Destination charges have increased on most GM models. The revised destination charges are effective with vehicles produced on or after October 20, 2000.

The following chart reflects the destination charge increase-amount by model:

Model

Chevrolet

Astro

$10

Chevrolet

Blazer

Chevrolet

Express Van

Chevrolet

Silverado

Chevrolet

Suburban

Chevrolet

S-10

Chevrolet

Tahoe

Chevrolet

Venture

Chevrolet

Cavalier

Chevrolet

Impala

Chevrolet

Lumina

Chevrolet

Malibu

Chevrolet

Monte Carlo

Chevrolet

Prizm

Chevrolet

Tracker

a

GMC

Safari

GMC

Sierra

GMC

Sonoma

GMC

Jimmy

GMC

Savana

GMC

Yukon

a

Buick

Regal

Buick

Century

a

Oldsmobile

Intrigue

Oldsmobile

Silhouette

Oldsmobile

Bravada

a

Pontiac

Grand Am

Pontiac

Grand Prix

Pontiac

Sunfire

Pontiac

Montana

The 2002 Explorer/Mountaineer Fleet Incentive is $500. This incentive is available in combination with the Fleet Marketing Credit and Fleet Special Adjustment.

National
Fleet
Incentive

Pricing for the 2002 Explorer/Mountaineer will be announced at a later date.

Ford’s North American Fleet, Lease & Remarketing Operations has announced a Fleet 6.8L Super Duty Engine Order Incentive of $1,000. This incentive will provide additional value to Super Duty customers. Production for the 6.8L engine is available now.

Program Guidelines

Fleet Super Duty orders submitted between October 24, 2000 and December 22, 2000 are eligible for the Fleet 6.8L Super Duty Order Incentive of $1,000. The off-invoice incentive will be automatically deducted on all F-250 and F-350 orders submitted with the 6.8L V-10 gasoline engine (code 99S). Orders may be preferenced for production through January 31, 2001.

Eligibility

Commercial, Rental and Government orders submitted with a valid end user Fleet Identification Number (FIN) are eligible. Available in combination with the National Fleet Incentive ($300), Fleet Marketing Credit ($325) and Fleet Special Adjustment ($240) representing a total off-invoice incentive of $1,865. Available in combination with the F-Series Super Duty Commercial Upfit Incentive of $1,000. Not eligible for units sold with a Government Price Concession (GPC). Units sold to Government agencies must utilize the National Fleet Incentive to maintain eligibility for the $1,000 Fleet 6.8L Super Duty Order Incentive. Not available on the 6.8L bi-fuel gaseous prep engine (99Z). Not available on retail stock orders.

Popular Mechanics presented DaimlerChrysler with a Design & Engineering Award recognizing excellence in engineering, design and innovation for the 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser.

The Chrysler PT Cruiser, starting at $16,500 MSRP, has drawn unprecedented crowds to Chrysler showrooms. More than 56,000 of these segment-busting vehicles have been sold to date. Approximately 120,000 will be built for the 2001 model year and DaimlerChrysler has already added a second production site in Graz, Austria to help meet consumer demand, bringing capacity to 230,000 vehicles for the 2002 model year.

Although it's early in the 2001 model year, the Chrysler PT Cruiser has already won several other awards including: Business Week's "Products to Watch," Fortune's "Top Ten Pick of the Auto Show," Autoweek's "America's Best," and Wired Magazine's "Most Wired Product Design."

The pricing for the new Volvo S60 is as follows:

Package A

Duraliner molded wall liner

Duraliner solid headliner

Front & rear rubber floor coverings

Rear dome light

Package B

Includes 96R along with the cargo area/seating partition

Both packages are available as ship-through options and will be installed by The Crown Divisions.

Job #1 is expected for late October/early November. Orders can be submitted now with the option codes listed above.

"You can get V-8 power out of a V-6 and make fewer stops at the gas station," said Bernard Robertson, DaimlerChrysler Senior Vice President, Engineering Technologies. "It's exactly what people want — to be able to have a positive impact on the environment without having to pay for it. The added irony is that this is done in a sport-utility vehicle."

Federal legislation to create up to $3,000 in tax incentives for purchasers of hybrid vehicles could make the Durango hybrid cost competitive with its gasoline-powered counterpart.

