Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2005 i MotorTrend

NO CAR has been more photographed in the last couple of years than the camouflaged next-generation Mercedes S-Class sedan. We knew the W221 (actually, V221, as the "V” designates the long-wheelbase version shipped to North America) would be bigger and bolder, with a May bach rump that rivals the BMW 7 Series’s tail in its prominence. But the large creased and flared fenders are a surprise. They were well hidden under spy-car camouflage and will remind you of a Mitsubishi Endeavor or outgoing-generation Eclipse. Making its September debut at the Frankfurt auto show, the S launches in Europe shortly after. The U.S. gets it last, in January, along with right-hand-drive Japan-bound models. Wheelbase of the V221 is 2.5 inches longer than the current car's, and overall length is up 1.5…

DODGE WILL lead the cars builtoffthe next-generation Chrysler LX platform—called LY—with a new Challenger ponycar for the 2010 model year. The Challenger will be a true Mustang-fighter, with 350-horsepower Hemi V-8 and 3.5-liter, 250-horsepower V-6 versions going up against the Mustang coupe. And given Chrysler’s ambitions for its performance franchise, you can expect a 6.1-liter, 425-horse SRT* version as well. Dodge has no plans for a Challenger convertible, as that business will be left to the 2007 Chrysler Sebring replacement, although it’s possible Chrysler Group could commission a coachbuilder like ASC to do one. The LY platform is described as an evolution of the current LX underpinnings for the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum and Charger.…

ECO-FRIENDLY or performance oriented? Rich and powerful Toyota doesn't have to make a choice; it’s playing both ways with optional power-trains for its next-generation Camry and all-new Lexus IS. Toyota has pulled forward the launch of the next-generation Camry, with a debut expected for the Detroit show next January, so it can get a V-6 hybrid model to market as soon as possible to compete with Honda’s Accord Hybrid. Toyota had planned to offer a hybrid version of the current Camry, but decided pulling forward the next-generation model made more sense than reengineering an old car. The new Camry hybrid will also be the first Toyota hybrid vehicle built outside Japan. It'll be built alongside regular Camrys at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky, plant. Meanwhile, Toyota is already tested V-8-powered versions of…

OKAY, OKAY, cut out the Bangle jokes. This odd contraption is actually a mule for the 2008 BMW crossover, which will share its all-wheel-drive platform with the next-generation X5. Its flavor is Bimmer sedan luxury combined with X5 all-weather capability and sport-coupe dynamics. It'll be loaded with BMW’s latest techno gizmos, including active steering, dynamic drive, and electronic damper adjustment. Engines will be next-generation I-6s and V-8s, the latter with second-generation direct-injection.…

reality bites St. Antoine sheds light on Angelenos and their need to bolster a false sense of image (“The Asphalt Jungle”). But the issue goes way beyond the borders of Southern California and is as much an epidemic as is the Asian flu. It seems we'd rather live way beyond our means and never see anything for our labors other than an ignition key. We don’t own our cars, the banks and financing companies do. And then we pay the minimum balance on our credit cards so we can pay more money per month to our auto loans. We need to put our resources toward things that mean something, unless we plan on sleeping inside our cars and sending our kids to college on their own loan debt. It’s hard…

THE ORIGINAL Mazda Miata changed the world. Think about it: When the Miata was first shown at the Chicago auto show in February 1989, the small, affordable roadster was dead. Asthmatic, unreliable, shoddily built British sports cars like MGs and Triumphs were past their sell-by date by the end of the 1970s. Any Alfa Romeo Spyder or Fiat X1/9 outside California and the Sunbelt states was quietly rusting to oblivion. But within a decade of the delicate, delightful Miata driving straight out of Mazda showrooms and into our hearts, BMW had produced the Z3, Mercedes-Benz the SLK, and Porsche the Boxster. And a dozen other automakers, from GM to Peugeot to Honda, had small convertibles in production or under consideration. We can thank the Miata for inspiring many of them…

