Test? What Test? Nobody Here But Us...
Test? What Test? Nobody Here But Us Gorillas
A tipster says a super-secret Nissan automobile is being tested at the old Carlsbad Speedway.
At Large drives east on Palomar Airport Road, then north on Business Park Drive. Tomato fields are giving way to industrial parks.
The speedway is rundown, weedy, abandoned-looking. An ancient sign with
peeling paint beckons: “Home of the Nissan U. S. Grand Prix of Motocross.”
Down a long and bumpy road, gravel and dust flying, nobody in sight. Then two men appear and walk toward the car. They are resolute: no questions, no answers, no chitchat.
Gorilla One: “I’m telling you to leave immediately. This is a private test on private property. You are not welcome here.”
Gorilla Two: “We called the cops on the last reporter who came snooping around. We shudda just knocked out his teeth.”
At Large: “I see your point. I think I’ll do the rest of this item by telephone. Have a nice day.”
By phone, a spokeswoman for Nissan Design International in La Jolla says no testing is under way at Carlsbad. Maybe the Product Planning Division in Los Angeles is testing, she says.
The director of product planning isn’t talking. Instead, the manager of corporate public relations for Nissan Motor Corp. USA returns the call.
Yes, a “consumer test” is under way, but he can’t say what was being tested or by whom. Sometimes Nissan does its own testing, sometimes it hires outsiders. He hopes the gorillas weren’t rude or threatening--”All in a day’s column,” At Large assures--but he stresses that “security is one of the higher priorities” in tests like this.
Carlsbad is a favorite testing site because it’s secluded and allows Nissan to gauge the Southern California market. If word of a test leaks out, photographers from car magazines and competing car companies sprout from the ground like goosed gophers.
Conclusion: If your new Nissan in coming years is more comfy, has more leg room, more head room and bucket seats that fit your bucket, remember a semi-confrontation on a rutted road in Carlsbad.
And don’t tell anyone you heard it here first.
Right Idea, Wrong Firm
In sore need of some image polishing in San Diego, Southern California Edison boss Howard P. Allen is shopping for a local public relations firm to carry his case to the public and politicians. But even there his sense of timing has been out of kilter.
A tentative inquiry was made this week to Stoorza, Ziegaus & Metzger, the city’s largest PR firm. Don’t look for them to fly Allen’s banner, regardless of how lucrative.
Gail Stoorza was just sworn in as chairman of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, which is pledged to fight the SDG&E; sellout. And, among the firm’s clients is the San Diego County Water Authority, which may try to buy the utility lest it be swallowed by Edison.
Ornamental Crime
The latest fad among Escondido teen-agers is snapping off the distinctive hood ornaments from Mercedes-Benzes.
Richard Murphy, parts manager for Escondido Motors, the local Mercedes dealership, figures he has sold 140 replacements in the past two months--at $20 to $30 apiece.
“I’ve been with Mercedes for nearly 19 years, and I’ve never seen it this bad,” Murphy said. Mercedes owners--an estimated 6,000 in inland North County--are not amused.
“A guy who has to replace his ornament once takes it in stride,” Murphy said. “The second time, he’s ticked off. The third time, he’s mad as hell.”
Teen-agers caught with the ornaments swinging from their belts or hanging from their necks claim they bought them at swap meets or from friends whose names they don’t remember.
“Without catching someone in the act, it’s pretty tough,” said police Sgt. Dale Whaley. “How can you tell which ornament came from which hood?”
