European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 b the stars and stripes Money matters tuesday a february 2,1993 today a rates following arc fixed rates at which Community banking Quot and credit Union facilities will sell for sign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark 1.59 British Pound a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 1.50 dutch Guilder. 1.78 greek drachma 205.0981 note the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar following arc Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curran pics italian lira 1,508.83 turkish lira a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a epee 8,851.20 Spanish peseta 115.42 portuguese escudo 146.48 austrian Schilling 11.40 saudi rial. 3.7495 Dahrald Dinar 0.37675 Kuwait Talmar. 0.3066 norwegian Krone .6.907 danish Krone. 6.248 British Pound. .1.455 German Mark a  1.6335 Silas franc .1.513 French franc. 5.5279 dutch Guilder .1.827 belgian franc 32.65 Canadian Dollar .1.2695 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound Othor currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $329.75 an ounce Silver Zuolo $3.68 an ounce. Is a to economic Thrift is placed under control of federals los Angeles up Federal regulators seized control of Vista Bank feb and placed it into receivership saying the Thrift was operating in an unsafe and unsound condition. The office of Thrift supervision said it chartered a new Federal Mutual institution Vista Federal savings association to assume some of the assets and liabilities of the old Thrift. It said the receivership did not result in any interruption of vistas Day to Day operations. In receivership a court appoints a receiver to manage a business while the court tries to resolve problems that could ruin the business. Regulators said they took Over Vista because it had suffered losses that Likely would have depleted nearly All of its capital with no reasonable Prospect of re rhenish mint without Federal assistance. Is condition is caused primarily by heavy losses on poorly underwritten High risk apartment Loans which make up 82 percent of its portfolio. Vista reported a loss oof $1.87 million for the first Virte months of 1992. Problem assets totalled $20.6 million or 21.2 percent of total assets and the Thrift failed to Post adequate loss reserves against those regulators said. As of sept. 30, Vista fell far Short of the s percent Core and 8 percent risk based capital requirements imposed by the office of Thrift supervision. Vistas Core capital at that Point was 2.16 percent of assets and risk based capital was 3.9 percent of assets. Coke sign is missed los Anci los up Hollywood preservationists Are calling coca Colas removal of its flashing red and White Neon sign from Hollywood Boulevard a mistake. Coke executives say finances forced them to retire the sign. But protesters said that its departure is the latest in a series of blows to beleaguered Hollywood Detroit apr Ford dealer Dick. Strauss is about to leave the presidency of the National automobile dealers association with a burning question Why do politicians All but ignore 13,500 people whose businesses account for 16 percent of retail merchandise sales Quot a a we re on the firing line we talk to people every Day from All economic strata a a Strauss said noting that Auto dealers often arc the first do Sec economic trends. A look Back to the third Quarter of �?T92. Consumer optimism was on the Rise but poor a of. George Bush he  do anything to confirm it a a Strauss said in a Telephone interview from his Richmond . Aside from infrequent trips to Capitol Hill to give congressional testimony Strauss said he was ignored by politicians in his year As association president. Even his request to be included it president Clinton a pre inauguration economic Summit was rejected. Strauss though has Hopes of catching the car of the new president especially As the big three automakers and the United Auto workers get cozy with the White House in a apparent a pc toward greater government business cooperation. But nor it will be up to his successor James k. Lust a Chevrolet dealer in Aberdeen . Lust is to become president of the association next week at its annual convention in new Orleans. More than 18,000 Dealership owners and their managers Are expected to gather beginning saturday to Swap business tips tour exhibits and hear motivational speeches from such people As Washington redskins football coach Joe Gibbs and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The dealers at the convention also will get news from their respective manufacturers whose attention they be managed to capture Over the years. A at one time dealers were obedient respectful and fearful children but that was years ago Quot lust said. A a there a a new order. Its our Mission and  to make something out of  on several fronts dealers already have. The first big change came during the recession when dealers drastically Cut their orders because of lagging vehicle what Are car dealers talking about this year Detroit apr some issues facing new car and truck dealers As they gather for next weeks National automobile dealers association convention in new  luxury tax dealers say the 10 percent Federal excise tax on cars Over $30,000 continues to Hurt business. Dick Strauss the associations outgoing president Hopes the Clinton administration will consider restructuring the Levy possibly by raising the Price ceiling to $35,000. A minority dealers plans to help african american dealers get started and stay in business have had mixed results. Incoming president James k. Lust promises to further address that Issue. A / a advertising dealers want More say in How their advertising dollars Are spent. Chrysler dealers in particular Are upset Over a ban on Dealership names in to commercials. A one Price Selling the move to no Dicker sticker prices is gaining dealer converts by the hundreds. Numerous convention workshops Are planned on the subject. A a Dealership shakeout the number of dealerships Selling new cars and trucks fell 2.4 percent to 22,939 at the end of 1992, following a decline in profits from new car sales. Managing future attrition is expected to be a key Issue during the convention. 