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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1997)
Ford minivans, Mustangs recalled for faulty panels WASHINGTON (AP) - Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 770,000 Windstar minivans and Mustang sports cars after com plaints the hoods were flying off some of the vehicles, the Company said Thursday. The government’s highway safe ty agency received 45 complaints that the hoods’ top panel detached from the lower, panel, flying off or up against the windshield while the vehicle was moving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The lower panel remains over the engine, secured by the hood latch, the report said. “Ford is addressing the issue and dealers will have parts shortly” to fix the vehicles, said Ford spokeswoman Karen Shaugheessy. Being recalled are J995-96 Windstars and 1994-96 Mhstangs, said NHTSA spokesman Em Hurd. The report said motorists claimed there were two crashes and one injury from the flying hoods. The company has told the govern ment the likely cause Was damage in prior low-speed collisions. The safety agency, in its monthly report on auto defects, also said it has upgraded an investigation into more than 200 complaints of windshield wiper failure in 1992-93 Chrysler minivans. More than 900,000 of those minivans are on the road. Some motorists complained the entire wiper arm was stripped from its pivot in snow or rain and thrown from the minivan. “These failures occur without warning,” the NHTSA report said. No injuries were reported, but Chrysler told the government there were 15,050 warranty claims on the wiper systems. Chrysler redesigned the wiper pivots in May 1993. In another matter, 46 consumers have complained the back of the front seat collapsed in some General Motors Corp. minivans from model years 1990-91. Investigators are looking at the Chevrolet Lumina APV, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Trans Sport minivans. There are ; nearly 190,000 of themon the toad, t l Canada recalfed thosevehicles in March. GM acknowledged that the bolt holding up the seat back : could “fatigue and break off, leav ing the seat back free to pivot rear ward until stopped by the rear seat.” However, the company said the complaint rate about collapsed seats in the United States was much lower than in Canada. The agency also opened some preliminary inquiries into inadver tent air bag deployments. The agency has three other ongoing investigations into air bag deployments in Mazda, Subaru and Chevrolet cars. A ' • ^1 agnostic outlet By Brian Carlson Assignment Reporter Acknowledging that one is an atheist or agnostic ipay not be easy in America’s BibleJBelt, but the Campus Atheists Jind Agnostics want students with doubts about religion to know they are not alone at UNL. Informally organized in August, the group has begun meet ing and recently was recognized by ASUN as an officii student orga nization at tlj^ diversity of Nebraska-Lincoln. “It’s an outlet for students with these ideas to get together and talk in a comfortable atmosphere,” said -pan Augustyn, CAA president. “There really has been no outlet for students with, these types of beliefs.” ; The group was the brainchild of Augustyn, a junior philosophy, math, economics and political sci ence major. He had pondered forming the group for about a year and a half, and in August he joined forces with Jason Nord, a sopho more English and philosophy major who wanted to form a free thought society on campus. Augustyn and Nord merged their groups to provide a forum for discussion of religious and philo sophical problems and of the stig ma associated with being an JSthe ist or agnostic. The group has about 65 to 70 people on its e-mailing list, and both students and professors have expressed interest in the group, Augustyn said. Augustyn. said the group encouraged “truth seekers” and ts c ipate. “We’re not trying to convert anyone,” he said. “We’re certainly open to hearing anyone.” Nord said atheists “get a bad rap,” especially those who have grown up in Christian homes. By bringing its ideas into a public forum, he said, the group hopes to counter the social stigma that comes with straying from orga nized religion. “The things we hold dearest are the things we should question most,” he said. “Otherwise we just sit there, stagnant. The thing I always ask people is, ‘What’s so bad about thinking for yourself?”’ But the organization’s arrival on the UNL scene has not been without controversy. After the group posted signs aroftirff campus advertising a meet ing, several were torn down or had other signs stapled over them. On one occasion, CAA mem bers watched as a group of stu dents ripped down CAA signs three consecutive times in Westbrook Music Hall. When organization members appealed to a campus security officer, he told them “not to overstay our wel come,” Augustyn said. “This is a group that could make some people angry,” Augustyn said. “My question is, why does it make you angry? We’ve taken bold steps to be peaceful.” Members said they enjoyed the chance to participate in lively dis cussion and debate - without being restricted by traditional religious beliefs. “It gives people who are agnos tic, or questioning religion in gen eral, a place to go for other answers,” said Jill Matlock, a sophomore pre-education major. Far from being irrelevant to their lives, members said, religious and ethical questions are of central concern in the quest for truth and meaning in life. “Most of us grew up in Christian homes,” said Mike McQuistan, a junior philosophy, math, economics and political sci ence major. “It’s been such an important issue for such a long time that we can’t just disregard it.” Nick Wiltgen, a senior meteo rology major, said that regardless of one’s religious beliefs, it is important to understand religion’s historical significance. “Ideas shape actions, people and society,” he said. “Anyone toy ing to effect any sort of change needs to analyze the ideas underly ing those actions. “Religion is perhaps one of the broadest and most all-encompass ing” of such ideas, he said. Any honest discussion of reli gion involves asking questions and acknowledging doubt, Augustyn said. “Christians would do well to heed St. Augustine’s warning: ‘Faith without doubt is dead faith,”’ he said. Possible upcoming topics for CAA group discussion include evolution, separation of church and state, the role of the religious right in American politics, para normal activities, the existence of God and the problem of evil. The Campus/ Atheists and Agnostics have set up a Web page that can be accessed at http://lane. uni.edu/CAA. Students who wish to join CAA’s e-mailing list can e-mail Augustyn at 00206925@bigred. unl.edu. Ethand car geared to win ETHANOL from page 1 engine, therefore compressing ethanol more than gasoline would be compressed. Then, you can harness more of the energy released, Hieronymus said. Frank Pruitt, a graduate student on the team, said other changes to ' fuel lines and engine components must be made because ethanol is more corrosive than gasoline. But the team’s biggest challenge could lie in the car’s catalytic convert er, Hieronymus said. The converter changes poisonous carbon monoxide emitted by the engine into carbon dioxide. It also determines how environ mentally friendly the car’s emissions will be, he said. The contest will be heavily weighted on emissions, he said. In the end, the team hopes to have an ethanol vehicle that runs more efficiently and cleaner than any now on the market. Team members said that, unlike other alternative fuels, ethanol has significant potential for widespread use. “They’ve been looking at alterna tive fuels for quite a while, but ethanol is a feasible fuel,” Pruitt said. “Cars will run on it, and run well.” Pruitt said the experience config uring an engine to use alternative fuels is valuable experience for the students working on the car. Students are not paid for their work, but the experience will make them attractive to potential employers. The team is advised by two mechanical engineering faculty advi sors, William Weins, an associate professor, and Professor Alexander Peters. But students develop their own ideas and make all changes to the ethanol car, Pruitt said. Students who worked on a natural gas-powered pick-up truck in 1991 and 1992 were later hired by such companies as Caterpillar, Case Tractors, John Deere,.General Motors and Ford Motor Co. “Part of (the contest) is to pacify the politicians” who have an interest in the state ethanol industry, he said, but the contest could lead to impor tant advances in ethanol-burning engine design. Pruitt said he has worked for more than a decade with alternative fuels, including natural gas and propane. But ethanol is most attractive in the United States, because it is made domestically and could cut the coun try’s dependence on foreign oil, he said. Aaron Thompson, a senior on the team, said his job is to convey the importance of making ethanol vehi cles to companies during the Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. He hopes those companies will see the importance of UNL’s efforts and donate money that could pay for future alternative fuel competitions. Thompson said the Nebraska Com Board, among other Nebraska agencies, already has donated funds to the project “Especially in Nebraska, it’s real valuable to us,” he said. : • •' 1 ' ' 1 H