Fallout from a German Strike

Big spenders who plan to buy a West German luxury car this summer had better hurry to the showroom or they may be left clutching their cash. A six-week-long strike by West German metalworkers, who are pressing for a 35-hour week without a reduction in pay, has idled the country's auto industry. As a result, U.S. inventories of Mercedes-Benz and BMW models will probably run out some time in July. Once the strike is settled, it will take a month for new shipments of the cars to arrive.

The walkout could affect the availability of America's best-selling German auto, the Volkswagen. Though VW builds cars in the U.S., its American production is in jeopardy because key parts must come from Germany. The company's plant in New Stanton, Pa., has been gearing up for a planned November introduction of the Golf (expected price range: $7,500 to $11,500), a restyled and renamed version of the slow-selling Rabbit. But unless the German metalworkers go back to work within two weeks, the Golf may be delayed, and the 2,700 workers at the New Stanton factory could face extended layoffs.