15B
AUTO SHOWCASE/The Charlotte post
Thursday, August 22, 1996
Powell tells GM ‘no thank you’
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT - Retired Gen.
Colin Powell has turned down
an offer to join the board of
General Motors Corp., accord
ing to a published report.
Citing unnamed sources,
Business Week in its Aug. 26
editions reports that Powell
had been courted intensely by
GM Chairman Jack Smith and
GM Vice-Chairman Harry
Pearce, who serves on the
Howard University board of
trustees with Powell.
Powell could not be reached
by the weekly magazine for
comment.
Mark Tanner, a GM
spokesman in Detroit, said it
was not “our practice to com
ment on such issues.”
Powell associate and GOP
consultant Kenneth
Duberstein would only say
that Powell has received
dozens of requests to join cor
porate boards and has said no
to all, the magazine reported.
The GM board has 14 mem
bers of which only one is black.
A seat on the board includes a
$26,000 annual retainer and
stock grants.
Lexus coupe still turns heads
Continued From 15B
though the suspension, is
tuned more toward luxury
than sport. It’s a little soft in
the comers, but easy to con
trol. Still, this is a driver’s car
and it begs to be driven.
The exterior is still a work of
art. You’ve probably heard the
story. The car’s body was
shaped from clay by the Lexus
Calty design studio in
California. It was never com
mitted to paper. When shown
to the head of Toyota he imme
diately gave the go ahead.
Talk about a no brainer.
What car executive could have
turned down such a stunning
design? It still turns heads
after four years.
The interior is as delightful.
The bird’s eye maple trim cou
pled with the optional leather
seats makes the SC a wonder
ful place to sit. The driver’s
seat is wonderfully snug. The
funky dash with it’s electronic
analog gauges wraps around
the driver, giving a feeling of
security as well as adding
loads of style.
As perfect as I’d like to think
it is, the car has a few faults,
the back seat being the great
est. Actually it’s more like a
disadvantage. Only pets, small
children or an adult dying to
hitch a ride will find the space
comfortable. It’s beautifully
done, but that’s all.
Very tall people in general
will not fit into the coupe very
well. The low-slung profile
doesn’t call for a lot of head
room.
And I’d love a few more hors
es under the hood. Actually, I’d
like them to mate the SC 400’s
V8 to the slick five-speed. It
won’t happen, but I can dream.
That’s about all the negative
stuff I can think of. Except
maybe the price. The base
price has sk)rrocketed to
$43,400. With leather seats,
automatic dimming mirrors,
sun roof, CD changer and
trunk and interior floor mats,
the price swells to $48,028.
That’s a lot of cash, but I any
one willing to plunk it down
will be a very happy camper.
Either of these cars are fine
examples of how cars should
be constructed: solid, safe and
exciting. You can find less
expensive cars that may deliv
er more in an area or two, but
nothing touches the SC and
GS for overall balance and
quality. Throw in the Lexus
reputation and you’ve got two
special automobiles. Really.
Saab sales, revenues decline
THE ASSOCUTED PRESS
STOCKHOLM — Saab Automobile lost 428
million kronor ($66 million) in the first half of
1996, a sharp reverse firora its 196-million-kro
nor ($30 million) profit in the same period a year
earlier, the company announced Friday.
Saab, jointly owned by General Motors and the
Swedish company Investor AB, attributed the
losses to adverse exchange rate trends and ris
ing costs for product development and market
ing.
Sales revenue and volume also declined. The
company said it sold 49,300 cara in the first half
of this year, down from 52,400 a year ago. Sales
revenue was 10.13 billion kronor ($1.56 billion),
down firom 10.99 billion kronor ($1.69 billion).
The sales decline was mostly at home, where
Saab sold about 8,000 cars this year compared
with 11,000 in the first six months of 1995.
.*•
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