The hybrid Durango combines two separate propulsion systems: a 3.9-liter, V-6 engine with automatic transmission that powers the rear wheels, and a three-phase, AC induction electric motor that drives the front wheels. The electric motor assists the gasoline engine during acceleration, and recaptures energy normally lost during deceleration.

The combination provides the power, acceleration and performance of a conventional V-8 engine. In fact, it is quicker than a 5.9-liter V-8-powered Durango from 0-60 miles per hour.

The hybrid powertrain yields a 20 percent increase in fuel economy, achieving 18.6 miles per gallon combined city/highway, compared with 15.5 miles per gallon for the conventional V-8 Durango. The application of fuel-saving hybrid technology in a popular sport-utility vehicle results in greater overall savings in fuel consumption than the same technology applied to a smaller passenger car.

"If every SUV sold in this country got that kind of improved fuel economy with a hybrid powertrain, we would save 142 million gallons of gas a year," Robertson said.

DEARBORN, MI, October 17, 2000 - Ford Motor Company is announcing three voluntary safety recalls on rear wheel and brake drum assemblies, A-pillar interior trim, and cruise control cables. About 351,000 Ford Focus vehicles are affected by at least one of the actions.

Ford will notify owners of approximately 260,390 2000 model year Ford Focus vehicles of a voluntary safety recall involving the rear hub retaining nut.

Ford has had 15 reports of rear wheel and brake drum assemblies separating from vehicles due to loosening of the hub retaining nut that secures the rear wheel bearings. Ford is asking owners to return to their dealers to have their rear wheel hub assemblies inspected, and repaired if required.

Ford is also notifying owners of approximately 33,225 model year 2000 Ford Focus vehicles to return to the dealer to have the vehicle's cruise control cable inspected, and if necessary, replaced. Ford has had 12 reports of the throttle sticking open following wide-open throttle application.

Finally, Ford is notifying a total of 351,102 2000 model year Ford Focus owners to have their vehicle upgraded to meet the new U.S Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for interior head impact protection, which is applicable to vehicles in the U.S. market.

Dealers will install new A-pillar trim panels (interior trim pieces beside the windshield) with improved energy absorbing material on the back side of the panel.

The replacement panels will bring all North American produced Focus models into compliance with the new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 201 upper interior component requirements that deal with how the interior components absorb energy in a laboratory test.

There have been no reports of accidents due to any of these conditions. Owners of vehicles will be notified by mail to arrange with their dealer to have the repairs completed at no charge.

Nissan was named the most improved brand by Strategic Vision, a San Diego-based research and consulting company that outlines their 2000 Total Value Index survey. In the individual model categories, the Nissan Xterra was selected best in value in the "mid-size SUV" segment, and the Infiniti G20 finished first in "best mid-size car."

Strategic Vision is a consumer research and consulting firm whose clients include manufacturers, such as Coca Cola, American Airlines and Proctor and Gamble. It's unique specialty is understanding and measuring buyers’ emotional responses.

Detroit, MI - October 17, 2000 - Ford Motor Company has developed a sophisticated in-vehicle electronics system that takes "smart" electronics a giant step closer to reality by demonstrating a specially equipped Lincoln LS that can recognize a driver's lifestyle preferences even before the vehicle is started.

Using a personalized and secure key fob called iButton allows the LS to program a driver's preferred stations, memorize electronic phone books, adjust the temperature and seat and instantly display a day's errands.

To transform the Lincoln LS into a personal car, where technology works for the driver, rather than the driver working for the technology, Ford Motor Company teamed up with Sun Microsystems, iButton (Dallas Semiconductor) and Sensoria.

Sun Microsystems is providing its Java and Jini technology - software that enables electronic devices in the vehicle to recognize one another and understand their function. Sensoria allows all of the systems in the car to communicate, while the iButton key fob enables the driver to remain connected everywhere he or she roams.

With the Java technology powered iButton, a driver will be instantly recognized by his or her vehicle by simply touching a marked location on the console. On the iButton are "markers" that tell the vehicle the driver's preferences for music, temperature settings, seat position and even the type of shift pattern in a transmission he or she may enjoy.

Today, for example, when a person leaves his or her home, favorite music is left behind. In the near future, the music will travel with the person because the vehicle will have the ability to recognize the music each person enjoys and play it in the vehicle. The same will apply to dining, shopping and entertainment.

