15B
AUTO SHOWCASE/The Charlotte Post
Thursday, May 8 1997
Malibu offers a lot of value
Continued from 14B
tested price is a pretty reason
able $17,924.
Chevy has done a good job in
designing the Malibu, which
could easily give its own
Lumina a run for its money. If
the quality is kept high, there
will be a lot of folks who may
revisit the nameplate.
Sales of new cars drop for Big Three
Continued from 14B
27,427 Accords.
Automakers in general face a
soft U.S. market this year
because Americans have less
need to replace their vehicles
than in months past, Ms.
Jacobs said. As a result, she
said, the country is being
“blanketed” with buyer incen
tives.
The bahy boom is starting to
move past child rearing, which
means they have less need for
larger vehicles, she said.
Minivan sales have already
begun to plateau, Ms. Jacobs
said.
However, Bradley said that
while the dip in U.S. sales may
last a few months, he’s opti
mistic for the longer term.
“The economy is fairly robust
and healthy,” he said. “I don’t
see any reason why we should
n’t continue to see robust sales
in the future.”
RVs allow families to travel together
Continued from 14B
“The demographics of the
country are changing, with the
population getting a little
older and motor homes fitting
into the laid-back lifestyle a lot
of people want,” said McNulty.
Gregg Lewis, co-owner of
Lewis Auto and RV Sales, said
RV sales are climbing back to
the peak level of the mid-
1970s.
Prices for a new motorized
RV start at $30,000 and can go
as high as $250,000 depending
on how many luxury items are
installed. Some of the “Class
A” motor homes have gourmet
kitchens, dining rooms and
built-in entertainment cen
ters.
Quality improving across car industry
Continued from 14B
take what they have learned
in producing high-quality, low-
volume vehicles and apply
these concepts to the produc
tion of high-volume vehicles,”
said Chance Parker, product
research director.
J.D. Power also said the
quality gap between cars and
light trucks largely vanished
in 1997 because of big gains in
the new crop of pickups and
midsize sport utility vehicles.
Ford’s redesigned F-series
pickups, for example, scored
64 problems per 100 units
compared with 114 for the
1996 model.
But significantly poorer
scores still exist within other
segments of the truck market,
such as minivans and small
and large sport utilities,
Parker said.
'The firm releases only the
top three ranking vehicles in
C \ / ,
Don’t Put Your
Baby’s Health
On The Line.
It's a thin line between having a
healthy baby and a baby that's
sick. Don't take tlie risk. If you're
pre^ant— or even think you
are — getting prenatal care early
is the most important step you
can take. Call 1-800-311-2229.
■ We'll put you m touch with the
many services available to you.
Tlie call is free and it's completely
confidential.
Get Prenatal Care Early
CaU 1-800-311-2229
Confidential
Take Care of Yourself So You
Can Take Care of Your Baby.
cSi
Q
each of 11 car and truck cate
gories.
Among the 33 top-ranking
vehicles, 24 have Japanese
nameplates and nine are Big
Three products. Some of the
Japanese models, such as the
Honda Civic and Accord and
Nissan pickup, are made in
the United States. No
European vehicles made the
list.
Toyota had the most top-
ranked vehicles with 11, fol
lowed hy Honda with seven.
General Motors with six,
Nissan with five. Ford with
three and Chrysler with one.
In recent years, the Big
Three have noted their
improving scores while disput
ing the significance of their
lower overall ranking com
pared with the Japanese. They
say the differences have
become statistically insignifi
cant.
“This study continues to con
firm that quality is no longer a
major discriminator and that
key satisfaction factors ... are
now such things as styling,
features, safety, price and the
dealer showroom and service
experience,” said Ron Haas,
GM vice president of quality.
Parker said the origin of the
vehicle is less significant today
that it was years ago. He noted
that quality scores vary more
today model by model - most
automakers have some that
score high and others that
rank low.
J.D. Power sells its survey
information to automakers
and others in the industry.
