WHICH TRUCKS AND VANS ENDURE AFTER FIVE YEARS OF
                     OWNERSHIP? J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES NEW STUDY ANSWERS 

                     PR Newswire, March 15, 1995 p0315LA006

                     Full Text

                     AGOURA HILLS, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire/ --
Consumers report that compact pickups
                     are the most dependable of all five-year-old light
truck and van models in J.D. Power and
                     Associates new study on Vehicle Dependability. In fact,
a review of the list of top 1990 models
                     reveals that eight out of the top ten vehicles are
compact pickups. Close to 12,000 original owners
                     of five-year-old compact and full-size pickups, sport
utilities and vans responded based on their last
                     12 months of ownership. Nissan and Toyota trucklines
tie for the top spot in the overall Vehicle
                     Dependability Index (VDI). 

                     "The J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability
Study for trucks includes a wealth of
                     information on how consumers feel about these
increasingly popular vehicles," stated J.D. Power
                     III, president and founder of J.D. Power and
Associates. "Consumers who own these
                     hard-working vehicles demand dependability over the
long term, and the trucks and vans that do
                     well in their individual segments offer endurance to
their owners. These top vehicles may also
                     provide important information for consumers in the
market for a used vehicle." 

                     As mentioned, compact pickups lead all light truck and
van segments. The top model in this
                     segment is the 1990 Dodge Ram 50 Pickup. Compact
pickups are followed by the full-size pickup
                     segment, and the leading model is the GMC C/K -- with
the Chevy C/K pickup one point behind
                     it. The popular compact sport utilities make up the
third highest ranking segment in the study with
                     the 1990 Nissan Pathfinder as the top model. Van
segments are tied as the fourth ranking segment
                     with the Mazda MPV and Volkswagen Vanagon leading the
compact van segment and the Ford
                     Econoline representing full-size vans. The full-size
sport utility segment completes the list of the six
                     light truck segments and is led by the 1990 model year
Toyota Land Cruiser. 

                     According to the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle
Dependability Study-Truck(SM), the
                     following are the best models in each of the six light
truck segments: 

                         Truck Segment              1990 Model Year Vehicle
                         Compact Pickup             Dodge Ram 50 Pickup
                         Full-Size Pickup           GMC C/K Pickup
                         Compact Sport Utility      Nissan Pathfinder
                         Compact Van                Mazda MPV/Volkswagen Vanagon
                         Full-Size Van              Ford Econoline
                         Full-Size Sport Utility    Toyota Land Cruiser

                     At the nameplate level, Nissan and Toyota tie for Best
Overall Truckline in Vehicle Dependability
                     with VDI scores of 109, with the industry average for
all trucks at 92. In rank order, the following
                     round out those makes that are at or above industry
average: Mitsubishi, Mazda, Ford, GMC,
                     Chevrolet and Volkswagen. 

                     This premiere release of the J.D. Power and Associates
Vehicle Dependability Study-Truck(SM) is
                     an extensive report on the long-term dependability of
the light truck market. The light truck market,
                     as represented in the study, is composed of compact and
full-size pickups, sport utilities and vans. 

                     The focus of the Vehicle Dependability Study-Truck is
the past-year problem experience of owners
                     who bought a new personal-use light truck during the
1990 model year and have retained it. It
                     looks at durability of specific items, incidence of
warranty work, rating of work performed and the
                     amount spent in the past year on non-routine repairs.
In addition, the study addresses a wide
                     variety of manufacturer and dealer issues as well as
information of value to manufacturer engineers
                     and product designers. 

                     J.D. Power and Associates is an international marketing
information firm with headquarters in
                     Agoura Hills. The firm also has offices in Detroit;
Torrance, Calif.; Westport, Conn.; Toronto; and
                     Tokyo. J.D. Power and Associates is best known for its
marketing information, consulting and
                     measurement expertise in the areas of consumer opinion
and customer satisfaction. 

                         -0-                       3/15/95

==========================================
PR Newswire, March 16, 1995 p0316LA032

                     Full Text

                     IRVINE, Calif., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda Motor of
America (MMA) today announced
                     that the MPV minivan was named the best vehicle in the
compact van class in the first-ever J.D.
                     Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study -
Truck(SM). The MPV, which shared the top
                     spot in its class with the Volkswagen Vanagon, finished
ahead of such competitors as the Dodge
                     Caravan, Ford Aerostar and Plymouth Voyager. 

                     "We've known for years that the MPV was a solid,
dependable vehicle," said George McCabe,
                     senior vice president and general manager of MMA.
"Still, it is encouraging to have this
                     dependability certified in a study conducted by a
well-known and respected firm such as J.D.
                     Power and Associates." 

                     The study, which surveyed consumers who purchased a
light truck or van during the 1990 model
                     year and have retained it, looks at durability of
specific items, incidence of warranty work, rating of
                     work performed, and the amount spent in the past year
on non-routine repairs. 

                     Since its introduction as a 1989 model, Mazda has sold
more than 225,000 MPVs in the United
                     States, the vast majority of which are still on the road. 

                     J.D. Power and Associates is based in Agoura Hills,
Calif., and is widely regarded as one of the
                     leading U.S. automotive research firms. 

                         -0-                        3/16/95
___________________________________
Derek Drew                           New York, NY
drew@interport.net