AUTOS : Chevrolet Will Offer Roadside Aid to Drivers

DETROIT —  Chevrolet is starting a “roadside assistance” program covering all 38 million owners of Chevy and Geo cars and trucks. But don’t expect General Motors’ top-selling division to make it easy for motorists to find the toll-free number to call for help.

The program takes effect next week. For now, though, the only owners who will be told directly of the 800 number are buyers of the 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier, Chevy’s most popular model.

Chevy is phasing things in slowly because it has no idea how many calls to expect. But if the owner of a ’79 Impala smokes out the number and calls next week, “we wouldn’t turn him away,” a Chevrolet spokesman says.

The Chevy program--essentially a free phone number to call for mechanical advice or to arrange towing assistance--marks a significant expansion of a customer service that has chiefly been a hallmark of the luxury car market.

Many premium car makers--including Lexus, Cadillac, Lincoln and Infiniti--have similar or more elaborate programs to help drivers whose cars break down. The other GM divisions have roadside assistance plans for 1990 and 1991 models.

But Chevrolet is apparently the first high-volume producer to cover all its vehicles still in operation. The company says it has an owner base of 38 million customers. In other words, roughly one in five of the 185 million cars and trucks in operation in the United States are Chevys.

Chevrolet won’t pay for towing or repairs, except under regular new car warranty programs, which often cover towing costs. But the 24-hour, seven-day phone service will offer a diagnosis of the problem, contact towing or locksmith services or help make other travel arrangements.

Beginning this fall, the roadside assistance program will be detailed in owners’ manuals of all new Chevrolets. As for all those Chevy clunkers still on the road, owners will have to pay attention.

“We’re not going to write them and urge them to call us,” the Chevy official said.