European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday july 26, 1990 the stars and stripes car come More room easier loading is by Russ Devault the Cox news service the Welcome addition of a four door Model Isnit the Only significant change for 1991 that Chevrolet has made to its s-10 Blazer a the popular sport Utility truck also has anti lock brakes on All four wheels. Otherwise the s-10 Blazer remains relatively unchanged. Its still a go any where anytime vehicle capable of carrying Good size loads and five people. But its much easier loading and unloading the four door Model with people. Or things. The manner in which the rear doors have been added makes it More difficult to dispute Chevrolet a claim that the s-10 Blazer is a five passenger vehicle. A Chevrolet a designers did no to just Cut holes in the blazers body and hang a couple of doors. They extended the wheelbase by 6.5 inches to make it 107 inches and then put the doors in front of the wheel Wells. In addition to maximizing the openings the positioning of the doors they swing out to a 65-degree Angle in front of the wheel Wells also Means the rear seat can provide More hip room 52.6 inches for rear seat passengers. Put three people in the rear and the extra 15 inches offered by the four door Model becomes significant when compared to the two door Blazer. Equally apparent is the added ease of getting cargo into and out of the four door Model. With the Large rear door openings it Isnit necessary to try to work items through the front doors where the seats limit Access or to open the blazers lift up rear window and drop Down Tail Gate which is a slightly awkward operation. Cargo room is 35.2 cubic feet with the rear seat up and 74,3 cubic feet with it Flat and it should be noted that the rear seat folds Down without a struggle and does no to fight to get up. Body Width is 38.4 inches at the wheel the 1991 Chevrolet s-10 Blazer has Standard 4.3-liter v-6 engine that turns out 160 horsepower. Wells and 50 inches behind them but the inside mounted spare tire does limit space at the rear. The front of the Cabin meanwhile still provides generous room for two with 39 inches of head room 42 inches of leg room and 51 inches of hip room. The front bucket seats wont win any awards for Comfort on Long distance drives but they do provide Good support when the Blazer is taken off Road. Its 160-horsepower engine gives the Blazer plenty of Power for pulling loads of up to 6,000 pounds climbing unpaved terrain and cruising on the interstate. The suspension is Tough enough for dedicated Oft readers so it May be too firm for anyone expecting a Caruke ride. This is basically a truck remember a the automotive press has Given us mixed Marks for our ride but we be driven the Competition a including Fords new explorer a and we thin we be achieved an improved ride a a says Frank Raine Chevrolet a Detroit based truck marketing manager. But he does no to have to qualify his enthusiasm for the blazers drivability which is greatly enhanced both on paved and unpaved surfaces by the Security of four wheel anti lock brakes previous models had Only car wheel anti lock sys terns. $ at the same time Raine knows that not everyone who buys a Blazer is really headed for the great outdoors. A they see themselves going off Road a lot with it but its a fantasy in a sense a Raine says. Quot Only a Small percentage will actually go off Road in the  the 1991 four door Chevrolet s-10 Blazer is offered in either two or four wheel drive and it has a base Price of $ 16,905 in the United states. Standard features include a 4.3 liter 262 Cid v-6 engine with electronic Uel injection five Speed manual overdrive transmission with insula trac 4x4 Transfer Case and automatically Locking hubs Independent front suspension with torsion bar and live Axle rear suspension with Leaf Springs Power steering Power brakes with front discs rear Drums and anti lock system. Major options on the test vehicle included four Speed automatic overdrive transmission air conditioning package with tilt steering wheel intermittent wipers am pm stereo radio tinted Glass and cruise control. Epa fuel Economy figures read 17 mpg City 21 mpg Highway 19 mpg combined. For full details on the Chevrolet Blazer models their special military prices etc., prospective buyers May Contact general motors sales representatives at be cafes new car sales Points on the various bases in Europe the Power Auto Survey conclusive or confusing by Jan a. Zverina up Auto writer Detroit up shopping for a new car can be confusing enough. But when six Auto companies in one week claim their Brand is tops it becomes downright baffling. That s what happened earlier this month when Acura Cadillac Chrysler lexus Mazda and Toyota each issued Slickly worded releases touting their wares As the a most trouble free Quot or a most satisfying a All citing the latest findings by , Power. But what is . Power How Are these surveys done and Why do car makers sometimes spend millions to Frame advertising campaigns around them and Why do some Industry executives and analysts discount the surveys As statistically invalid or say they have lost credibility . Power and associates is a suburban los Angeles research firm started in 1968 by a David Power Iii a former financial analyst with Ford motor co. Now 200 people Strong it has carved out a lucrative Niche by polling thousands of buyers about their new vehicles and ranking the results using various indices. Two of the More publicized studies done by the firm Are its customer satisfaction Index or Sci and initial qual Ity Survey or is. The Sci which measures satisfaction with the product and Dealership service after a year of ownership was started in 1981 and revised in 1986. The is which gauges the number of problems during the first 90 Days of ownership began in 1985. Both now Are split Between cars and Light trucks with data broken into Model segments for the first time this year a one reason so Many car makers can claim a top spot. The is study can take up to eight months to do. About 70,000 buyers Are asked to Complete a six Page questionnaire each one mailed with a $1 Bill As an incentive to return it a the Normal method for syndicating a study is to raise Cash from prospective clients up front Quot said David Whiteside editor of the monthly Power report. A we believe we Are unique in that we fund it entirely  automakers spend in the six figure Range to buy the findings then interpret the rankings to put their products in the Best Light. That s Why the Fine print must be read. Cadillac for instance placed fourth in the latest Sci rankings behind Acura Mercedes Benz and Toyota. But it was the top Domestic nameplate. Chrysler said it scored first among Domestic manufacturers but that referred to the entire Brand in terms of Overall product Quality and dealer service. Toyota a lexus division ranked first in Powers is Survey but the Toyota Cressida a non lexus car was the a most trouble free Quot Model. Mazda a headline bragged about its two seater Miata being the a most trouble free car Quot but that was in its particular Model segment. These claims can cause confusion something Whiteside admits the firm still is grappling with. A certainly there a that danger Quot he said adding Power does not allow manufacturers to use the phrase a no. 1&Quot in advertising claims. A there have been instances where we forced automakers to retract ads because their claim was not one we approved. But there is the greater danger of allowing manufacturers to do their own testing and make horrendous  while most Industry experts Praise Powers rankings for nudging automakers to pay More attention to customers some say the firm has gained too much notoriety and is Only trying to push itself not the cars into the limelight. A in their Zeal to become the worlds greatest authority they Are Only compounding the confusion with so Many studies Quot one Ford executive said. A they May Well end up with no  Ford which did not score Well in the latest Power rankings claims its own Quality Survey is More comprehensive and valid. Others say the Power findings stress dealer not product satisfaction and that its response rates of Between 30 percent and 38 percent often come from dissatisfied owners anxious to air gripes. Some also have taken Issue with Powers latest project a hustling customized videotapes to automakers for use in sales pitches by their dealers. While Power says the videos allow it findings critics say this a third party endorse to control How its findings Are presented ment Quot is a Quick Way for Power to profit. Power does not publicly list models that score below the Industry average believing that just not making the a above average list carries sufficient negative Ness. But one detractor says the findings Are designed to a give everybody something positive to  Power is trying to make Clear to Consumers what its different rankings mean. A this May sound presumptuous but we would like to be the oscars of the Auto Industry Quot Whiteside said. A no one has trouble keeping track of the oscars and they Are issued for different cat ego