Don't Brake for Chicken Little

[John Greenstreet <jgreenst@motown.ge.com>]

I ran across this little nugget whilst on America On-line last nite and 
thought it was a fairly good appraisal of today's video "journalism":

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                               CHICAGO TRIBUNE
                        Copyright Chicago Tribune 1995
                                                              TAG: 9501020181
DATE: Monday, January 2, 1995           EDITION: NORTH SPORTS FINAL
SECTION: BUSINESS                       PAGE: 6                   ZONE: CN
SOURCE: Jim Mateja, Auto writer.
LENGTH:  109 lines

                       DON'T BRAKE FOR CHICKEN LITTLES

   Take a few days off and all heck breaks loose.
   We experienced a call to alarm while vacationing, flipping on the tube and
hearing the anchorperson state: "Not safe to drive in an air-bag car anymore,
details at 10."
   So we quickly turned the channel and the next anchor was hollering:
   "Run for your life, air-bag cars not safe."
   So we pushed the remote to the next station on which the anchor was
screaming as tears ran down her face and a medic was administering a
sedative:
   "Get in an air-bag car and you'll never make it out alive," she bellowed,
while continuing to maintain eye contact with the camera.
   Hmm. Sounds serious. We ran to the front window to see if Volvo owners
were abandoning their cars along the side of the road. No such luck.
Obviously, Volvo owners watch cable.
   So we took the bait, kept the TV on and waited until 10 p.m. when the
teases began all over again.
   "Wanna die? Air-bag cars will show you how. Stay tuned."
   So we stayed tuned and stay tuned and stay tuned and finally came word of
the study by Virginia Commonwealth University economists that said folks who
drive air-bag-equipped cars tend to take more risks than those who have cars
without the protective bags. Motorists with an air cushion in the steering
wheel hub or dash think they are immune from harm because that nylon cushion
will keep them safe. They take chances and boom, an accident results.
   It's the same problem this nation experienced when front-wheel-drive cars
became the norm. Folks thought front-wheel-drive meant their vehicle was now
a snowplow that could drive through the worst conditions as if the roads were
dry. So instead of slowing down they speeded up. And boom, an accident
resulted.
   And it was only a few months ago that an insurance group released a study
saying antilock brakes were a hazard because people in cars equipped with ABS
were involved in more accidents than those without ABS. If you read between
the lines you realized the problem with ABS cars was people didn't know how
to use them. They'd apply the brakes in an emergency, feel a strange
pulsating from the pedal, quickly take their foot off the pedal because they
sensed something was wrong and, boom, an accident resulted.
   Now, if the salesman had only stopped to tell them the pulsating pedal was
the signal ABS was working rather than spend the time trying to sell them an
extended warranty, those in ABS cars wouldn't have gotten in as many
accidents. But we digress.
   The Virginia Commonwealth study wasn't an indictment of air-bag-equipped
cars, it was an indictment of those who drive air-bag-equipped cars, the same
folks who put too much confidence in front-wheel drive and too little faith
in ABS.
   The cars are fine, the bags are fine, it's the people behind the wheel who
are the blockheads. Of course, if you turned on the tube and the evening
anchor screamed, "You're a blockhead. Details at 10," you probably would join
the Volvo folks and turn to cable.
   Satisfied that air bags aren't going to lead to the ruination of mankind,
we resumed our vacation, only to make the mistake of turning on the tube
again a few days latter.
   Same station, same anchor, only this time he said:
   "Starting Jan. 1 we can all breathe again-reformulated gas on the way."
   So we struck the remote and there was another anchor:
   "Starting Jan. 1 you will be able to see the sun again-reformulated gas on
the way."
   Flipping the channel, there was that anchor again, screaming and frothing
at the mouth as a medic stood by administering oxygen.
   "You don't have to die and I'll tell you why. Reformulated gas-details at
10."
   Hmm. Sounded serious. We ran to the front window to see if any Volvo
owners had stopped along the road to abandon their cars with the killer
regular lead-free gas in their tanks. No such luck. Blame cable.
   So we took the bait and waited until 10 p.m. After about 15 minutes and
three or four teasers warning us to stay tuned if we wanted to learn how to
breath clean air again and avoid suffocation at the hands of our cars, the
newsman issued his report. He said the petroleum companies have to start
pumping cleaner-burning reformulated fuel into our vehicles starting Jan. 1
to meet a government mandate about pollution-free air.
   Intrigued about reformulated fuel, we slipped on a coat and headed for the
24-hour Amoco to see what this mystical, magical elixir might be. We surveyed
the pump only to find a new sign had been placed on it in advance of the
deadline for reformulated fuel. And the sign read:
   "This pump contains 10 percent ethanol."
   Magical elixir? Miracle cure?
   This is the same stuff Illinois has been trying to foist on motorists for
years. Ethanol. Gasoline diluted with alcohol. Now it's called reformulated
gas. What's in a name? Try 10 percent alcohol.
   So we called Amoco to find out what gives. Amoco, after all, was one of
the leading opponents of ethanol, saying it caused rough starts and didn't
provide the same mileage as straight gasoline.
   Yes, the reformulated gas is ethanol, we were told, but not ethanol as we
used to know it. Amoco had railed against the blend, which was made by taking
already-refined gasoline and then sticking 10 percent alcohol in it as a
chaser after it left the refinery. Amoco called that concoction "witches
brew." Reformulated gas, on the other hand, blends the alcohol in at the
refinery to avoid the problems of rough starts or cold-weather starts.
   And the loss of mileage from diluted gas?
   About 3 percent, we were told.
   And the cost?
   Well, it cost 4 to 6 cents a gallon more just to make and that doesn't
count the cost of distribution, we were told.
   So, in order to clean up the air, we are going to burn 3 percent more fuel
and pay at least 6 cents a gallon more to do so.
   The lesson?
   Get cable.

KEYWORDS: VEHICLE   CONSUMER   SAFETY



Transmitted:  95-01-02 06:34:58 EST


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