European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Matthew l. Wald a a new York times the United states dependence on persian Gulf Oil can be explained in part by a tale of two Chevy. The two 1990 Chevrolet Corsica look alike and have identical legroom headroom and trunk. Space. The difference is in the engines one takes the car from a standstill to 60 Miles an hour in less than 10 seconds and travels 22 Miles on a gallon of gasoline the other takes about four seconds longer to reach 60 Miles an hour but gels five More Miles to the gallon. A a one reason that americans who make up Only a percent of the world s population consume 40 percent of its. Gasoline is that when buyers face a Choice like this they tend to fake the More powerful less fuel efficient engine. While the general motors corp. Does not keep precise sales numbers it says the Only buyers who prefer the less Zippy loss thirsty Corsica Are people who buy cars for Otter Drivers a purchasers of  or rental a cart Tzeis. Reverse try that trend and choosing the More fuel efficient Model in a Given size category could be an easier Way to Cut gasoline consumption a and help Cut air pollution a than some of the More frequently mentioned alternatives that Many americans find distasteful car pooling taking Public transportation driving smaller cars or driving less. But since the open Price War in 1986, when gasoline prices hit Bottom Many americans have seen no reason to change their behaviour and their legislators have done Little to encourage them to do so. Efforts in Congress and in California to nudge people toward More fuel efficient cars both died on the Vine in recent weeks of course millions of buyers apparently already consider fuel Economy important enough to choose Small cars or a Large cars that Are the most efficient in their size class. Still americans this year bought cars that Are on average less fuel Effii Uhan the ones they bought in 1988. According to the environmental Protection Agency 1990-Model cars were on average seven tenths of a second quicker0a, 60 Miles an hour than the. 1988 models and use Ltd 4-percent More gasoline. Such mild shifts in direction have a Large effect on Oil imports because two a a thirds of Oil consumption goes for transportation fuel. A a a Case could be made that the Public is getting a a a a a a a contradictory signals. On one hand much is made of the tremendous Cost incurred in protecting the nation s Oil Supply a sending a Force that could soon number about 380,000 people to face bullets and Poison Gas  persian Gulf. And the Bill for imported Oil will run nearly $90 billion a year if current.  continue up from about $50 billion before the gift crisis.,7 7i. A a a a. A a a a Quot a. But Consumers seem More responsive to gasoline a prices Low enough to make Speed a cheap thrill and to advertising that emphasizes Power Alp Speed. T differences in fuel consumption mean nearly nothing to the car owner s Budge Cambridge Energy research associates reported recently for example that a depreciation maintenance insurance fees and. Parkin come to about 18 cents a mile for the average car on the american Road. For a car that gets 22 Miles a gallon the fuel Cost per Miro at $ 1.50 a gallon would be 6.8 cents. A. Switching to a car that got 27 Miles a gallon would Cut that by 12 cents or about 5 percent of the total Cost of operating the car. T. A. Y a a _ a a of course if the Price of gasoline Rose the difference in  per mile driven would too. But As the report pointed out Quot they would have to be very Large increases indeed say a doubling or tripling of real gasoline  Drivers May not do the calculation but they seem a intrinsically to understand the math. Car dealers say that 7 fuel Economy seems lobe hardly a consideration for most. Buyers. A a. A Quot. A a Quot nobody s really mentioned Gas mileage yet Quot said William d. Brolsma a Salesman at Fette Ford in Clifton n.j., As he thought Back Over the customers of the past few the . Power a a a a a a let thou and pole Pla Quot Ortua Quot a a a a a tical except for their engines.�. The car at right has s Peppy six Cylinder engine while the one at  has a More fuel this 1991 podge spirit has a six Cylinder engine. Another Model of the car has a four Cylinder engine and gets 26 Miles per gallon. Y weeks Quot a quote at Clifton Dodge nearby Jeffrey it. Duda said that he had had Only one question from a customer about gasoline mileage. There the Dodge spirit with a four Cylinder y 7 engine that gets 26  gallon is also available in a turbocharged Model Duda said the turbocharged version is so powerful it feels like av-8,�?