The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 13, 1994 - 3 'U' researchers outline future trends in auto industry *By SCOT WOODS DAILY STAFF REPORTER One day, solar-powered cars may fly along aerial highways, but that's still science fiction. However, in the year 2003, auto- mobiles will be more efficient, more recyclable, and will move from the drawing board to the showroom in less time, according to a report re- .leased Monday by University re- searchers. The several-hundred-page report =co-authored by David Cole, direc- Fair offers .answers to housing queries By MICHELLE FRICKE DAILY STAFF REPORTER Do I have to pay for utilities? How many parking spots are avail- able? These are just a few of the ques- tions students who are seeking homes for the 1994-95 academic year can ask property owners and housing-re- lated agencies at the annual Off-Cam- pus Housing Day today in the Michi- gan Union Ballroom from noon-3 p.m. Sponsored by the University's Housing Information Office, the event allows students to meet prospective 'landlords and gather pertinent infor- mation in one quick jaunt to the Union between classes. More than 50 cam- pus-area property owners will be there to showcase their available units. Sev- eral non-profit housing-related groups, like the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, as well as staff members from the Housing Information Office will also be available to aid students in their quest for housing. The event is usually held at the beginning of each Winter Term, de- spite the fact that many students have already begun their housing search. "We've gotten mixed reviews about when we hold the fair," said Mary Perrydore, senior adviser at the *Housing Information Office. "It's a constant struggle of when to start look- ing for housing. Some students are anxious to start, yet others would like to wait until after finals." Perrydore, who expects more than 800 students to attend today's fair, added that conflicts between land- lords and tenants often arise when students want to sign leases before *winter break. "One problem with starting early is that landlords put pressure on cur- rent tenants to make decisions," Perrydore said. "Personally, I think there's plenty of time to look during winter term. Larger houses may go faster, but students looking in smaller groups still have opportunities now." Although she and her friend started looking for apartments before Thanks- Ogiving, LSA junior Michelle Lewis didn't sign a lease until last week. She agreed with Perrydore that while it helps to start a housing search early, most landlords are not prepared to sign leases until after winter break anyway. "We were a little worried, but we signed our lease last week, and our landlord said we were one of the first *ones to sign for next year," Lewis said. "Most places we called said they weren't starting signing until the middle of January." At the housing fair, students can also inquire about alternative housing arrangements from organizations like the Housing Bureau for Seniors, a group that joins students with older 'people who exchange free or low- cost housing for companionship. tor of the University's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT) and Gerald Londal, a retired General Motors executive - polls hundreds of auto industry experts to make its predictions. "Top people throughout the in- dustry contribute their knowledge," Cole said. "We summarize and pull it all together." The report is intended to be used by people in the automobile industry to see how their forecasts compare to their competitors'. "It provides an ability to match your vision of the future with the consensus of the industry. It's a bench- marking study," Cole said. Brett Smith, a research associate at OSAT, said he believes the report reaches the desks of decision makers at the highest levels of the Big Three. "They're so busy running thecom- pany they lose touch with the busi- ness," he added. "This (report) helps them get back in touch." The report's predictions include: 0 The cost of gasoline will be $1.75 a gallon in 2003, mainly be- cause gas taxes are increasingly at- tractive to politicians. * Corporate average fuel economy standards are expected to increase about 20 percent - from 27.5 miles per gallon to 32 mpg - compared to about a 5 percent increase during the past decade. * The average time necessary to develop and manufacture a car is ex- pected to drop from four or five years to about three years by 2003. More recyclable materials are expected to be incorporated into the manufacture of automobiles, though Cole said 75 percent of cars currently are recycled. "Most people don't re- alize that the car is the most recycled part of our system," Cole said. "They're ahead of aluminum cans and even paper on the list." Driver-side air bags, currently in about half of all new passenger cars, should become a virtual stan- dard by 2003. Smith, who co-authored the sec- tion of the report on the future of materials, said auto makers are envi- ronmentally minded when it comes to choosing materials, but must always keep an eye on the bottom line: cost. "Cost is the most important issue; cost will be the most important issue. Light weight will be important (for better fuel efficiency), but that order is clear," Smith said. Cole summarized the report by saying, "(The experts) believe that the industry is going to continue to change very rapidly." TELL ME A STORY Assembly to work toward student rights, recognition By RONNIE GLASSBERG DAILY STAFF REPORTER The lights dim and the show begins. The members of Michigan Student Assem- bly took their places on stage and announced their plans for the semester. Executive officers and representatives said they will be striving to attain a wide array of goals during the next four months. MSA President Craig Greenberg said work- ing on amendments to the Statement of Stu- dents Rights and Responsibilities, the University's code of non-academic conduct, will be an important issue for the assembly. SNRE Rep. Katie Buckingham criticized the assembly for not involving itself in stu- dents' rights. "Student rights are obviously being taken away. Why don't we get our shit together and take care of that?" Buckingham asked. "Stu- dent rights should be No. 1 on MSA's agenda and it isn't." In the area of students' physical well-ieing, MSA Health Issues Commission Chair Meg Whittaker said her commission is going to work on the health insurance provided to students. "We are going to renegotiate the health insurance that we provide to 3,000 