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Show A NORTH T Davis jTYU : ta LAJLlv n-'rv- Tii I A aii T THURSDAY, cupper today September is, 1999 A Senate set to vote on whether to Court to decide whether car makers increase fuel efficiency standards are liable for not installing air bags - I - . - . WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. senators may vote as early as this week on whether they favor an increase in fuel efficiency for sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Congress has frozen the fuel effi- ciency standard for four years for cars and light trucks such as SUVs, pick- ups and minivans. The House voted in June to freeze the standard for a fifth trucks and 275 miles per gallon for new passenger cars. In the before the first freeze in CAFE, the government was considering changes to the fuel standard for light trucks. Gorton spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said consumers will benefit from an increase in fuel efficiency with cleaner air and savings at the gas year. Environmentalists particularly are targeting light trucks such as SUVs, which get fewer miles per gallon and have a growing market share among Each year, when the final version of the Transportation appropriations bill is negotiated between the House and Senate in the fall, it has contained freeze. the House-passe- d ' However, some senators will go on record this year objecting to any such freeze. Sen. Slade Gorton, he will says offer a resolution that would the of Department Transportation to study an increase in the fuel efficiency standard, known as ' the Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE. ' The CAFE standard is 20.7 miles per gallon on average for new light allow the Transportation Department should be allowed to study increasing CAFE. of The Department Transportation, at the very least, should be allowed to look at the evidence, he said. Higher CAFE standards could save us as much as a million barrels of oil a dayThe World Wildlife Fund and the Sierra Club released two polls on Monday that they said indicated most owners of light trucks think automakers should be required to make SUVs, pickups and minivans that are as clean mid-1990- s, pump. American buyers. However, Sens. Spencer Abraham, and Carl Levin, have vowed to fight the resolution. Abraham told his colleagues in a letter released Monday that any increase in fuel efficiency would cost jobs for Michigan auto workers. CAFE standards rise, profits will decline and automakers will be forced to downsize their workforce. Michigan will be hit hard, Abraham wrote. said Sen. Richard Bryan, as cars. Auto lobbyists predict the Gorton resolution will not receive the support of a majority of senators. Ms. Bergman conceded it will be an uphill battle for votes favoring an increase in fuel efficiency. But this is the first time senators will be on record on the issue in years and auto lobbyists and environmentalists are eager to secure as many votes as possible for their respective sides. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will decide whether millions of Americans who own cars built before air bags became mandatory can sue automakers for not installing the safety devices. At issue is whether federal regulation of automobile safety or blocks, lawsuits in which people who say air bags could have saved them from injuries accuse manufacturers of negligence. The justices said they will consider reviving the lawsuit of a District of Columbia woman who suffered serious head injuries when she crashed her 1987 Honda into a tree. Her lawyer told the court its eventual decision, expected sometime in 2000. also could affect lawsuits over car windshields and manual lap belts. 0 Getting a head start on its term, which does not begin until Oct. 4, the nation's highest court n cases to the 29 it added a previously granted full review. Dozens more cases will be added through the fall and winter, and decisions in each will be announced by late June. g In the case, Alexis Geier pre-emp- 1999-200- half-doze- Beginning in September of 1989, carmakers had to protect the driver with "either an air bag or an automatic seat belt that would signal ... if the belt became unhooked. A lengthy phase-i- n period ensued, and cars made since September of 1997 must have air bags for the driver and front seat passenger. Honda fended off Geier's lawsuit by arguing in lower federal courts that a 1966 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and a federal regulation shielded them from liability. DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (AP) -Air regulators authorized a study that could lead to tighter controls on busd inesses that rely on fleets of diesel-powere- vehicles. I They also voted to spend $25 million to get more than 800 diesel trucks off the roads. The South Coast Air Quality Truckers already pay more for reformulated diesel fuel required by California regulations. A gallon of diesel in California costs as much as $1.47 while fuel sold in other states costs as little as 99 cents, she said. But Broadbent argued that diesel particulates account for 72 percent of the average health risk associated with toxic air pollutants. Another 16 percent comes from gasoline and the rest sources. from other, We're seeing that much of the risk