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r>; I NORTHWEST HERALD Section C Friday, August30, IMS Page 3 f Wheels h ; Some Saturn neighbors see lifestyle lost By Bill Lohmann feature writer B y B UPI SPRING HILL, Tenn. -- In the spring, the Lochridges - father James and son Randy -- can be found planting the fields of their farm from sunrise to sun­ down and beyond. "We'll go out there at 8 o'clock in the morn­ ing, stay out all day, eat sandwiches off the back of the pickup truck and not come back to the ' house until 4:30 in the morning," says Randy Lochridge. "We'll take a shower, lie down for awhile and be back out thereby 8 a.m." It is rugged work, but the Lochridges love it and it has been that way for generations. But now the Loch­ ridges wonder -- and worry - how many more springs there will be. ~ The family owns more than 400 acres and leases anfrHrefHIOO acres, raising soybeans and beef cattle. But it is all in jeopardy because of the new neighbor - Saturn, a heavenly ar­ rival for Tennessee but a hellish coming for those who work the land. * Land values are soar­ ing and appear ready to run the Lochridges - and other long-time farmers -- right out of business. To outsiders, the solu­ tion appears simple - sell the land,- make a mint and hit the road for paradise. But the Lochridges feel they already live in paradise and losing their farm would be like taking a stake through the heart. "I'm the sixth gener­ ation of Lochridges who have lived on this land," said Randy Lochridge, 26, who first drove a tractor at age 12, earned an agricul­ ture degree at the Uni­ versity of Tennessee in Knoxville, and then re­ turned to help his dad run the family farm. "My great-grandfa­ ther built our house," he says, motioning to the white-framed house across the meadow where he lives with his parents. "Lochridges have been born in there, and Lochridges have died in there. As far back as I can remem­ ber, all I ever wanted to do was farm. "I used to have dreams. But now I just don't see those dreams coming true." Gov. Lamar Alexan­ der, a superb salesman who probably was the pivotal figure in attract­ ing General Motors and its Saturn plant, says he understands Loch- ridge's feelings and might react similarly if a car plant showed up next door. "Tennesseians are very tied to their home- places," Alexander said in an interview. "I un­ derstand that. I'm a seventh-generation East Tennessean. I wouldn't like to move from my home even if Saturn 2 came in my front yard. - "But I also was fortu­ nate enough to grow up in a community -- Mar- yville -- where Alcoa put the world's largest aluminum company. They brought good jobs and good wages ... good families and good communities." Land speculators and realtors have contacted virtually all the farm­ ers around Spring Hill, trying to swing deals for land that would, be prime targets for roads and development. '/For Sale" signs have sprung up all over Spring Hill, and resi­ dents -- who lived for the open spaces, fresh air and simple life -- now busy themselves with land options, tax shelters and other such business, Lochridge said. " W h e n G M f i r s t m a d e the announcement, peo-- pie saw dollar signs and golden opportunities," Lochridge noted. "But now I think the people around here are start­ ing to have some ques­ tions about it. GM talks about the work ethic and good people down here, and in the next breath, they say the United Auto Workers get first shot at the jobs. With his foot propped on the wheel of his John Deere tractor, Loch­ ridge figures Spring Hill farm land -- which brought $800 to $1,000 an acre several months ago -- is now worth up­ wards of $10,000 an acre and he's heard offers of $20,000 an acre. With those kinds of prices, farmers like the Lochridges cannot af­ ford to lease the 900 ex­ tra acres they now farm, much less buy it. "We could probably sell out and live high on the hog, so to speak," Lochridge said. "But we don't wank that. There are so many things that I holct and value that money can't buy. That's why I'm here.-There's a lot of satisfaction in farming. I just don't know what we're going to do." "Everybody's been acting like Tennessee was the big winner in a poker game by getting Saturn. But we don't f e e 1 . m u ' c h l i k e winners." Survey^of AMC car owners shows overall satisfaction Concept car Designers Dave Rees and Darrel Behmer take the wraps off the new Prove V, a fifth in a series of ad­ vanced aerodynamic concept cars at the company's design center. Ford executives claim it has the lowest coefficient of drag of any driveable car in the world. S O U T H F I E L D , M i c h . -- A n independent survey of 1985 Renault, Jeep and AMC vehicle owners, shows overwhelming overall satisfaction, according to Joseph E. Cappy, executive vice president of operations for American Motors. Cappy said that more than 95 percent of the owners are satisfied with their v e h i c l e s , " a n ^extremely high level which demonstrates very forcefully that" our products are attuned to the needs of the buyer in the areas they consider to be most important." T h e b u y e r satisfaction study was conducted by Maritz Market Research Inc., a major independent research company w i t h e x t e n s i v e e x p e r i e n c e i n automotive research. Questionnaires were sent to all retail purchasers of 1985 Renault, Jeep and A M C v e h i c l e s delivered through April of this year. In addition to overall satisfaction, owners were asked to rate various aspects of satisfaction such as condition of vehicles at d e l i v e r y , d e a l e r service, fuel economy, r i d i n g c o m f o r t , handling ease, value for the money and quality. They also were asked if they had any problems and if they would consider purchasing another Renault, Jeep or AMC vehicle in the future. . "Our owners gave t h e i r v e h i c l e s c o n s i s t e n t l y h i g h grades in all of the categories," Cappy said. "The overall satisfaction level for Jeep and Renault was 95.3 percent and for A M C E a g l e , 9 6 . 8 percent. " T h e s t r o n g e s t levels of satisfaction were related to vehicle handling and ride . comfort at 99 and 98 percent, respectively. Overall quality was rated as satisfactory by 95 percent of the respondents." C a p p y s a i d 9 3 percent of the buyers w h o r e t u r n e d questionnaires thought they got value, and 92 percent thought fuel e c o n 0 satisfactory. Condition of the vehicle at d e l i v e r y w a s c o n s i d e r e d satisfactory by 90 p e r c e n t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s , a n d dealer service was c'o n sj d e re d satisfactory by 83 percent. A total of 84 percent indicated they would consider purchasing another Renault, Jeep or AMC product. Cappy said dealer i n a b i l i t y t o f i x problems was the area of greatest concern to owners. " T h e l e v e l o f satisfaction in this area was 73 £ (YEAR-ENDI CLEARANCE ALL 1985 BMW's Urn?- APR FINANCING UP TO 60 MONTHS APR FINANCING £ MAZDAS ANDERSON MOTOR COMPANY 48 MONTHS ANDERSON UNDERSTANDS " ROUTE 31 AT ILL 176 CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS 60014 mmm CRYSTAL LAKE Hours: Mon.-Fri, 9-9 Sat. 9-5, Ciosed Sun. \ 815/ 455-4330 APR FINANCING ORUPTO CASH r t fur ^ a *1000 BACK WTVANS $ STOCK# 85-202 '85% LYNX * 3 DOOR .91 PER MONTH 85 THUNDERBIRDS Save up to *2829! 121 85 CROWN VICTORIA Save up to •2077! *$121.91 for 60 months 8.8% APR FINANCING Title, Tax, License Extra CASH PRICE 5900 Total Deferred Price 7,314.60 FORD UIOODOIfRD%y ROUTES 47 & 14/UI00DST0CK/338-6680 M