European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 06, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday february 1990 the stars and stripes Page 3 bigger cars better in bad crashes Lansing. Mich api bigger is better for motorists who want to survive a serious car crash Accord ing to a new study. The study found that the Chevrolet Corvette had the highest fatality Rale 5.2 deaths for every 10.000 1985-87 models registered in the United states and the four door Volvo 740-760 had the lowest. 0.6 per 10.000 vehicles. The figures from the insurance Institute for High Way safely were released by the Michigan association of professional insurance agents. Without question the consumer has a better Chance of survival when driving a larger  said Maria president James Alexander. Of the 10 vehicles with the lowest occupant death rates three were Large six were midsize and Only one was a Small car. The Volkswagen Julta with  deaths per 10.000 vehicles. Twelve of the 15 cars with the highest death rates arc Small and the other three arc midsize. Maria spokesman Ciary Mitchell said while the Auto Industry was making More Small fuel efficient cars they weren t As Safe As the larger models. What we be seen in recent years is that the Industry 89 Home buyers forced of save longer study says Chicago a Home buyers last year waited longer to buy their dream houses because prices Rose faster than their incomes a study found. The Chicago title & Trust co. Said its annual sur vey of Home buyers in 18 Urban areas showed that the majority of 1989 Home buyers were two income Cou Ples who saved for an average of 2.9 years the longest period in the Survey s 14-year history before having enough Money for a Down payment. The study documents that working couples have been the major Factor influencing Home affordability in this  said John Pfister. Chicago title vice president for marketing research. The study was the Only National Survey of Home buyers that embraced All types of Home sales through oui the year. It was based on Telephone interviews wit More than 1.500 people said Chicago title the coun try s largest title insurance company. Nationally the median Home Price which historically reflects a Price that most closely parallels what most people would pay. Rose 6.4 percent last year to $129.800. While the median household income of 19x9 Home buyers Rose 6.3 percent to $58.700, the Survey found. Trie median Home Price is the midpoint with an equal number of Homes Selling for More and less. The Gap Between income gains and Home Price in creases was smaller than in recent years but when compared with figures since the first Chicago Trust Surv cd in 1976. The Gap grew 6.5 percent Over 14 years. Those buying houses today have noticeably fewer discretionary dollars to spend on things other than housing than their counterparts did 13  i Fiste said. Chicago title said 79.3 percent of All 1989 Home buyers were two income families compared with 73.3 percent in 1988 and 53 i percent in 1976. Among first time Home buyers. 86.8 percent were two income families compared with 85.5 percent in1988 and 64 percent in 1976. The segment of first time Home buyers purchasing newly constructed Homes dropped to 17 percent from 23 percent in 1988. While the number buying existing single Famich Homes Rose to 83 percent from 77 percent. Has placed such a great emphasis on fuel Economy that safety has been  he said. They re lighter so they re More fuel efficient and that s commendable but i Don t think fuel efficiency should Lake a front seat Over  Debra Barclay a spokeswoman for the Washington based Center for Auto safety said that fuel efficiency and safely Aren t necessarily contradictory but Auto makers Aren t doing enough to Combine both. We have continued to say that you can make fuel efficient cars that arc  she said. The technology is available. It s not being used to the extent that it can be. Safety does sell but manufacturers have not taken advantage of that. Consumers have got to demand safety and buy Only those vehicles that have the safety items they want Barclay said. If they re not Avail Able they should ask Why not .1 " Barclay added that at least 14 insurance companies were offering discounts to customers who buy cars equipped with air bags. A spokesman for the National Highway traffic safety administration declined to comment on the study. Here s a list of the 1985-87 models with the lowest and the highest death rates As compiled by the insurance Institute for Highway safety. The figure in parentheses after each Model refers to the number of Driver and passenger deaths per 10.000 vehicles registered in the United states 10 lowest death rates vol of 740-760 our Doof 0 6 Ford Taurus  Wagon 0 7 Lincoln  Oil Aud 5000 tout doom 1 Cadillac Flatwood Devik Lour Doof my Cadillac it Netwood  two Toomi m Chevrolet  Wagon m i Olds Sullau Dora station Wagon t 1 Toyota crpsvri.1 four door l a Volkswagen Jett i four dour 1 1 15 highest death Kates Chevrolet Corvette 5 2 Che Loftt Camarcia 49 Dodge charge Shelby 4 5 Ford Mustang 4 41 Nissan 300zx 4 2 Chevrolet Rievette Lour too 4 1 Chevrolet sprit two door 4 i hour inc Vic Cox 3 l poftiacfiretwrj3fl Plymouth Tun Srno 3 6 Pontiac Fiero 3 6 Chevrolet Crovette two door 3 4 Chevrolet spectrum Lour door 3 a Dodge Daytona two door 3 l Ford escort two door 3 0 he be be up Tucker Howard looks As in Nurmi he d like to he Dinu Sumi thing else anything ene limn whooshing Down a Sony Hillside on a rubber tuhi1. Scared or not he says he enjoyed his ride at la nil Ore. And the grownup headed Buck up the Hill for another run with his much younger friends. Romania hit by epidemic of childhood aids Bucharest. Romania Apro mania is in the throes of the first known epidemic of childhood aids caused by contaminated blood and the constant reuse of Needles a French humanitarian organization said . Jacques Lybas. President of the Paris based doctors of the world urged the International health Community to provide Romania with disposable Needles and blood screening equipment to try to Slop the  know aids from people who take drugs homosexuals and heterosexuals in Africa but for the first time in the history of aids we Are confronted with childhood aids he  s an  he said. It s on the level of famine. It s an International  romanian outbreak is unique be cause it docs not involve the transmission of the virus from Mother to child As happens elsewhere in the world but from contaminated blood transfusions and Needles he  the adult population the Inci Dence of aids is very k a Lybas said. The problem of childhood acquired immune deficiency syndrome is com pounded by the widespread use of tiny blood transfusions 10 to 20 cubic Centi meters As a treatment for premature babies sick children and the thousands of youngsters suffering from malnutrition he  in Romania was virtually unknown under communist dictator Nic Olac Ceausescu who was toppled in de Cember because he considered it a state secret Lebas  month or. Ludovic Paun of the infectious diseases department at Bucha rest s Victor babes Hospital said 69 peo ple had developed aids since 1985, including 53 Young  said 33 of the 45 aids fatalities so far have been children 3 or younger. Small children Are prone to get full blown aids and aids related diseases because they have an immature immune system. The average survival of these children with his is probably  he  had no updated statistics on aids deaths. But he said an initial screening of 1,025 children up to 3 years old in hospitals and orphanages found367 with the human immunodeficiency virus known As his that causes aids