GM's dealerships open

GM's dealerships open
in Bandung, Semarang

JAKARTA: PT General Motors Indonesia (GMI) announced last
Thursday that it has opened two new Chevrolet dealerships in
Bandung and Semarang to further strengthen its customer service
outside the Greater Jakarta area.

Both dealerships offer sales, service and spare parts services
operated by two different companies.

The dealership in Bandung is operated by PT Surya Sinergi
Transportama under the Allbrite brand while the one in Semarang
is run by PT Sun Motor. These new facilities bring the total
Chevrolet network across Indonesia to 37 dealerships, six
showroom outlets and five authorized service centers.

"Now that we have a solid range of passenger vehicles in
Indonesia, including award-winning models such as Optra, Aveo and
Spark, our job is to make sure these popular models are
adequately represented especially in other major cities outside
of Jakarta," said Harold Koh, president director of GMI.

Koh added that the company is committed to a US$7.5 million
scheme aimed at providing customers with easy access to highly
professional sales staff, competent mechanics and readily
available spare parts. -- JP

;JP;NVN;
ANPAc..r..
Roadmark-Toyota-contest
Toyota holds technician contest
JP/17/ROAD

Toyota holds
technician contest

JAKARTA: PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) held a National After-Sales
Service Skills Contest divided into five divisions: general
repairs, service advisor, spare parts, body repair and paint
repair.

There were 46 participants from Toyota's main dealers of Auto
2000, New Ratna Motor, Agung Automall, Hadji Kalla and Hasjrat
Abadi.

"Through this contest, we expect to identify qualified service
and parts technicians as part of our after-sales service to our
customers," said PT TAM president Johnny Darmawan.

The company is also preparing a new training program for its
technicians to keep them abreast with the latest developments in
technology. -- JP

;AFP;
ANPAc..u..
US-auto-safety-SUV
Ford to offer anti-rollover device as standard on certain SUVs
JP/20/ROAD

Ford's anti-rollover
device on offer

DETROIT: The Ford Motor Co. is adding a stability control device
to its best-selling Explorer and three other SUVs for the 2005
model year in a bid to prevent rollovers.

On Thursday, the automaker announced that the patented anti-
rollover system would come as standard equipment on its Lincoln
Aviator, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer
sport utility vehicles.

It will be an option in the full-size Ford Expedition, the
automaker said at a preview of its 2005 lineup.

The safety device -- pioneered by the Swedish automaker Volvo,
now owned by the US automaker -- uses a gyroscopic sensor to
determine the vehicle's body roll angle and roll rate.

If it detects the vehicle is about to roll, it applies the
brakes and/or reduces engine power by up to 15 percent to keep
the wheels on the pavement.

Critics of the high-riding vehicles claim that SUVs are
susceptible to rollovers during sharp maneuvers because of the
combination of a higher center of gravity and a narrow wheel
base.

The Ford Explorer has come in for particular criticism, partly
because of the 2000-2001 tire recall fiasco. Ford and its tire
supplier recalled millions of Firestone tires on Explorers after
they were shown to suffer from tread separation at high speeds,
causing rollover accidents.

Regulators traced at least 271 traffic deaths to the
accidents. During the controversy, Bridgestone/Firestone
suggested the design of the Explorer was flawed, but regulators
gave the vehicle a clean bill of health. --AFP

knt-ld/ejp

US-auto-safety-SUV
AFP

GetAFP 2.10 -- JUL 23, 2004 21:59:53