students," Whittaker said. "We want to switch carriers to cut expenses for the students." Whittaker said the apathy she sees in the majority of the representatives is a major prob- lem for the assembly. "We are going to use the rules to compel MSA (representatives) to participate or we're going to kick them off," Whittaker said. One new MSA representatives has already become active in MSA and will serve as vice chair of the communications commission. LSA Rep. Bea Gonzalez, whose friends encouraged her to run for a seat on the assem- bly, said she had a positive view of MSA before joining. But as a representative, she said, she has been disappointed in the political nature of MSA. "The first couple of meetings that I went to there was a lot of yelling and bickering among the people in the parties. I didn't think it was going to be as political as it was," she said. This political bickering won't be eliminated, Greenberg said. "Student governments are always going to be political. There's rarely going to be consen- sus on an issue," he said. "I think MSA this year is much less politically partisan than it has been in the past." Despite the politics, Gonzalez said she be- lieves increasing publicity to students about MSA can improve the assembly's image. For this reason, Gonzalez said the communications committee will begin a newsletter to inform students about the assembly and will go to campus organizations to inform them of MSA money available for student groups. "A lot of organizations don't know that they can ask MSA for money," she said. The Budget Priorities Commission of MSA recommends funding for student groups. LSA Rep. Jacob Stern, who chairs that commission, said his commission will also work to fulfill Gonzalez's goal. "We are going to be actively involved in trying to get more groups to get money from us," Stern said. MARY KOUKHAB/Daily Thirteen-year-old Kea Williams participates in the Peace Neighborhood Association's Youth Alternative Program. The Peace Neighborhood Center, located on Maple Road in Ann Arbor, offers - among a range of activities - substance abuse prevention programs, individual tutoring, job counseling and recreational activities. It is affiliated with the United Way. Russian parliament fractious on eve of Cinton visit; nationalists press demands MOSCOW (AP) - With Presi- dent Clinton arriving yesterday to bolster Russian democracy, Russia's new parliament was already degener- ating into a free-for-all of bickering, name-calling and threats. A dozen anti-American demon- strators who stood in a light snow outside the U.S. Embassy said Clinton shouldn't even bother coming to Moscow. "Clinton - we don't need your advice" said one demonstrator's sign. Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin are scheduled to hold three days of talks on nuclear weapons, the possible expansion of NATO and the sorry state of the Russian economy. Clinton also planned meetings with leading politicians to get a first- hand look at Russia's emerging de- mocracy. His guest list did not include ultra- nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Zhirinovsky aimed his barbs at fellow Russians yesterday, calling a leader of the prominent Women of Russia party "a snake" and saying the party should be called "the Old Maids of Russia." Three leading parliamentary groups stormed out of a meeting on how to divvy up leadership positions after Zhirinovsky demanded to chair the session. Zhirinovsky also an- nounced he wants to be speaker of parliament. The three parties threatened to bar Zhirinovsky's deputies from ruling bodies in the powerful lower house of parliament, the State Duma, if he per- sists in breaking parliamentary rules by speaking out of turn. Zhirinovsky also was targeted by a top politician who claimed in a newspaper interview yesterday to have proof that Zhirinovsky is a former KGB officer whose party is backed by the secret police. Zhirinovsky has denied any KGB links. Zhirinovsky, the Communists and their allies form an anti-Yeltsin ma- jority in parliament, which met for the first time Tuesday. The deputies, elected Dec. 12, have been busy selecting committee chairs, and speakers and attending to other housekeeping matters. They have fought over everything from the rules for forming blocs to when to take a break. Finance Minister Boris Fyodorov, a member of the pro-Yeltsin Russia's Choice bloc, was even harsher, say- ing the Duma was "just like a joke." U.S. troops help hunt Columbian narcotics traffickers BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - American soldiers are helping the Co- lombian government hunt drug traf- fickers and guerrillas by building a military base, operating radars and training Colombian troops, officials said yesterday. The announcement is likely to heighten protests from Colombians already objecting to U.S. soldiers on the Pacific Coast on what the Defense Ministry billed as a "humanitarian mission." In a new policy of openness, Co- lombian military officials gave de- tails about the presence of more than 250 American soldiers in various parts of the country. Some politicians had objected even to the humanitarian mission, which began last week in Juanchaco village, 45 miles west of Cali, home of the world's largest cocaine cartel. AP PHOTO Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky gestures forcefully in an attempt to block debates in the Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament. The nationalist leader wanted to initiate voting. U Correction: The name of Patrick La Pine, the legislative director of the Michigan Collegiate Coalition, was misspelled in Tuesday's Daily. IILT f # For more information and application materials, call us at 764-7521 or visit us at the Pilot Program Office Alice Lloyd Hall 100 South Observatory TODAY!!! Preliminary Deadline is January 20, 1994 I Group Meetings Q Circle K, Michigan Union, Room 2209, 7:30 p.m. Q Intravarsity Christian Fellow- ship, Michigan Union, Ander- son Room, 7 p.m. Michigan Union, Pendelton Room, 6:30 p.m. Events U Distinctions Between Taiwan- ese and Korean Approaches Evolution and Human Behav- ior Program, Rackham East Lecture Room, 4 p.m. 0 Reinventing Politics in Central Europe, speaker: Martin Palous, sponsored by the Cen- " GSTA salary (.40 or .25 fraction) * Tuition waiver " Residence hail single The Pilot Program in Alice Lloyd Residence Hall is seeking Resident Fellows for 1994-95. Resident Fellows are Resident Advisors and teach first-year courses. They have both aca- demic and residence hall responsibilities in- i I I