It comes down to a simple question: Which one made us feel more special, more deserving of all that luxury? “LUXURY SUVS” seems too prosaic a phrase to capture the essence of vehicles that can crawl up the sides of mountains and still comfortably cruise the highways at triple-digit speeds. ‘‘Sport/utes” is way too blue-collar to fit with their well-tailored interiors and copious electronic amenities. And ‘crossover’ feels too trendy to reflect the heritage and technical acumen of their manufacturers. It’s just what we need then: more vehicular acronyms. Perhaps we should simply call them “The Mercedes” and “The Range Rover.’ They have much in common. Both are powered by 300-horsepower, aluminum, multivalve V-8s, and their torque is distributed to all four wheels through sophisticated automatic transmissions. Each is almost…

CONSUMER REPORTS wouldn't know what to do with this $200,000-plus exhibitionist on wheels: “The Ferrari’s all-aluminum, 32-valve V-8 produces commendable horsepower (483) for its relatively diminutive size (4308 cc), but its exhaust note destroyed our finely calibrated sound meters, which we judged unacceptable. Acceleration to 60 miles per hour is appreciably better than average—comparable with recent Estes model rockets we've tested—but produces significant and unflattering facial distortion, which we judged unacceptable. Finally, the F430’s bodywork fails our entire battery of tests: It’s excessively red, falls far short of standardized drive-thru height, and at stoplights attracts alarming numbers of animated and vocal passers-by, many of whom deposited unsightly drool onto our starched lab coats, which we judged unacceptable.” The truth is, no one who gets behind the wheel of this 3533-pound…

PEOPLE WHO like911sreallylike 911s. They know every branch, every root, every wrinkle in the bark of the rear-engine Porsche family tree. They can tell optional ceramic brakes at 10 paces (it’s the color of the calipers). They can spot power-upgraded models by the shape of the tailpipes. That’s how any cult works—and Porsche is feeding the cult with the 2006 997-Series Carrera 4. The true believer will instantly pick one out from a collection: the C4 and C4S have wider rear tracks than a standard Carrera and S, wider tires, and, in consequence, wider rear fenders that make the cars look more voluptuous. But the difference, at 1.7 inches overall, is subtle. So, if you own that car, you can gladly know your fellow initiates will recognize your discernment. That’s…

WE EYED each other warily at first glance. We'd been dance partners for years; myriad love letters had been published gushing over her flowing lines, cat-like moves, and peerless poise. And then, in late middle-age, she went under the knife for a radical makeover, returning transformed and unrecognizable. Powerful, bionic, aloof. We hadn't spoken in years, but she looked different now—softened and more alluring. “She” is of course BMW’s flagship, and “we” are the collective global automotive press, gathered to sample a midlife upgrade of the fourth-generation 7 Series. Car launches are usually fun, relaxed, lavish affairs, but this one was strangely tense. 'We" had all called their baby ugly and cantankerous back in 2002, and "they" were still chafing. They started the briefing with a rundown of facts and…

THE DAYS of mistaking a C-Class for an S-Class from afar are gone, promises Holger Hutzenlaub, Mercedes S-Class design project manager. The next C-and E-Class models will have more distinctive styling. The C is the next Mercedes car due and is expected in 2007 as a 2008 model. If it borrows styling from any other upscale Benz it'll be the CLS-Class. While still a sedan and not a four-door coupe, there’s enough rakishness to suggest it'll be a more formidable competitor for the BMW 3 Series. Word is Mercedes may do up to 14 C-Class body styles, everything from a conservative car suggesting the brand’s heritage to complete sportiness (shown). The C continues with rear-drive and gets a new-generation 4Matic option. The C also will mark the premier of Mercedes'…

THE 660-HORSEPOWER Ferrari Enzo isn't quite enough car for you? Then $1.8 million and good standing (which means you're among 20 of Ferrari’s best customers) buys the 800-horse, 6.2-liter FXX. That entry fee includes membership to Team Ferrari (yes, the Formula 1 team) and the chance to race in international track events over the next two years, with technicians at your beck and call. The FXX (its full name) makes its 800 horsepower at 8500 rpm and uses a revised gearbox that Ferrari says shifts nearly as quickly as a Formula 1 gearbox. The aerodynamics package creates 40 percent more downforce than an Enzo, and adjustable spoilers let the driver tune the car to specific circuits. The only downside, besides the big price, is that the FXX isn't street legal.…

