European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse The Little trabant goes american a continued from cover. Says referring to the 140-Kilomctcr drive Between the two German cities. Armell agrees that autobahn speeds Are too demanding for the Humble Traci. A you get it above 100 Kilometres an hour and your Knuckles turn White. You re not driving a you re hurtling Down the Road a Armell says. Nevertheless Armell shipped a 1962 trabant to the United states last summer for safekeeping at his brother a Home in Massachusetts. He keeps two at his Home in Schwa detach. And he uses a fourth for parts. The teacher drives his Toffee coloured �?T67 Traci daily to and from work As other americans and germans Strain their necks to stare then they Quot laugh As did two German policemen who control their mirth when they recently stopped Armell near Ramstein a in a random registration Check. Armell accepts onlookers amusement with Good humor. Quot East germans wave to me. You know they re just sitting in their car hooting and Hollerin at that crazy american Quot Armell says. A crazy americans a what la they drive next a a besides Novelty value the often maligned tra Bant has a few persuasive Selling Points such As its Hardy starting Power in cold weather and its rust a free body made of Duro plast a mixture of Cotton and resin. Then there s its Lawnmower simple in inc. A \ a a the technology is so old there a not a lot to go wrong. There a nothing so complicated that the average Guy can to fix it and in a not a Mechanic by any stretch of imagination a Armell says. Its two stroke engine requires a mixture of Gas and Oil to run which a Well known Stream of fumes. The desired mix is 1 liter of Oil to 40 liners of Gas. But since the Traci s tank holds Only 22 liners of Gas Armell has to Guesstimate the right mix. And he must remember that there s no Gas gauge. V a you drive the car until it runs out of Gas. Then you switch it Over to Reserve. When it begins to Putter Down the Road then you know its running out of Gas a Armell said. The Reserve tank contains enough fuel for roughly another 50 Kilometres. The car usually gets about 30miles per gallon Armell said. Another drawback is the cards virtually nonexistent Heater which Means the Traci loses part of its Charm when cold weather hit a you dress warm a says Gary Folske a one time Traci owner. A if you have a dog it helps to bring him germans generally Are eager to part with the cars for less than 1,000 Marks or about $695, and leave behind bad memories of the past to Ger speedier More stylish transportation. Folske business manager for the Kaiserslautern school District bought his Traci from a local tar dealer he then sold it to Dalton. Armell found some of his cars with ads m German newspapers. Armello swing Nita and older daughter Shila drive his to Abfalt Only when the family Saab Isnit available. A. A a but Dalton who next plans to buy a porsche Targa Isnit awed by anything else on the Road. Says Dalton a the Only other car on the Road i fear is another sunday february 10, 1991
