[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 13 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          TWO AMERICAN STORIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Bentley] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BENTLEY. Mr. Speaker, two stories were reported last week in the 
Washington Post that I would like to call to your attention. One is the 
Nissan Motor Corp., U.S.A. buy-back offer of its flawed 1987-90 
minivans, the other is about Dr. Jeffrey Wilkerson, a native of 
Maryland, who discovered a lost city in Mexico.
  The Nissan story is remarkable because of the people who have banded 
together to seek justice for the van owners who have suffered through 
four recalls and incurred financial loss with their vans. Remember this 
1987-90 minivan had mechanical problems which led to excessive engine 
heat, including catching fire and burning while being driven. A few 
even caught fire and burned while parked.
  It has been a tough job to attract Nissan's attention and that of the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA]. But all of us 
have persevered. From the Connecticut businessman, George Pasiakos, who 
first brought documentation of the burning vans to my attention, to the 
van owners, particularly those in Florida who demonstrated in the 
street to attract the attention of Nissan--and the attorney generals of 
21 States who, early last spring, petitioned NHTSA to buy back the vans 
or conduct an independent test. Neither was done.
  After working with the van owners, last spring I participated in a 
hearing of the Transportation subcommittee of Appropriations in order 
to ask specific questions of NHTSA. Recently, I requested a General 
Accounting Office [GAO] for an investigation of NHTSA and whether or 
not it adequately fulfilled its role to protect the public.
  I also asked Attorney General Reno to investigate the relationship 
between Nissan and NHTSA since Nissan's counsel is the former general 
counsel for NHTSA. In addition, I wrote Secretary Pena to become 
involved in this issue because lives were at stake. So, with the 
combined efforts of public officials, private citizens, and van owners 
we now have a buy back. There will be more chapters to that tale in the 
future.
  The second story about Dr. Jeffrey Wilkerson is particularly 
thrilling because it shows what the Members of Congress can do working 
together.
  Dr. Wilkerson discovered an ancient port city, El Pital, in Mexico. A 
Washington Post article by Todd Robberson explained that the city 
flourished between A.D. 300 and 600. Its discovery is considered to be 
the most important find in Mexico in over 200 years.
  A veteran of over 20 years of archaeological work in Mexico, Dr. 
Wilkerson's work is supported by the National Geographic Society, the 
New York-based Selz Foundation and the prestigious Mexico city-based 
Group of 100 of Mexico's leading scholars.
  Last fall I worked with my former constituent Dr. Wilkerson by 
helping him secure a permit from the Mexican Government for his work. 
He has asked that I pass along his personal thank you to all those 
Members of this body who signed a Dear Colleague with me to the 
President of Mexico. I want to add my personal thank you to my 
colleague, the distinguished majority leader, Richard Gephardt. He and 
his staff quickly joined this effort recognizing the value of Dr. 
Wilkerson's work.
  This story is a perfect example of how Congress works and what the 
members, working together, can accomplish.
  It is a proud day for all of us who helped in this effort and for Dr. 
Wilkerson's mother Merna Wilkerson and his two sisters, Diana and Susan 
who worked with my office. This acknowledgment would not be complete 
without recognizing President Salinas of Mexico for intervening to make 
certain a permit was granted. Our efforts in aiding Dr. Wilkerson, both 
in the U.S. Congress and President Salinas's role have truly made it 
possible to add to the world's knowledge of man. It is a job well done. 
Jeff Wilkerson says, Thank you.
  Both of these stories reflect the efforts of Americans making our 
system work for the benefit of the public. The van owners helped one 
another, and Members of Congress helped Jeff. America benefited in both 
stories.

