Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 115

i I 18-C Phoenix, Sunday, Dec. 7,1969 Small-car safety problem puzzles experts Lima cracking down on colorful carocha United Press International LIMA, Peru The law is cracking down on one of the most incredible sights in all Latin America the "car- of Lima. J-cThe carcochas are the old, battered mobiles still at work on the of Lima, most of them as taxis from the 'Slum areas to the heart of the Tourists find them unbe- Htevatole. Lima residents don't them a second look. £7The police seized 50 of the Kid jalopies in the first few of the crackdown, over howls of the owners, be- they did not meet the new requirements.

requirements demand must have lights in front back (asking too much of carcocha), brakes in condition (everyone nobody drives in front of a carcocha) and glass in all the windows (it never rains in Lima, anyway). Mercifully, the law doesn't mention tires. Most of the 30- or even 40-year-old Lima taxis use tires until they literally wear holes in the rubber. Model A Fords still are driven daily in Lima, hauling passengers. There are dozens ft them, as well as the slightly newer models of the 1930s.

It is difficult to tell, though, what breed some of the car- cochas are. They have fenders from one model, a hood from another, and the engine and transmission might be put together in any number of original ways. Of couse, this makes some problems unimportant, such as collisions. When one carco- cha hits another, which happens frequently, the drivers usually yell at each other for a few minutes, then literally pick up the pieces. If they happen to pick up pieces of each other's cars, it is not important.

The cars will be back together again in a few hours. In the humid Lima climate, fenders and roofs on the old cars often rust through. The drivers tie them on with wire, or find a way to weld them back together. Pieces of rope keep doors from falling off. If a collision is so violent that both cars are destroyed, the pieces are salvaged to provide the basis for new car- cochas.

But even Lima carcocha owners, who at times are absolutely ingenious with their mechanical adaptations, are not able to keep their cars running at all times. When a carcocha breaks down on a busy street, the traffic stacks up for blocks in a matter of minutes. A Latin traffic jam means much horn blowing, arm waving and cursing. The carcocha owners, of course, are accustomed to this, and calmly take out their tools and open the car hoods, or slide under the cars and start to work on the latest repairs right in the middle of the street. The Lima traffic office finally has had enough.

In addition to setting mechanical requirements, it has added another prerequisite a "correct presentation." Nobody knows just what this means, yet, but to the carco- cha owners anything that is able to carry passengers has a beautiful appearance. By DAN FISHER Los Angeleg Times Service LOS ANGELES -Small car safety hazards are under heavy attack now that one of every 10 new cars sold in the United States is a small foreign import and all American manufacturers are planning to enter the minicar field. Federally financed crash tests have raised serious questions. The National Highway Safety Bureau is seeking to establish a system for grading all cars on the occupants' chances of survival if involved in an accident. Being considered are safety standards that could force some small cars from American highways.

Volkswagen is bearing the brunt of the attack, an attack that may rival one partially responsible for driving Chevrolet's Corvair out of production in May. Some critics, including consumer crusader Ralph Nader, have asked for a ban on VWs. Such a move, which could include other small foreign cars, probably would make domestic auto makers ecstatic. Ford calls for better job on smog New York Times Service DETROIT Henry Ford 2d said last week that "it is abundantly clear that the auto industry needs to develop virtually emission-free vehicles as quickly as possible." The Ford Motor Company chairman said: "It is clear that the American people want cleaner air and want it very much. It doesn't take much imagination to see that before too many years have gone by, the only market left for motor vehicles will be the market for vehicles that are virtually emission-free." In a speech prepared for delivery to the Harvard Busi ness School Public Afffairs Forum in Boston, Ford repeated the industry claim that the latest models eliminate 80 per cent of unburned gasoline emissions and two- thirds of the carbon monoxide emissions.

