“The best quality file cabinet at fi the lowest price. A 2-drawer, letter size cabinet for under $100! 20% off = 2s a, &, ERS STARTS TODAY SORRY NO RAINCHECKS 55” Hockey Red * Beate tet pg stich commen curved tig or left. Senior Reo. 14.97 bee F WORIKWEAR Prices Effective (While Quantities Last) til October 7, 1986 WANETA PLAZA Hwy. 3, Trail, B.C. STORE HOURS: Monday to Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. THE MORE YOU LOOK... THE MORE YOU SAVE THE SENATOR: Teamster Lawson got $72,460 for 14 days By DAVE BLAIKIE Canadian Press OTTAWA — Senator Edward Lawson of Vancouver was paid full salary and expenses of $72,460 for the 1984-85 financial year even though he missed 60 of the 74 days the Senate was in session. Senators are supposed to lose $120 a day — $60 in salary and $60 in tax-free allowances — for each day missed beyond 21 days a session, but they can be absent without being docked if away on “public or official business.” Senators are required to explain in writing any absences beyond 21 days if they claim full salary and expenses, but the reasons they give are confidential and cannot be obtained through the Access to Information Act Proof that they performed public or official business is not required, since asking for it would offend the “privilege” of a senator to be taken at his word. Government senators usually have the most opportun ity to be absent on public on official business, Opposition senators fewer opportunities and Independent senators the fewest of all. Lawson, who sits as an Independent and holds a second job as leader of the 90,000-member Canadian Conference of Teamsters, refused to talk about his attendance record when contacted at national Teamster headquarters in Vancouver. “That's been discussed and reported so many times it's old news,” he snapped. “If you want to be a garbage collector don't try to get me to help you.” RETAINS PATTERN Lawson's 19-per-cent attendance record for 1984-85 was in keeping with a pattern dating back to 1970 when he was appointed to the Senate by former prime minister Pierre Trudeau as a voice for Canadian labor A Canadian Press review of Senate journals a year ago found Lawson had attended less than one Senate sitting in five during his parliamentary career. His missed 977 of 1,219 sitting days from 1970 to mid-1984 For 1985-86, the latest full year for which figures are available, Lawson's attendance dropped to an even lower 14 per cent. He was absent 74 of 86 days the Senate was in session. How much money he collected for 1985-86 is unknown, however, since final accounts are being prepared for publiction. The $72,460 he collected for 1984-85 works out to an average cost to taxpayers of $5,176 for each day he sat in the Senate. It includes $53,250 in salary, $8,650 in tax-free allowances and $10,560 in travel costs. From 1970 to mid-1984, despite an absentee rate of more than 80 per cent, Lawson collected 95.3 per cent of the maximum salary for the period and 84 per cent of the maximum possible tax-free expense money available. The 57-year-old senator has complained pitterly in the past about criticism of his attendance habits, arguing he made clear to Trudeau in 1970 that he would have to divide his time between the Senate and the Teamsters. LIVES IN THE U.S. Besides heading the Canadian Conference of Teamsters, Lawson is an international vice-president of the 1.6-million member union, a job he says makes it necessary for him to spend several months a year in the United States on union business. Lawson sometimes tangles with other senators who resent the bad publicity his attendance habits have generated. After he complained earlier this year about a critical newspaper editorial, Liberal Senator John Godfrey wrote to the editor to say there was no need to publish a correction, given the facts available on the public record. Lawson, angered by Godfrey's remarks in the newspaper, followed up with a blistering personal letter to the Toronto senator “It amused me greatly,” Godfrey says. “I felt like writing back and teiling him that I had read it out at various dinner parties to great hilarity all around. “Somebody once said a man should be judged by his enemies. I'm quite happy to be judged by the fact that he's CAR OWNERS... It's the yuppie mentality,” says expert Robert Appel. “The I'm too busy making money to think about how the car runs’ thinking CAR EXPERT WARY OF NEW ELECTRONICS By KIRK LaPOINT Canadian Press TORONTO He doesn't introduce himself by name. but as “the voice of cars.” Sure enough, journalist Robert Appel will run on, engine-knock and — if treated well give you much mileage for your money On the ignorance of today's car owner: “It's the yuppie mentality; the ‘I'm too busy making money to think about how the car runs’ thinking.” On the introduction of delicate computers and elec tronics into new cars: “It’s going to cause a lot of grief when it comes time to repair them An economical man in a subcompact frame, car critic Appel gets into gear quickly when the topic turns to mechanics. People aren't noticing it right now, but there's going to be a shortage of qualified mechanics in a co the schools aren't turning them out anymor “And get ready, because the young mechanics are angrier. They're not the smiling old men who will happily do a $5 fix it job. They'll charge you $50 an hour and go by the books WRITES BOOK The law student turned author and CBC and CKO radio broadcaster has just written a book for the glove compart ment, The Car Owner's Survival Guide (Random House; $8.75), which tells you what and who to look for when you need help. It's less about hands-on repair than about how to understand what needs to be done, so you'll know what the mechanic means when he says “the boots are ready for a complete R and R.” Appel even offers a promise to owners EEE AEOLIAN EE NS flip to any page at random and he'll guarantee you'll leari. something new Appel's first brush with the frequently cruel world of automotives came with his first used car, while he was at McGill University in 1969. He bought it for $450, poured $900 into it and was lucky to unload it for $300. Still, he developed a passion for cars and found that writing and talking about them allowed him to drive and tinker at will Today, he owns four cars — all of them at least