Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 45, Greencastle, Putnam County, 26 October 1989 — Page 13

Local dealers feature new car lineup for ’9O

Banner Graphic Greencastle, Putnam County, Thursday, October 26,1989 B Section

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FORD ESCORT: World’s top selling car returns with 1990 styling

Meet the 19905...

Four-door trucks, new safety features due this model year

By FREDERICK STANDISH AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) A sizzling hot Corvette, a quartet of new Japanese luxury cars, federally mandated safety devices and an influx of four-door trucks from overseas top the new car and truck news for the 1990 model year. While consumers are admiring all the new sheet metal and technological changes for the new vehicles, they may find themselves hit with a dose of sticker shock. Prices for 1990 cars are higher, and part of the reason is safety. The federal government ruled that cars manufactured after Sept 1,1989, must have either supplemental air bags or automatic seat belts on the driver’s side. CARS WITH AIR BAGS also must have manually operated lap and shoulder belts. By the 1994 model ye#, passive restraints either air bags or automatic belts must be standard for the front-seat passenger, too: All Chrysler models built in the U.S., about 15 percent of the General Motors fleet and just less than half of Ford’s will have standard air bags this year. Costs of the systems, which manufacturers often dedine to reveal, could add hundreds of dollars to the pnie of a 1990 car. Each of the Big Three has blamed airbags for part of its price increases. IN THE TRUCK MARKET,, importers were shaking in their boots in January and February, worrying; about whether the Treasury Department would classify their sport-utility vehicles as cars, with a 2)6 percent tariff, or as trucks, with a duty 10 times stiffer. The department ruled, in effect, that four-door veKicles are primarily for passenger use, making them care, and two-door versions are mostly for commercial pusposes, making them trucks. That ruling had a direct impact on the prices of the

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DODGE DAKOTA S: 1990 pickup features 6 1 /2-foot box, 2.5-liter engine

imported trucks, which already had been hurt by a currency exchange rate that ballooned prices of their vehicles. The number of two-door sport-utility vehicles from overseas will drop substantially. IN THE UNITED STATES, Chevrolet is making just 3,000 of its new Corvette ZR-1 cars, which have engines packing 370 horsepower to push the sports car from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. The consumer is going to pay the price for all that power, though. The sticker on the ZR-1 carries a base price of $58,995. The much-publicized entry of two Japanese luxury car lines, Nissan’s Infiniti and Toyota’s Lexus, has occurred. The cars, two from each division, first were shown during January on the auto-show circuit They will be marketed through dealers separate than those franchised by their parent companies, as are Honda’s Acura cars now. Here’s a nameplate-by-nameplate look at major manufacturers’ offerings for the 1990 model year in the United States: GENERAL MOTORS CORP. CHEVROLET GM’s largest division is marketing under the Geo banner a new line of three cars the Metro, Prizm and Storm and a sport-utility vehicle the Tracker. None of the cars is made by GM itself; two are made by joint ventures and two are made in Japan. Geo vehicles are aimed at potential imported car buyers. Chevrolet is the first of three GM divisions to sell the company’s new plastic-body minivan. The Chevrolet Lumina APV, like the Pontiac Trans Sport and the Oldsmobile Silhouette, has a radical wedge design. Chevrolet began marketing its Lumina sedan in April as a replacement for the Celebrity sedan. The Lumina coupe will be in dealerships this fall. The Beretta nameplate gets a new GTZ model with a Quad 4 engine and a convertible; Corsica, Cavalier and

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SUBARU LEGACY: Sedan product of Lafayette Subaru-Isuzu plant

Camaro models get new engines, while Caprice remains essentially the same. The Celebrity nameplate stays only on a station wagon. More than a dozen new Chevrolet truck models are on tap for 1990, including four-wheel drive and extended versions of the Astro cargo van and a new “454 SS” full-size pickup with a heavy-duty engine. PONTIAC The so-called GM performance division is featuring an all-wheel drive option on the 6000 S-E (which replaces the 6000 STE of last year), a fourdoor Grand Prix and a Turbo Grand Prix for its car line and the Trans Sport version of GM’s minivan. Upgraded engines are due for the Grand Am, Grand Prix, 6000 series and Firebird models. The sunroof is being dropped from all Grand Am models. Otherwise, a Sunbird LE convertible replaces the GT convertible. The Bonneville and LeMans undergo minor changes. BUICK The convertible Reatta two-seater finally debuts in 1990 after several delays. Three new Regal sedans will be introduced in mid-1990. Buick is replacing the LeSabre-Electra wagon designations with the Estate Wagon name. Otherwise, the Skylark, Century, LeSabre, Electra, Park Avenue and Park Avenue Ultra remain essentially the same. OLDSMOBILE A new Cutlass Supreme sedan, the Silhouette and a Cutlass convertible are new for 1990. The division also has restyled the Toronado and Trofeo to make them longer and smoother. New engines are available on some cars in the Cutlass line, including the Quad 442 on the Calais, reviving the 442 name that Oldsmobile originally introduced in 1964. Few changes are on tap for the Ninety-Eight, Eighty-Eight Royale, Touring Sedan, Cutlass Cruiser Wagon and the Custom Cruiser Wagon. CADILLAC GM’s flagship line retains six cars

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SUNBIRD LE: Convertible replacing Pontiac's GT ragtop for 1990

for 1990, each of which has anti-lock brakes as standard or optional equipment The Allante two-seater will be offered as a convertible or as a soft top with an aluminum hardtop. The Allante will have a traction control system as standard equipment. More powerful engines will be available in the De Ville, Fleetwood, Seville and Eldorado models. Driver-side air bags will be standard equipment in the Allante, De Ville, Fleetwood, Seville and Eldorado models. GMC TRUCKS A new all-wheel-drive GMC Safari van with standard anti-lock brakes on passenger versions will debut in 1990. Rear anti-lock brakes will be standard on Rally and Vandura vans, full-size Jimmy utility vehicles and Suburban wagons. Also, extended Rally and Vandura models will be available, and 4.3-liter V-6 engines will be standard on all S-145 Jimmy and four-wheel-drive S-15 pickups. FORD MOTOR CO. LINCOLN A completely redesigned 1990 Town Car is heading to dealer showrooms with a rounder look outside and a new interior. Four-wheel anti-lock brakes are optional. There are few changes in store for the Continental and Mark VII. MERCURY There will be minor interior and exterior changes to the Sable and the Grand Marquis sedan and Colony Park station wagon. Mercury dealers no longer will market the Merkur XR4Ti, made in West Germany. They will continue to sell the Merkur Scorpio, which adds driver -and pas-senger-side air bags. The Cougar, Topaz and Tracer will remain essentially the same. FORD None of Ford’s car lineup will be undergoing major styling changes for the 1990 model year. The Thunderbird, Taurus, Tempo, Mustang, Escort and CoL 3, back page, this section