But his comments also made it clear that he expects the industry to be ordered to do a much better job. Present thinking in Detroit is that electric or steam-powered cars cannot be built, on a practical basis, but new an- Uair pollution equipment on gasoline engines can virtually eliminate pollutants. The new i would AUTO But that ecstacy soon could turn to anguish. With Washington concerned about concentration of power in the auto market, any move reducing competition could lead to renewed efforts to break the domestic industry into smaller companies. And successful prosecution of the VW under the product liability doctrine would, of course, encourage more such suits against all manufacturers.

Courts have held recently that even without evidence of negligence, a manufacturer is strictly liable for injuries caused by any defect in his product. The attack on the VW was intensified after motion pictures of a crash test between a 1969 VW and a 1957 Ford were shown at Senate committee hearings on auto safety last spring. The VW came out second best and the seat lock and restraining belts on the VW failed. VW later emphasized that forces exerted in the crash exceeded those on which existing safety standards are based. The company stressed that the "beetle" meets present regulations and pointed out that the federally financed test revealed "no significant penetration or deformation of the passenger compartment.

Although Sen. Vance Hartke, cautioned that "no definite conclusions can necessarily be drawn from the test at this time," it did Driving on wet roads By EUGENE MILMOE How do you rate as a driver when the roads get wet and slippery? Skill in maneuvering on slick roads is largely a case of sensible driving practices. No matter how good you are behind the wheel, keep these guides in mind when the going is dangerous. The faster you drive, the easier it is to go into a skid and the harder it is to get out of one. Avoid sharp cornering and cutting from one lane to another.

Don't swerve quickly to avoid small potholes, bumps, glass and so on or to pass a car which may be moving too slowly for your timetable. If the car does go into a skid, never hit the brakes. Get off the gas pedal, steer in the direction of the skid and let the engine gradually kill car speed. And, of course, watch out for the other guy stay alert, ready to act in case he starts skidding. Q.

A friend who drove my car last week says there's too much play in the steering wheel. How much is too much? G.F. A. More than three inches can indicate serious wear or looseness. Q.

With my '68, I've always averaged about 15 miles per gallon but over the past few months, there's been a gradual drop to about 12 m.p.g. Would this be caused by a carburetor defect or an ignition defect? A. Either or both. For example, if only spark plugs need cleaning, regapping or replacement, you can lose 3 m.p.g. ADJUST BANDS CLEAN SCREEN NEW FLUID ADJUST LINKAGE TOTAL LABOR 39 SEALS HR.

URVICI SERVICE TODAY! AVOID COSTLY REPAIRS OVERHAUL At i CYL LABOR '80 HITS mill MOTOR-MATIC POLICY: Fret written estimate. No obligation. No surprises! Unauthorized work never performed, Highest quality material workmanship fully guaranteed at lowest posiible pricei. Free Interest loam for 3 mo. on approved credit, Frep Towing Loan Cars ALL WORKJSUARANTEED PARTS LABOR IMKAMERICAM SI1YICI ftH-iiM MM.

ITt til DRIVE OUT SATISFIED spur an investigation of VW compliance with existing federal standards. The highway safety bureau has not revealed any results of compliance studies. More important, the movie touched off widespread discussion of VW safety. Questions have been raised in two areas: An alleged tendency for pre-1967 VWs to be involved in accidents because of handling peculiarities, and the survival chances of VW riders in collisions. Evidence appears inconclusive except for one point.

Even tests sponsored by Volkswagen show that pre-1967 models (as with other small imports) tend to be involved in more rollover accidents. Survivability in a crash is another matter. Studies show the death and serious-injury rates in VW accidents are higher than for domestic cars, though generally no worse than for other small car imports, Volkswagen pointed out the importance of the weight ratio between colliding cars in a letter to Sen. Warren G. Magnuson, D-Wash.

in September. (Magnuson chairs the Commerce Committee, which held the safety hearings.) The company emphasized that in addition to weight difference, energy absorption characteristics of vehicles are critical in determining injury. "A vehicle with designed energy-absorbing characteristics will show, upon frontal impact, a well-defined short ening of the front end with no important distortion of the passenger compartment," it noted. VW contends and some safety experts agree that more detailed studies of accidents are required to identify all relevant factors. No study yet completed, for example, relates driver age to VW accident or fatality rates.