To retrieve voice mail from a cellular phone, a consumer today has to go through four separate functions: dialing, entering a pass code, scanning the list of messages and then determining who to call. The system in the Lincoln LS knows what telephone numbers are most important to the driver, quickly highlighting them on the center console screen until the driver requests the message be retrieved with a single voice command.

Wireless short-range technology will recognize the driver's palm held information, whether in a briefcase or purse. With that information, the vehicle will be able to remind the driver of a conference call, then dial the number if requested. This communications link is made possible through the use of special software that enables devices, such as a Palm, to "talk" to a cellular phone and vice versa.

Ford Motor Company's customer service division, QualityCare, is eyeing the technology as a way to enhance customer service, such as automatically determining a vehicle fault or required service and then helping the consumer make an appointment. For example, a reminder note would appear on the center screen when it was time for an oil change, giving the driver the option to immediately schedule an appointment with just the touch of the screen.

EAST LANSING, MI. - General Motors' Precept advanced technology vehicle has achieved its goal of 80 miles to the gallon, gasoline equivalent. The announcement was made by Robert Purcell, executive director of GM Advanced Technology Vehicles.

The Precept is a fully functional, hybrid electric five-passenger family sedan. It traces its roots to the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program - a joint effort between the U.S. Government and auto industry whose goal is to produce a vehicle with lower emissions and up to three times the fuel efficiency of conventional cars without compromising safety, performance, affordability, or utility.

The numbers on Precept add up to an average city/highway figure of 90.4 mpg on diesel fuel in actual testing. The 80 mpg target was a goal set for the PNGV program. The goal was stated in gasoline-equivalent gallons. Precept's 90.4 mpg on diesel fuel, when converted to gasoline-equivalent gallons, is 79.6 (90.9 highway and 72.2 city).

Washington, D.C. - The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers commended Congress for passage of a tough auto safety bill that will protect American consumers.

"Automakers applaud the efforts of the legislative authors who crafted this bill (in record time) to achieve earlier detection of safety-related defects and faster correction of those defects," said Alliance President & CEO Josephine S. Cooper. "This legislation, though challenging, is workable and balanced," she added.

"Members of both the House and Senate pulled together to pass significant safety legislation before leaving town," Cooper continued. "Now automakers are ready to roll up our sleeves to go to work with NHTSA to implement new auto safety measures. This legislation is a milestone for this Congress and for consumer safety."

DETROIT, MI, October 17, 2000 - Buyers of Ford Motor Company vehicles could soon be able to "plug and play" their favorite electronic devices into any car, minivan or sport utility.

Ford Motor Company's Lincoln Navigator on display at Convergence 2000 provides a preview of how having a standardized multimedia network interface for electronics opens a new door for automakers to deliver up-to-date built-in audio and video content in any vehicle.

The Lincoln Navigator, for example, features a Sony Playstation 2, a device that will be showing up soon on U.S. store shelves. The game interfaces with two in-vehicle 1394 video displays. In the past, portable consumer electronic multimedia devices could not interface with vehicles without major electronic modifications, slowing the time it took to bring such features to market. The ability to interface consumer electronic devices - along with the quick installation - is made possible because of a standard global interface that Ford Motor Company and nearly a dozen of the world's automakers are developing through the Automotive Multimedia Interface Collaboration (AMI-C), an industry group working to establish a standard way to deliver multimedia content in new vehicles. The network on display in the Lincoln Navigator is known in the industry as the IEEE 1394 serial bus, a high-speed network for transporting digital audio/video. The automotive supplement is dubbed IDB-1394 and is being developed by the 1394 Joint Automotive Working Group.

The Navigator features an interchangeable CD player, Camcorder and DVD to demonstrate the advantages IDB 1394 brings to a vehicle in terms of consumer plug & play electronics. A "customer convenience port" in the Navigator allows consumers to plug their favorite multimedia devices in the vehicle, such as a laptop computer or palm held device, using the same cable in their home, interchangeably.

Having an industry standard interface, such as IDB 1394, not only allows consumers to interface portable devices within the car, it also allows auto companies to more quickly bring multimedia vehicles to market and then easily add, remove and upgrade the electronic devices in them. It also allows these same devices to work interchangeably among competitive vehicles.

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!