eight years old — and test-drives 30 to 40 new models a year as he writes and speaks volumes on the subtleties of struts and the ambiguities of automatic transmissions. UNDER THE SKIN Life is tricky as a car critic. You rely on manufacturers to supply you with expensive products that in many cases you'll criticize. He's currently under the skin of Hyundai just as he’s been under the skin of others over the years. “It's tought,” he says. “Every once in a while, they'll get ticked off and you can't get your cars to drive and test. But it doesn’t last forever.” What bugs him most isn't manufacturers, but con sumers. He is astounded that people don't take the time to learn about the vehicles into which they strap and hur! themselves 100 kilometres down the highway As he sees it, the current troubled state of car buying is the result of two decades of poor purchase habits In the 1960s, people started buying cars on the basis of style. Even though the oil crisis made people fuel-conscious in the 1970s, a glut of baby boomers came into the market and were more concerned with dazzle than durability Appel says the only saving grace is the increasing number of women in the market for cars. ‘They're more conscious of value,” Appel says. But because they're still generally new to car buying, “they can still be fooled. The Ford Taurus was his No. 1 new-model car this year but his ideal car is 20 years old If you want a great car, buy a 1966 Mustang from California — runs superbly, it'll appreciate in value. any mechanic in town can work on it and parts are still pretty easy to find.” “» CAR COSTS . . . Annual car costs for a compact car range from 18.4 cents a kilometre in Saskatchewan to 19.3 cents per km in Quebec. B.C. SIXTH Quebec the costliest province to run car By CHRIS JERMYN The Canadian Press It costs more to own and operate a car in Quebec than in any other province, says the Canadian Automobile Association. The least expensive province is Saskatchewan. In between, ranked from highest to lowest, based on average annual ownership and operating costs for 1986, are Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Alberta. The Yukon falls between Manitoba and Alberta, while the Northwest Territories isn't ranked The survey compares various costs in each province, including gas, oil, maintenance, insurance, and registration fees. “It should be noted that selected areas within provinces will generate costs above or below the provincial average,” says the association, which commissioned Runzheimer Can ada Inc. of Toronto to study costs. COSTS VARY Annual car costs, assuming 24,000 kilometres are driven, in the low-cost province (Saskatchewan) total $3,884 for a sub-compact or 16.2 cents per kilometre, compared with $4,628 or 19.3 cents per km for the high-cost province of Quebec The range for a compact car from low to high-cost province was $4,408 or 18.4 cents per km to $5,210 or 21.8 cents per km The range for mid-size vehicles was $4,844 or 20.2 cents per km to $5,696 or 23.7 cents per km And if you drive a full-size car, the low to high range is $5,230 or 21.8 cents per km to $6,233 or 26 cents per km Canada has 13 million car owners. The automobile association currently has 2.2 million members. “Annually, more than $20 billion is spent on car purchases, automotive taxes, gasoline, parts, accessories and car insurance,” the association says in a brochure entitled 1986-87 Car Costs. OFFERS HELP And if you want to know how much of that $20 billion is your contribution, here's what the association suggests Break your car costs into two categories — operating (variable) and ownership (fixed) Operating costs include gas and oil, maintenance, tires For gasoline costs record the odometer reading, drive the car under normal conditions and then divide the number of kilometres travelled by litres used Divide the cost of a litre of gas by how far that litre gets you to determine the cost of gasoline per kilometre The same procedure can be used for oil consumption, but add in the complete cost of an oil change. not just the cost of the oil. For maintenance and tire costs, keep accurate records Divide those costs by the number of kilometres driven. When you add all those expenses, you get how much it costs you every time you go one kilometre. Now for those fixed or ownership costs which include insurance, licence and registration fees and depreciation; em * mB Ras and if you don't own your car outright, interest and loan costs. But “federal and provincial sales taxes, which are paid only when the vehicle is bought should be considered part of the total purchase price, (and) should not be pro-rated in calculating annual ownership costs.” To calculate annual depreciation, “subtract the trade-in value of your car from the purchase price and divide by the number of years you owned the car.” Add all those fixed costs and divide by 365, to give the cost per day; or divide the total by the number of kilometres to give cost per kilometre All that done, you will know how much your car costs each day even if you don't drive and how much it costs per kilometre when you do. Or you can figure out total costs per kilometre Maybe you won't want to know Best and worst cars for mileage WASHINGTON (AP) Small Wagon Here is EPA's compilation of — Honda Civie, 30-35 the cars with the best and Mid-size Wagon worst mileage in each size Dodge Aries, Plymouth class Reliant, 24.32. EPA's size classes are the Large Wagon Ford LTD Crown Victoria Mercury Grand Marquis, 17 agency's own, based on terior volume, and are commonly used in the auto industry WORST The first figure is the Two-seater mile achieved on the city Ferrari Testarossa, 10 15. driving t r second Minicompact figure is the mileage achiev Maserati Biturbo, 13-15. ed on ¥ Subcompact Rolls Royce Camargue. 8 10 upe HP. Mid size Rolls Royce Silver Spirit Minicompact and Silver Spur, Bentley Chevrolet Srp Mulsanne and Eight. 8 10. 58. Large Subcompact Rolls Royce Silver Spur Pp a Firef u Limousine, 8 10. Forsa and (he t nt, Small Wagon 44.49 Volkswagen Quantum Compact Synero Wagon, 1721 Ford Escor y Mid size Wagon Lynx, 37 45 Oldsmobile Custom Mid size Cruiser, 16-24 Dodge Ares. Plymouth Large Wagon Reliant. 25 32 Buick Lesabre and Electra Large Pontiac Safari, Chevrolet Saab 9000, 21 2k Caprice. 16 On ee ee