January 9, 1995

In a weekend of playoff blowouts, the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego Chargers saved the best for last. And Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich saved one of his worst kicks for last. Stoyanovich had made 8 of 10 field goals from 40 to 49 yards this season, but his try this afternoon with 6 seconds left from 48 yards missed the mark, wide right. Thus, the Dolphins missed a chance to play in the Super Bowl at home.

The Honda Motor Company's announcement Friday that it had developed an engine that reduces tailpipe emissions by 90 percent could bolster several state governments' efforts to impose more stringent air-quality standards on auto makers and is also likely to hurt the natural gas industry. The Honda engine is powered by reformulated gasoline, and thus far the only vehicles that could meet the aggressive air standards, adopted first by California and requiring "ultra-low emissions," were powered by natural gas.

The police yesterday questioned a man they called a suspect in the slaying of six people in a Queens apartment, but they are still unsure whether the bloodbath was drug-related, officials said. Information given by the sole survivor of the attack, a woman who was left for dead in the College Point apartment, led investigators to a man who they believe may have been one of the killers, said a law-enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Detectives questioned the man for much of the day and into the evening at the 109th Precinct station house, and they said they hoped he would identify others who might have been involved.

Billy Belford, a nurse's aide in Portland, Ore., has big plans for 1995. Feeling "pretty secure" about his job, Mr. Belford, 22, is ready to spend some money. "Jan. 20 is payday," he said. "That day I have an appointment to go look at a car."

The Economy With incomes, jobs and confidence increasing, the American consumer is still going strong. Total consumer spending rose about 4 percent after inflation in 1994, faster than in all but two years in the 1980's. But whether consumers will be able to sustain that pace is a matter of debate. [ Page A1. ]