FORD GETS THE NOD... from the California Highway Patrol in that bidding war for CHP freeway cruisers, The CHP will take delivery of 400 Mustang- GT pursuit vehicles from Downntown Ford of Sacramento at a cost of $2,747,468. The CUP original iv planned to acquire 200 Mustangs and either 200 Firebirds or Camaros, however the Camaros were much higher priced than the Fords ($6868 versus $10999) and There were no bids at all submitted by Pontiac dealers The Mustangs will have the 5 liter 4 speed engine/transmission pack- age enabling the car to compete with just about anything on the road in terms of acceleration and handling. The...CHP expects to have 192 of the cars byJune 30, with the balance to be delivered later in the year.

REPLACEMENT DIESEL ENGINES ..are available for some Ford trucks. The first available diesel for either replacement or spare parts use will be a 3.7 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged unit made forvans, Club Wagons, and other vehicles based on 1975 and subsequent Econoline models, such as recreational vehicles and panel delivery trunk- By June, the 3.7 engine, displacing 92 horesepower, should be available for all F-series pickups. The final phase of the Ford diesel replacement program sees a 5.6 lifer turbocharged 6 cylinder engine producing 139 horses for both Econoline and F-Series vehicles. Prices are not known at this time, however, one report had the base price near $4000 per engine.

NEW CAR DEALERS OF THE YEAR., have been honored in annual ceremonies by Time magazine, presented in Atlanta at the past NADA convention. Winners included Erich Braun of Braun Cadillac, Orlando, FL, RobertBrewer, Brewer Motor Co., Maharram. KS, Bud Brooks, Brooks Cadillac. Scottsdale, AZ, Jim Convery, Southwest Volkswagen, Houston, TX, T G. Crosby, Crosby, Pontiac-Cadillac- GMC Waycross, GA, and 15 other dealers from, around the nation. AUTOMATIVE FLEETS annual Fleet Dealer Awards will be announced at the A FLA convention in Denver and printed in the next issue of this magazine.

THE FLEET INDUSTRY TO THE RESCUE...again! John DeLorean may not have paid too much attention to the fleet end of the business during his tenure at General Motors, but the automotive entrepreneur, whose empire, built on a two-seat $25,000 sports car, seems to be crashing, is warming to Budget Rent A Car. Budget's president Morris Belzberg and DeLorean have reached agreement, according to the latest reports, for Budget to take on 1200 DeLoreans now sitting forlornly in receivership in a parking lot in Santa Ana, CA. The. DeLorean case is a confusing and complicated one, with rumors of the cars going for incredibly small prices at auctions creeping into AF's offices.

HAS HERTZ FOUND A SUTOR....in a tire company? The Los Angeles Times and Automotive News both report that Firestone and Hertz are talking about getting together for the long haul. The troubled Hertz is being eagerly touted by corporate RCA as a great buy, and Firestone says they are serious about looking at the deal, but are making no other commitments at this time.

SHORT TAKES... Volkswagen of America has joined the club, issuing their first-ever fleet buyer's guide. All 1000 VWOA dealers are being alerted to a new push for fleet business, according to VWOA '$ executive v.p. for sales and marketing Peter Weiher. VW dealers have advised AF that a dealer fleet incentive program is in the offing...Mitsubishi has announced the purchase of a 22.3 acre site in. Cypress, CA (just south of Los Angeles J for the eventual location of their corporate headquarters, national parts distribution center, service training center and western regional headquarters. Terms of the transaction were not announced...Runzheimer reports that 4 cylinder vehicles are as durable as cars with larger engines.

Runzheimer says that in their surveyed fleets, some 82 percent plan to purchase more 4 cylinder vehicles when buying time comes around...Don Beyer Volvo, of Falls Church, VA, has won the 1982 Grand Award for Outstanding Support of Traffic Safety from the Dealer's Safety and Mobility Council..Baldwin United Leasing of Cincinnati, OH, is making available a pocketsized autodease payment planner which facilitates the calculation of monthly leasing payments and permits the dealer to give customers instant comparison between lease payments and monthly installment payments for the same vehicle...Firestone says tires on new front-wheel-drive ears are lasting longer, significantly affecting the industry forecasts of future replacement passenger tire demand,..The Lease Management Review is now being published regularly by the LeMans Group of Lancaster, PA...James McNally, a Ford dealer in Billings, MT, has been named Truck Dealer of the Year by Business Week magazine and the American Truck Dealers Division of the NADA...U.S. Fleet Leasing, a subsidiary of U.S. Leasing International, Inc., has acquired Consolidated Leasing Corp. of Anaheim, CA, for an undisclosed amount of cash. Consolidated Leasing reportedly has assets valued at near $16.4 million... Information on the NAPA Foundation/Wharton School Fleet Administrator certification program (AF. 2-82) is available by writing to Robert Banker, CRM Program, 3508 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104...

AF regretfully announces the passing of Stuard Holman, chairman of the board of Holman Enterprises. He founded Rice and Holman Ford in 1924, and established A.R.I, in 1948. He lived in Morris- town, N.I, and died on April 10 at the age of 86. Also, Milton Feld- mar, chairman of American Warranty Corporation and chief executive officer of United Equitable Corporation, on his 69th birthday March 30. Feldmar was a major force in the automobile service contract business.