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

DATE: FRIDAY, October 13, 1995                   TAG: 9510130052
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT                                LENGTH: Medium

BUYING A CAR? WILL THAT BE SMOKING OR NONSMOKING?

Four out of five American drivers don't smoke or let passengers light up in their cars, according to a survey released Thursday that reinforces moves by automakers to make ashtrays optional.

Chrysler made a splash at an auto show last year by introducing new sedans without ashtrays or cigarette lighters - apparently the first mass-market vehicles since the 1930s without standard ashtrays.

``I figured for many years that people were using ashtrays for other purposes,'' said Tom Moulson, a senior vice president at Market Opinion Research, which released the survey on smoking and cars.

The survey by the Farmington Hills, Mich., company found that 78 percent of drivers said they never smoke in the car. Five percent smoke on some trips, while 17 percent almost always light up behind the wheel.

Also, 80 percent said they don't allow passengers to smoke. The telephone survey questioned 1,000 people in July and its results have a margin of error of 3 percentage points. The survey did not ask how many of the 1,000 were smokers.

Its findings bear out the conclusions of market researchers at car companies that are moving toward vehicles without ashtrays. Not only do fewer people smoke, but more car buyers seek all the storage space they can get.

``It was a matter of making the best use of space in the vehicle,'' said Chrysler Corp. spokeswoman Pamela Mahoney. ``By taking out the ash receiver they gain another cup holder.''

Moulson, who worked on an ashtray location task force when he was a researcher at Ford Motor Co., agrees with the concept. ``You can't give people enough storage space.''

At the 1994 North American International Auto Show, Chrysler displayed its new Cirrus and Stratus sedans without ashtrays or cigarette lighters, known in the industry as ``ash receivers'' and ``cigar lighters.''

Chrysler since has introduced other models without them, including the Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger and the company's new minivans. For $15, buyers of those vehicles can add a lighter and an ashtray that fits into a cup holder.

Honda's new Civic models come without ashtrays and lighters, but they can be added by dealers as no-cost options.

Ashtrays may be disappearing, but the 12-volt receptacles that accommodate lighters are proliferating with the increasing use of cellular phones, radar detectors and other devices that tap power from vehicle electrical systems.

New Chevrolet Blazers, for instance, kept their ashtrays but added two extra places to plug in on-the-road appliances, said General Motors spokesman Vincent Muniga.