Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 29

Friday, March 26, 19 76 banta Cruz Sentinel 29 Domestic Wechter On Wheels Auto Sales Have soared gwedish Firm Offers Butch Treatt mm ljniiHj DETROIT (AP) Domestic Santa CncSenfmel "if on the Crocker and North School grounds on Ralston avenue. Applications and information may be obtained from Mrs. Lorraine. Peters, Crocker School, Hillsborough, CA 94010. "Jaguar Race Champions Again!" is the title of a new 16mm color film produced by British Leyland Motors Inc.

for sports car club showings. The 15-minute film is built around the Jaguar E-type's quest for victory in the 1974 and 1975 SCCA championships at the Road Atlanta race track. Copies of the film are available on loan to car clubs from: British Leyland Motors Inc. (Product Publicity Dept.) 800 Willow Tree Rd Leoraa. N.J.

07605. i "i auto sales for the second 10 days in March have soared 42 per cent over year-ago levels, chalking up the second-best mid-March of the 1970s. Sales of 249,231 units reported by the nation's four major car makers on Wednesday compared with 175,674 during the same March 11-20 period in 1975. Last year at this time, the companies had wound up a rebate program designed to lift the industry out of a two-year slump. Auto industry officials said the sales spurt was paced by continued strong performance of intermediates and full-size cars.

Small-car sales continued to lag, with small-car oriented American Motors Corp. the lone major U.S. auto maker reporting a selling decline. One reason for the jump in sales is a number of dealer sales incentive contests which are continuing through the month, analysts noted. "We are entering the traditional spring selling season with considerable momentum," said Ford Motor Co.

Vice President Bennett E. Bidwell. "The March seasonally adjusted sales rate for the domestic passenger-car industry will be in the nine million unit range a substantial increase from the seven million North American-built cars sold in calendar 1975." The daily selling rate, the yardstick used by the industry to compute sales, was 27,692. Only mid-March 1973 was higher, when daily sales for the period reached 35,088. Chrysler crediting the success of its new Volare and Aspen models, reported sales up 51 per cent over mid-March 1975.

General Motors Corp. said its sales jumped 47 per cent, while Ford Motor Co. reported a 36 per cent boost. AMC sales declined 9 per cent. For the calendar year, domestic car sales of 1,703,135 are up 28 per cent from last year's 1,313,699, based on the daily rate.

-1 m---- -iii, 1 1, 1 1 By ARNOLD WECHTER Sentinel Auto Editor Volvo the Swedish automaker has a Dutch treat for its buyers. They recently introduced a new, smaller Volvo 343 at the Geneva Motor Show. It will be produced only in The Netherlands in the former DAF factory. The 343 is about the same size as the Volkswagen Dasher. Air intakes integrated in the front bumper lead air through hollow frame members to the automatic transmission for cooling purposes.

U.S. marketing is probably two years away. Datsun will market a pair of front wheel drive cars in the U.S., it has been announced by Nissan Motor the import's national distributor. Two models of the new F-10 series-a hatchback coupe and a three-door station wagon-will go on sale in June. The cars made their debut at the Chicago Auto Show.

The front wheel drive autos offer gas economy in the same range as the B-210, which got up to 41 miles per gallon at highway speeds in federal tests. With a wheelbase of 94.3 inches and an overall length of 155.5 inches, the F-10 models are slightly longer in wheelbase and approximately seven inches shorter than the B-210. The F-10 will share the same 1400 cc engine as used in the B-210, but with the engine mounted transversely. A four-speed manual transmission is standard on the F-10 wagon. The coupe will feature a five-speed gearbox as standard, the first such unit to be sold by Datsun in the U.S.

The coupe also boats radial tires and fully independent suspension as standard. Chrysler displayed its "XL" (for Extra Light) experimental car, which was built with lightweight, high strength metals that are several hundred pounds lighter than a conventional mid-size car, at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers 1976 Congress and Exposition in Detroit. The firm said the XL pro Engineering (left), and Frank R. Winders, Chief Engineer Materials, survey Just a few of the many parts developed from lightweight, high strength metals in the study to determine manufacturing feasibility. Taking out weight without affecting car size is the object of Chrysler Corporation's development of the "XL" experimental car.

The XL stands for Extra Light and its 630 pounds lighter than a conventional mld-slze car. Alan G. Loofbourrow, Vice President Ford F-100 Pickup Dee Sevelberg, right, track ule manager foe Al Cheney Ford, takes delivery of a new Ford F-100 Flareslde pickup truck from John C. O'Doonell, Ford Division's San Jose district sales manager. Delivery of the new vehicle was part of a special dealer "drive-away" program held recently at Golden Gate Fields In Albany to mark the introduction of the Ford Flareslde.

Ford first Introduced the F-100 Flareslde more than 20 year ago. A 1956 model is shown in the background. The "rebirth" of the Flareslde was prompted by the increased Interest, among young buyers, in customizing light trucks. Also, the Flareslde Is an Ideal addition to Ford's product offerings in the agricultural and construction markets. taking the weight out of an existing production model.

