd automatic is optional. Chief design executive Fritz Mayhew said the escort program represents a glob Al design Effort in All aspects. Designers from Dearborn from Japan the escort platform and Chassis Are shared with Mazda and Australia formed the team and we had As Many As 40 designers mod Elers and engineers working in Hiroshima on these cars. Working together with Mada we were Able to meet All challenges and Obj Cliv is of this  introduced this month at the North american International automobile show in Detroit the escort will go on Sale april 26 in the United states. Prices will be in the $10,000 Range. Moving to the new Ford explorer sports Utility vehicle. Ford says that both2-door and 4-door models will be Avail Able and that the buyer May have either 2-Whcel or 4-Whccl drive. The explorer like the Bronco it re places Falls into the compact Utility Seg ment of the Light truck Market. And like the Bronco ii. It contains most of the Comfort aspects featured on cars. Pm will manufacture opel cars in Hungary general motors Europe,1 with Headquarters in Zurich Switzer land has announced an agreement has been signed in Budapest with the state owned hungarian Raba company for the manufacture of opel cars in Hungary. J the building of cars and motors in1 this joint business venture is scheduled to take place in a Raba factory at szent Golthardt in Western Hungary. The Raba firm currently produces trucks axles and i Csc engines. The pm announcement says production should begin by 1992. Along with making opel a dolls for Hungary and other Eastern european nations the Raba factory will manufacture engines for installation into other Opal Vauxhall Export models. When the program gels under Way some 15.000 opel Kadi its will be manufactured annually in the hungarian Plant. It will be a one shift operation pm Europe says with total investment pegged at si50 million. Robert j. Eaton president of general motors Europe says. The latest Politi i Cal developments in Eastern Europe have created new markets and especially j in Hungary where 6,600 opel cars were i sold during 1989. The new partnership1 with Raba will not Only provide us with better Access to the growing car Market in Hungary and elsewhere in Eastern Europe but will also give us needed additional engine capacity for our mid Range models. At the same time it signals pm s support for the changes going on1 in Eastern  Ford says the explorer s Sheet Metal is virtually All new. And that styling changes include limousine style doors. These contribute to the vehicle s contemporary looks. Ford says the door Ops wrapping Over the roof and incorporating Side intrusion beams and flush mounted Glass. Entry and egress arc easy Ford says with a longer wider and lower body stance resulting in a lower step in height than on the Bronco ii. The explorer is powered by a 4-liter, fuel injected v-6 engine that generates 155 horsepower at 4.200 rpm and 220 foot pounds of torque at 2.400 rpm. The engine is coupled to a 5-spced manual overdrive transmission. A 4-Spccd Auto malic is optional. The explorer will arrive on the . Market in March. Randy Barnel Auto columnist in another pm development the automotive components group of pm announced that its Saginaw division will begin production of components for Power steering systems in Strasbourg. France. The Strasbourg Plant will produce Hydraulic pumps hoses and steering gears and production is expected to begin in september 1991. Mark r. Mccabe head of the Auto motive components group said it is projected that by 1994, some 50 percent of All new cars sold in Europe will have Power steering systems compared to less than 30 percent currently. That is Why we arc making this initial investment of $30 million in the Strasbourg opera  automotive components group s Saginaw division is the world s largest pro Ducer of car and truck Power steering systems plus the largest producer of car and truck driveline systems. It operates plants in North America. England West Germany and Spain and has joint ventures in Brazil South Korea and Mexico. . Brussels Auto show the 68th Brussels International Auto motorcycle and bicycle show continues through sunday in the heysel exhibition Park. Hours on Friday Are from 10 . To 9 . Other Days Are 10 . To 6 . Entrance is 200 belgian francs for adults about $5.50 and the fee for Chil Dren under 12 is 100 francs about $2.75. The belgian show is one of the major ones in Europe this year. Stealth it the ultimate Dodge. Dodge concept Coupe now i60-Mph reality the 160-Mpii stealth it inspired by the Dodge intrepid concept car of two years ago will become the ultimate Dodge when it arrives on the . Market this fall. The 1991 stealth it sports Coupe is currently making the Auto show rounds with its first presentations this month at the Detroit and los an Geles shows and displays set for the Chicago show in february and the new York show in March. The stealth was engineered by Mitsubishi of Japan with Chrysler s International design studio responsible for the exterior design. Chrysler s Dodge division says the stealth sports Coupe will be produced in four versions with the lop of the liner to Model to be powered by an into cooled 3-liter twin Turbo twin Cam engine of 280 horsepower. The engine is of v-6 design with four valves per Cylinder. To put the Power to the ground the stealth it gets 4-Whccj drive and it also has 4-wheel steering anti lock brakes and electronic control suspension. Top Speed is 160 Mph. As noted with the Zero-to-60-Mph figure in the Low 5-Sccond Range Dodge says. Built on a 97-Inch who Cabase the stealth is 180 inches Long 72 inches wide and under 50 inches in height. Dodge says that All four stealth models will be offered for 1991 in addition to the Dodge Daytona sports Coupe.