Effective September 5, 2000, DaimlerChrysler Corporation increased base prices and destination charges on most models. Select optional equipment prices have increased on some models (*).

Prices have been updated in ARI’s CAPS and PriceNet systems. Automatic price protection will be provided by DaimlerChrysler on all firm 2001-model fleet and retail orders placed prior to September 5, 2000.

The following chart outlines the base invoice price increase amount and destination charge increase amount by model:

Dakota

Ram Pickup

Ram Van

Ram Wagon

Dodge Neon

Intrepid *

Grand Caravan *

Plymouth Neon

Prowler

Concorde *

LHS *

300M *

Town & Country *

Wrangler

Cherokee

Cherokee RHD

Grand Cherokee

On September 6, 2000, DaimlerChrysler Corporation released the pricing for the 2001
Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Voyager.

The 2001 Caravan/Voyager MSRP prices and destination charges are as follows:

$640

$640

$640

$640

Flushing Meadow, New York - Aug. 31, 2000 — Today Lincoln unveiled the Blackwood - an auto show concept vehicle brought to life for the 2002 model year. The Lincoln Blackwood, which was first shown as a concept vehicle at the 1999 Los Angeles Auto Show, will be available in dealerships in the first half of 2001.

The Lincoln Blackwood shares strong design characteristics with the Lincoln Navigator, particularly in its front section. Complex-reflector headlamps, fog lamps and taillights stand out against the deep black paint, as do the chromed door handles, side mirrors and fuel-filler door.

The exotic, heavily striated African Wenge wood of the show vehicle's box is interpreted for production in a three-dimensional composite surface for better durability, maintenance and insurability than wood.The photo laminate process used to create the panels accurately records the image of wood bands, each of which is defined by a brushed metallic stripe. Blackwood rides on 18" bright machined aluminum wheels and low-profile, black sidewall P275/55-R18 All-Season Michelin tires. The result is a stance designed to meld rugged confidence and elegance.

The Lincoln Blackwood's 27.5 cubic foot trunk is unique inside and out. Side-hinged Dutch doors and a hard tonneau cover that opens at the push of a button - either from the key fob, interior overhead console or through a code on the driver's door keypad - allow easy access to the stainless steel-lined trunk. Inside the trunk, flush tie-down rings help secure larger items. Storage bins are built into the interior sides, and additional open bins are built into each Dutch door.

Interior highlights include dark-stained wood trim, black perforated leather low-back bucket seats with climate-control, power adjustable brake and accelerator pedals, seven-speaker Alpine® audio system with subwoofer and six-CD changer, automatic climate control, driver and passenger power seats and mirrors with memory, front and side-impact air bags, remote keyless entry with keypad, perimeter security alarm and an obstacle-detecting reverse sensing system.

The Lincoln Blackwood's 5.4-liter, 32-valve dual overhead cam V-8 engine produces 300 horsepower at 5,000 rpm, and 355 foot-pounds of peak torque at 2,750 rpm. The engine is mated to a 4R100-model four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive and a locking torque converter. A 3.73 final drive ratio and a built-in Class III/IV hitch contribute to Blackwood's muscular tow rating of 8,700 pounds.

The Lincoln Blackwood struck an immediate chord with consumers when it was revealed as a show car. Consumer demand has helped to drive the vehicle into production.

Blackwood will be built in Claycomo, Mo., near Kansas City. Production will be limited to fewer than 10,000 per year. Pricing will be announced at a later date.

Due to a possible transmission defect, all of the following 2001 model year vehicles, built from Job #1 through August 27, 2000 with the 4R100 transmission and either the 6.8L or 5.4L engine, are on delivery and demonstration hold until further notice:

No additional information is available at this time. Details will be provided in a future issue of the Purchasing News as more information becomes available.

The 2001 Nissan Xterra, which debuted as an all-new model in Nissan’s sport utility lineup for the 2000 model year, is described by Bruce Campbell, director of design, Nissan Design International, Inc. (NDI), as a "return to the soul of the sport utility vehicle."

Editors of Motor Trend magazine recognized the "soul" of the Xterra and named it the "2000 Sport/Utility of the Year." The Xterra earned the award based on its category-breaking combination of design, value, utility and fun-to-drive performance. Xterra has also won many other awards, including the North American Truck of the Year and as an Automobile All-Star, among over 14 different awards given to Xterra in 2000.

The affordable, mid-size SUV is based on the Nissan Frontier 4x4 pickup platform and is available in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive, with a choice of V6 and 4-cylinder engines.