The usual and obvious way to remove car weight in the industry is to design and built brand new smaller cars. A.G. Loofbourrow, Chrysler Vice President Engineering, said" "The XL is a laboratory L.A.-Las Vegas 'Fun Train' Set In Early May CARSON CITY (AP) A "Fun Train" service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas will begin in early May, state officials say. The AMTRAK train will run on regular timetables and Nevada will pay AMTRAK onehalf of any losses sustained in running the service, an official of the state Economic Develop; ment Department said Thursday. Agency chief Bob Goodman the state agency has in turn contracted with a private corporation that will reimburse Nevada the same way.

The corporation is Iron Horse, headed by Verle Lee of Lee Office Equipment in Las Vegas. Iron Horse will promote the new service and has already opened offices in Los Angeles under the direction of Frank Tankersly, former executive with AMTRAK. Goodman said initial plans are to run trains from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on Friday and provide return runs on Sundays. He said service may later be expanded. Raceway for the running of the Monterey Triple Crown on May 1-2.

These will be the 60 photographers who sign up for the Laguna Seca Photographers Seminar. The brainchild of the Laguna Seca staff photographer Dave Allen, the seminar will feature instruction and shooting sessions around the course. In addition to the formal instruction, seminar photographers will have access to positions around Laguna Seca normally frequented by professional photographers, including the racing Grid and Paddock. The seminar will be limited to 60 photographers. The cost will be $30 for the seminar and VIP pass.

All interested photographers should contact the SCRAMP office, P.O. Box 2078, Monterey, as soon as possible. Automotive Industries' "Man of the Year," the first stylist to receive the award since it was established by the trade magazine 12 years ago. Teague, designer of the industry's first wide small car, the Pacer, was presented with the "Career Achievement Award" at a luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club. The Tire Industry Safety Counc81 has announced it is reluctantly raising the price of its Consumer Tire -Safety and Mileage Kit to $2.25 from $2 because of increased cost of postage and equipment.

"The kit is still a bargain," said Chairman Malcolm R. Lovell Jr. "The articles in the kit would cost much more if bought separately. We are distributing the kit only as a public service not to make money." The kit, which is sold by mail, includes an air pressure gauge, a tread depth gauge, a set of four tire valve caps, and a 16-page "Consumer Tire Guide." The guide gives load and inflation tables for passenger tires and tips on tire selec American Driving Champ Subject Of Documentary success, even though its mass production feasibility is yet to be determined. The base model 1976 mid-size production car has a curb weight of 4,005 pounds.

The XL curb weight is 3,375. Chrysler said the XL proves that a vehicle built from lightweight, high strength materials can be superior to one built from present day production materials of heaver weight and lower strength. The potential fuel economy increase in the XL would come partially because of the approximate 600-pound weight reduction and partially from engine efficiency improvements possible from a smaller-size engine and testing in an inertia weight category lower than that of a conventional mid-size car. xl Richard A. Teague, vice president of styling for American Motors, has been named "America's Only a half-hour TV action documentary covering the career of Phil Hill, the only American ever to have won the World Driving Championship, will be premiered Sunday at the U.S.

Grand Prix (West) victory dinner aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Produced for British Leyland Motors the film will be shown on major TV stations over the next few months and will also be available on a loan basis for sports car club British Leyland chqse Hill as the subject of a film because Hill began his racing career with British Leyland cars MG's and Jaguars. Hill won the World Driving Championship in 1961 driving for the Ferrari team. He retired from racing in 1967 but has recently returned to national prominence again as race Director of the Long Beach Grand Prix the organizers of last year's race-around-thehouses Formula 5000 event and the March Grand Prix for Formula One cars. Corvette Club Rally Is Sunday A Gimmick and Poker Hand Rally will be hosted by the Santa Cruz Corvette Club Sunday at Harvey West Park, with registration from 9 a.m.

to noon. All cars are welcome. Trophies will be from first to 10th place. Activities rain or shine. The Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance Committee is seeking cars of antique, classic, vintage, sport or racing classifications to enter its 20th annual event on May 16.

The SCCA sanctioned event is the first of the Concours season in northern California. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Billboards LOS ANGELES (AP) Orders by the state to remove 20 billboards adjacent to freeway landscaping do not infringe on the rights of outdoor advertising firms, a Superior Court judge has ruled. totype represents a significant experimental effort toward the goal of using more lightweight, high strength metals in automobile construction.

It also said the program is unique because Chrysler engineers tackled the extremely difficult and complex task of tion, care, safety and mileage. There will be 60 very special people at Laguna Seca aj vnnnn mm DATSUN uu -AT 'J' jrr' A .3 i 4 i i Tin-, KuJfife itf; 1 in I NEW B-2 1 0 2-DOOR SEDAN (HLB210756572) LEASE DATSUN 280-Z COUPE (HLS30283499) a 111 jvv PER MONTH, PLUS TAX Capitalized Cost, $6991. Residual, $3845.05 48-month lease. First, last payment, and license fees delivered on credit approval. ON DELIVERY PER MONTH lust $59 plus '76 License Fees delivers you a new Datsun Model 1222, 2-door sedan with 4-speed transmission.

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4-speed transmission, AM Radio, Body moldings. 1 I "7 i. Hi i i i 1 down. I jr 1 Offers In This Ad Expire March 29, 1976 nrrnr 'mi n.i.1., 1.1,1 nrnn-n iriinn. -if" i i imi i if lif.