                 Nissan Plans to Buy Back C-22 Minivans

                           (By Warren Brown)

       Nissan Motor Corp. U.S.A. announced an unusual offer 
     yesterday to buy back all 33,000 of the C-22 minivans it sold 
     in the United States from 1987 to 1990 because they are 
     vulnerable to engine fires.
       It is only the second time that an auto company has 
     volunteered to buy back all defective vehicles in a U.S. 
     recall, according to federal safety officials. Nissan, which 
     will crush the vans, said the campaign will cost $231 
     million.
       Owners will receive from $5,000 to $7,000 for the minivans, 
     which originally sold for $11,000 to $18,000. The customers 
     also will be offered a $500 coupon good toward the down 
     payment on a new or used vehicle at a Nissan dealer, the 
     company said.
       The C-22 minivans have been recalled by Nissan four times 
     to fix engine problems that could lead to fires.
       The most recent recall, last August, involved fan belts 
     that could break, eventually causing engines to overheat and 
     possibly burst into flame.
       The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not 
     think the fourth recall would work any better than the 
     previous three efforts, and the agency was hinting that it 
     might try to force Nissan to take back the vehicles, a 
     Department of Transportation source said. That approach 
     worked in 1981, when Italian automaker Fiat decided to buy 
     back 4,000 of its 1972-74 Fiat 124 sports cars and sedans 
     that had severe structural rust problems.
       There have been 153 Nissan minivan fires in the United 
     States, according to Nissan and federal safety officials. But 
     there have been no deaths or serious injuries related to 
     those incidents, company and federal officials said.
       The Nissan buyback program will work this way:
       An owner of 1987-90 C-22 minivan must take the vehicle and 
     the title to a Nissan dealer. The buyback price will be based 
     on retail prices listed in the January 1994 issue of the 
     National Automobile Dealers Association Official Used Car 
     Guide. Washington area residents are advised to check the 
     Eastern Edition of the guide.
       For owners who reject the offer, Nissan said, the dealer 
     will reinspect their vans to ensure that the fourth recall 
     repair was done properly. Nissan has promised other services 
     to these customers, including roadside assistance, towing, 
     loaner car services and 100,000-mile warranties.
       Fewer than 300 of the 1990 C-22 minivans were sold in the 
     United States and owners of those cars presumably can expect 
     the highest buyback prices, Nissan officials said.
       In August Nissan initiated a ``cash for equivalent repair 
     value program.'' Under the program, C-22 minivan owners could 
     have chosen a recall repair or the cash value of that repair. 
     An estimated 1,000 C-22 minivan owners chose the cash payout. 
     However, the cash value of a repair is not necessarily the 
     same as the cash value of the minivan.
       Some people who took the cash value of that repair might be 
     eligible for more money, Nissan spokesman Mark Adams said.
       ``Let's say the cash-equivalent value of the repair was 
     $4,000, but that the cash-value of the minivan was $6,000. 
     That customer would still be eligible for a $2,000 check,'' 
     Adams said.
       ``There has never been a buyback program of this scope or 
     magnitude,'' said William A. Boehly, associate administrator 
     of NHTSA for enforcement. Boehly said the agency had been 
     monitoring Nissan's progress with the fourth recall and had 
     expressed to the company ``that we were hopeful that they 
     would take further action.''
       Nissan officials said they acted because their customers 
     were becoming angry.
       ``We felt that it would be easier to keep our customers 
     happy than it would be to try to win them back,'' a Nissan 
     official said. Nissan U.S.A. vice president and general 
     manager Earl Hesterberg said, ``Keeping our customers 
     satisfied is our first priority. That's why we decided to 
     offer this program.''
                                  ____


                [From the Washington Post, Feb. 3, 1994]

                    Mounds May Yield Vast Lost City

                           (By Tod Robberson)