The 2001 Xterra is available in five engine/drive/trim configurations to meet the needs and desires of a range of buyers. The base XE model Xterra 4x2 comes standard with a 143-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, 5-speed manual overdrive transmission and a variety of standard features, including air conditioning and ABS.

Optional is a Utility Package, with front and rear auxiliary power points, ceiling tie clips, first aid kit, P265/70R15 tires (V6 models only), rear wiper, retractable cargo cover, tilt wheel, tubular step rails and variable intermittent front wipers.

The next step up is the Xterra 4x2 and 4x4 V6, standard with the 170-horsepower SOHC V6 and an optional 4-speed automatic transmission. Available packages include the Power Package, Utility Package and Sport Package.

SE models, available in 4x2 and 4x4, come standard with the V6 and the Power, Utility and Sport Packages. Optional is an automatic transmission.

New colors on Xterra for 2001 include Gold Rush, Just Blue and a unique Mineral Blue, which will only be available on 1500 units, as well as the return of Solar Yellow to the color palate.

The base MSRP price for the 2001 Nissan Xterra starts at $17,999.

Sept. 7, 2000 — Cherry Hill, NJ - Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) announced plans today to build a new crossover vehicle based on the ST-X concept unveiled at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this year. The new vehicle will be produced at Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc. (SIA®) in Lafayette, Ind. beginning in the third quarter of 2002 with annual production scheduled for 24,000 units. This exciting new addition to the Subaru model line will be sold through the Subaru dealer network.

Dearborn, MI — September 8 - Ford Motor Company is extending the temporary shutdown another week at its St. Louis, Twin Cities and Edison Assembly Plants in a continuing effort to divert 15" tires from vehicle production to customers impacted by the Firestone recall.

The Ford assembly plants in Missouri, Minnesota and New Jersey were idled on Monday, August 28. About 70,000 tires were diverted during the past two weeks to Ford Motor Company dealers and customers as a result of the plant shutdowns and other actions taken to replace 15" tires with 16" tires in vehicle production wherever possible.

During the shutdowns, plant employees unloaded tires, assembled shipments and delivered replacement tires to nearby dealerships, allowing dealership employees to concentrate fully on assisting customers with tire inspections and tire replacements for recalled tires.

Twin Cities Assembly Plant produces the Ford Ranger; Edison Assembly Plant produces the Ford Ranger and Mazda B Series trucks. Ford Explorers are produced at the St. Louis Assembly Plant.

Mahwah, N.J., Sept. 1, 2000 — With the release of the 2001 XK Series, Jaguar Cars becomes the first automaker in the world to offer an advanced safety system using ultrasonic sensing technology to provide occupant position data for managing airbag deployment. Jaguar's Adaptive Restraint Technology System (ARTS) is fitted as standard equipment on all XK Series sports cars and is a key component of the car's enhanced safety features for the 2001 model year.

Operating in concert with new head-and-thorax side-impact air bags, located in the backrests of each front seat, and state of the art safety belt system, ARTS establishes a new standard for intelligent occupant protection technology.

ARTS uses ultrasonic sensing technology to monitor the position of the front passenger, while a separate array of sensors detects the front passenger's seated weight, the position of the driver in relation to the steering wheel, the usage of safety belts and the severity of the impact.

Armed with this information, ARTS regulates the deployment of the airbags for each front seat occupant to a level appropriate to the specific characteristics of an impact. The system is designed to help further reduce the risk of injury to occupants related to inappropriate airbag deployment, especially for smaller front-seat occupants. An added benefit is the reduction of repair costs associated with the number of airbag deployments, particularly when the passenger seat is unoccupied.

The Jaguar XK Series is the only production car in the world to employ ultrasonic occupant sensing technology. Four ultrasonic sensors, located in the A-pillar, B-pillar and the new roof console determine the presence and position of the front-seat passenger's head and upper torso with respect to the passenger airbag deployment door.

If the passenger is too close to the dashboard, a warning light will illuminate to indicate that the passenger airbag is inactive and would not deploy in the event of an impact. As soon as the passenger moves far enough away, within milliseconds the airbag becomes active again and the light goes out. The ultrasonic sensors primarily monitor the position of the passenger's head and torso, rather than the arms and hands, as the proximity of the head and torso to the airbag deployment door is the crucial factor in the systems' decision regarding deployment.

While the ultrasonic sensors constantly monitor the presence and position of the front seat passenger, a weight sensor in the front passenger seat detects the presence and approximate seated weight of the occupant — another important factor in determining whether, and to what extent, the airbag should be deployed. If the passenger seat is empty, the passenger airbag is designed to not deploy.