FOR MOST OF THE FANS present for the 24 Hours of LeMans, it’s almost incidental that there’s a race underway. For some, it can even be annoying—the flatulent blat of the Chevrolet Corvette CR6’s rules-strangled V-8 can pierce even the soundest alcohol-induced coma. Well, not for everyone. At 3:30 a.m., just outside the tunnel that runs under the racetrack, a portly man with a shaved head has somehow found an unoccupied folding chair propped up against a guard shack—he’s sound asleep, mouth open, surrounded by empty green beer bottles. That’s not unusual, but this is: Someone has placed an empty wine glass on his head. Welcome to Le Mans, where even passed-out drunks are somehow made more elegant by a delicate, decorative crystal glass. This is France, after all. This…

TO PUT it mildly, these are interesting times for Saab. While critics question the future of GM’s premium Euro brand, the Swedish automaker has commenced the biggest new-product rollout in its history. Latest to arrive is the 9-3 SportCombi, a front-drive car/wagon/semi-crossover that resurrects Saab’s hatchback heritage in a most nontraditional way. Seen as the firm’s future worldwide sales leader, the Sport-Combi lineup will be anchored here by a 210-horsepower four-cylinder turbo 2.0T model. But the big news is a six-cylinder engine that powers the Aero variants we drove. Developed by Saab, this first turbo-charged application of The General’s 2.8-liter ‘global’ DOHC V-6 makes an energetic 250 horses and gives the 9-3 family an overdue competitive boost. A 9-3 sedan from the B-pillar forward, the SportCombi’s more adventurous profile melds…

CADILLAC’S CTS 2.8-literv-6 is now the brand’s cost leader with an MSRP of $30,885, $2250 lower than that of the 3.6-liter model's. Yet that marginally reduced price yields a lot less car for the buck: cloth seats instead of leather, a cabin devoid of wood trim, single (instead of dual) exhaust, and a loss of 45 horses and 57 pound-feet of torque. What is standard on its bigger brother becomes optional Our decked-out leather-, sport-packaged, XM-, and nav-equipped tester bottom-lined for a stunning $38,180. For close to that, you could buy a similarly outfitted 3.6. Where’s the value? Pricing issues aside, this DOHC, all-aluminum V-6 (a smaller version of the 3.6-liter unit) provides ample, if not enthusiastic, power backed by the standard six-speed manual, although the sloppy shifter makes smooth…

EVEN THOOUGH it now boasts 300 horsepower, the RL’s V-6 still comes to the party two cylinders short of many competitors offering available V-8 power. All-wheel drive is standard—serving up that much power through the front wheels isn't that sporty. Acura has resurrected the SH (Super Handling) moniker from the old Honda Prelude and mixed it with AWD.SH-AWD distributes torque between the front and rear wheels (up to 70 percent to either the front or rear) and between the left and right rear wheels. While cornering, the system overdrives the outer rear wheel and sends up to 100 percent of the rear torque to that wheel to enhance stability and cornering prowess. You can feel the system working while assaulting aggressive corners. With BMW and M-B in a technology war,…

WHEN ITS segment-shattering minivans rolled into the marketplace in 1983, rewrote history, and earned a place in the Smithsonian, Chrysler followed up with another successful creation, the notable PT Cruiser in 2001. Chrysler hoped for a similar huge hit with the Pacifica. The Pacifica—Chrysler calls it a “Sports Tourer”—is a crossover vehicle, something in between a minivan and an old-school station wagon. The Pacifica’s interior and exterior are gorgeous; its crisp, rising wedge shape should stay fresh for years. The big smiley face may be over the top, and the D-pillar might be on the swoopy side, but the Pacifica is nonetheless a good-looking beast. The bestangle may be the rear, as it looks wide and substantial. Surface development and detailing are ideal, though, on the downside, the D-pillar design…

THE IDEA behind muscle wagons like the Magnum SRT8 and E55 AMG isn’t new. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, most American manufacturers offered the biggest big-block—or something close—in wagon form. Oldsmobile had it going on back then: You could buy the Vista Cruiser with a variety of 400-and 455-cubic-inch V-8s, a performance-tuned suspension, even a fiberglass hood with integral hood pins. The net effect was a 442 for the whole family. Olds provided pace cars for the Indianapolis 500 in 1970 and 1972. While the real pacer for the 1970 race was a 442 convertible and the 1972 a Hurst/Olds model, there were a few wagons badged up as support vehicles, although this 1970 example was devoid of the go-fast components. GM was best at this; you could…

