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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 3, 1992                   TAG: 9202030057
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA SWIRSKY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

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SETTING YOUR SIGHTS ON THIS CAR ISN'T EASY

Northrop makes Stealth planes you're not supposed to see. Dodge makes a stealth car that you're supposed to see.

But you say you haven't seen one?

Don't attribute that to some kind of eyesight-absorbing paint job. The Dodge Stealth is hard to spot because, frankly, there aren't that many of them. Especially in the Roanoke Valley.

The top-of-the-line model is part Hot Wheels fantasy and part car-show glitz. The $30,000 Stealth R/T Turbo goes from zero to 60 mph in five seconds, tops out at 160, and looks like an exotic car of the future.

"We've sold about one a month since it came out," said Bob Kaplan, vice president of Dominion Car Co. in Salem, the only dealership in the valley that carries the Stealth. Only two of the 15 Stealths (17 miles per gallon in the city, 23 on the highway) sold through his dealership have been R/T Turbos.

Dodge says only 18,087 Stealths have been sold nationally since they were introduced in the 1991 model year.

Auto aficionados who looked forward to frequent glimpses of the the eye-pleasing auto have been disappointed. They just aren't around.

The car's rareness is what attracted 60-year-old Roanoker Charles McGhee to buy his "play toy."

"I read in a motor magazine that they were only going to make 12,000 in '91. . . . It was a good investment."

McGhee, owner of Magic City Sprinkler Inc., said he doesn't drive his Stealth much. Since he bought his last February, McGhee has put only 98 miles on it.

"Some people buy old cars and store them; I bought a new car," he said. He plans to take his Stealth to car shows.

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