       El Pital, Mexico.--An American archaeologist in this remote 
     village on the Gulf of Mexico says that he has located the 
     site of an ancient port city that is believed to have 
     flourished more than 1,500 years ago, possibly having served 
     as the largest coastal urban center in North America during 
     its life span.
       Although no ground has been broken on the 150 earthen 
     pyramids and other structures at the site, it already is 
     yielding surface artifacts and data indicating that it once 
     served as a key political, cultural and trading center 
     contemporary with the city of Teotihuacan, whose pyramids--up 
     to 200 feet high--still stand near present-day Mexico City.
       Archaeologists long have suspected something lay under the 
     dense vegetation at El Pital, about 60 miles northwest of 
     Veracruz. Now the first scientific survey has depicted it as 
     a lost city whose size and coastal location help fill a 
     longstanding gap in the understanding of trade and migration 
     among pre-Columbian civilizations in this part of Mexico.
       They say the site, unlike other more fortress-like inland 
     cities, appears to have had a distinct function as a center 
     of commerce and food production. This suggests the ancient 
     people who lived here had a more sophisticated social and 
     economic structure than was previously known for the time 
     period--at the dawn of the Mayan civilization some 500 miles 
     to the southeast and 1,000 years before the Aztecs built 
     their society around what is now Mexico City.
       Thousands of people, possibly more than 20,000, may have 
     inhabited the city and its suburbs at its peak of activity 
     between A.D. 300 and 600.
       In addition, scientists are investigating its probable use 
     as a conduit for seagoing trade with pre-Columbian Indian 
     civilizations as far north as the upper Mississippi River, 
     and they say it may have been responsible for the 
     introduction of crops such as corn into the north.
       Archaeologists say they believe certain crops arrived in 
     the Mississippi Valley, along with some native rituals and 
     cultural practices, around the same period as when the El 
     Pital site flourished, but they have never been able to 
     determine whence they came. They say El Pital could yield 
     some important clues.
       Preliminary data are being gathered at the site by a team 
     of archaeologists headed by S. Jeffrey K. Wilkerson, a 
     Maryland native who has lived and worked here in the Gulf 
     Coast state of Veracruz for more than 20 years.
       ``The impression we're getting is that this will turn out 
     to be the largest urban center on the Gulf Coast for this 
     time period,'' Wilkerson said while touring the site, named 
     after a village that now sits atop some of the ruins. ``I 
     think this was the major terminus of a cultural corridor 
     leading from Teotihuacan to the gulf. This is something of a 
     missing link.''
       The core city, its suburbs and satellite communities 
     measure at least 24 miles long and 12 miles wide, with some 
     of its earth-and-stone pyramids reaching heights of 130 feet. 
     Despite its massive size, the site is virtually invisible at 
     ground level because of thick banana plantations and orange 
     groves that now cover the area.
       From a nearby highway, only the tops of three or four cone-
     shaped mounds are visible above the banana palms. Residents 
     of El Pital--including a family whose house sits atop one 
     earthen building--said they do not believe the mounds are 
     pyramids or any other type of ancient structure, but rather 
     are strange, natural lumps that inexplicably have shot up 
     from the otherwise flat coastal plain.
       Wilkerson said no known geological phenomenon could have 
     produced the smooth faces and honed edges of the mounts. 
     Earth and stones--hundreds of thousands of tons--were carried 
     by hand to build the city, he said.
       ``It talks about a lot of power, power to compel people to 
     live in a concentrated area when the natural tendency would 
     be to spread out,'' he explained. ``There was the power to 
     compel people to move lots of earth and build all of this, 
     and the power to manage food production to feed everyone who 
     lived here. Whoever directed it may not have been very well-
     liked by his people.''
       Even to the untrained eye, the site's importance as a large 
     urban center is unmistakable. On a tour with Wilkerson amid 
     heavy rains, hundreds of artifact fragments, potsherds and 
     even slivers of human bone bubbled to the surface atop the 
     pyramids.
       On the surface, Wilkerson's team has found scores of items, 
     including ceremonial sculptures, a sun-god plaque and a foot-
     long, leaf-shaped flint knife possibly used for human 
     sacrifices. Beneath a canopy of banana palms at one section 
     of the site, thousands of pieces of hand-worked pottery--some 
     believed to date back hundreds of years before the time of 
     Christ--litter the ground like discarded cigarette butts 
     after a rock concert.
       Farm tractors and an AT&T telephone crew digging in the 
