'New Paykan' Touted in Iran

[Reza <davood@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

'New Paykan' Touted in Iran
By BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer
November 19 2001, 2:04 AM PST

TEHRAN, Iran -- At the factory that has churned out the little Paykan
sedan for 34 years, an executive groped for a way to describe the car's
meaning to Iran.

"The Paykan is like a vampire," Mehrdad Farsayyad finally said. "It's
immortal."

But they may be sharpening the wooden stakes.

Automaker Iran Khodro Co. plans to introduce the Samand, or Tawny
Stallion, next month. Informally, it's called the "new Paykan" -- a sign
that the humble workhorse of Iran's roads may be rolling into its
twilight years.

No one is forecasting when -- or even if -- the Paykan could end a
production run that began in 1967. But Iran Khodro executives admit time
could be running out for the plucky Paykan, which is as intertwined with
Iranian lore as Italy's venerable Fiat 500 or the pip-squeak Trabants
that putted through former East Germany.
FULL TEXT:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-plucky-paykan1119nov19.story