Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2004 i MotorTrend

Foreign makes extend technology lead over the Big Three Hybrid technology was the subplot of the North American International Auto Show at Detroit In addition to its Vision Grand Sport Tourer “concept” with a V-8 turbodiesel/electric hybrid combo, Mercedes-Benz showed an S-Class hybrid, with a V-6 gasoline engine and two electric motors making 309 horsepower combined. Strictly a concept (hybrids don’t score as well as diesels on the European fuel-mileage cycle) and touted as the world’s first rear-drive hybrid, the big S-Class can do 0-to-60 mph in 7.5 seconds. The S-Class can run on electric only, produces fewer emissions than gas-only S-Classes, and improves fuel consumption by 20 percent. This fall, Honda goes in search of more hybrid sales volume with a 2005 Accord hybrid that offers better performance than…

“Enzoratl” heralds Maser’s return to blg-bore international GT ranks There’s the Bentaudi (the Audi-powered and engineered Bentley that won Le Mans last year). And there are the Forduars (Jaguar XKR bodies on Trans-Am Ford Mustangs. Now, there’s the MCC, an FIA GT-class Maserati developed from the Ferrari Enzo. The MCC—not its final name—will be officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor show just as you read this. It has a carbon-fiber chassis, pushrod suspension, and a 5998cc 65-degree V-12 and six-speed manual. Maserati began work on the race car in May 2002, and it’ll be ready for the FIA GT midway through the 2004 schedule, with plans for the full race schedule in 2005. Maserati will campaign two works cars, with others run by private teams. Best part: There’ll be a…

2004: Shifting popularity With a new Mustang around the corner, sales of the 2004 model should be declining. Instead, they're increasing-go figure. Nissan 350Z sales are way down, non-luxury SUV sales are falling, but minivan sales are up. Chevrolet is outselling Ford, Honda, and Toyota in cars once again. What's going on? Quietly, Chevrolet has grabbed car market share from rivals with improved product, aggressive pricing, and strong incentives. No wonder Honda has had to offer rebates on the Civic. Promise of a new Corvette caused the C5 to lose its crown to the 350Z as top-selling premium sports car in 2003. Now the Z is losing ground to the BMW Z4. The Toyota Sienna has overtaken the Honda Odyssey to capture second place in the reviving minivan segment. Meanwhile,…

Saab has been in dire need of product for years and is finally getting it. But the company’s upcoming compact sportwagon and midsize sport/utility are hardly homegrown. We’ve told you how Subaru will soon help spawn Saab's new entry model and shown you illustrations of it as well. Above is a shot of the real thing, and it looks exactly like what it is: an Impreza wagon with a Saabified front clip. The 92X Linear will be offered in 165-horsepower, naturally aspirated form, stemming from the Impreza 2.5 RS. Subaru’s wildly popular WRX begets the turbocharged, 227-horsepower 92X Aero. Both will offer the choice of a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Revised taillights and wheel treatments complement the new sheetmetal, and the interior gets the alumalook treatment and…

Competing against Accord and Camry isn’t easy. Just ask the people who build cars like the Malibu, Galant, and MazdaG. Credit the last with a scrappy effort, however, as it brings two new bodystyles to the fray—neither of which is offered by Honda or Toyota. If sporty station wagons are, in fact, the next rage, then Mazda is just in time with the handsome and practical Sport Wagon. It’s already on sale in several other world markets and makes its way here boasting 60.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded. That equals many smaller sport/utilities. Hatchback sedans have seldom been popular in the U.S., but the MazdaG 5-Door will attempt to change that trend. It carries 22 cubic feet of stuff in its covered cargo…

“It's a street-legal race Car! ” is one of bench-racing’s most abused overused claims. Trust us: Anyone who thinks his front-drive V-6 Monte Carlo has anything in common with Little E’s #8 NASCAR Cupper is delusional. While it’s true that some street cars (let’s say, a Dodge Viper) will outperform many race cars (let's say an SCCA production-class Austin Healey Sprite) generally speaking, cars designed for the track have little relevance to cars intended for the road. Or do they? The days of driving your Porsche Super90 or Ferrari 250 SWB to a professional road race, competing effectively, and cruising home with your trophy were over in the 1960s; but, today, there’s a clear racers-for-the-road renaissance taking place. Production based, GT-class racing is enjoying an increase in worldwide popularity and…

