European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 12 the stars and stripes automotive saturday february 20,193 behind the Safe dependable "ultralight�?T1 cars that get 100. Miles per gallon could be built with existing technology if automakers were willing and Consumers wanted them researchers say. A a. \ cars made of a Carbon fiber composite like that used in the voyager the first plane to Fly nonstop around the world could be produced for about the same Cost As conventional automobiles with production changes said Amory b. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute in old Snowmass Colo. Quot this is not simply a different kind of car a Lovins said. Quot this is a fundamentally different kind of car a a German car maker Mercedes Benz a said tuesday that it had agreed to develop a car in cooperation with Sangyong motor co. Of South Korea. ,. The car will be based on Mercedes medium class components and up to 50,000 units will be produced in South Korea beginning in 1996, Mercedes said. The new car will be sold at Quot korean 1 it also is to be exported. Sangyong is responsible for developing the product As Well As production Mercedes said. Mercedes a unit of German Industrial conglomerate Daimler Benz a said the Accord will allow it to overcome barriers to the South korean Market and establish its strategy in Asia. A a for Drivers who have had the dismal experience of coming Back to a dead Batty in a device that monitors Battery Drain will prevent recurrences. If you leave your lights on the Battery buddy switches off the flow of electricity from the Batty in before it is drained too far. Hit a reset Button and your Battery is Back in business. The Battery buddy consists of a microprocessor that monitors the electrical flow and outside temperature. It is strapped to the Battery and connected to a terminal. The maker Masco industries of Novi mich., says do it yours Elfers can install one with Standard Home tools in 15 minutes or less. A a a Irionda motor co. On thursday registered a 16.9 percent decline in consolidated pretax profits in the october december Quarter last year blaming slowing world car sales and a deteriorating Nono crating balance. Its fourth Quarter 1992 pretax profits were 145.87 million fat an Exchange rate of 125 yen to the Dollar compared with profits of $175.55 million in the same period a year earlier. Its pretax profits for the nine months ending december 1992 were $597.44 million a decline of 33.7 percent from a year earlier. Honda reported net profits of $61.44 million a 6 cents per share Down from $85.77 million a 9 cents per share a in the same period a year earlier. Quot thanks to a decrease in Cost of sales attained from the company a Cost cutting efforts and lower depreciation expenses we were Able to realize an operating income gain Quot said executive vice president Yoshihide Mun Ekuni. Quot net income however suffered mainly from lower foreign Exchange gains and higher taxes Quot he said. A a from wire reports . Cars gain ground four Domestic lines finish among top 14 in customer ranking Detroit apr americans still remain More satisfied with japanese cars than . Models but the Gap has narrowed further according to a widely followed Survey. Four japanese companies a Acura Nissan Toyota and Honda a occupy the top spots in the 1993 . Power amp associates vehicle performance Index a barometer that Aims to measure owner satisfaction after three years. But four Domestic car lines a Buick Cadillac Geo and Oldsmobile All from general motors corp. A were among the 14 that finished at or above the Industry average of 119 Points Power said thursday. Last year three . Nameplates a Fords Lincoln and Gmys Cadillac and Buick a a finished above average in the Industry. Domestic cars Overall averaged 116 Index Points to 128 Index Points for asian makes. But the Gap has closed by seven Points in the last two years indicating that More americans arc happier with american cars than in the past. Mem satisfying automobiles a v \ the 14 makes of cars that finished at or above the Industry average of v 119 Index Points in . Power a associates owner satisfaction Survey name Tete score Acura 144 \ Nissan 135 Toyota 135 Honda 133 Buick 132. Cadillac 132 Mercedes Benz 132 source a Bow 129 Mitsubishi 128 Geo 120 Mazda 126 Audi 125 Suzuki 120 Oldsmobile 119 the Survey is based on results culled from opinions of 21,634 owners of 1989 models. . Power surveys Are closely scrutinized in the Auto Industry because automakers that score High in the surveys use them in advertising to promote the Quality