Chrysler Corp. has been named as defendant in a suit filed by two Dodge dealers over the fleet allowance issue. The plaintiffs, Raphael Cohen, president of Merit Motors of Yonkers, N.Y. and Loren Kirkpatrick, a Dodge-Chrysler dealer in Metropolis, III, charge that Chrysler unlawfully sells and leases new cars to fleet users in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Patman-Robinson Act. A class action suit, it was filed in the Federal Court in Washington and seeks on behalf of 5800 franchised Chrysler dealers treble damage and an injunction to halt fleet sales. Meanwhile four Chrysler-Plymouth dealers in Florida have resigned from NADA as a result of the lawsuit ...

Department of Transportation has announced that beginning next year drivers of buses and trucks in interstate commerce must wear seat belts. Violators are subject to criminal prosecution and fines up to $500. Previously, DOT's National Highway Safety Bureau had issued the order that all vehicles used in interstate or foreign commerce which are manufactured after July 1, 1971, must be equipped with safety belts and that older models must have them installed by July 1, 1972. However, DOT's Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety has issued a regulation that seat belt use in interstate trucks and buses is mandatory on those vehicles which already have seat belts. This later regulation goes into effect Aug. 1, 1970 ...

American Motors will offer an optional adjustable air-shock rear suspension on its 1971 senior car lines which can be increased or reduced with a service station air hose. It was developed and designed to maintain correct vehicle height in the rear of cars hauling heavy loads or pulling trailers ...

Chrysler Corp. announced it will enter the sub-compact market with the Plymouth Cricket and the Dodge Colt beginning in Jan. 1971. The Plymouth entry will be sourced initially in England and will be a four-door sedan on a 98 inch wheelbase with an overall length of 162 inches, a width of 62.5 inches and a height of 54.6 inches. The Dodge offering will be shown in two-door hardtop, four-door sedan, and station wagon models will be produced in Japan by Mitsubishi Automotive Co. Its dimensions will be: wheelbase-95.3 inches; overall length-160.6 inches; width-61.4 inches and height-54.5 inches ...

Fairchild Hiller Corporation will develop and build two prototype safety autos at its Farmingdale, N.Y. plant for the Department of Transportation. The $4.5 million contract DOT calls for the delivery within eighteen months of two five-passenger, four-door sedans weighing about 4000 pounds each and having wheelbase in the 116 to 124 inch range. They will be constructed so that no damage will result to them in crashes up to 10 m.p.h. and will feature improved handling, braking, visibility and instrumentation over today's cars ...

Commercial Credit Co. in a quarterly report entitled "Consumer Buying Prospects" predicts that there will be no drop in demand of new cars below the first quarter of 1970. Based on this forecast, they see total new car sales for 1970 by consumers and businesses at about 8.5 million, a drop of about 12 percent below the 1969 purchase rate ...

Douglas Toms, director of National Traffic Safety Bureau, may be resigning before the end of year. Reportedly he is annoyed by red tape hang-ups in the reorganizing of his office and difficulties encountered in recruiting top personnel for his staff. However, in view of the fact that he has stated that he will not leave until he accomplishes a number of objectives-the promulgation of a regulation requiring air bags in newly manufactured cars being one of them-he may be around for some time yet (see Editor's Page) ...

The Yellow Pages National Usage Study, just completed, reveals that nearly 10 million adults in the United States are actively in the market for car or truck rentals each year ...

Hertz will open a new office center in Oklahoma City on a 19.1 acre site that will house facilities for credit card departments, credit and collection, accounting, and related data processing activities ...

American Motors will stick with their '70 fleet allowance program for the '71 model year, according to an AM spokesman. But the corporation will refrain from official confirmation of their status quo position on allowances at this time ...