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Published on 04/06/1998 All articles from this issue

Letters to the Editor

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Smart students or grade inflation?

In a recent edition you printed the names of 104 students from Egan Intermediate School who are maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. There are approximately 400 students at that school.

I have never heard of a school in which the top 25 percent of the students are rewarded with a 4.0 GPA. I hope that Egan is filled with very smart students. I fear that grade inflation, the rich cousin of social promotion, is rampant.

B. Allen

(No address given)

Modified beyond recognition

While Clyde Noel is correct in his assessment of the Civic as a basic, no-frills economy car (April 1 Town Crier), he neglected to report on the Mr. Hyde side of the Civic's predominantly Dr. Jekyll personality.

If you travel to any major urban area in the country, you will find Civics, and their automotive cousin, the Acura Integra, modified almost beyond recognition. The aftermarket is flooded with go-fast specialty parts for these two cars.

Being the basic econoboxes that they are, the Civic and Integra make the ideal automotive candidates for customization.

Mr. Noel should go down to Los Angeles or even San Jose and take a ride in a turbocharged, 300 horsepower street machine based on the same humble chassis. I guarantee his impression of the car would be changed!

Edward A. Sanche

Knoxville, Tenn.

LAHS graduate, Class of '94

Key facts behind gas pricing

The April 1 article by Clyde Noel, "Stations pump up prices again," leaves out some key facts.

During the last 10 years, four major oil companies have either left Northern California or stopped doing business altogether.

By Dec. 22, 1998, all service stations and others storing fuels underground will have double containment or cease to do business. This means that oil companies are going to be very selective as to which retail outlets receive the very expensive upgrades needed to meet this new government regulation.

Last year, I spent almost $300,000 to improve my facility. Only high volume, profitable stations will survive.

The last point I'd like to make is best expressed by a local dealer who wrote: "The Bay Area is all abuzz over the 99 cents per gallon (protest pricing) by some B.P and Unocal dealers.

What caught my eye was a Unocal station with a posted street price for unleaded of $1.279. Immediately adjacent to the gasoline price sign was another promotional sign, advertising 20 oz. bottles of coke for only 99 cents.

"Let's see. Coke for $6.33 per gallon, unleaded for $l.28."

Tom Mooney

Rancho Auto Service

Los Altos