European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 1, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse A Parijo 1g the stars and stripes automotive sunday monday january 1 /2,1995 f Chrysler corp. _ has raised the base Price on its jeep grand Cherokee by $500, or 2.2 percent a a Man Effort to offset surging material costs a company spokesman said last week. It a the base Price of the grand Cherokee will be $23,143, effective Dee 23, up from an introductory 1995 Price of $22,643, spokesman Steve Harris said Chrysler also increased the Price on two Light truck models. Hie Price on the Dodge ram work special 1500 full size pickup was increased $250 to $13,188. The Price of the Dodge Dakota 4x4 club Cyb midsize Heup was increased $100 to $18,192, Larris said the Chrysler increase follows similar moves by general motors corp. And Ford motor co. General motors recently increased prices 0,7 percent or $151, on certain 1995 models it said were priced below competitions a a a a a a a a a in Early december Ford raised prices on its Ford explorer sport Utility vehicle and its Lincoln Continental luxury Sedan in november Chrysler increased prices on its jeep Cherokee and jeep wrangler vehicles the latest increases were needed because of steeper material costs including steel Harris said. The a increases arc not exp Clad to Hurt the automakers competitiveness against japanese imports he said. A. A a a a a. Automakers built 12,2 million the United states in 1994, exceeding Japan a production for the first time since 1979, according to estimates by an Industry ,.the year end . Estimate by Ward s automotive reports compares with japanese production of 11 million vehicles based on forecasts by the Japan automobile manufacturers association. Including Canadian and mexican Assembly plants 1994 vehicle product Ion in North America totalled a record 15,75 million wards said. North american truck production topped 7 million for the first time and accounted for 44,7 percent of the Industry total. A a a japanese owned Assembly plants built 2-7 million vehicles in North America in 1994 and a Restif growing. Car and truck dealers May be Selling everything in sight and collecting bigger profits but their satisfaction with the automakers Hasni to grown a new Survey. Says Quot a v. , Power and associates said last week that its annual Index of dealer attitudes showed no improvement in How dealers feel about car companies. The main reason is too much Success said the Agoura i ills calif., marketing firm. Automakers can t build enough hot Selling car and truck models to meet buyer demand. A if you done to have the product you can to get the volume said Houston dealer Alan Lac Lyman who Sells Chrysler Plymouth Jcck and Laguc products. Automakers have streamlined their operations to respond More quickly when demand increases. But the new leaner operations can t build popular models fast enough with Overall vehicle sales up More than 8 percent and Light truck sales up nearly 3 percent. A meanwhile the Survey showed that dealers Are consolidating and downsizing which will help them Prosper. Since 1992, the number off franchises held by tic average dealer has dropped to 2,49 from 2,77, and the number of separate operations of the average dealer has also declined. While sales have increased the number of employees per dealer has dropped from a High of 71 in 1989 to 58 in 1994, the Survey found. The dealer Survey was based on. Questionnaire returns from 4,163 dealer principal owners representing More than a Quarter of the country a Auto retailers it was conducted in september and october. A from the associated press safer cars on. Horizon High tech Auto will slow Down automatically by Adam sack London observer sen ice a technical advances that could halve Europe a annual 42,000 Road deaths have been unveiled at a recent huge pan european conference. The conference. Intelligent highways was the culmination of an eight year research project that started with the premise that cars arc Safe a Drivers Are the problem. The new technology is designed to reduce or at least control human input behind the wheel and so Cut the errors that Lead to accidents. In the next few years porsche plans to Market a cruise control function enabling the car to travel at a preset Speed coupled with infrared sensors tucked next to both headlights and above the rear View Mirror. These would detect the Speed and distance of the vehicle ahead and automatically decelerate if its too close. Porsche says the system might be connected to the Gearbox enabling it to Brake the engine in an emergency. That s not All. Hidden in the wheels arc a second set of sensors that Monitor Road friction and so braking distance. In rain they measure the intensity of the Spray thrown off the tires determining the wetness of the Road. If the car is going too fast a warning