In North America, Christmas actually arrives just after Christmas. The Detroit and Los Angeles auto show media previews were not-so-neatly split by New Year’s Day this year, but still included presents for everyone in the form of conceptual dream machines and a host of production models. A lot of what was revealed was covered here in our “Future Cars” feature last month, so we won’t repeat much. There are a few instances where all we had were illustrations at the time, so now we’ve included photos. You’d expect the “locals”—Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler—to have the most going on, and they did. A new Corvette and the 2005 Mustang are huge enough news in and of themselves. But that’s not to say they upstaged European and Asian carmakers, which also had…

Proof positive that the Mustang has become ingrained in popular 1 American culture is its not-too-infrequent appearances in films and television. Its paint may still have been drying when the ponycar made its first appearance in the James Bond thriller “Goldfinger” in 1964. After some gunplay and fancy driving, the 1965 Mustang convertible’s tires got shredded in an encounter with Bond’s Aston Martin DB-5. Mustangs showed up in more Bond films, “Thunderball” in 1965 and “Diamonds Are Forever” in 1971. The ne plus ultra Mustang performance has to be the 1 O-minute car chase in the 1968 police thriller “Bullitt.” Although the script may be forgettable, the slam-bang chase through the streets of San Francisco is a nailbiter as Steve McQueen, behind the wheel of an often-airborne 1968 Mustang GT,…

It’s tough to find noteworthy reading material on the Chrysler K-Cars or Kia Rio, but not so on the Ford Mustang. From classic restoration guides to nostalgic coffee-table books, more words have been written about the Mustang than just about any other car in the past 40 years. Here are two newer such books to highlight your automotive library. MUSTANG: FORTY YEARS by Randy Leffingwell Featuring nearly 400 pages of color photography, quotes from key Mustang movers and shakers, and historical facts, this hefty volume will please hard-core enthusiasts and part-time car dudes alike. The book celebrates the first 40 years of the Ford Mustang, from its roots in the early 1960s through forgettable shape-shifting in the 1970s and 1980s to its present-day classic yearnings and beyond. The excellent photography—big,…

Need more evidence that new-car makers are paying serious attention to pre-owned-vehicle programs? Check out this beautiful E-Type racer, which is sponsored on the vintage circuit by Jaguar’s Select Edition Certified Pre-Owned. The two-car effort is being campaigned by Donovan Motorcar Services to put the cars, and thus the name of the program, in front of automotive-enthusiast types who might also be potential customers. It’s a novel marketing approach, and more than a good bit cheaper than Jaguar’s other racing effort, the Formula One team. This car is a 1961 E-Type built to emulate the hardware that would’ve been raced in the early and mid-1960s. Reportedly, the team has received mixed welcome; some stalwarts may not appreciate the notion of factory sponsorship money infiltrating vintage motorsport. Others enjoy the presence…

HELPING HAND Next time you’re headed to the garage to get your hands greasy, don’t. Do what the pros in NASCAR and other race series do and slip on a pair of Mechanix Wear gloves ($24.95 and up). These breathable, form-fitting babies will also improve your grip and keep your knuckles from looking like you've just gone five rounds with a cheese grater. 800/222-4296 www.mechanix.com A BICYCLE BUILT FOR GOD Don’t let mud or sand slow down your next trail ride. The cool new Rubicon mountain bike ($2999) has—get this—all-wheel drive using shafts and gears from the rear wheel to drive the front wheel. The patented, shift-on-the-fly system adds welcome traction for navigating steep hills or yucky terrain. Naturally, the Rubicon is available from Jeep. 800/789-JEEP www.jeepunpaved.com GHOULISH GUIDE Put…

This Ferrari versus Porsche thing isn’t exactly new. Both companies achieved postwar motorsport greatness that continues to this day, although the Italians got there a bit sooner. Besides having an already impressive Formula One record, Ferrari was a sports-car-racing powerhouse in the late 1950s and early 1960s. To reference just one example, Maranello won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six straight years (19601965). Ford had an impressive run there, too, winning from 1966 to 1969, but by 1970, the GT40’s days were done, and Porsche was ready to stake its claim. Ferrari’s fast and beautiful 512Ss were looking to restore Ferrari’s endurance-racing stature and seemed a match for Porsche’s awesome 917s and still-capable 908s. But Stuttgart claimed its first win at la Sarthe that year in impressive 1-2-3 fashion.…