Like Paul O'Shea, president of California Auto Research who contends that small cars, though more likely to bring serious injury or death to riders in an accident, may at least partially compensate for that problem if designed to be more maneuverable than standard-sized cars. The VW, O'Shea says, is both unstable and dangerous in a collision. That means that "if you try to get around it (an accident situation) you roll over; if you go into it, you get squashed." O'Shea points to a VW accident case settled here in 1968 to back up his charge of the car's instability. A jury awarded more than $1 million to a young man paralyzed as a result of injuries received when his VW overturned. The jury labeled the car's rear suspension de- granted, the case was settled 4 How to' Volks book written by realist By TURK SMITH Republic Auto Editor One thing for sure about John Muir, he's a nut about Volkswagens.

He's just written a book about the VW, and, despite the plethora of publications about the little bug, it is one of the best. Volkswagen puts out an excellent owner's manual and there are a number of publications that detail almost everything in the machine. Matter of fact, Muir recommends some of them. He can afford to. His is different.

"How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, a Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot" is one of the wildest how-to books on the market. Confused by that part number? Muir makes it simple. It's that thing with tubes sticking out all over like a spider. Nut frozen on a bolt? Slop on a lot of Liquid Wrench and bang it with a hammer. You don't remove grease and dirt, you get the crud off with a garden hose; you don't open the engine compartment hood, you prop it up really well so it can't bust you one.

He's flip but he's serious. The aim is to bridge the gap between the technical and the practical, assuming you are an idiot mechanically. The illustrations are like that, too. Nearly all are funny, but none lose sight of the fact they are there to teach, to show the exact location of a part, indicate what it looks like, tell how the job is done. Despite the flippancy, the book covers nearly everything about the bug, the Ghia and the transporter except for minor modifications in the last year or so.

At $5.50 it's a bargain in 242 pages (John Muir Publications, P.O. Box 613, Santa N.M. 87501), and ought to be in the possession of every VW lover. After all, Muir is a kindred spirit. He's obviously in love with the little bug, too.

END OF YEAR SALE! It always looks like next year's car. The .1969 Jaguar XKE looks years ahead of its time is engineered ahead of its time. The '09 XKE is more powerful than any imported car selling for less than $10,000, yet it can cover 20 miles of turnpike on a gallon of gas. Standard equipment includes: 4-wheel disc brakes, 4-wheel independent suspension, prime hide leather, real wire wheels, plus many other "extras" at no extra See it now at our showroom. FLINT BRITISH MOTORS motion for a new trial was sign "defective." After a VW out of court for a reported $700,000 to $800,000.

O'Shea was an "expert witness" in that trial and is working with lawyers involved in other VW liability cases. According to lawyers handling many such cases, most involve the rear engine configuration combined with the four wheel independent torsion-bar suspension design of the VW. The combination, they claim, leads to loss of control and rollovers in certain situations. The contention is similar to the one involved in the estimated 150 Corvair cases involving pre-1964 models. Volkswagen has made 18 suspension changes since the 1956 model year and even its critics admit that the 1967 and later models have features that compensate for the alleged instability.

The U.S. automakers themselves may cast a decisive vote in the safety debate. In the next 18 to 24 months, the U.S. "big four" will be introducing their minicars. Many safety experts contend that it is technologically possible to make a small car that will hold its own in collisions with larger vehicles.

If not, a tough decision involving questions beyond high- way safety will have to be made: Should small car designs that may not offer as much protection to occupants as larger cars be accepted in light of other small-car benefits? VW made the point in its letter to Magnuson: "Economical, low-cost transportation serves a definite public need. Small cars occupy less space on our crowded highways. They provide essential transportation at lower cost and create strong price competition that is needed if the consumer is to receive the greatest value for his dollar. They provide other benefits to society, including conservation of natural resources and a reduction in air pollution. Increased use of small cars is desirable and should not be discouraged by misleading or confusing data." jaguar MAX of Switzerland 6913 E.

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