� but it gets six Miles a gallon Jess than the four Cylinder version. Quot ,. Quot they ask about it Quot Duda said of the higher fuel consumption. But if a customer decides on the non Turbo Model it is  better Gas mileage but the $800difference in. Price that tips the Scales he said. Buyers Are sensitive to the Purchase Price not the fuel costs of a vehicles a Point of View that does not encourage a manufacturers to spend Money on research and production of cars that would be More expensive to buy but More economical to run. Indeed while car makers Are now altering some of their advertising campaigns in the United states to address gasoline mileage popular culture still does Dot glorify fuel Economy with the same enthusiasm it reserves for styling. 14 a a a the stars and stripes acceleration and handling this is evident in the automakers and campaigns and in the car magazines. In a recent Issue of car and Driver for example the a. Editor William Jeanes wrote that those who would mandate High fuel Economy would Quot put All of us who love cars into devices that looked and ran like enclosed Riding Lawn mowers Quot in Road and track Volkswagen advertises its supercharged Corrado to Drivers who Are Quot somewhere Between adolescence and  and while Many ads aimed at a general audience list fuel Economy they stress style safety performance and other features. The taste for performance May Swallow the gains that could come in the next few years from technical improvements. According to the Energy department even with no new inventions car manufacturers will tend to apply existing Del saving technologies More widely in yes ars to come. This Cpl Taise the mileage of new cars to Between. 32 and 34 Miles a gallon in 2000, from about 28 Miles a gallon now if vehicle weight size and performance stay the same which May not be the Case. Y. The most important question is Are the manufacturers going to take advantage of that technology gain by a. Improving fuel Economy or by improving performance a Quot said Carmine Defiglio director of the office of Energy demand policy at the Energy department. In other words if pm redesigns the. Corsica body so that a there is less wind re stance uses lighter materials and a switches to a High mileage engine with four valves per a Cylinder instead of the Standard two it will improve the car s mileage. But it might neutralize that advantage with a bigger engine that could take a car from 0 to 60 one second faster. 7. A a y a a a a a a y the Choice analysts say May depend on whether the automakers Are responding to Public taste or to Law. It s going to take congressional action just As it did in the mid-1970s,&Quot said sen Richard h. Bryan dnev.,. Whose Bill to increase mileage standards for cars and Light trucks won a majority in the Senate in the fast session but lost on a procedural motion. A companion Bill died in the House at the end of the session. A. Bryan attributed the problem to Quot ideological hangups in a recent meeting with Auto executives in Detroit he said one complained that moving away from what the Public chooses into a system influenced by the government s. View of what is sensible for the country amounts to a Quot stalinist  y a a a. A. A the automakers contend that the government should not be  Public taste. They note that while they have High mileage models available cars that get More. Than 40 Miles to the gallon accounted for less than 3 percent of sales in 1989. What the car companies a emphasize instead is manufacturing Quality Power Speed and sport. A a a a Quot a a. Take the Chevrolet Corsica which is available As a four Cylinder Model that averages 27 Miles a gallon and has a list Price qf.$9,495, and As a six Cylinder Model that averages 22 Miles a gallon and lists at $10,180. Pm would. Not say what the difference is in profit margin Between the a a two models but the Auto manufacturers do acknowledge. That As a Rule the bigger and heavier the car the larger the profit. A. Y a .77. The difference in the corsicas1 fuel Economy a five Miles a gallon a is Large compared with the average. Mileage of cars on the Road today 20 Miles a gallon. Not every car is available in a Model that gets five More Miles a gallon but Many Tike the Corsica come in at least two configurations that differ substantially in mileage. The More fuel efficient Corsica generally has a quieter paint Job a gtd top Speed of 85 Miles an hour or 20 Miles above the National Speed limit the Model with the