Monday, Mar. 28, 1983

No Parking

Don't take your Datsun when you go to visit Richard Moe, chairman of Delta Rubber Co. in Danielson, Conn. Moe's company makes seals for the ball bearings used in American-made autos, and the Japanese invasion of the U.S. market bothers him. Now he has decided to stop it the only place he can: at the edge of Delta's parking lot. Since Jan. 1, suppliers arriving in Toyotas and their ilk have had to look elsewhere for a space. The only exception: Delta employees who already owned Japanese cars, but no 1983 models, please.

Moe says that the last straw came when he arrived at a wedding reception last year and found Japanese cars in all the parking places. That helped provoke him to impose the ban. As he puts it, "It's time Americans supported Americans. The job you save may be your own." Delta workers are understandably sympathetic to Moe's logic, so much so that more and more of them are dropping by local showrooms to see what Detroit has to offer. Moe drives a Chevrolet Corvette, but he admits, somewhat sheepishly, to owning a twelve-year-old Sony TV. If it ever wears out, he'll buy American. Meanwhile, Moe's philosophy gives no quarter to visitors like the copy-machine repairman who groused about having to park by the Little League field across the street. Said Moe: "If he doesn't like it, let him walk." This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.