Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 19, 1991 TAG: 9102190038
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Tammy Poole
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Q: I desperately need help on cutting down on the junk mail I receive. L.A., Roanoke County
A: Write to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 6 East 43rd St., P.O. Box 3861, Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y. 10163.
If you don't wish to quit receiving all direct-mail advertising, contact the companies whose catalogs or letters you still want and ask that you remain on their mailing list but specify that they should not release your name and address to anyone else.
\ Chrysler takes to phones
Chrysler Corp. of Highland Park, Mich., is taking to the telephone in a massive public-relations effort to counter what it says is the mistaken impression that one model of automatic transmission that the company puts in its vehicles is unreliable.
The nation's third-largest automaker will call up to 1.1 million customers to be sure they are satisfied with the performance of the Chrysler Ultradrive transmission, company spokesman Tony Cervone said recently.
He estimated that 1.4 million minivans and cars were sold with Ultradrive transmissions and that there are between 1 million and 1.1 million owners.
The transmissions, the industry's first four-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission, came under fire for allegedly sticking in second gear, causing potential safety problems. Consumer Reports magazine recently criticized the Ultradrive transmission, advising readers to avoid cars and minivans equipped with it.
Chrysler's best-selling and most popular vehicles are its Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan minivan models.
Chrysler has acknowledged it had a problem with the transmissions shortly after they were introduced in 1989, but says the problems have since been solved and customer complaints are dwindling.
"The misconception here is that the vast majority of people are unsatisfied," Cervone said. "We're going to call each and every one to make sure they are satisfied."
The calls should begin in about a week.
In the meantime Chrysler has also launched a large advertising campaign touting the company's minivans as the only vehicles in their class equipped with air bags. The advertisements do not make any mention of the furor over the Ultradrive transmission.
by CNB