The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, January 15, 1980-Page I Consumer confidence hits low, survey says By BETH ROSENBERG Consumer confidence is at an all-time low and will continue its downward trend through the first half of 1980, ac- cording to the University's quarterly Survey of Consumer Attitudes., Tight credit conditions and high in- terest rates, especially for houses and cars, have led to considerably lower buying attitudes, the study indicated. THE NOVEMBER 1979 survey, con- ducted by the University's Survey Research Center, placed the Index of Consumer-Sentiment at 63.3, down from 64.5 in August 1979. Although the index has remained largely unchanged since mid-1979, the current level of consumer sentiment represents a significant decline from a year ago when the figure was 75. The November figure is just 5.3 Index points above the ill-time record low recorded in early 1975. Survey Director Richard Curtin said lately consumers have reacted dif- ferently from economic downswings than they have in the past., "In prior recessions, increasing in- flation brought prompt cutbacks in con- sumer spending," the economics professor said. "However, in 1978 and early 1979, as price increases advan- ced, consumers opted to buy in advance rather than opting for postponing pur- chases." BUT ATTITUDES in late 1979 were pessimistic toward spending, Curtin said, and consumers expected their economic situation to worsen in the year ahead. The November 1979 survey is the cen- ter's 112th study providing regular assessments of consumer attitudes and expectations and is used to evaluate economic trends and prospects. Based on a representative sample of 1,307 respondents, the results have a sampling error of four per cent in either direction. Attitudes towards buying houses declined in the November 1979 survey, the report indicated. Only 28 per cent of all families rated buying conditions as favorable for houses in November, down from 46 per cent in August. Nearly two-thirds of all families men- tioned high interest rates as a factor for unfavorable buying conditions, up from 27 per cent in August, the study said. FAVORABLE attitudes toward market conditions for cars were held by 38 per cent of all families in November 1979, similar to the 39 per cent recorded in November 1978. High interest rates were blamed for the unfavorable views toward automobile sales. Forty-four per cent of all families reported they were worse off finan- cially than a year ago, up from 31 per cent in November 1978. The shift in per- sonal financial attitudes was sharper among high-income families, the study indicated. Nearly half of the respondents said their financial situation worsened because of higher prices. Consumers, the survey revealed, ex- pected prices to increase by 11.2 per cent during the 12 months in November 1979, up from 10.4 per cent in 1978 Overall, almost half of all families now expect prices to increase by 10 per cent or more during the next year. Confidence in the government's ability to' combat inflation and unem ployment improved somewhat over the August low point of eight per cent, to a November figure of 10per cent. Not 1 Mr i r 112 s and .fan nOicoe nnin9 ups e alad 1301 11"11 I'll AP Photo Lance heads for courtroom Former federal budget director Bert Lance holds hands with his wife, LaBelle, as they arrive yesterday at federal court in Atlanta. Lance pro- claimed his innocence to the bank fraud charges saying, "I'm ready to go." Area residents debate Judge bars prosecution documents in Pinto trial 'NI I. propQsed ii By PATRICIA HAGEN The proposed interchange at Inter- tate 94 and Platt Road evoked more .than two hours of debate from about 100 concerned area residents at last night's City Council meeting. An interchange at the same site was closed by the state in 1966 because of unsafe conditions and the closeness of the U.S. 23/1-94 interchange less than a mile to the southeast. The council passed a resolution to build a replacement interchange in the future. I& COUNCIL IS scheduled to vote next Monday.