The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

ffagt I SBCnoNC TBB March IKS CAR ALIVE Pay less for good stereo or about two days First the automatic signalseeking toner cave There rami be torn per rule in life that says thing always have to more complicated than they ready are Back in the we were all perfectly content with a simple ra dio In oar cart two knobs a dial one speaker and If It a fancy model push buttons to select the station Bat now even a tape player isnt enough No Carstereo manu facturers expect us to put more audio components In our cars than In our living rooms and to have more power in the stereo system than the engine Recently Road Tracks editors asked an audio expert to assemble a firstclass stereo system for one of our test cars The poor car returned loaded to the roof with components Its trunk was halffilled with mega watt amplifiers There were woofers and tweeters everywhere behind and under the seats in the door panels and under the dash And the radio excuse me the tuner and tape deck was a maze of teenyweeny buttons and digital readouts And the price tag An astounding Well the system did sound Then an amplifier went Then hisses and pops We were also worried boot parking the ear on the street for fear some thug would the win dows and swipe the equipment It got to the point where staff members would have gladly swapped our state- oftheart sound system for a push button radio out of a Bulck With that experience In mind and the fact that I had about percent less money to spend than Aoad It Track I recently bought a basic AMPM cassette for my own car And it sounds terrific Here are a few tricks for making an inexpensive radiocassette unit sound like a much pricier one Understand that there are Inex pensive units and then there are cheap In all senses of the word units Buy a lowpriced model but one with a reputable brand name Even a unit will sound lousy with the wrong speakers Although youll find a bewildering variety ot speakers on the market Just ber that bigger Is better The big ones are often more efficient and provide deeper bass notes Expect to pay at least for a decent pair speakers id back If theres an enclosed area of sufficient space be hind the speaker the back wan can rebound and reinforce the sound com ing from the front creating excellent bass In most sedans the ideal mounting position In the shelf behind the rear seat the back wave then has plenty of room In the cars trunk to rebound surfacemount speak ers come with their own enclosure Olympic vehicle surplus little room for the back wave to do Its stuff and bass response is usually poor With only a pair of speakers In the rear all the sound comes from behind your head To fill out the sound mount a second pair either in the front doors or under the dash Its OK to use smaller surfacemount speak ers here if youre getting good bass from the rear ones If an AMFM cassette units builtin amplifiers are underpowered the sound will distort at higher vol umes But for about you can buy a separate amplifierequalizer that will boost power and sound quality considerably So for a total investment of less than four speakers an ampli fierequalizer ana the radiocassette unit I have a relatively simple sys tem that sounds darn near as good as that one Maybe even better cause It works NO When General Motors of Can ada was asked what they would do with the 1 phis vehicles they bad loaned to 88 when the 1988 Winter Olympics areovcr the answer was simple Let the and fulltime employees hive first crack at buying them It itemed like the best idea of said Blair Upton project manager Cal gary 88 Olympics for General Motors of Canada We have had terrific positive re sponse from the 9500 voluntecn and fulltime Winter Game personnel who have been driving vehicles and we felt that si a gesture of thanks to them we could offer hem an attractive purchase deal on those Chevrolet and CMC vehicles he said The vehicles will have seen duty in a wide variety of role by the time the Winter Games conclude including providing transportation wind from the Olympic venue for athletes and offi cial and carrying mem ben of the Inter national Olympic Committee the vari ous National Olympic Committees the AUTO FACTS Canadian Olympic Association and government representatives every Some of them have also been on the road as support vehicles for the cross- Cansda Olympic Torch Relay but re gardless of their function they are still regarded as being prized souvenir of these Winter Olympic Games the furl ever held in Canada As official supplier of transportation products to the Calgary Winter General Motors of Canada introduced a specific Olympic Vehicle lineup of Chevrolet Celebrity Coupes and Sedans Sedans and Station Wagons and S- are available to purchase as new vehicles through the GM dealer network across Canada AUTO FACTS Is your car singing the blues Electric vans being tested Two General Motors electronic vans are undergoing a one- year field test by HydroQuebec Along with seven electric utilities in the VS which are resting a total of fleets the purpose of the program is to promote electric vehicles as a reliable alterna tive to traditional internal combustion engines The Van Demonstration Pro gram started in by he Electric Vehicle Association of Canada in con junction with General Motors The first objective of the association the introduction nest year of cost- competitive electric vans designed for North American commercial fleets Its second objective a progress toward the development of advanced- technology electric cars by the early 1990s The electricpowered GrifTon runs by a propulsion battery comprising sixvolt batteries housed in a slideout tray beneath the cargo area With fewer operating parts than conven tional vehicles it has no ignition system clutch transmission or dis tributor he GrifTon easier and less expensive to maintain Designed for shortrange dry use the Griffon vans have a maximum driving distance of about 100 kilome ters The battery has to be recharged overnight for about eight hours al though ft win last for up to five years with repeated recharging Current technology is being applied to batter ies that can provide for a longer driv ing distance Your car can talk to you Sometimes it Ifyourcarsiartssinginglhcbluea it could be a safety warning signal which if neglected could prove serious or even fatal Every clunk wheeze or screech sends a message Ignoring your cars warning signals can be or worse a shortcut to an accident advises the Dealers Safety and Mobility Council DSMC of the High way Users Federation Postponing auto maintenance ii one way to live dangerously says Marvin Council chairman and a new car dealer in Iowa City Iowa In this age of selfservice gas stations vehicle maintenance era often is neglected by motorists urges every driver to listen to his or her car To encourage better vehicle maintenance more than new cor truck and tire dealer members of the Dealers Council loan to community groups free of charge a program entitled Car Care for Safety The minute audiovisual presenta tion explains in laymans terms bow to spot trouble signs in your car van or light truck It describes how a cars specific sounds handling characteristics and dashboard lights can be early warning systems for trouble ahead It teaches drivers how to describe problems accurately to mechanics and stresses the need for regular mainte nance by owners and professional techni cians ALMANDS AUTO SERVICE 305 ARMSTRONG AVE UNIT 2 8779981 TUNEUP SPECIAL