Oldsmobile Cutlass

Dale Earnhardt held off Bill Elliott in a duel on the last lap yesterday to win the DieHard 500 and continue his mastery of NASCAR's superspeedways. Starting from the pole position, Earnhardt, in a Chevrolet Lumina, led for 134 of the 188 laps in winning for the third time in four superspeedway events this season. Earnhardt also won the Winston 500 at Talladega in May and the Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier this month. He lost what looked to be a sure victory in the Daytona 500 in February when a tire went flat on the final lap. Elliott grabbed the lead from Earnhardt on Lap 150, but Earnhardt regained control 19 laps later and stayed out front, finishing two-tenths of a second ahead of Elliott.

An 11-month-old girl, strapped into a child-safety restraint in the rear of a parked car, was kidnapped last night when two men stole the car containing the youngster, police said. Township Police Sgt. Wayne Maver said the car theft/kidnapping occurred shortly after 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Top Four Caterers off Sunset Road in the township. Maver said the 1994 red and white Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible was last seen leaving the parking lot and heading east on Sunset.

Unless otherwise attributed, the following reports are based on statements of local police. Bensalem Power tools were reported stolen Saturday from a home in the 3700 block of Knights Road. The burglary was reported at 9:30 a.m. The following vehicles were reported stolen: A 1995 Plymouth Neon, reported stolen at 7:30 a.m. Friday from the 4600 block of Canterbury Court. A 1995 Plymouth Neon, reported stolen at 7:30 a.m. Friday from the 3000 block of Bristol Road.

A 46-year-old woman was found slain in the basement of a Yeadon Avenue home yesterday, police said. Police did not release the identity of the woman or the manner of death. Neighbors said Elizabeth D. Gease, who is in her 40s, had lived in the house in the 900 block of Yeadon Avenue for the last 10 years. Police declined to comment on whether she was the victim. The body was discovered by a relative after he was contacted by the victim's employer, police said. The woman had not been to work since Monday, said Yeadon Police Chief Donald Molineux.

A North Philadelphia teen-ager driving a stolen car was shot and killed by a plainclothes police officer yesterday as the officer clung to the door of the car and was being slammed into a row of parked vehicles, police said. Damon Dawson, 17, of 8th Street near Huntingdon, took two slugs in the chest as he tried to flatten the cop on Luzerne Street near 2nd, outside Thomas Edison High School, in Kensington, police said. Officer Timothy Tague, of the burglary detail, pulled his revolver and fired three times while clinging to the driver's door of the car as Dawson brushed against parked cars, trying to knock Tague off, said police.

The new Oldsmobile Cutlass and Chevrolet Malibu are very similar cars. In fact, General Motors could have saved some money on body insignia by calling them both "the Cutlibu. " The folks who dine regularly in the Olds and Chevy corporate cafeterias would argue that there are differences, and, in fairness, there are some. There are cosmetic variations, like wheels and bumpers. And it's true that the Olds has more standard equipment, and offers the V-6 as its standard engine instead of as an option.

EAST FALLOWFIELD - The theft of a TV set from a neighbor's shed led to the arrest of Matthew Wright, 25, of the 100 block of Wilmington Road, township police said. On Thursday, a resident of that block told police someone had broken into a shed behind his house in the past few days and taken the TV. After an investigation, police from East Fallowfield and Coatesville arrested Wright and recovered the TV. He was charged with theft and receiving stolen property. Unless otherwise attributed, the following reports are based on statements of local police.

Shiny and upscale, or drab right down to the hubs, they sit curbside, in driveways and on parking lots, mobile magnets for crime. Whether you keep a car in the city or in the suburbs, commute everyday, or only occasionally drive, motorist beware: Some thief wants your wheels. A brand-new Lexus? A tired minivan? A Cutlass old enough to be bar mitzvahed? All are prime targets in a niche market ready to strip, flip or ship one of your most valuable possessions. Your car could be stripped on the street, or peeled down to its frame inside a chop shop.

EAST FALLOWFIELD - The theft of a TV set from a neighbor's shed led to the arrest of Matthew Wright, 25, of the 100 block of Wilmington Road, township police said. On Thursday, a resident of that block told police someone had broken into a shed behind his house in the past few days and taken the TV. After an investigation, police from East Fallowfield and Coatesville arrested Wright and recovered the TV. He was charged with theft and receiving stolen property. Unless otherwise attributed, the following reports are based on statements of local police.

Unless otherwise attributed, the following reports are based on statements of local police. Bensalem Power tools were reported stolen Saturday from a home in the 3700 block of Knights Road. The burglary was reported at 9:30 a.m. The following vehicles were reported stolen: A 1995 Plymouth Neon, reported stolen at 7:30 a.m. Friday from the 4600 block of Canterbury Court. A 1995 Plymouth Neon, reported stolen at 7:30 a.m. Friday from the 3000 block of Bristol Road.

Shiny and upscale, or drab right down to the hubs, they sit curbside, in driveways and on parking lots, mobile magnets for crime. Whether you keep a car in the city or in the suburbs, commute everyday, or only occasionally drive, motorist beware: Some thief wants your wheels. A brand-new Lexus? A tired minivan? A Cutlass old enough to be bar mitzvahed? All are prime targets in a niche market ready to strip, flip or ship one of your most valuable possessions. Your car could be stripped on the street, or peeled down to its frame inside a chop shop.

The new Oldsmobile Cutlass and Chevrolet Malibu are very similar cars. In fact, General Motors could have saved some money on body insignia by calling them both "the Cutlibu. " The folks who dine regularly in the Olds and Chevy corporate cafeterias would argue that there are differences, and, in fairness, there are some. There are cosmetic variations, like wheels and bumpers. And it's true that the Olds has more standard equipment, and offers the V-6 as its standard engine instead of as an option.

An 11-month-old girl, strapped into a child-safety restraint in the rear of a parked car, was kidnapped last night when two men stole the car containing the youngster, police said. Township Police Sgt. Wayne Maver said the car theft/kidnapping occurred shortly after 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Top Four Caterers off Sunset Road in the township. Maver said the 1994 red and white Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible was last seen leaving the parking lot and heading east on Sunset.

A 46-year-old woman was found slain in the basement of a Yeadon Avenue home yesterday, police said. Police did not release the identity of the woman or the manner of death. Neighbors said Elizabeth D. Gease, who is in her 40s, had lived in the house in the 900 block of Yeadon Avenue for the last 10 years. Police declined to comment on whether she was the victim. The body was discovered by a relative after he was contacted by the victim's employer, police said. The woman had not been to work since Monday, said Yeadon Police Chief Donald Molineux.

Dale Earnhardt held off Bill Elliott in a duel on the last lap yesterday to win the DieHard 500 and continue his mastery of NASCAR's superspeedways. Starting from the pole position, Earnhardt, in a Chevrolet Lumina, led for 134 of the 188 laps in winning for the third time in four superspeedway events this season. Earnhardt also won the Winston 500 at Talladega in May and the Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier this month. He lost what looked to be a sure victory in the Daytona 500 in February when a tire went flat on the final lap. Elliott grabbed the lead from Earnhardt on Lap 150, but Earnhardt regained control 19 laps later and stayed out front, finishing two-tenths of a second ahead of Elliott.