     area also are churning up relics daily.
       ``For us, this is like an archaeological orgasm,'' said 
     Ramon Mariaca, a visiting archaeology student from Mexico 
     City's Iberoamerican University. ``I doubt I will ever 
     investigate another site like this in my lifetime.''
       According to Wilkerson, preliminary studies indicate a 
     2,500- to 3,000-year human chronology around El Pital. 
     Located nine miles west of the Gulf of Mexico, El Pital is 
     directly linked to the ocean by two slow-moving rivers, the 
     Tres Bocas to the north and the Nautla to the south, 
     perfectly situating it for waterborne commerce along the Gulf 
     Coast.
       To test his theory that it served as an ancient port, 
     Wilkerson traveled both rivers by raft and said they were 
     easily navigable with oars in both directions. He described 
     ``gateway structures'' at strategic junctures along both 
     rivers that could have served as toll stations or other 
     control points for boat traffic serving the city.
       ``You didn't even need to walk to it. You could take your 
     canoe right up to the site,'' he said. ``It is quite possible 
     the city controlled coastal trade at a time we know the 
     Mesoamerican civilization was reaching its zenith,'' said 
     George Stuart, director of archaeological projects at the 
     National Geographic Society in Washington. ``Any time you 
     find a huge ruin, unknown and undug, it adds another part to 
     the larger mosaic. This is of far more than routine 
     importance.''
       National Geographic, the New York-based Selz Foundation and 
     the Mexico City-based Group of 100 have provided funding and 
     support for Wilkerson's work, which he is conducting under 
     authorization from the Mexican government's National 
     Institute of Anthropology and History.
       Wilkerson received permission from the Mexican institute to 
     investigate El Pital only after a long controversy in 1992 
     that led to his expulsion from another archaeological site 
     farther inland along the Nautla River. Supporters of 
     Wilkerson had accused the Mexican institute of plagiarizing 
     his work and distributing confidential information he had 
     submitted as part of an application to investigate the 
     previous site.
       The controversy occurred just as Mexico was launching its 
     lobbying campaign for U.S. congressional ratification of the 
     North American Free Trade Agreement, and it prompted an 
     outcry from members of Congress who claimed that Mexico could 
     not be trusted to safeguard intelligence property rights.
       President Carlos Salinas de Gortari intervened and ordered 
     the institute to grant Wilkerson a permit. But instead of 
     giving him access to his original site, it assigned him to 
     the area of El Pital, which was not regarded as having major 
     archaeological significance.
       Wilkerson said he knew as far back as the 1960s that some 
     ancient mounds existed at El Pital, but he was unaware of its 
     full significance when the Mexican government assigned him 
     the site until he began surveying the extent of the ruins. 
     ``Did I know that it was this large, this extensive, this 
     important? No, absolutely not,'' he said.
       Wilkerson said El Pital almost certainly predated the gulf 
     region's other major pre-Columbian city at El Tajin, 36 miles 
     inland to the north, and ``smothered it'' in terms of size 
     and geographical importance.
       Although El Pital was contemporary with early Maya cities 
     500 miles to the east, the inhabitants of El Pital probably 
     were not Mayan, Wilkerson said. No conclusive data have 
     surfaced to pinpoint their ethnicity, but evidence exists 
     they were indigenous speakers of the Huastec language or 
     migrants speaking the Nahua language commonly found in the 
     civilization of Teotihuacan.
       El Pital also appears to have been contemporary with 
     Teotihuacan, which arose early in the 1st millenium and 
     dominated the Valley of Mexico for roughly 750 years.
       Aside from the rich archaeological yield expected from the 
     study of El Pital, scientists said they hope to answer 
     another critical question: Why would a site of such 
     importance fade out of existence the way it did?
       Wilkerson and Betty J. Meggers, head of the Latin America 
     archaeology section at the Smithsonian Institution, are 
     investigating the possibility that a catastrophic series of 
     floods led to the city's downfall.
       Meggers is studying archaeological effects of ``El Nino,'' 
     the periodic, violent weather fluctuation brought about by 
     sudden shifts of warm water currents into the eastern Pacific 
     Ocean that can cause heavy flooding. She hopes to investigate 
     El Pital as part of a study of a phenomenon called ``mega-
     Nino,'' which theoretically occurs every 500 years and can 
     disrupt weather patterns for decades.
       Wilkerson said an ability to pinpoint a mega-Nino can help 
     scientists predict the arrival of future cycles. ``This is 
     what I feel is of major importance about the site, that the 
     past tells us about the present,'' he said.

                          ____________________