For the driver, an electronic sensor in the seat track measures the distance of the driver's seat from the steering wheel; and sensors in the driver and front passenger safety belt buckles tell the system whether or not the occupants are wearing safety belts. Meanwhile, crash sensors at the front cross-member panel and at the sides of the car gauge the severity of an impact.

Each sensor feeds information to the system's central processor, which governs the use of safety belt pretensioners and the deployment of dual-stage front airbags. The front airbags are inflated either at a higher power or lower power, in accordance with occupant data and the severity of the impact. Decisions can be computed in as little as 10 milliseconds. The decision-making ability of ARTS was developed using Artificial Neural Network technology, an advanced programming technique, and involved more than a half million possible impact scenarios.

In conjunction with the development of ARTS, a number of modifications have been made to the XK Series body shell. These changes, which include reinforced front side members, provide added rigidity and structural integrity as well as enabling the crash sensors to be positioned so that an impact is detected as quickly and accurately as possible.

Stockholm, Sept. 5, 2000 - Autoliv Inc. the world-wide leader in automotive safety systems and the leading Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Car Corporation have introduced their new post-crash safety system, "Volvo On Call". It is a crash-robust system that automatically calls the EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Center after a crash and gives the rescue team the exact location of the accident.

So far, passive auto safety systems, such as airbags and seat belts, have mainly focused on "in-crash" systems. These are systems that reduce the risks for injuries when a crash happens.

"Now we are taking automotive safety one step further by introducing a system that is aimed at increasing the chances of surviving and mitigating the consequences of serious injuries once the accident has happened," said Jan Carlson, President of Autoliv Electronics, a division of Autoliv Inc.

The system's main components are a cellular telephone, a built-in GPS satellite position unit and a Multiplex communication unit. To resolve the concern of limited cellular coverage in certain areas in North America, an additional satellite data link is provided in these markets to assure uninterrupted access to the EMS centers. The sub-systems are integrated into one easy-to-install unit, which is designed to withstand very severe crashes. The new system is the result of a joint development project between Volvo Car Corporation, Autoliv and the telecom company Ericsson.

All available crash statistics show that the very first minutes after a serious crash are critical for an occupant's chances of surviving. That is why it is so important to have systems that call the EMS center automatically and immediately.

In the Volvo On Call system, the notification is made almost instantly with the deployment of any of the car's airbags. The car's electronic Multiplex system registers this deployment and forwards the information to the car's integrated telephone, which sends a text message to a Volvo On Call Alarm Center. In tandem, a voice line is opened so an operator at the alarm center can try to talk to the car occupants and find out more about the accident. If, however, no one in the car is able to answer, the operator can send an ambulance directly to the vehicle. The vehicle's location is provided by the car's GPS satellite navigation system and relayed as a part of the alarm text message.

The whereabouts of the vehicle is continuously stored by the car's integrated telephone system (just as in a "black box" of an aircraft). The system will therefore always be able to give the rescue team the site of the crash, even if the GPS unit is destroyed and the communication with the GPS satellite is interrupted by the crash. The phone is collision-tested to cope with extremely high stresses. In addition, it has its own back-up system with an integrated antenna and an emergency battery. This allows it to contact the alarm center even in the unlikely event that the phone is disconnected from its cradle by a very violent crash.

The driver can also press an SOS-button for alerting the alarm center in case of, for instance, an assault. There is also a button for road assistance if there is a breakdown or traffic congestion and the driver wants to know the best way around it. Additionally, the system can be used for finding the car if it has been stolen. The alarm center can then obtain the location of the car, even if the phone is switched off. The owner can also get help if he has lost his car keys. By stating his security code, the alarm center can contact the car's electrical system and unlock the doors. The new Volvo On Call system is optional for the new Volvo S60, which had its world debut in August. The system can also be ordered in the Volvo S80, V70 and the Cross Country models.

A record number of Americans are buckling up bringing seat belt usage across the country to an all-time high of 71 percent. This is a 4 percent increase since December 1999 and a 9 percent increase since May 1998 when only 62 percent of the country was buckling up, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

This increase in seat belt use means that nearly 10 million more Americans are buckling up now than they were in 1999 and, as a result, an estimated 700 lives will be saved each year.

The newly reported seat belt usage rates are based on a series of tracking surveys conducted by the NHTSA, a department of DOT.

When a "stock purchase" is desired, you may consider using a vehicle from the ARI "pool"
to save money and time.

Call your ARI representative for details!