Word: auto
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...from California? Look at your auto insurance bill. You'll see that 1% is earmarked for the insurance guaranty fund. Right now, that's enough to cover the occasional insolvency. But what if Transit Casualty proves to be an omen rather than an isolated incident? Here was this little company that never earned more than $60 million in net premiums in any year -- peanuts, in the insurance industry -- and then went broke. How much of a problem can that be, one wonders? How much can a company like that lose...
Aggravating the slump is a worldwide credit crunch that affects everyone from auto shoppers to Third World governments. Many lenders who were burned by bad loans in the 1980s are now prudent to a fault. Says Jacobs: "The banks are basically pushing panic buttons everywhere. They are saying, 'We don't care about your situation, we want our money now.' " At the same time, the big cash exporters of the 1980s now have little to spare. Japan, which was a net buyer of $26 billion in U.S. bonds last year, dumped them to the tune of $9 billion...
...Between 1977 and 1985, while the number of registered automobiles increased by 20 percent, oil consumption declined by 15 percent. The energy savings directly attributable to the conservation measures of the Carter era amount to more than $150 billion per year. Yet the Reagan administration bowed to pressure from auto manufactures and rolled back fuel economy standards...
...years in the House, Pierce has gained plenty of experience attacking Democrats--but none running an extensive office or leading an effective legislative effort. In typical opposition tradition, his proposals are sketchy and draconian. Medicaid too expensive? Charge the poor for necessary medical services. Auto insurance premiums too high? Deregulate the industry and allow insurance firms to charge whatever they want. Welfare costing too much? Cut off employment and training benefits to aliens. Pierce has also earned low marks from environmental and women's groups...
...Japanese, the venture into luxury cars is a long-term experiment that will determine the industry's direction in the 1990s. Lexus' success is the product of a lengthy exercise in product development, even by Japanese standards. Toyota spent six years and more than $1 billion developing the auto, and built 450 prototypes -- three times the usual number -- to get the product right. The firm spent two years just deciding on the type of leather interior to use, and top management pondered for three years before approving the car's styling...