First 100 days

Q: How long w i l l i t be before this rou nd o f dow nsiz ing is completed? A: What you arc seeing now is the be g inn ing 'o f the second wave o f downsizing, w h ich really was formalized by the revo lt in Iran. We already had started on the downsiz­ ing. The j cars had already been en­ gineered. We increased the capacity o f those cars — we changed all the plans at that point. W e'll start to see this year some o f the results o f that and we’ll see more in the next few years. We’re bringing more new products on the markets this year than any year before in our history. How long it w ill last is not really clear — it all depends on the availability o f fuel. We guess that by about 1985-1986 we w ill have com ­ pleted this cycle. We hope this product line w ill last un til the early ’90s. On the o ther hand, i f fuel goes up to a w o rld price o f S3 a gallon, and the mood o f the country continues in the d irection that i t ’s going — towards smaller cars and a more sterile lifestyle — we w ill be redoing a lo t o f cars w ith in the next six o r seven years. When consumer demand stabilizes, w e’ll stabilize. The w o rld has surely changed. We’re reacting, try ing to lead what they (the consumers) are th inking of. They are changing fast. We’re do ing our damndest to catch up w ith them, but right now they're ahead o f us. When Iran happened, that provoked a change in people’s at­ titudes. Before Iran, people would say there was no energy problem, that it was just created by the o il companies. That was the attitude. Now they say there is a serious problem. Q: What is the progress ofthe diesel? See KEHRL, page 4