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Wh ee aden By LINWOOD BARCLAY OJR. Staff Writer * It was-a-bad year for the Forti Motor Co. of Canada and its parent company in it, with losses running into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and Ford LTDs sitting unsold in dealers" lots because buyeks turned to more fuel-efficient cars. But while thé North American company pondered over how to pull itself out of a deep, financial hole, the European branch of Ford was doing as well as it ever did, and still is. The Ford Cortina is the best sellifig car in Great Britain, ac- counting for an astounding 14 per cent of all car sales in that ~ country. The European version of the Ford Granada, a sleek sedan considered large over there, but mid-sized over here, and. the Ford Fiesta economy model, continue to sell briskly. @Ford’s solution to its North American woes appears to be obvious to-any Canadian who has stood on The Strand in London and watched all the Fords race past. Start producing the Euro- pean models over here instead of waiting Yéars to introduce new cars like the 1981 front-wheel-drive Escort and Lynx. ~ But it’s not that simple. 24 Pages THE OAKVILLE Journa As John Roberts, vice-president of public affairs for Ford of Canada, explained, Ford does not bring its European products to North America (with some exceptions such as the Fiesta) for a variety of reasons that range from differing government regulations to high costs. = Any European car coming to the United States and Canada “must be ‘‘federalized"* — it must meet all federal government regulations that include everything from exhaust emission stan- y can’t Ford build its own ‘Imports’ here? dards to bumper size, and in the case of British cars, a shift from right to left hand drive. ‘To federalize a car that’s already in production is an ex- tremely costly, and in some cases, unsatisfactory move to take,” Mr. Roberts said. Rather than adapt a British car — which is made to less stringent emission laws — to the United States, the company is further ahead to design a domestic car that takes in the country’s regulations from the moment it is conceived on the drawing board. ‘The expense is not usually justified,” said Mr. Roberts, es- pecially when considering the potential sales of some foreign made cars. i American laws require that 75 per cent of a car's com- ponénts must be made in the United States if it is to be con- sidered in the company’s fleet average for fuel economy. U.S. cars must meet a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 22 miles per U.S. gallon in 1981. Any American car company whose entire car line does not average 22 miles per gallon faces millions of dollars in fines, Mr. Roberts said. : Continued on Page 3 Friday, September 19, 1980 1] Record 25 cents Draft surcharge study for region's eyes only By CAROL BESLER OJR Staff Writer A-draft report on the impact of the region’s controversial sewer sur- charge program will not be made public, regional council decided Wednesday. Consultants hired for the study, Price Waterhouse Associates, will present their findings at a joint meeting of the sewer rate com- mittee and the administration and finance committee, Sept. 22. The public and press were initially invited to attend the meeting but Bill Mathews, a firm spokesman re- quested the draft report be kept con- fidential and ‘circulation of the document be limited as much as possible.” Mr. Mathews expressed concern “over the company’s reputation related to the quality of the report. He said the report was a “working’’ document and may be subject to change when discussed with @ommittee and council members — “Therefore if the draft is made public and then two weeks later the final report is made public, that may lead to some confusion in the mind of the public at large as to what the financing method and rates, if any, actually are,”’ he stated in his written request to council Wednesday. Burlington Councillor - Joan 'Allingham reminded councillors that when a preliminary report was presented to the sewer rate com- mittee Aug. 19, the meeting, although unannounced, was not in camera. Ceo The OJR attended the latter part of the meeting but was asked ta leave by Mrs. Allingham because thes meeting was almost over and she wanted the press _to’have a complete picture of the report. 75% Opposed She later disclosed the results of the report in a telephone interview. The report revealed 75 per cent of Halton residents were opposed to the sewer surcharge and preferred the former method of paying sewer rates on property tax bills. It was then disclosed, however, that the consultants would not likely recom- mend the current system be aban- doned. According to Mrs. Allingham, tHe consultants suggested the region had three choices: Maintain its present surcharge system; return to the mill rate system; or adopt a modified surcharge system. She added that a modified system seemed most fair. Burlington Mayor Roly Bird said at Wednesday's meeting he is not concerned about the opportunity for public input at the up-coming meeting. ‘‘They’ve already had their input. There’s been enough,’’ he said. He said he would attend the meeting, although he is not a member of either committee, that he wouldn't be there to question or debate the report, but would listen. ‘‘And I hope you all do the same,” he said to the other councillors. Burlington Councillor David LaCombe agreed, saying all coun- cillors should attend the meeting but it shouldn't be turned into a circus Continued on Page 3 Another regional deficit, page 3 INSIDE Friends Disapproval A further report to council Oct. 15, will include a summary chapter of the study and a series of recommen- dations, he explained, and suggested the report be made public then. His request met with some dis- approval by councillors who pointed out that meetings are usually held in camera only when matters dealing but if you're planning on with personnel, litigation or the making Christmas gifts purchase of property are concerned. or decorations, now’s Oakville Councillor and Public the time. For help, turn Works Committee Chairman Ron to today’s Weekend Planche questioned the basis of Mr. SSGHOR. “atatting “ore Mathew’s request. p 10 i “If the press and the public can- ie 5 neal not..attend the meeting,” he said, “there will be no opportunity for public input. “This is-controversial matter. The public should not be kept from it.”’ Mr. Mathews explained that it was only a draft report. ‘‘We don’t even want the company name on it, because it is subject to change and not finalized yet. It’s strictly a dis- © cussion report at this time,”’ he said. “People should still be able to attend,”’ Mr. Planche maintained, “only we'll make sure they under- - ‘ Stand‘ the ‘report is not yet’ final.” In the second of two parts, the founder of the Friends of Schizophrenics group tells how and why he started the organization, and an official with the ministry of health ex- plains changes to a controversial act. Page 2. Christmas Christmas? That's right. it may seem premature, ‘Did you Wintario? The following are the winning numbers from last night's Wintario draw. For a complete list, see Page 14. $100,000 — 652318 $26,000 — 171362 $25,000 — 773716 $25,000 — 641822 $25,000 — 006667 $1,000 — 83263 $100 — 0276 $10 — 222 Winfall — 89 Editorial » = a OJR/Tom Burley g for, GOALS: -pobert Hiscock, chairman of the Viewpoints TV Listings Classified Real Estate A Metrospan Community Newspaper