and much of the contaminants that are collected are diesel particulates. he said. diesel-powere- high-polluti- Management District's crackdown Iconics on the heels of a finding that airborne particles from diesel engines may increase cancer risks. The money would be used to replace more than 800 heavy-dut- y diesel trucks, buses and tugboats with 'vehicles that use cleaner-burnin- g fuels, such as propane, natural gas or California Trucking Association, which represents 2,500 trucking companies ranging from small family operations to large international carri- electricity. In a separate program, the air quality district's staff will study way's to reduce diesel emissions and other Agency, said Stephanie Williams, environmental director for the trucking association. Any attempt to impose tighter regulations on diesel engines ft will be challenged in court and in the Legislature, she said. It's politically driven, bad science and the courts are going to get it soon, she said. Were going to be in the Legislature real heavy this yeaif sources of toxic pollutants, said Jack Broadbent, the agency's deputy executive officer. Possible actions could include using the agencys regulatory power to pressure business to replace thoud vehicles at sands of their own expense. That possibility has angered the j ers. Health studies that state regulators have relied on to link diesel emission to have not been endorsed by the fed- eral Protection Environmental Recall of GM. Ford, Saturn vehicles car-safe- ty existed in 1987 implicitly blocked lawsuits filed under state law. Allowing the lawsuits would interfere with the federal government's decision to make air bags only one of federal options for automakers, the appeals The Ullimate nTTETFi 1999-mod- el c SALE The Ullimate EVERY DAEWOO Llliilfr1 and her parents sued American Honda Motor Co. over a 1992 accident in which her car went out of control on a curve and struck a tree. Geier, 17 at the time, was injured even though she was wearing a seat belt and shoulder harness. Her 1995 lawsuit said her Honda Accord was defective because it did not have a driver's side air bag. Cars manufactured at that time were not required to have one. I 149 s159 90430 (XX) Stk Hate Wade 3 dr srtng pro StWQ Mw Power Locks Cruise Control Kevess Aliov ftneeis 5 Soeea Transmission 901 ID 12,877 After Retorts m Daewoo 1207 So. Main 5198343 PlKt 0 Business ' A Lanos S9051D Nubira 4 dr. CDX Moon Root AMf M Cassette CO Piaver Secunty System Air Conditioning Power MEMBER SUtCAU mo. Lanos 4dr w'air NO CHARGE! Scheduled Maintenance 3yr36 000 miles Roadside Assistance 3yr,36 miles UTAH SALE i I.mm.i-UMI.- DOWN $0 FOR RENT 41 SALE PRICED! Stk recalls of its new 2000 LS mid-siz- e 1310 made between May and cars July that have a potentially leaky fuel valve, which could result in fuel spillage in a rollover, and 1.437 of the vehicles built during the same period of the vehicles, a short circuit in the antilock brake system could cause a nearby plastic fuel hose to overheat and leak, possibly resulting in fire beneath the hood, GM said. Ford recalled 183,000 1998 and 1999 Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique compact sedans built between July 1997 and April 1998. The accelerator cable could fray and not return the engine to idle when the gas pedal is released, Ford said. GM's Saturn division issued two DETROIT (AP) Safety defects have prompted a recall of more than 353.000 General Motors, Ford and .Saturn vehicles, the National Traffic Safety Highway Administration said. No accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of the defects, spokesmen said. GM said it was recalling 168.035 Buick Century and Buick Regal passenger cars built between March 1998 and April 1999. In some announced lo A federal appeals court ruled that federal regulations that air-ba- Air regulators vote to attack diesel pollution with grants and study court said. Five federal appeals courts and the highest courts of two states have Pennsylvania and Mississippi barred such lawsuits. But the highest New courts in five states Hampshire, Indiana. Arizona. Ohio and New Tork have allowed them. Geier's lawyer. Arthur Bn ant of Trial Lawyers the Washington-base- d law's for Public Justice, cited the language in a intending that Congress never intended to shield car makers from lawsuits like the one against American Honda. The law says compliance with federal standards would not exempt any person from any liability under common law The time has come for the Supreme Court to make clear that Congress' words mean what thev savf he said. reoate lanos 4 6 Hie Sating one To S9Q25 after armncs aas or 9Sap T 3 C ai whose turn signals and hazard lights might malfunction. The recalls were posted by NHTSA on its Internet site on Thursday Owners were asked to take their vehicles to dealerships for free repairs, NHTSA said. OGDENlSUB'ARU ZD The All Are EEOOOs D-0-ear8 remaining 1999 Legacy's & Impreza's will be sold at $400 below invoice. 1999 Subaru legacyAutoGT Sedan Trans $24,664 MSRP $22,316 Invoice - $400 21.916 1999 Subaru 1999 Subaru Forester Imprexa Wagon $17,208 msrp $15,721 Invoke - $400 , $1 5,321 S $23,879 msrp $2,191 Discount 99 CHEV Wu sfiiijaru Your Price Stk 99177 5 Speed MALIBU AUTO. PWR EVERYTHING. 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