May 5, 1992

Companies Toyota's production techniques at its Kentucky factory are being hailed as a model of how to change the American way of mass production and help factories make everything more efficiently, from cars to copiers, jets to dishwashers. [ Page A1. ] Detroit has been slow to adopt Japanese manufacturing principles. [ D8. ] Visa and Mastercard are fighting a heated battle to sign up banks to issue their debit cards -- the next generation of plastic competing for space in American wallets. [ D1. ]

It is close to midnight and George F. Hemingway, a one-man American locomotive for the nascent market economy in Hungary, is swinging his Isuzu Trooper through the gloomy streets here, pointing out the extent of his business empire. "That's mine," says the burly entrepreneur from Los Angeles, gesturing toward a gourmet food store called Bon Bon Hemingway. "That's mine also," he adds, as he passes a sports outfitter named USA Sport. "Mine too," he declares, indicating a Chinese restaurant that, he reckons, serves Europe's finest caramelized bananas. "And this is my big favorite," he roars, lurching to a halt beside Hungary's first Pizza Hut.

In a parking lot on West 46th Street, the measure of Broadway's success often comes down to this: At what time can Frank Gonzalez play chess? With remarkable speed and even more remarkable dexterity, five guys -- none named Moe -- wheel the BMW's, Mercedes-Benzes and Lincoln Continentals of harried theatergoers into spaces prudent drivers might consider best suited for Volkswagens.

Sales of recreational vehicles, those homes on wheels that clog the nation's highways during the summers, appear to be picking up, figures compiled by the industry's trade association show. That may signal some good news for the nation's economy; many in the industry at least view R.V. sales as a reliable leading indicator. "The pattern has held for 20-plus years," said H. Wayne Dahl, president of the Holiday Rambler unit of Harley-Davidson Inc. "Recreational vehicle sales are among the first things to fall off in a recession, and they have always led the recovery." Although Harley-Davidson is best known for its rumbling motorcycles, 25 percent of its revenues come from Holiday Rambler, which makes high-priced motor homes and other vehicles. A Cyclical Business David Humphreys, who is president of the Recreational Vehicle Industries Association in Reston, Va., said: "We knew the industry had a history of ups and downs, but at first we didn't believe that we were a leading indicator. But Chase Economics and the University of Michigan's Consumer Research Center found that we were one of the most leading indicators they could find."

A parade of witnesses, some of them hooded in fear of retaliation, described yesterday how merchants were subjected to violence and intimidation at the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan despite repeated attempts to wipe out corruption and abuses at the market. For innocently parking in the wrong spot at the market, a Brooklyn restaurateur said, he was set upon by a gang of 25 men who clubbed him with dock hooks and wrecked his car.