The Nation - News from Jan. 5, 1987

BMW has stopped shipping its luxury autos through the Port of Jacksonville in Florida because acid rain ruined the cars’ paint, and other foreign auto makers are considering similar action because of pollution at the port, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported. Twenty foreign auto makers send about 565,000 cars a year through Jacksonville, according to the city’s port authority. BMW of North America Inc. halted its shipments after a shower last Aug. 8 left the paint on 2,000 cars pockmarked and scarred. The city has formed a committee to tackle the problem. Acid rain is formed when sulfur dioxide, usually from industrial emissions, mixes with water in the atmosphere.