1 sates. In previous economic downturns they had kept their orders intact. At first automakers responded by boosting the number of new cars they sold at huge discounts to the daily rental companies they owned. Those cars known As a program cars a were in service for As Little As three months before being replaced. Program cars initially were seen As a great idea. The artificial demand kept factories running and dealers fortunate enough to snap them up at auction found a new Stream of profits to substitute for anaemic sales. But hundreds of other dealers went out of business partly because the rental car companies opened their own used car lots. Incensed dealers demanded changes a Knock off the discounts keep the rental cars on the Road longer Ana leave the Selling to the dealers they said. A one absolutely confirmed change is that the rental car companies arc All but out of the used car business today a Strauss said. A that was a really big change and it took four years to  so when the closed door sessions Are held in new Orleans some Auto company general managers can expect an careful. Toyota dealers May be among the loudest. Few Are said to be making Money despite solid volume sales in 1992. Price increases forced by the strength of the yen against the Dollar have prompted even the most Loyal import buyers to at least consider the domestics. And Japan a largest automakers quest to hold . Market share at any Cost has Cut dealer profits much As the big three did during their recessionary obsession with sales to rental fleets. Among the domestics some Chevrolet and Oldsmobile franchisees arc getting increasingly feisty Over having no new products to sell against an onslaught of renewed Competition from Ford and Chrysler. Oldsmobile has answered some of its dealers cries for help by jumping on the one Price bandwagon offering Well equipped versions of four models at set priced with no rebates. Such sticker pricing from the factory was an innovation that general motors  Saturn subsidiary brought to the business three years ago. Gmys oldest nameplate Oldsmobile is trying to remake itself in the Mold of the newest Saturn. The process was planned before last Falls rumours that pm was considering dumping the Oldsmobile line. Companies pick their Best spots for High priced super bowl ads new York a there was something strange about this years super bowl telecast the advertising. Soft drink commercials started like Low budget cooking and Home decorating shows. A basketball Star shot hoops in outer space in commercials for a shoe company and from atop a skyscraper for a fast food Chain. And the latest game in a series of commercials with animated Beer bottles playing football hinged on intervention by a Blimp Driver. But maybe that a what it takes to hold an audience when Dallas is running up the score in a 52-17 Victory Over Buffalo for the National football league championship. No matter what the score super bowl games usually draw the biggest audience of the year to television enabling the network that telecasts the event to charge record commercial rates. Abc  say How much it charged this year but Industry sources put it at about $850,000 for a half minute and. The biggest individual sponsor was Pepsi cola co., which introduced its Clear cola Crystal Pepsi and a new series of ads designed to reassert its claim to the soft drink generation that likes to think Young. It. The most unusual of the new ads started with a Cook talking about artichokes and a decorator talking about Plant baskets. Captions crawled across the Bottom noting that the shows May one Day seem interesting but that it Mav be better to try a Pepsi now and have some fun. Basketball superstar Michael Jordan d�?~d1u1.e appearing for Nike inc. And the Mcdonald s corp. Nike s ads paired Jordan with cartoon character bugs Bunny to put the duo on a search through the universe for Jordans lost basketball shoes. They turned up on Mars where Jordan and bugs played against a group of Green animated characters and got the shoes Back. The ads for Mcdonald s had Jordan and retired basketball Star Larry Bird trying to duplicate the other s shots. The loser had to watch the other eat a big Mac lunch. Anheuser Busch inc. Bought four min does for its fifth annual Bud bowl game. Critics have been hard on previous Bud bowls. V this year former football Star Joe Namath coached the Budweiser team to Vic Ory Over a Bud Light team coached by . Law Star Corbin Bernsen. Bud held on Only after a Blimp Driver a an elderly woman wearing a helmet a forced a Bud Light Fumble As time expired in the largely animated spot. A it was dumbness continued a said marketing consultant Jack Trout who watched the super bowl at Home with friends