HOW GOOD is the new Corvette Z06? For the definitive answer, you have to wait until our "First Drive" story appears next month. But we can tell you already that GM’s 7.0-liter all-American supercar is the real deal. How? Because Jan Magnusson, one of the drivers of the Le Mans class-winning C6R, turned up at the legendary Nürburgring Nordschliefe circuit the Thursday after the 24-hour race and peeled out a seven-minute 42.99-second lap in a pre-production car-on treaded tires, not race slicks. To put that lap in perspective, it’s within fractions of a second of the best time ever set by Porsche’s hard-core 996 GT2 and about 10 seconds faster than the best laps by exotics such as the 493-horse, V-10-powered Lamborghini Gallardo and the 617-horse, supercharged V-8-powered Mercedes-Benz McLaren…

HONDA IS rumored to be testing a new aluminum-block V-8 in the Ridgeline pickup truck. The V-8 is in the 4.2-to 4.4-liter range, with VTEC and cylinder shutoff, and is slated to appear first the next Acura RL, a 2011 model launching in 2010. Honda also is adding the engine to the next-generation Ridgeline, slated for 2011 as a 2012 model. The exact configuration is unknown, but given the displacement, it’s not based on the 60-degree 3.5-and 3.8-liter V-6s, so it’s probably a 90-degree configuration, typical of eight-cylinder engines. Honda engineers take up the V-8 project as they complete work on a V-6 turbodiesel. It isn’t designed just for the European market, which has embraced Honda’s 2.2-liter diesel four, but also would provide needed low-end torque for the Ridgeline and…

PORSCHE WILL unveil the 997-generation 911 Turbo at the 2006 Paris auto show with more than 500 horsepower under the hood, the first time the Turbo’s engine has breached that level. Its engine is adevelopment of the current 3.6-liter flat-six turbomotor, which has a different bore and stroke than the Carrera’s 3.6 and has proven its strength with 485 horses in the GT2. The new 911 Turbo is based on the wide body shell of the 997 Carrera 4S, but with a full aero kit to keep the car stable at 200 mph and to keep the mighty engine cool on long ascents in hot conditions. A Porsche engineer says the engine is reliable at 700 horsepower, but cooling becomes a problem at those outputs and the transmission can’t cope.…

WARREN MOSLER is ready to sell his Corvette-powered MT 900S supercar in the United States after five years of wrangling with EPA and DOT testing procedures. The two-seat, mid-engine road car features an advanced composite monocoque assembled in Florida from CARB Breckland Technology Ltd. in East Derenham, England, for final assembly. Mosler says the 5.7-liter, 435-horsepower LS6 will get the car to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds. The Mosler MT900S has a six-speed manual transaxle, double-wishbone aluminum upper and chrome-moly lower control arms, three-way adjustable coil-over shocks, and adjustable-blade anti-roll bars. Front wheels are 19 inch, rears 20, with 13-inch four-wheel vented disc brakes. U.S. certification took five years because a contractor used the wrong parts for the first EPA testing, and gathering data for an idle misfire test…

eat my lunch Toyota’s emergence as the world automotive financial powerhouse is symptomatic of an underlying U.S. problem that'll leave all Americans poorer (“The Big Picture,” June). Americans have been brainwashed to believe there are no consequences for buying imported products, especially if those products are assembled here. Sending $50 billion a month in trade deficit to foreign companies will sooner or later have consequences. The U.S. is on a path to high inflation and low purchasing power. Toyota isn’t just eating GM’s lunch. It’s eating your lunch and my lunch. Are we smart enough to care? Max Limpert Fort Wayne, Indiana bloodlust Your recent article on the Ford GT/Ferrari test was, to put it bluntly, crap (“Blood Sports,” June). What a watered-down wishy-washy hunk of journalism. It gave me…

