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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1984)
Thursday, April 12, 1984AThe Battalion/Page 11 d ■Sightinj Plans for GM-20 car series announced United Press International LANSING, Mich. — General in Lom;; Motors Corp. outlined Wednes- iay the details of a new series of front-wheel drive, compact cars ftiscontig ;hat will substitute for ill-fated Rndoulil X-cars in the model line-up at ura lady ion said. "esidents wo divisions. The automaker insisted vehi- les, dubbed the GM-20 series, lacements for the X- But trade publica- onavenitMions say the Oldsmobile Omega nation inland Pontiac Phoenix models been a Junction iheJOmj are not re ie Utahb car mode £ la .: will be discontinued after the 1984 model year. Their place in the GM lineup will be taken by GM-20 models called the Oldsmobile Calais and Pontiac Grand Am. The se ries also includes the Buick Somerset Regal. GM will continue to offer the Buick Skylark and Chevrolet Citation X-car models. The Phoenix and Omega models were the slowest sellers of the X-cars, which were the first front-wheel drive autos intro duced by GM in 1979. X-car sales have dropped dramatically in light of alleged brake lockup problems on 1980 models. GM currently is fight ing a Justice Department suit seeking a recall of all 1.1 million 1980 models and penalties of $4 million. GM is keeping the GM-20 models under wraps until pro duction begins. However, the cars reportedly will be about three inches shorter than the current X-car models and weigh about the same. Available on the cars will be a 2.5 liter four-cylinder model and a V-6. Transmissions in clude a five-speed manual and a three-speed automatic, a source said. GM is spending $250 million to revamp two assembly plants and a Fisher Body plant in the Oldsmobile complex, which is the largest single assembly plant operation in North America. It is the first time the Oldsmobile tomes, stores destroyed cs by tornado in Port Arthur facility has built anything be sides that nameplate since the automaker began building cars in 1897. To make way for the GM-20 models, Oldsmobile halted pro duction at Lansing of the rear- wheel drive Oldsmobile Cutlass, the nation’s top-selling car. The autos are still built in Arlington, Texas, and Ste. Therese, Que bec. _ The renovation has forced f. . V .... the layoff of 4,800 workers. Around 2,300 will be called back to work on three shifts when the plants resume pro duction this summer. Union officials said another 1,500 should eventually be called back to work if a fourth shift is added. This would mean a net loss of 1,000jobs. United Auto Workers Local 652 President Gary Watson said his members are “scared” be cause of the layoffs, but said cutbacks now may mean job se curity for others in the future. Oldsmobile General Man ager Joseph Sanchez added the automaker “knows with confi dence that the change to GM-20 is absolutely right for this fa cility.” Quality problems held up production of new luxury C- cars at GM’s new Orion Town ship, Mich., and Wentzville, Mo., plants. But Sanchez said the GM-20 models “are going to be on lime and we are not going to have any problems.” wt their ii : it prop pe II dii vision; sit United Press International PORT ARTHUR — Emer- ;ency crews spent most of the r—/ I , . i lay Wednesday working to fix . a 1 S ue ' 1 rower and telephone lines dam- IP * 1 m ‘ by a tornado that de- troyed several houses and one tore, a police spokesman said. “Probably two or three dozen louses were damaged and a alf dozen were destroyed” by he tornado which spun hrough the Port Acres area on he northwest side of Port Ar bitral 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Pa- rolman David Cagle said. “Nu- houses got extensive amage and there were a lot vith minor damage. It was a miracle no one was njured, he said “We’re real lucky,” he said. There were people sleeping in me of the houses when it was lestroyed. The good lord was ilysis;[» )ntheirside - “It set down in three or four head oh ^ aces ' 4 hopped,” Ca- XutoSafti Sasaki. “First, it touched down a residential area on the hmJiorth side of town, then went only on )ac k U P and came down in the said."F« the depi; is tragicJ move ala irst s, fingers skin ally India nitoring and n of diata familiar, onset dii timsrqt ) survive' :he same pe II. business district on West Port Arthur Road. That’s where it did the most extensive damage, along two blocks of businesses. “Then, it picked up and hit some more houses on the northwest side of town,” he said. No damage estimate was available, he said. Roofs of at least 12 homes were damaged by the high winds and a convenience store was demolished, police said. “It’s totally flattened,” Gagle said of the store. At the height of the storm, about 1,200 people were with out power. “The whole Port Acres area was out of power from last night to this morning and they’re still working on power lines out there