Light appears on the dashboard and the accelerator rises. Nonetheless Drivers can immediately Over ride the automatic functions says Volkir Salzer an Engineer with porsche. Quot we Are close to being Able to produce the system the Only problem is that the sensors arc still Loo expensive porsche Isnit alone. Virtually All european ear manufacturers have contributed to the research project prometheus the program for european traffic with highest efficiency and unprecedented safety. Mercedes Benz has developed a sys Tern that can pick up signals sent out by Quot smart Quot Road signs a warning perhaps of fog ahead other manufacturers plan to Market systems that can detect Road markers and advise Drivers if they stray from their Lane. In theory All this should make the roads safer Renault estimates that half of All collisions at european Crossroads and one third of head on collisions could be avoided if Drivers reacted half a second sooner. Yet As Terrence Bendixson a civil engineering lecturer at Southampton University in Southern England and a transport expert says difficulties re main porsche a infrared beams for example done to work in fog. And a big problem is the a human machine interface Quot a some Peoples inability to Cope with new technology. But As Bendixson notes a a when the Nintendo generation matures the problem May the 1995 tracer improved its Quality by adding a passenger air bag to go with the Driver air bag installed last year its rigid body also allowed the tracer to rank High in collision test results. Tracer regaining Good reputation by Russ l vault Cox news service slowly but surely the Mercury trac or along with the Ford escort is mov ing to erase the poor build cheap Oual try image that tarnished its Best Selling reputation. A or 1995, the mexican built tracer adds a passenger air bag to go with the Driver air bag installed last year. The rigidity of its 2,500-Pound body enables the tracer to rank High in collision test results but anti lock brakes Are available Only on the line Topping its Sedan. No traction control system is available and the tracer continues to use irritating motorized front shoulder belts. The foundation of the your door Only line is the base Sedan which lists for $ 11,280 and comes with an 88-Horsc-Power, 1,9-Litcr four Cylinder engine As does the $11,800 Wagon. The Zippy its gets a 1.8-liter, 16-valve four Cylinder Power Plant that churns out 127 horsepower and 114 foot pounds of torque. T he Basic platform is. The same one under partner Mazda a 323/protege Economy car. The Independent suspension uses Coil Springs and Stabilizer bars to produce a Tomfor Laboc ride. Hut the fast steering tracer although reasonably receptive to sudden Maneu vers does no to offer splendid handling. Other Welcome changes for �?T95 in elude a color keyed dash and steering wheel a both All Black in previous models a and plans to offer an integrated child Seal during the first Quarter of �?T95. The Basic equipment is skimpy but not Ultra spartan a Good list of standalone options including an $850 four Speed automatic transmission is available but Mercury and Ford prefer to sell packages. \ the base lest car came with a luxury Conven Ienco group that totalled $2,200 and a $665 appearance Trio cast aluminium wheels rear spoiler and leather wrapped steering wheel discounts and credits a not always applicable a and the addition of a Premium sound system and cd player Riu ule the Bottom line $13,109. Quot deep Irish a think purple coca coat metallic paint the optional rear spoiler and optional aluminium wheels set off the contemporary appearance of the test car. A a. Quot. Its mocha cloth Interior was appealing but the vast expanses of plastic though upgraded still bespeak icon omy. 1 a a a a a the Interior layout is Good with Basic analog instrumentation including a 120-Mph speedometer and tachometer showing a 5,800-rpm limit for the Buzzy Little four Cylinder. Controls Are equally simple. Visibility is Good even rear occupants arc surrounded by Glass Are rear a heating ducts. The front scats Are solid and supportive while the 60/40 split fold Down rear scat is firmer and smaller. Front headroom is 38,4 inches with a maximum legroom of 41.7 inches. Rear headroom drops an Inch with minimum legroom a confining 34,6 inches. The tracers modest Center console includes folded cup holders but they re Low and at the base of the dash. There a some storage in the front door pockets but virtually none elsewhere. A a a a a. However the now gift markedly unfinished trunk has a generous 12.1 cubic feet of space. But put the tracer on the Road and its ability to forgo fuel stops a 30 Miles ice gallon in the City and 38 on the Highway a helps make it easy to Over-00k the car s modest nature and the noisy Cabin. Its still an Economy car but fortunately not the car it s been in recent years. A a. 1 in