of their vehicles. The the acc year Survey receives particularly close attention be ranking below Industry. Average in alphabetical order because no scored were released Alfa Romeo Chevrolet Chrysler. Dodge Eagle Ford Hyundai Lauzus Lincoln Mercury Plymouth Pontiac porsche Saab Subaru. It Volkswagen Volvo 1 ass More seasoned and objective Eye a said . Power i president and founder Oil the Agoura Hills calif., Market research by firm. I . Power said the Auto satisfaction Index is calculated from a formula cover-1 ing 88 areas of performance that owner care about. The areas fell into four groups open a Vivi Foj uni ii Vuini it Zivov aug Tuil w a a a., a i re problems surface du�?Tin8 40000�?� i Quot a Ftp Quot b in driven about a at come to Missli some a and pack8 40,000 Miles after three years and own aging including rear leg room and rear ers May now evaluate their cars with a head room and Comfort of rear seats. H. A r in it a a. K a a it Ais i v / j i 4 new Mercedes at the Mercedes c280, the top Model of the new a class will be introduced in june to succeed the 190 Model. Mercedes Benz will offer four gasoline and three diesel versions. The German automaker did not reveal prices for the models. Mustang cobra making comeback for the associated press Twenty eight years after the first Mustang cobra came to Market Ford motor co. Is reviving the nameplate yet again to lure driving enthusiasts to showrooms. They had Best get there quickly. In contrast to the 85,000 other Mustangs expected to be sold in 1993, just 5,000 of the limited edition Mustang cobra sport coupes will be built this year Quot regardless of demand a said Scott Sweeney spokesman for Fords special vehicle team that created the new Model. He added that dealers Quot have ordered All 5,000�?� of the cobras which Are base priced at $19,990 and began rolling off a Dearborn mich., Assembly line in late january. Quot while l Ord has been very successful at High volume family oriented cars and Etc. And there a plenty of deep v-8 rumbling heard whenever someone touches the cobra accelerator. Ibert s also a softening of the current Mustang it suspension to make the cobra a car that can commute to work or make a weekly trek to Church without punishing its riders. With new 17-Inch Goodyear Eagle tires a downsized front anti Roll bar less High Speed damping of the shocks and struts and new rear Springs and rear sus pension upper control Arm bushings the changes made on the current Mustang a liter v-8 include larger ports and fuel injectors that handle More j a we pvt Vui Piui anti mud Iii i cobra takes a lot of Road bumps without passing them on to riders. That a Overa Isolid feel. Gtd a 5 valves pounds of fuck pc hour Andt differed re a ,.d, a help increase the Power 5 y pump air Hus boy a ing meantime fuel Economy rating remains on a Par with the Mustang gtd a 5. Her High output v-8 17 Miles a gallon said Cuy 3n 24 0n he Highway. Ford trucks we think we have an Opportunity a nerf so a 0ne Ranoni Sion on the to add some spark Quot Sweeney said sex Rise Conj i it up n?3nuai with pos o Mininc the Unnue rot of Pnra a Pnaife coated planning the unique role of Fords 2-year old special vehicle team in developing limited edition models like the cobra. But buyers should t expect All muscle and no finesse in the cobra. Yes there san increase of about 30 horsepower from the current Mustang it v-8 a to 235 horsepower at 4,600 revolutions per min t be gears and improved bearings for better durability. Drivers reek f u �?oh1 be shift ing quite a bit abilities Quot adv Amage 0f his 7?c,.5up?nsion� in contrast seeks to strike a balance Between ride and Hanvy a 3 r philosophy called controlled compliance a according to Ford a Wii vivit i on the other hand there a a bit less feedback for Drivers and the rear end tended to swing out during aggressive moves on the test drive. Drivers need to recalibrate their senses about a sports car feel in this car. 1 Quot the cobra Chassis was tuned to a Standard other than the traditional american muscle car a stiffer is better theory of Chassis design Quot Ford said. Outside there Are Only Subtle cues that this Mustang is a cobra a Little curled Snake badges new molding a different Grille opening and a rear the Interior is clean rather Plain. Analog gauges Are compact. Cloth front bucket seats Felt a bit stiff and have Small j head rests but Good Side support. The 1 steering wheel owners a Good grip and has i leather wrapping and there Are pm cry windows mirrors and door locks. The j Driver gets a Standard airbag but the front passenger does no to
