Ups And Downs
UPS AND DOWNS
UP: To 13-year-old Eric Capossela, for doing his part to end Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. To bolster awareness of the afflictions, Capossela drew portraits of BMW’s 1994 motorcycles, which were then used to illustrate the company’s 1994 Impressions calendar. Sales of the calendar-$9.95 from BMW motorcycle dealerships-benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). The CCFA says about 2 million people, including Capossela’s older brother Jeff, suffer from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
UP: To Jim Dodson, editor and publisher of Hack’d, a magazine for sidecar devotees, for his publication reaching its 10th anniversary. As Dodson says, “The aim of Hack’d is to again legitimize sidecars in the area of personal transport through accurate reporting, photography, indepth interviews, intriguing feature stories and anything that has to do with sidecars.”
UP: To Kawasaki Motors Corporation, for the continuing success of its two U.S. factories. The company-the first to establish production facilities here for Japanese-designed vehicles—recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the fifth anniversary of its Maryville, Missouri, plant. The factories provide more than 800 fulltime jobs to Americans.
DOWN: To Reuters, a European news service, for a startling error in its coverage of the Australian Grand Prix. Nobody’s perfect, but the Reuters reporter missed the boat in a big way. The writer confused the recently paralyzed Wayne Rainey with Kevin Schwantz. The story said Rainey finished fourth.