and also the tele phones,” Cagle said. “All the phones in that area were out.” Most of the service was re stored by Wednesday af ternoon. Residents whose houses were destroyed moved in with neigh bors or relatives, he said. “I hope its not a sign of what’s to come the rest of the year,” he said. Across the rest of the state, the National Weather Service said a front moving into west Texas Wednesday night would bring little chance of rain to that area, but could mean more dust from west Texas migrating eastward. Mid-afternoon temperatures Wednesday were in the high 70s in the northeast, the Pan handle and the southeast. It was much warmer in south and west Texas where readings in the upper 80s and a few mid-90s were reported. Blustery winds in west Texas and the High Plains were blow ing 25 to 30 mph and gusty from the west or southwest. North central areas had 1() to 20 mph southerly winds and mostly southerly winds around 10 mph were blowing in the eastern half of the state. The forecast called for the front to move rapidly eastward and arrive in central Texas Thursday afternoon. , Alpha Kappa Psi National Professional Business Fraternity announces its 1st Annual Sale of E as j. er "Agg Baskets -candy filled baskets will be sold April 9-17 in the MSC, Commons, & Blocker Building for $5.00. -on campus delivery will be April 18-19. .rr * First Presbyterian Church 1100 Carter Creek Parkway, Bryan 823-8073 Dr. Robert Leslie, Pastor Rev. John McGarey, Associate Pastor SUNDAY: Worship at 8:30AM & 11:00AM Church School at 9:30AM College Class at 9:30AM (Bus fromTAMU Krueger/Dunn 9:10AM Northgate 9:15AM Youth Meeting at 5:00PM Nurseryi All Events 1 8 s TEXAS AVE c 2 m T D > < CARTER CREEK PKY First 4- Presbyterian ■ Church Lucas, Toole tied to another unsolved murder of woman e air bat inflate i protect; er from-' 10.00 30.00 58.00 )8.95 >0.00 39.95 >5.00 7 9.95 15.00 59.95 32.95 irice jrice jrice 1.95 1.95 5.95 7.50 2.95 9.95 6.95 rice! 13.99 11.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 (2.99 United Press International TYLER — Statements from killer Henry his travelim an; I a r Presitfc ivouldto ;onfessed :straints: ee L ucas an< j traveling teSuprt: ompanion Ottis Toole helped er, thatl fear an unsolved Smith County on acted laying, Sheriff Frank Brunt rule and; ajj Wednesday. ationtoj Brunt said he is convinced iticas and Toole killed Nan- vette Warren on Feb 4, 1980. ihe was hanging out the family tash at her Smith County resi lence when gunned down from passing car. The sheriff said Toole ad- nitted trying to scare the theairlu romarl a 8 un - Brunt said he break came when his dep- ed eovcfl traveled to Jacksonville, "fa., to interview Toole in the tate prison cell about several '.resolved murders. PHICM yj e s a j j subsequent tatements by Toole, and c6n- irmed by Lucas, led to the case veing presented to the district ttorney. The death of 36-year-old Catherine Powell in Smith lounty earlier was attributed to ucas and Toole, and the pair lave been indicted for capital murder in her rape and murder in her home. Lucas, convicted of three murders and admitting to more than 350 others, was nearing the end of another murder trial Wednesday. A jury in San An gelo was to receive the case that involved the strangulation of an unidentified woman hitchhiker. 10% off Maroon Counted Cross Stitch fabric on April 13 & 14. Mats and Frames Needlepoint Embroidery Knitting & Crochet call 693-8330 707TexasAve. South Mon.-Fri. 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. n House Sat. & Sun. 10 am A Little Rhyme A Lot of Reasons Seven acres of wooded land Beautifully landscaped with a caring hand. Shrubs and flowers covering the ground Aesthetic sights at this condominium abound. A pool, a spa plus abundant living space Emphasizes the fact that The Oaks is no common place. Each condominium comes with a garage for your car So the morning walk from home to auto won't be very far. Tho' nestled in the trees so green Nearness to A&M makes it oh so ke&n! The close proximity of the shuttle bus route Is one of many important features we'd like to tell you about. The Oaks even has its own security guard Which makes relaxation all the less hard. All agree rent is such a terrible waste But owning a condo shows such economical taste. With the distinct advantages of tax deductions and depreciation Mom and Dad will surely show their unbridled appreciation. So there exists no evidence for further delay - The Oaks of Villa Maria await your arrival today! )/(UA ^Am 1305 W. Villa Maria, Bryan 775-5389 COLDIUGLL Green & Browne Real Estate 209 East University Dr., College Station, 846-5701 opinio and ■ • . cl hy tUilltam StxahcspCrSTC TAmil Tkfcaira Afts I- 'C •: '• ■ -■4 ' i'A - j' April 10 -M 9a4&er Tt> eaira ooo pm Tidk-f Info: 8-J5-Z9JG ON THE WORLD CHINA • 13 COUNTRIES • MAVIS - JUNE 15 • ST700 • 6 MAJOR CITIES • MAY 17 - MAY 30 • S 3100 Deadline April 20 FOR MORE INFO CONTACT MSC TRAVEL. AT 845—ISIS