bigger engine generally comes with extra tetters after its name and can travel at almost double the Speed limit. Iwa old cars such As these restored corvettes bring top Dollar a sometimes. Like the new car Market the classic car Market has fallen in recent months. Not by Jan a. Zverina. United press International 7 p asked behind an inconspicuous storefront in the Small Detroit enclave of Hamtramck Mich Are Over $3 million Worth of classic cars waiting to be sold by two men who Are living out their dreams. A a a Quot one runs a Chain of dental centers in Michigan. The other is in the furniture business. But they have two things in common a a lot of Cash and a passion for special cars. A  a by by about 10 months ago Richard Golden and Robert Seroka combined their finances and fantasies to form go collection entering the crowded business of buying and Selling classic cars nationwide through car clubs a magazines and auctions. Y a. While go is marginally profitable Overall it differs from most other classic car emporiums in that its owners do. Not depend on Wheeling and dealing for a living. A. A this is our love and Hobby Quot said Seroka a 38-year old furniture representative who has. High octane a gasoline   we1 can show a profit Fine. If not we Don t cry about it. Its a labor of  a t Quot some months we make Money some we done to Quot. Said Golden the dentist who characterizes himself As a the silent partner. Quot but we  been infatuated by these  v 1marp Miller is Gbo a manager who keeps the Chrome gleaming and the paint beaming on an inventory of about 25 cars from the 1950s and 60s, including pastel coloured thunderbird red corvettes Black jaguars a a Eyen a Pink Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz a All parked in an 8,000 Square foot showroom among Vintage Juke boxes coca cola machines and gasoline pumps to. Fuel the atmosphere. A a a. A Richard makes Good Money fixing Teeth and Bob makes Good Money Selling furniture a Miller said Quot its More like a fantasy for these Guys. They love cars but can afford to let one sit Here until the right buyer and the right Price come  a Between three and four cars Are sold each month to a clientele that can Range from Kansas Corn Farmers to. Personalities like Reggie Jackson and Spike Lee. A but lately buyers have been almost As rare As the cars themselves i a a a a Quot the Market has fallen about 15 to 20 percent in recent months based on economic  Seroka said adding hat the classic car Market closely parallels the new Gar Market. A. Quot when new cars Are Selling Well we do Well but our buyers Are not As affected by a recession As the. Average Guy Quot agreed Miller Quot you Hope your. Investments bring you More than if your Money were in a Bank in a certificate of Deposit or something Quot a meticulously restored Bright red 1959 Cadillac Quot convertible parked Over mirrors on the tiled showroom floor Tould have fetched $90,000 about a year ago for instance. Today it May Only command $75,000. _ increased Competition is another Factor that firms like go have had to contend with. Quot there Are now four or five times As Many people in the classic car business As there were five years ago Quot Miller noted adding that those who make the most Money Are the ones Yho Are less than scrupulous. A. A still go is confident there will always be an interest in 1 old cars and there will always be people who can afford the properly restored ones either As occasional sunday Drivers or investments stashing them away until prices Rise a 7 a 7 a y by a a a a a y ,. A. A nostalgia moves on Quot Miller said. Quot Twenty years ago the Model t or Model a Fords were All the rage. Then came the 1950s cars which Are still hot but not on fire like they once  a a. The next wave will be affordable cars from the 1960s, like fhe Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Carnero predicted Seroka. A a Quot. \ j .7 7 a a a a a a a some can be attained for Well under $ 10,000 and sold for Well Over $20,000,�?� he said. Quot we see a lot of strength in bargain priced classic  7 go is also eyeing some Quot muscle cars Quot of the 1960s and 1970s, especially those with rare High horsepower options like the ram air or Tri Power engines made by Pontiac. A. Y but Miller said that american cars changed the most radically from year to year during the 1950s and 1960s, which has in part made them so desirable. A that never happened before and its not Likely to happen again Quot he said. A a a a monday december 1q, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15