-evening to reaffirm the 1966 resolution or to veto the construction of an interchange. A state department of transportation (MDOT) meeting is scheduled for Jan. 23 to consider the issue. * According to the MDOT's negative declaration on the proposed inter- change, the traffic on Platt Road would increase 53 per cent with an inter- change. ntte rchange John Robbins, director of the city transportation department interpreting the report, said traffic projections also indicate that traffic will decrease on State Road and Washtenaw Avenue. The proposed interchange would cost the city about $60,000 with state and federal funds comprising the remain- der of the $4.5 million needed for the project, according to Acting City Ad- ministrator Godfrey Collins. RESIDENTS OF the Platt Road area and representatives of several Ann Ar- bor citizens' groups said the road project would increase traffic, destroy the established residential neigh- borhoods, prompt commercial and in- dustrial development, and damage a 16- acre wetland in the area southeast of the city. Jack Morris, representing the Pit- tsfield Township Planning Commission called. the interchange an "essential addition" to the area's transportation network. From AP and UPI WINAMAC, Ind. - The judge in the trial of Ford Motor Co. on charges of reckless homicide yesterday restricted the prosecution's use of key documents dealing with defective Pinto fuel tanks. Pulaski Circuit Court Judge Harold \Staffeldt ruled that the prosecution may make no use of two documents in which a Ford employee discussed the cost of fixing the Pinto's fuel system in- stead of allowing the cars to be sold as they were and paying damages for burn deaths. PROSECUTOR Michael Cosentino said the documents showed that the automaker put a price on human life, but Staffeldt said they were "pretty far remote from the defects in the 1973 Pin- to" and were irrelevant. Staffeldt also barred use of a third document dealing with rear-end collisions in Ford models other than the. Pinto. But the prosecution scored a key point with the judge's ruling that cer- tain evidence does not have to be limited to federal guidelines. THE CHARGES against the automaker stem from a fiery August 1978 crash in which three teen-age girls burned to death. Their 1973 Pinto sedan exploded when hit from behind by a van traveling 50 mph on a northern Indiana highway near Goshen. While restricting use of the documen- ts as evidence, Staffeldt allowed the prosecution to argue its claim that a jury may decide whether the Pinto should have been able to withstand a rear impact from a vehicle traveling more than 30 mph. The 30 mph limit was set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration in 1977, and Ford attorney James Neal said allowing a jury to set a higher standard would destroy unifor- mity in the automobile industry. "EVERY ENGINEER in Detroit will be subject to prosecution," Neal said. "This is what I see as the problem with this case in its entirety. It's a national industry. You need a uniform stan- dard." Later, he added, "One would think if we met those standards, we would not be subject to prosecution." Bruce Berner, a Valparaiso Univer- sity law professor serving as deputy prosecutor, argued that the federal regulation was only a minimum stan- dard and in no way prohibits the jury from establishing a higher one. Berner also said the federal guidelines should not apply because they were drawn up in 1974 and were not in existence when the Pinto in question - a 1973 model - was designed and built. On three other motions by the automaker, Staffeldt ruled that the prosecution must show that evidenbce about general Pinto design has a direct bearing on the fatal Indiana crash before it can be used in the trial. "The state cannot be permitted to put an expert on the stand to go on about defects that he doesn't even believe had anything to do with this crash," said Malcolm Wheeler, one of Ford's attor- neys. "It would be prejudicial. Ford could not unring that bell." Squid can be as tiny as minnows or as large as whales, according to National Geographic. Squid can weigh as much as two tons and can be as tall as a six- story building from the tops of their heads to the lips of their arms. SUMMER CAMPS The Ann Arbor "Y" is now accepting applications for staff positions at the followingcamps: Camp AI-Gon.Qulan: A resident camp for boys and girls, located on Burt Lake in northern Michigan, June 23-August 10. Senior staff positions, ages 18 and above, available in fol- lowing areas: horseback riding, sail- ing, canoeing, trips, arts and crafts, archery, woodworking, land sports, swimming and waterskiing. Salary plus room and board. Camp Brkett: A day camp for boys and girls, located on Silver Lake near Pinckney, June 16-August 15. Senior staff positions, ages 18 and above, are available for candidates with fol- lowing skills: archery, swimming, sailing, canoeing, arts and crafts, and nature. Applications and additional informa- tion regarding positions at both camps may be obtained by contacting the Ann Arbor "Y", 350 S. Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor,'or call (313) 663-0536. r ,, M"g, W4 ri South University and Church. Beneath the Count of Antipasto. 668-8411 jpm mmmm = u CLIP I 1 t t I I I I t DENTAL STUDENTS, BEWARE! WMdon't care about your caries! Be kind to your sweet tooth for a change. Visit The Little League Ice Cream Bar with this A& M AdMi w w~~ "U TO i ana your i and enjoy a 10TH FAIRY SUNDAE* $1.00 AT HALF PRICEOC Offer good Tuesday, Jan. 15, through Thursday, Jan. 17 rrli lA an d t F rmltv Stow f FILMS Computing Center-Videotape, The DECwriter Terminal and MTS, continuous from 7 p.m.-10 p.m., multi-purpose room, UGLI. Cinema II-The Green Wall, 7, 9 p.m., MLB 3., Ann Arbor Film Co-op-Dr. Strangelove, 7, 10:20 p.m., Aud. A, Angell. Ann Arbor Film Co-op-Killer's Kiss, 8:40 p.m., Aud. A, Angell. SPEAKERS International Center-Bangledesh Ambassador Tobarak Hossain, "Bangladesh and Its Foreign Policy," noon, Intl. Center-free lunch. SIMS-"Introduction to TM," 12, 3,8 p.m., multi-purpose room, UGLI. Museum of Zoology-Phillip Ward, "Systematic & Genetic Relation- ships in a Species Complex of Pnerine Ants," 4 p.m., 1033 Kellogg Dentistry Institute. Bioengineering-Elden Frisch, "Considerations for Biomedical Materials for Implants of Silicone," 4 p.m., 1042 East Engineering. Great Lakes & Marine Environ.-Clifford Rice, "PCBs in the Great Lakes," 4 p.m., Room 165, Chrysler Center. Geology & Minerology-Arvid Johnson, "Forms of Folds," 4 p.m., Room 4001, C.C. Little. Areospace Eng. & Computer, Info. & Control Eng.-Bernard Walsh, "Hughes Communications Satelites: RF Electronics, Present and Future," 4 p.m., Room 1504, East Engineering. Center for-South and Southeast Asian Studies-Bangladesh Ambassador Tobarak Hossain, "Bangladesh and the Burmese Refugee Problem," 8 p.m., Rackham Aud. Human Sexuality Office-Paul Bail, "Self-Energizing and Self- Education Groups for Therapists,"8 p.m., Guild House. PERFORMANCES Barbershop Singing Society-6:30, 8:30 p.m., Briarwood Mall. Ars Musica-Orchestra-Concert: L, 8 p.m., League Ballroom. EXHIBITS Museum of Art-"Eighteenth Century Prints and Drawings," 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Museum of Art. Slusser "Gallery-"Art/Book/Art," "Watercolors, acrylic paintings and collages," Prof. illiam Lewis, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Slusser Gallery. Kelsey Mus .um of Archaeology-"Faces of Immortality," 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. Clements Library-"Eighteenth Century British Architecture," 9 a.m.- noon, 1-5 p.m., Clements Library. Bentley Historical Collections-"Women's Athletics at U-M: The Early Years," 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Natural History Museum-"Indians of the Great Lakes Region," 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., rotunda, Museum of Natural History. Pendleton Arts Center-"Arts Materials from Around the State," 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Pendleton Arts Center. Union Art Gallery-"Ceramics, Sculplture and Printmaking,'" Joan Gallup and Paulene Benio, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Union Art Gallery. Rare Book Room-"Charles Dickens 1812-1870," 10 a.m.-noon, 1-5 p.m., gFn ror cel uven s, racu Ty, - THE LITTLE LEAGUE LOWER LEVEL OF THE MICHIGAN LEAGUE 227 S. INGALLS CAFETERIA Open 11:30 to 1:15 LITTLE LEAGUE Open 7:15 to 4 pm *TOOTH FAIRY SUNDAE: 3 scoops of Heavenly Hash Ice Cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce, piled with whipped cream, sprinkled with chopped walnuts, topped with a cherry. MMMmmmCLIPmmm immm tna's recruiting rrr:V ASK THEM W- on y our campus. Etna Life & Casualty has a continual need for good people. Ambitious people. People heavy with potential. People we can train for rewarding careers- In finance, engineering, business administration, data processing, actuarial science, accounting, underwriting and communications. Discover how Etna Life & Casualty can be the catalyst that ignites your growth potential. Stop by and talk with our campus Ask a Peace Corps volunteer why he teaches business marketing techniques to vegetable farmers in Costa Rica. Ask a VISTA volunteer why she organizes the rural poor in Arkansas to set-up food co-ops. They'll I