> CADILLAC STS IS GOOD-LOOKING ART & SCIENCE > CHINESE CAR DESIGN: NO LONGER A LAUGHING MATTER > SMART PLANS FOR THE U.S. SERIOUS SUBARU SUV Subaru is developing an all-new platform to handle its upcoming 2006 crossover SUV—the new model won't be based on the 2005 Legacy, which is in showrooms this month (“First,” October 2003). The upmarket model is scheduled to make its debut in U.S. showrooms about summer 2005 and goes by the internal code OOX, or simply “seven-seater.” So it’ll be designed to compete more with the seven-seat Acura MDX than with the five-seat Lexus RX 330, although its silhouette has been described as “BMW X5-like.” The new platform could serve as a basis for the next-generation Saab 97X (see “First,” this issue). FERRARI REO WHITE…

Mercedes-Benz unveiled the second-generation SLK at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Like the latest SL and the new SLR McLaren, the SLK features a Formula-One-style nose with a long hood, leading to a rakish windshield. This SLK350 has a new 3.5-liter four-valve V-6 in place of the old car’s three-valve, 3.2-liter engine, and there’s a new suspension and braking system. The first SLK, which started a trend with its innovative folding metal “vario” roof, made its debut in early 1997 as a 1998 model. The 2005 SLK hits North American showrooms this fall. Want more? A 350-or-so horse, 5.4-1 iter V-8-powered SLK55 AMG will follow.…

Mercedes’s city car becomes America’s next aspirational brand DaimlerChrysler’s micro-city car division, called smart, launches in North America in 2006 with a soft-roader designed to compete with the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The new smart Utility Vehicle, named formore, will stand out for on-road handling and its powerful four-cylinder Mercedes-sourced engine, smart USA general manager Scott Keogh says smart will offer Americans cool, innovative small cars with its European-style sales and service experience. Marketing will emphasize use of smart’s Web site and live events. Keogh says the smart brand has used that tactic in Europe since 1998, with BMW’s Mini and Toyota’s Scion copying the idea. The formore will be built in Mercedes’s Brazil plant, which currently assembles the C-Class, from what one source calls a “weird” amalgam of…

Mazda sees boxy as youthful Bereft of a big headliner to trumpet at the Detroit show, Mazda introduced the MX-Micro Sport concept, a 156.7-inch-long box with fender flares and cool wheels. Mazda announced that it'll be sold in a key market later this year. But the key market is nowhere near North America—it'll be Europe or Japan, where a more sedate version of this car already is on sale as the Ford Fiesta-based Mazda2. What makes the MX-Micro Sport a potential for our market is that it sports Scion xB dimensions, but with a much more lively powertrain-compare the xB's 108-horse 1.5-liter four with the Mazda MX's 146-horsepower, 2.0-liter inline-four, coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox. Mazda is considering the car for import here, but those fender flares are costly…

Ettore Bugatti was losing Le Mans annually to a certain British automaker when he let envy get the best of him. W.O. Bentley, he reportedly said, “makes the fastest trucks in Europe.” This was just before Walter Owen sold his cash-strapped company unwittingly to Rolls-Royce, disguised as the British Equitable Trust (and long before Bentley and Bugatti became VW marques). BMW has dropped Rolls’s version of the Arnage, and even though the new—and fabulous—Continental GT has drawn all the marque’s attention lately, any luxury brand needs big sedans. Bentley’s Arnage R doesn’t feel old so much as it feels like a mature driver’s car. VW invested in a stiffer body structure and tweaked mechanical bits for the 2001 models on, and chassis engineers have used the stiffer structure to…

If you think diesel engines are only for semis, heavy pickups, and parsimonious commuters willing to suffer sluggish, smelly, smoky performance in pursuit of 25-percent-better gas mileage, this E320 CDI turbodiesel aims to shift your paradigm. The engine is a 3.2-liter, 24-valve straight-six that churns out 201 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Its common-rail fuel-injection system delivers multiple squirts of finely atomized fuel directly into the cylinders at pressures of over 23,000 psi to eliminate most of the clatter and reduce the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and exhaust soot. Your eyes, ears, and nose will have trouble detecting that this is a diesel. Your backside will detect serious pressure just off idle (peak torque is at 1800 rpm) that diminishes as the tach needle arcs toward…