Manufacturers use the infor
mation in advertising and to
compare with their own quali
ty and customer-satisfaction
measures.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
to QTlic Cfiarlotte ^osit Newspaper
(704)376-0496
Gas guzzlers a concern
By Catherine Strong
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The government could fine
General Motors Corp. more than $4S million in
the next few years for failing to meet the feder
al fuel economy standard for sport utility vehi
cles, pickup trucks and minivans.
Automakers cite a clash between the con
sumer love affair with larger vehicles and the
government’s standard that requires light
trucks - sport utility vehicles, pickups and
minivans — to get 20.7 miles per gallon on aver
age.
GM, Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co. all
have struggled during the past few years with
the standard. GM’s light trucks fell below the
standard in 1993 and stayed below until 1996.
Chrysler has been below the standard since
1994 and Ford since last year.
The outcome for GM is still up in the air. The
company may be able to avoid penalties for its
light trucks hy claiming credits for beating the
standard in previous or planning to do so in
future years.
“We are taking some steps to avoid these non-
compliance problems. What the future holds is
still questionable,” said GM spokesman Randy
Fox.
The fine would be the largest ever levied
under the law, and the first for a domestic
automaker. Mercedes-Benz has paid fines as
large as $25.9 million for making gas guzzlers.
The increasing popularity of larger sport util
ity vehicles and the continued high sales of
pickup trucks - both of which get less gas
mileage than minivans — are holding down the
fuel economy average, the companies say.
“Consumer demand for bigger sport utility
vehicles is beginning to create problems for all
three of the domestic manufacturers,” said GM
lobbyist Mark Kemmer.
Chiysler spokesman Jason Vines said the
standard “puts us at war with our customers.”
But Daniel Becker of the Sierra Cluh calls the
standard “the biggest single step to curbing
global warming and probably the most success
ful energy-saving law ever created.”
All three companies say they are taking
advantage of the flexibility of the Corporate
Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) law. It allows
companies to use credits from heating the stan
dard in the three prior years or to anticipate
credits in the next three years.
Thus, GM has until the end of this year to
avoid a potential fine of roughly $100,000 for
1994. The big hurdle for GM is the potential
1995 fine of more than $45 million, which
would not be incurred until the end of 1998.
GM officials decline to specify how they would
stay within the law. But they suggest new gas
saving technologies could help them out of the
fuel-efficiency bind.
“We’re all working on technologies that we
hope, even on the current size vehicles, can help
squeeze out a few more tenths of a gallon here
and there,” said Kemmer.
Credits or fines are calculated through a com
plex formula involving vehicle sales and how
many tenths of a gallon away the light trucks
are on average from the average fuel economy.
GM sold 1.9 million so-called light trucks in
1995 and missed the target of 20.7 mpg by 0.5
mpg on average.
Congress enacted CAFE in 1975 to help
reduce American dependency on foreign oil
after the 1973 oil embargo crisis. The standard
for trucks was 14 mpg in 1980 and gradually
increased to 20.5 mpg by the late 1980s.
The fuel economy standard is 27.5 miles per
gallon for cars. The Big Three, for the most
part, have met that standard.
To Advertise In
Auto Showcase
Please call
Jeri
McKnight
at
(704)376-0496
I LINCOLN
MERCURY
IWOUNTAINEER
7 MERCURY
VILLAGER
*24 Month RCL, Villager 691A Package $2000, Mouniainer 650A Pkg. $2,900 Cash or Trade plus First Payment. Ref. Sec. Dep. Tax and Tag, 12K Per Year, 15c Per Mile Thereafter
7 1997 MERCURY
^ TRACER LS
•111,995
1996 MERCURY
SABLE
Y r
1996 LINCOLN ^
TOWN CAR
1997 MERCURY
GRAND MAROUIS
WE’LL BEAT
ANY
ILINCOLN-MERCURY
PRICE!
SAM JOHNSON
5201 E. INDEPENDENCE BLVD.
CHARLDTTE, NC 28212
535-7810
All Prices Include Rebates and $400 Recent College Grad Pius Tax, Tag, Doc. MON-FRI: 8:30AWI-9PM, SAT: 8:30AM-7PM, SUN: 1PM-6PM