European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 04, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page to the stars and stripes automotive monday september 4, 1995 Ford filters new compacts air systems offer Relief to Many people who have allergies by Tom Incantalupo new Day allergy sufferers sneezing their Way thro u go r Agic e d be a so n n of h a pc a no h or place to go to escape from pollen and other irritants one less Scenic than Ari Zona hut closer their cars. They do that is if they own one of tire Small hut growing number of models equipped with systems that filter pollen dust and other irritants from the air that is drawn into the Heater ventilation and air conditioning system from outside or recirculated through the system from the cars Interior starting this year they Don t have to buy a luxury ear to obtain some Mobile Relief from the sneezing and watery eyes they must live with during the summer allergy season which generally begins in mid August and peaks around labor Day v. Ford motor co s Ford contour Mer Cury mystique twins introduced for the 1995 Model year Are equipped with the first such filtration system in an Ameri can car. The compact sized sedans Start ing Price is about $13,000.  Ford says the German built filtering system traps particles As Small As 3 microns which is about l/20th the thickness of a human hair. / that should be a big help for allergy sufferers said or. Daniel Burton an allergist at new York Hospital Cornell medical Center in Manhattan. Particles of pollen he said generally Range from 10 to 100 microns in size while Mold spores another irritant Range from 3 to 10 microns. The system would be less of a fictive on dust particles which can be As Small As l/100th of a Micron. Until recently the devices were Avail Able Only on luxury models. Saab apparently was the first to offer one in its 1978 Model 900. Based on manufacturers claims its current system introduced in 1990 arid now in All Saab is among the most effective. It employs an electrostatic filter that traps particles the Way a mag net catches Iron filings and can Clear the air of pollutants including pollen and smoke As Small As 0.004 microns says Saab. That says Burton should be much More  dust than Ford s sys tem  Saab s . Models begin at about ".$23,000/ ?/yv.v " filtration systems also Are installed in the Lincoln Continental Mercedes Benz  and , certain bows the lexus ls400 and the porsche 911. None of general motors corp s or Chrysler corp s models has such a sys tem but pm s Cadillac says it win Intro Duce its first filtration system of the 1997 catera a Sedan smaller than current Ca Dillas that will be produced by pm s european unit opel. Volvo s new 850 t-5r sport Wagon base priced at $37,095, can travel up to 150 Mph. Volvo sport Wagon packs a Wallop by Ann Marie Job the associated press a the sedate pleasures of the family station Wagon Basic accommodating Interior Sedan like handling and rather predictable if not forgettable ride unless it s Volvo s new 850 t-5r sport Wagon. This five door family Hauler base priced at $37,095, is nearly sumptuous in Side with Well bolstered leather scats and Black Walnut trim highlighting the spacious Interior. Handling is tight and responsive Noth ing like a Middle of the Road Sedan. And the ride is anything but station Wagon predictable. Equipped with 17-Inch, Low profile Pirelli tires that rival those on race cars the t-5r takes Corners with gusto and re Mains unfettered. Its grip is simply Amaz ing. And it s capable of 150 Miles an hour. Zero to 60 Mph is just a 6.7-Sccond sprint. Now sonic might ask Why Volvo would build this the fastest production station Wagon to be sold in the United states. A rare few however would t ask they d buy according to Volvo which predicts brisk sales of the image setting t-5r sport wagons in America this year. The t-5r is based on Volvo s 850 Turbo models and the swedish automaker said sport Wagon buyers Are Likely to be similar to the buyers of the current Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon 90 percent mar ried 75 percent College graduates with a median age of 42. Spokesman Dan Johnston added that the. Household income of 850 Turbo Wagon buyers is $175,000. The t-5r also comes in a Sedan also based on the Volvo 850. The sedans Start at $35,545. Both wagons and sedans come Only in two colors Black or t-5r yellow. The heart of the t-5r Wagon is a 2.3 Liler inline turbocharged five Cylinder engine with 240 horsepower. The sports Wagon gets 26 Miles per gallon on the Highway and 19 mpg in the City. The t-5r comes Only with Volvo s patented electronically controlled four Speed automatic transmission which operates quite smoothly. There arc three performance