European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Car Corner some of the favorite Quot assignments Quot of retiring car Corner columnist Randy Barnett a Ferrari 328 its a 1976 am Cherokee chief and a Mercedes 450 Sec. A amps Randy Barnett 3 a look Back a autos pastry Randy Barnett Auto columnist it seems like Only yesterday that we picked up a Fiat Mirafiore 131 Sedan the first car we reviewed for the stars and stripes. The final car a a Toyota Tercel a was selected 16 years later. Some 303 cars have been  out in Between. They Range from a 1975 Mercedes 450 Sec luxury Coupe to a 1990 porsche Carrera 4 in the super car category and from a 1975 Dodge Colt Sedan to a 1990 Chrysler Lebaron convertible where Normal automobiles Are  there has been every Type in Between a four wheel drive vehicles recreational vehicles motorcycles and trucks. A a a a a a a a  a a a a a a. V a. Today s car Corner column is the final one a due to our impending retirement a and it s a Good time to look Back at All those cars and past columns. When we started the car Corner column in 1975 with test reports the stars and stripes became the first american newspaper to publish car tests to the Best of our knowledge. Until the mid-1980s, we never saw a test report on the wire services or in any other american newspapers. There were stories on cars of course but no tests. In those Days test reports were for some strange reason simply left to the Auto Buff magazines. And happily. To us.  a. A a a a a a a a a a a. A today test reports appear in Many newspapers the reports pouring in from the associated press and United press International wire services plus reports from writers on the Washington Post the new York times new Day and Many others. We know that we did t Start this trend but we re Happy we were the first a or certainly among the first a to get involved. A Many automotive trends developed during our years of coverage. A. Among them the incredible achievements of the a japanese Auto Industry and the huge sales of japanese cars on the world Market the big switch to front wheel drive cars the great gains scored in fuel Economy the use of computers in car design Turbo charging minivans use of robots in manufacture increasing use of diesel cars primarily in Europe the use of unleaded fuel for environmental betterment and the emphasis on safety with stress on air bags and seat belts. There s a lot More but that s a Good Start. T Hanks mainly to computer technology today s cars Are vastly Superior to those from the 1970s Era. In theory there should be no Quot Lemon Quot  today s Market and the fact is that there Are few. Because of increasing worldwide Competition today s buyer is truly in the Driver s seat and the manufacturer who cannot make it xxx reliable cars will eventually go out of business. This was not the Case in the 1970s. A a a looking at the Job from a More personal Angle we can Only say that it w As always fun but always challenging. The Industry people provided some Fine interviews along the Way one of our favourites being Bob Lutz who headed Ford of Germany. He s now president of Chrysler corp. Along with the fun the Job did have a few drawbacks columnist Barnett who also writes racing Roundup in the stars and stripes sports Section talks with world Champion Driver Emerson Fittipaldi in 1970 and in right photo with three time world Champ Nicki Lauda left and car designer Gordon Murray right at the . Grand prix in 1978. But nothing serious. One involved what seemed to be an endless Stream of people always wanting advice on what kind of car to buy. Fair enough. But Quot what kind of car Quot was the Only hint. It was rarely phrased Quot i m interested in a medium size station Wagon. What would you recommend Quot it was nearly always Quot what kind 6f car should i buy Quot the answer invariably was Quot what Type of car Are you interested in sports car Sedan or what Quot once that was finally made Clear we would proceed to narrow the search. All of  prompted an office colleague to suggest that we quit the Job and open a consulting Agency. And once retired maybe we will. A a a a a. A. A. A and what about accidents Ever have any in All those years. Fortunately no but there were a few Spinous on racetracks but luckily no damage. Yes there were some bad cars but surprisingly not too Many. Sometimes mechanical problems As Well but never anything serious. The most embarrassing experience we Ever had with a test car an american one alas concerned a Short circuit situation that set the anti theft Horn off at 4 . Fortunately we had understanding neighbors. A a a f Here s a list of the cars we were especially impressed with along the Way. Some Are also listed because of their significance that explained in parentheses. They Are listed by the year of testing. A 1975 a Mercedes 450 Sec Fiat 131 Mirafiore. A 1976 a Lancia Stratos am Cherokee chief Toyota Corolla the Corolla marking the beginning of japanese marketing in Europe. It was already under Way in the United states a 1977 a porsche 924 a highly significant car. Because it was the first front engined porsche one that simply joked the porsche purists. More front engine models followed with the 928 and 944. A 1978 a porsche 928 and Peugeot 604 to. A 1979 a Fiat x1/9 convertible a genuine sports car and affordable and the Mitsubishi Colt with eight Speed Economy gearbox.1980 a Volvo 244 Turbo and Ford escort the first . Version. ,. 1981 a Mercedes 300 so Turbo diesel Dat Sun 280 Zyx Saab 900 Turbo Triumph tr-8 the last of the Lin and Dodge Aries the a car that put Chrysler Back in business. A 1982 a  4-wheel-drive diesel porsche 944. A a a c a a a a a a a a. A a a a a 1983 a Volkswagen Golf git opel Corsa one of the great Small car Ford Sierra xr4i, Mercedes 190. The Quot baby Quot Mercedes and Toyota Tercel 4-wheel-drive Wagon this one became a cult car of sorts. A 1984 a Mitsubishi Pajaro 4-wheel-drive, Plymouth voyager minivan the minivan that started it Alland Toyota Corolla it twin Cam sports Coupe first affordable production car with a 16-valve engine. A 1985 a Pontiac 6000 Ste Mitsubishi space Wagon minivan Toyota mr-2 sports car opel Kade Tacti Bow k100 motorcycle strictly a classic. A 1986 Ferrari 328 its Jaguar xes 12-Cylinder Coupe Peugeot 205 Chi the car that put Peugeot Back in business. A. A 1987 a Bow m3 one of the truly great sport sedans Bow 750i 12-Cylinder luxury Sedan Audi 90 Quattro Nissan Pathfinder four wheel drive Chevrolet Corsica. A 1988 a Honda civic cry is sports car Saab 9000 cd Jaguar xj-6 Sedan Buick Reatta. A 1989 a Ruf porsche twin Turbo world s fastest Street Carpel Vectera Honda prelude Geo tracker an inexpensive approach to four wheel drive fun. A 1990 a porsche Carrera 4, porsche Carrera 2 lip tronic Mazda mx-5 Miata Toyota Previn minivan Volvo 940 be Turbo Bow 850i Coupe Nissan 300 Zyx twin Turbo. 8 stripes Magazine a March 28, 1991