,

2,000 miles

ON A RECENT business trip to California. I had
the good fortune to rent an Oldsmobile Cutlass
Ciera which my wife and I drove for over 2,000
miles, I had ordered a Chevette and the rental com-
pany said they were sorry but all the Chevettes were
taken and would I have the Ciera at the same price.

You bet! ,

Our Cutlass Ciera had only
350 miles on it and was
finished in white with a very
luxurious burgundy interior
complete with air condition-
ing, stereo, power windows
and Jocks.

The first thing [ learned on
L.A. freeways was that
everybody roars up the en-
frances and merges with the
traffic at high speed. I was
surprised when the little Olds
zipped up the freeway en-
trance in fine style, although
it was equipped with only a
four cylinder engine.

The handling was also
quite nimble and was par-

| By ELLSWORTH DICKSON |

ticularly appreciated on some
twisting mountain roads in
the hills above Santa Bar-
bara. But what really im-
pressed me was the quiet in-
side, which made the ex-
cellent stereo sound even
better,

A word about tires, Untor-
tunately, I ran over a nail
which entered the side of the
tire and couid not be fixed. I
discovered that the spare was
a tiny temporary tire good
for only 45 MPH. This posed
a problem as hardly anybody

in a Gierra

obeys the 55MPH limit on
the freeways. GM's reason-
ing is that very few car
owners rotate their tires and
the regular spare ends up be-
ing a total waste of money.
Still, | would have felt better
with a ‘‘normal’’ spare.

Consumer Reports states
this madel gets 15 MPG in ci-
ty driving and 39 MPG on the
highway.

Summing up, the
Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera is a
smartly-styled, plushly-lined
vehicle that will no duubt do
well in the marketplace.

For my wife and I, the
most impressive feature was
the comfort. Whether stuck
in bumper to bumper
downtown traffic or wat-
ching the desert glide by for
hours, the interior size was
not cramped and the well-
designed seats fought aches
and fatigue on: our long
hauls.

Look out, Detroit

LOOK OUT, Detroit
automakers. The newest ex-
perimental car from Western
Washington University’s
Vehicle Research Institute
will be rolling into the auto
capital soon, The latest.in-a
series of award-winning cars,
the, Viking VII has been
selected for display: at’ the
1985 international Congress
of Automotive Engineers.
Vehicle Research Institute
direcior, Dr. Michael Seal,
says ‘Alcoa and the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE)
are footing the bill to take the
car to Detroit in February,
1985,-‘for engineers from
around the world to examine. -
Viking. VII is a high-
performance. sports. car-
featuring: a 133-horsepower
engine, - advanced” aéro-

dynamic design, and corner-

ing’ "capabilities: ‘similar - to
tacécars.. Weighing just
under 1 000 pounds, the Vik-

ing VII will be the Jightest car
at the exhibition.

Furthermore, Viking V1i
will be the only Amecrican-
made car on display. Seal
speculates this is because
other U.S. automakers have
not. been very innovative
ately.

“There hasn't been much
built in the United States of
this nature in recent years,”’
Seal says. ‘‘Right now,
‘ government is not sponsoring
much research unless it’s got
a military “application. The
industry. seems. to’ be follow-
ing the, lead of government.
The feeling is that the way to
control: the technology is
simply.'to ‘have -high tariffs

and keep foreign technology

out.-I don’t know. why it
doesn’t occur to industry that
it’s: suicidal not to do the
research and development. ”

Automakers are incor-

porating ‘other Viking in-
novations into commercial
production, however. Accor-
ding to Seal, Western's
techniques of building aero-
dynamic streamlined | cars
with increased fuel economy

and fewer exhaust emissions .
well.

are becoming quite
known,

A recent General Motors
prototype sports car bears a
striking resemblance to the
Viking Il, which was on
display at the 1975 Inter-
national SAE conference.
While Viking II turned some

heads, Seal predicts Viking . §

VH_ will turn some more.
“The basic Viking design was

‘radical at the time but is now

the. industry’s standard,”
says Seal. ‘‘We think there’ s.

- alot more that’can be. done, Y
and when the Viking VII is’. J
displayed in” Detroit, it’ will!

cause further. interest. ”

Tax volunteer training

Training sessions for
volunteers on the preparation

of personal income tax returns.”

are being planned for the com-—
ing fi ling season. Instructions.
will be given at the 411 Seniors
Centre, 3rd ‘Floor, 411
Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver.
These sessions are organiz-
ed as part of Revenue
Canada’s Tax Information
program and are available on-
ly to members of Volunteer
associations or persons who
are interested in offering their
free service to help others.
The following sessions have
been planned and will be held
from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
on each of the dates indicated
below. Please note that it is
only necessary to attend one

——e BELTED
ALL SEASON RAD

“46°

155x13

wu *96°°
$69

225x15

day to receive the training.
Monday/Wednesday to Fri-

day - February 18/20,21,22;

Monday to Friday - February

25 to March 1; Monday to Fri-

day - -’March 4 to 8; Monday

Never wax again - 5 Yr, Warranty

Preserve our Car
SUPER ‘SHINE

“Ail Weather Protection”

Neither sun, rain, heat, cold or sait will
hurt this tough, beautiful, high gloss shine.

&@ Undercoaling ® Steam Cleaning 34311 Pemberton
@ Rust-proating @ Scotcn Guarg N. Vancouver
@ Super Shine BlintenovEstenor clean up) 987-4477

+ March 11.

To register for attendance
please phone the District Of-
fice at 666-2491 or 666-2615,
between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30
p.m., Monday to Friday.

"Free Pick-Up
& Delivery
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm.
Sat 8arn-2pm

ackage ¢ Dear"

SUMMER
RADIALS

ELTED
SUMMER TIRE |

155412 $39°° sree $9495 7

175x13 $39°°
$q5°s

196x15

E78x14 $4 1 95
G78x15 546°

‘BRING IN.AD FOR THESE. GREAT PRICES
~ Phone for unlisted sizes 874-9911 & 874-1731

13900 Main St. (at 23rd Ave

.) Vancouver §

2h Wednesday, February 6, 1985 - Nerth Shore News

. American built cars & light duty trucks.
Special offer in effect until Feb. 15, 1985

Complete wheel alignment:
adjust castor & camber, adjust
toe-in, centre steering wheel,
and check front end
components where applicable.

Transmission Tune-Up includes: |
Install up to 8 litres of Autopar
transmission fiuid; new -
transmission pan gasket; anda
_ new transmission filter @ Adjust
front and rear bands @ inspect
for oi! leaks © Road test.

phone for
appointment

1 4177 Marine Dr. North Vancouver

. 980-8501