modes  Driver to choose from sport econ omy and Winter. The first optimizes performance by holding shifts to enhance acceleration the second makes shift Points come More quickly for the Best possible fuel Economy the third helps improve traction and reduce wheel spin by starting the transmission in third gear. In the test drive i tended to stay in sport Mode. It was exhilarating to bound up Hills and mountainsides with no Hesi tation. In comparison the Bow 525i. Touring Wagon with a six Cylinder engine has 189 horsepower and the Saab Aero Turbo has 200 horsepower. The ride in the t-5r is quite rough however largely because of the performance tires. Mounted on specially de signed five spoke Alloy wheels that give a Good View of much of the Brake Mechanic cals the tires transmit nearly All Road sur face imperfections to the passengers. That prompted some complaints during the test drive. On the other hand there were no complaints from me about Road feed Back and i found the t-5r s steering Tobe precise. Truly ride sensitive buyers can select As a no Cost option a 16-Inch tire and wheel combination with a taller tire profile that improves ride Quality some what. Inside the t-5r has plenty of Standar features. Volvo s  designed scats front seat Heaters Power Sunroof electronic climate control Power win Dows mirrors and door locks cruise control and a Superb sound system  160-Watt. Four Channel amplifier. Like the Volvo 850s, the t-5r also has the Auto Industry s first Side air bags. The 12-Inch-Long Side bags stuffed into the outside Edge of the front seats Are de signed to keep riders away from the car doors Side windows and pillars during aside crash. Also Standard Are two front air bags and daytime running lights. Running red lights is the leading cause of Urban Auto accidents the transportation department said last week in announcing Grants to 32 communities to help combat the practice. Transportation Secretary Federico Pefia said accidents blamed on running red lights cause $7 billion Iii damage medical Bills and lost work time annually. Pena announced $600,000 in Grants for education and prevention programs. Then Poncy was for cities towns and regions " " " Boston Drivers have a reputation for being Tough on pedestrians. The City consistently ranks in the top five for annual pedestrian fatalities and eight have been killed this year. So the Boston police department and the mayor s office have created a squad of police cadets whose sole task is to report traffic violations the cadets do not Issue tickets they observe each violation and take notes. A sworn officer then mails a ticket to the vehicle s owner. The program began in May As of mid june nearly _ 3,000 tickets had been issued. The program also has a education component one that targets pedestrians As Well As Drivers. Cadets speak at Community meetings and make their safety pitch through the Media. We want people to obey the Law not because they re going to get caught but for their own safety says police it. Robert q tool ethere has been just one problem so far a Motorist struck two of the cadets breaking one Cadet s leg and the other s knee v \. Toyota representatives in Tokyo and California declined to confirm a japanese news report that the company is planning a new Plant in the . To build to Leo pickup trucks and sport Utility vehicles. Japan s leading business daily the Nihon Meizai reported last week that Japan s largest automaker will build a third . Plant somewhere in the Midwest and set up a new subsidiary to oversee production and parts procurement for the company s North american operations. The Toyota representative from California said the company has announced Only that it. Plans to boost . Production capacity to 1,1 million units by 1998. The company produced 735,000 cars and trucks at its four North american plants in 1994. There has been a lot of speculation about a Plant but we Haven t announced anything said spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell. Ford motor co. Is recalling 390,400 1992 and 1993 explorer sport Utility vehicles to repair a possible. Defect that could cause the rear Hatch to close unexpectedly presenting a risk of injury to anyone standing beneath it. Ford spokeswoman Francine Romine said there had been 10 reports to the company of injuries related to the defect the problem is with the failure of brackets that attach the Hydraulic cylinders to the Hatch which is known As a lift  the cylinders slow and control the movement of the Hatch when it is being opened and closed and they hold it in the open position Ford will reinforce the brackets on explorers that have the defect. About 18,300 of 390,400 vehicles affected by the recall Are in Canada. From wire reports