European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 16, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Automakers try to outbox the Thieve by Doron p. Levin new York times m aking the most of anti theft technology automakers Are bringing out new cars with highly advanced electronic controls As Well As More pedestrian measures metals that Are harder to Bend and locks that Are tougher to pick. One of the most effective devices to be offered As Standard equipment is an electronic system that prevents a thief from starting the car. electronic components have replaced mechanical components automakers have been Able to design. Security systems that disable vital parts like the fuel pump if the proper key is not used a variants of this technology have been introduced by. A Quot general motors corp. On several models and by Toyota motor corp. On its fanciest lexus luxury Sedan. Quot we think electronics is the Way to go Quot said Donald b. Cameron the president of tech Cor inc., Allstate. Insurance cos research subsidiary. A. Automakers note that previous innovations have not prevented the rate of car theft from rising steadily and they seem ambivalent about How much More theft resistant they want to make their vehicles. While anti theft features Are important to buyers especially luxury car customers automakers believe locked cars should not be made too difficult to open and Start since owners often lose their keys or lock them in their cars. A. A moreover repossess is and Tow truck operators who. Must move locked cars say that the new technology is. Making their work difficult. And so the argument goes even the most advanced systems Are eventually breached by the most skillful thieves. Besides if All else fails the entire car can be lifted onto. A flatbed truck and hauled Spring an illegally parked lexus is 400 made. A news in Manhattan where cars Are often stolen in a Trice. A towing Crew of five struggled for an hour to pick the door lock. Quot fifty spectators cheered the car Quot Newsweek reported. It. Toyota later explained that lexus is 400 keys which Are made of an unusual Nickel Silver Alloy Are difficult to. Duplicate and the locks Are so precisely made that Only the Correct keys can open them. As in Many new models in recent years the lexus door lock is positioned so it cannot be reached with a coat Hanger. In any Case the starter is electronically disabled unless the Correct key is used. And Toyota has also shielded the internal lock. A a mechanism so that it cannot be opened with a Quot slim Jim Quot a Blade that thieves police and parking lot attendants can slide Between the window and rubber Gasket to open a door a. Mercedes Benz has taken a different approach. It has replaced the Metal surrounding its ignition switches with harder and , but the company declines to be too specific that thieves will not become Wise to them said . Shuman a Mercedes spokesman in new York. A to further foil thieves Shuman said Quot we also make major Megillah to get a spare general motors pass key an electronic anti theft system that is Standard equipment on several models has won Praise from insurance companies and police officers alike. The pass key the acronym stands automotive Security system a is used in conjunction with conventional mechanical door system works like this electronic sensors built into the ignition lock Quot read Quot an encoded ignition key. If the wrong key is used or if an attempt is made to Start the car without a key the system disables the engine for three to four minutes. Certain pm models like the Corvette and Camaro had become prime targets for thieves in part because they were easy to steal. Now the pass key has made stealing these models difficult pm says. For example since 1986, when the key was introduced thefts of corvettes have declined 45 percent Banning the Butts car owners want Clear Kirby William s. Bergstrom associated press s events percent of americans who own 2-to 3-year-old cars Don t let anyone smoke inside and about half would rather see automakers lose the lighters and ashtrays altogether. Owners of More expensive cars were More particular 1 about smoking according to the . Power customer satisfaction Survey of More than 23,000 people. A a a a. A a Bow and Saab owners led the anti smoking brigade with 84 percent enforcing smoke free Cabins. Least Likely to ban the Butts were Yugo owners with nearly 50 percent letting people Light up inside but automakers were mixed on whether they plan to Start accommodating their non smoking customers. Bow plans to offer storage bins instead of ashtrays starting on some of its.3-series cars. But Ford motor co. Has no immediate plans to drop ashtrays spokesman Paul Preuss said. Quot they Don t take up that much space a he said adding that Quot some people get very frustrated when they can t smoke . Power included the smoking questions in a a National Survey of owners of cars registered in May a october 1987, aimed at gauging opinions about vehicles after the new car honeymoon is Over. The Agoura Hills calif., research group said More than 23,000 of its 71,500 questionnaires were returned. A in the Survey. A. A. A Only 31 percent of respondents allowed smoking in their cars. A a a a a a a a. a those most Likely to bar it were Bow and Saab owners 84 percent Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen ,. Owners 82 percent porsche owners,.81 percent and Audi owners 80 those most Likely to allow it were Yugo owners 50 percent Hyundai owners 45 percent Isuzu owners 40 percent and More than 35 percent of Chrysler Dodge and Plymouth owners. A. Quot when you buy a High priced car. You have that a leather smell Quot Yugo America inc. President a John Spioch said. Quot if you have a Cigar smoker when you open the. Door you Aren t going to have that Rich leather smell. Our cars have cloth products from Chrysler corp. Hitting the Market for at least two years will still have ashtrays. But they May. Eventually give Way to dual purpose ashtrays and cup holders or cup holders alone said spokesman Tom Kowaleski. A a v. V even before the be thought of some things along those lines we know fewer and fewer. Ashtrays Are being used. General motors corp spokesman John Mueller said. He knew of no ashtray less vehicles in the works. A there Are some changes in customer behaviour. Sorne people put their keys in it or put change in it Quot Mueller said. A. A a especially those with jaguars Mercedes Randy Barnett Auto columnist americans Aren t the Only ones who veto smoking in their late Model cars. The Quot no smoking Quot approach is favored by Many europeans As Well. During my Many years of reporting on cars the officials who release new Quot test cars Quot always breathe a sigh of Relief when they note that i m an sex smoker. While they All reluctantly allow smoking in test cars they really Don t like it and they Are highly pleased if the Driver and his passengers refrain from lighting up. In the Case of Jaguar it was made Plain on one occasion that while smoking would be tolerated it would not be appreciated. We took that to mean than non smokers would get first Call on jaguars for future test drive purposes a a German Friend of ours owns a late Model Mercedes 190 with the hot 2 5-liter. 16-valve engine. Our Friend is also a Cigar and cigarette smoker but he does t smoke while driving his Mercedes and he also forbids cigarette smoking by passengers. Quot can you imagine How the smell of Cigar Smoko would affect the resale value of this car Quot he asked Quot when i need to smoke i just pull off onto a Park Pentz and take a break. And it s not a Good idea to smoke while you re driving we have noticed that the move toward no smoking in expensive cars began about 10 years ago and that it has become stronger every year with the anti tobacco of our favorite stories about cars and smoking involves the great Ferrari the late 1960s, when tobacco firms began. Moving into formula one grand prix racing with millions of dollars in sponsorship funds Ferrari was offered big Money for carrying cigarette advertising on its cars. Although Ferrari was badly in need of Money at the time its legendary founder a the late Enzo Ferrari a rejected the Deal a. His classic reply to the offer was Quot i Don t smoke and my cars Don t March 16, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 15
