Missing Their Zs at Nissan
That groaning over at Nissan corporate headquarters in Carson these days isn’t coming from the engine testing labs. It’s the sound of execs bemoaning Nissan’s recent decision to unload 1987 Stanzas at the expense of a cherished perk: a free company car.
Last month, about 650 of the company’s top brass were ordered to exchange their luxury Maximas, sporty 300ZXs and other models for the slower selling, mid-priced Stanza sedans. Executives are required to drive a Stanza for a minimum of 4,000 miles before getting another company car.
Nissan, which has several months’ supply of Stanzas on hand, says the mandatory trade-in is one of several “inventory-adjustment” moves common to the auto industry. Still, one executive reports that the move is hardly popular. “It hasn’t caused a big stink,” he said. “But there is a lot of disappointment.”
A Big Cheese at Carnation
Nobody thought much about his name when Dick Curd worked for NBC in Burbank or for various public relations firms. But since Curd signed on with Carnation as director of corporate communications last year, he hasn’t heard the end of it.
“I get kidded quite a bit about it,” Curd allowed, noting that Carnation is much more than a dairy company these days. For the record, Curd prefers small.
A Brew Comes ‘Home’
Pasadena Lager sounds like it ought to be home brew. And it’s getting there.
Although Pasadena’s on the label, it’s actually being brewed in Vancouver. The British Columbia cottage brewery has produced Pasadena Lager as a special label on Fridays since last December and ships it south by truck over the weekend. Boasts Michael Tyners of Granville Island Brewing Co.: “They’re drinking it at lunch Monday on Rodeo Drive!”
The company is about to break ground on Colorado Boulevard for Pasadena Brewery, and by year-end expects to produce designer beer to accompany meals in its own 120-seat pub.
SoCal Ed Says Scram, Spot
The meter readers at Southern California Edison are getting a little extra help to fend off Fido. The utility is expecting the first 200 hand-held dog repellers ordered for its 800 field representatives. When activated, the device--called Scram--emits tones that confuse and disorient troublesome dogs but doesn’t hurt them, according the manufacturer.
“We’ve had pretty good luck with pit bulls, but we can’t guarantee it’s going to stop every psychotic pit bull around,” said David G. Arthur, Burbank-based executive vice president of manufacturer Tara Systems. The six-ounce device sells for $65 to $95, depending on how many you buy. SoCal Ed workers reported 38 dog bites in August.
News of a Different Stripe
It outlived dozens of writers, endured countless barbs and even survived a few major jolts on the Richter scale. But the San Francisco Chronicle’s 64-year-old tradition of printing its sports and financial sections on green newsprint is over.
The suspected reasons run from the plausible (economics) to the ridiculous (the loss of green trees in recent fires). But editors say the actual cause was pure logistics: a redesign of the paper that debuted Sept. 14 left “no way to configure the pages” and keep the green newsprint.
Despite the loss of color, the sports section is still called the Sporting Green and now wears a thin green stripe down the left side of the front page. But it may not be enough for The City’s traditionalists. “Remember New Coke?” wrote J. Raymond in a letter to the editors. “I can’t wait for the Classic Chronicle.”
Profit of Doom
Economic doomsayers are proliferating these days, but few people would expect their number to include William E. Simon, the former Treasury secretary, the investor with the renowned Midas touch and all-around Mr. Capitalism. Nonetheless, in a recent interview at a Beverly Hills bank he controls, Simon was downright gloomy in his analysis of the nation’s economic future.
“I do believe the possibility of a major financial collapse is absolutely high,” he said in his customary, emphatic, leave-no-room-for-doubt voice.
How does this pessimistic outlook square with his headlong rush to build a financial empire out of the rubble of troubled savings and loans in Southern California and Hawaii? Simon has a quick answer: “If properly run and in good shape, you are going to have the strength to move in with the next wave of investment when that occurs.”