THE RACE is on to change the face of the automobile. In the beginning, the automotive face had two big eyes. Then, in 1957, the four-eyed look came into vogue. When car designers threw out their French curves for straight edges in the 1970s, rectangular lighting became de rigueur. Custom-fit eyewear didn’t become legal in this country until 1984, when our government transitioned to a performance standard. Instead of mandating sealed-beam headlamps in a handful of shapes with precisely defined optics to bend the light just so, the Feds basically sketched out a target area in front of the car and said, “Fill this with light.” This standard, FMVSS 108, freed the engineering community to dream up new advances in lighting, like projector-beam headlamps and high-intensity-discharge lamps. And, sure, these…

HOW MANY cars Can you name that reach 60 mph in about five seconds and the quarter mile in 13? Okay. How about four seconds to 60 and the quarter in the 12s? The list gets more selective—and more expensive—and now includes this pair of station wagons with automatic transmissions: the new Dodge Magnum SRT8 and the unlikely looking Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG. You read that right: station wagons. With a combined 894 horsepower, this dynamic duo from DaimlerChrysler can run with Lambos, Porsches, and Ferraris. Gearhead dads on at least two continents, rejoice. Are these numbers for real? You bet. At first, we could hardly believe the test data, so we double-checked and made a few more runs—just to be sure. We conduct all of our testing on ordinary asphalt—no…

YOU SHOULD always judge a car not for whether it strikes a chord with you personally but for how well it does the job for which it was designed. ‘Fitness for purpose,’ it’s called. Well, for the four days and three nights the new Aston Martin DB9 Volante was at our disposal, there wasn't a single time—not one—when there wasn't at least one person staring at it. There, we've said it: The typical Aston Volante prospect now has all the information he needs to confirm what he suspected from the moment he first saw photographs of this car: It is, indeed, a good place in which to drop $168,000. There are cars that attract attention because they look silly or have simply never been seen before. But none has had…

ONE OF THE keys to the sport of trapshooting is to know precisely how much to lead the clay pigeon by. Traveling at up to 100 mph out of the spring-loaded trap, the clay is a streaking speck, tough as hell to track. BMW’s 3 Series has been the automotive equivalent of the clay target, each edition a hard-to-nail meteor that’s had its adversary’s shotgun barrels blazing futilely for nearly its entire existence. Notice we said “nearly”: Comparison-test statisticians out there likely remember our momentous August 2002 face-off wherein a previous-generation 330i was nicked bya blast from Cadillac’s CTS and knocked out of the sky by Infiniti’s then-new high-caliber G35. Lucky shot? No, the rest were genuinely catching up But that was then; this is now. Meet the all-new 330i…

NO, this truck-based 9-7x isn't the end of Saab as we know it. For Saabanistas, the end came with the infusion of Opel platforms, anyway. After considering a front-drive crossover platform ultimately deemed too unrefined for semi-premium Saab, the solution is a truck-based all-wheel-drive sport/utility that’s as necessary to the brand in the US. as the Cayenne is to Porsche. At least Saab made more changes to the GMT360 than it did to the Subaru-based 9-2x. The Saabness in this GMC Envoy variant comes through in the 9-7x’s front-end sheetmetal and its better steering, brakes, and suspension. The ignition key is on the floor ofthe console, but there’s no signature-Saab night panel, and no power-adjustable steering-wheel tilt or powerup driver’s window, as you'd expect in a premium brand. The 9-7x…

ADVANCED Engine Management is well known for its Honda/Acura-tuning savvy and makes Honda Civic speed parts (intake, exhaust, ignition, suspension, and such). Its latest creation uses wares from an Acura RSX—and AEM can help you build a similar hybrid. With the all-new 2006 Honda Civic soon hitting showrooms and clean 2002-2005 Civics available on the cheap, there'll be plenty of cash left over to modify your car for proper Civic duty. AEM replaced its project Civic Si’s stock 2.0-liter i-VTEC I-4 and five-speed manual transmission with a high-revving (8000 rpm) 2.0-liter I-4 from an Acura RSX Type S. The tuner then paired the RSX’s six-speed manual transmission with an ACT heavy-duty clutch and enhanced the RSX I-4 with much of its go-fast hardware, including Cosworth cylinder sleeves and Wiseco 10:1…