In a dry run it refused to start, but by parade time the 1903 Model A was purring nicely. The driver, William Clay Ford, younger brother of Henry II, led 75 Ford cars through Dearborn, Mich., to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary. For Ford, 53, known to sports fans as the owner of the Detroit Lions, the parade was his first public appearance as chairman of the company's executive committee. How does William feel about his new job? "Unless somebody invents a day with more than 24 hours," he says, "more time at the company means less time with the Lions."

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It was billed as the First White House Jazz Festival --and it probably won't be the last. As Dizzy Gillespie and his host hammed it up last week, Herbie Hancock, Eubie Blake, Ornette Coleman and 35 or so other jazz stars played for a throng of guests on the White House lawn. Later, Carter warbled Gillespie's famous refrain: "Salt peanuts, salt peanuts." Asked Gillespie: "Would you like to go on the road with us?" Joked Carter: "After tonight, I may have to."

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Is the sheik chic? Not according to the residents of Beverly Hills, who have been aghast at the $2.4 million mansion that Saudi Arabia's Sheik Mohammad al Fassi painted blue-green and refurbished in rococo kitsch. To appease the neighbors, Mohammad's father Sheik Shams Aldein al Fassi gave a housewarming for 1,000 or so and showed off the improvements: a bathroom decorated with pornographic posters, a basement discotheque, a circular master bed that revolves at the press of a button and stuffed life-size camels. "In my religion, you take care of your neighbors," said the Sheik, who showed his good faith by serving champagne, Maine lobsters, shish-kebab and 30 Ibs. of imported caviar.

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Sparring with the Kremlin is not easy (just ask Jimmy Carter), but Muhammad Ali figured it was worth a round. At the invitation of the Soviets, the exchamp toured the U.S.S.R. for ten days. Although he missed TV and cheeseburgers, he enjoyed early morning jogs through Red Square. "I never saw a people so peaceful and orderly," he said. Looking a paunchy 235 Ibs., he also lumbered through two-round exhibition matches with three top Soviet heavyweights. The highlight of the trip was a 35-minute interview with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev. Recalled Ali: "He gave me a hug, and I gave him a hug. All he talked was peace, peace, peace. I felt like the black President of the U.S."

On the Record

Jimmy Breslin, author (44): "The No. 1 reason any professional writes is to pay the bills. This isn't the Lawn Tennis Association, where you play just for the thrill of it."

Seiji Ozawa, musical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who recently became the first foreigner in many years to conduct concerts in China: "[The Chinese] are dry, they are thirsty. Anything I said, they played it. I almost felt worried because I am not Brahms himself."

Sir Laurence Olivier, actor: "Acting is a masochistic form of exhibitionism. It is not quite the occupation of an adult."

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