Neither the GT3 nor the Challenge Stradale would be as good if Porsche and Ferrari didn’t actually build race variants of them. In fact, each offers a couple: one for its own single-marque, spec-racer series, another for GT class professional competition. The Challenge Stradale is the result of a “Circle of Life” evolution. Ferrari Challenge spec racers of a decade ago consisted of safety and go-fast bits that came in a box to be bolted onto a gentleman racer’s 348. Even later 355 Challenge machines were street cars converted to race spec. When Ferrari introduced the 360 Modena in 2000, it elected to offer the 360 Challenge version as a factory-aassembled, stand-alone model. At that point, it became a more highly developed—and no longer street-legal—racer. The next logical step was…

Rivalnes this pointed are surprisingly rare in the automotive world. There’s BMW versus Mercedes-Benz, Ford versus Chevy, Honda versus Toyota, Britney versus Christina. Continental Europeans may care about Peugeot versus Renault, but that’s about it. So it’s no small thing that Motor Trend has discovered a new matchup: Cadillac versus Jaguar. Over the years, our King of the Hill contests have pitted Eldorados and Escalades against Mark I Vs and Navigators, but when you’re perusing the marketplace for a 400-horse sport sedan, it’s the Leaper’s supercharged S-Type R that squares off neatly with the Wreath and Crest’s Corvette-powered CTS-V. It didn’t take many miles behind the wheels to find similarities with the BMW M versus Mercedes AMG rivalry. We’re revealing our most important conclusion early here, so pay attention: The…

Nobody wants to be a Mustang nincompoop. Armed with a few key Mustang morsels of wisdom, you can amaze your friends, gather approving nods, and score valuable ‘gotcha” points at the next Mustang club picnic. For instance, Ford never officially sold a 1964% Mustang. There were early 1965s, delivered from April through August of 1964, and late 1965s sold afterwards. All first-year Mustangs were registered and titled as 1965 models. Now, here’s a few more Mustang factoids bound to earn you benchracing kudos. QUICKEST MUSTANG (RACE CAR) John Force blasted his Ford Mustang funny car to an amazing 4.72-second quarter-mile pass during the 2003 NHRA Sears Craftsman Nationals. Too bad it’s powered by a Chrysler Hemi-style engine. QUICKEST (FACTORY STOCK) In 2003, Motor Trend hustled a 2003 Mustang SVT Cobra…

MOTORTREND.COM on-the-spot access Enjoy immediate auto-show coverage through the Internet as we post ongoing updates from the Chicago and Geneva auto shows and continue with the New York Auto Show soon thereafter. Look for downloadable wallpaper and extended photo galleries of the highly anticipated 2005 Corvette and Mustang. Join our online community and vote for your favorite concept and production vehicles from each show in our motortrend, com/multimedia/polls section. You can also discuss your opinions with others at our message boards. Detroit Auto Show videos have been added to the motortrend.com/multimedia/mtvideo section, as have some of our best archival videos and audio sound bites. MOTOR TREND AUTO SHOWS Alona This spring, Motor Trend Auto Shows heads east and west, first into downtown Richmond, Virginia, for three days packed with automotive…

2004 FORD F-150 Ford’s F-150 has been America’s best-selling truck for the past 26 years, but will the all-new-for-2004 version have what it takes to keep it at the top of the sales charts? It had the stuff to carry the day in our Truck of the Year voting, earning it an automatic spot in our one-year-test fleet. Our 4x4 SuperCrew came trimmed in Silver Clearcoat Metallic and packing Ford’s new three-valve 5.4-1 iter Triton V-8 backed by a four-speed automatic transmission. To the $34,185 base price we added $225 worth of LT275/65R18 all-terrain Goodyear tires, the $350 trailer-towing package, the Audiophile sound system with six-disc in-dash CD changer (at $545), heated exterior mirrors and autodim interior mirror ($165), aluminum bed extender ($195), $320 for a set of 18-inch machined-aluminum…

I was in the driver’s seat of " the Pontiac Solstice, a charming roadster slated for production as a 2006 model, at the North American International Auto Show. Beside me sat Jack Keebler, our former Detroit bureau chief and now director of product analysis at General Motors. “You know, you have to get this right,” | said to him. “If this car doesn’t feel light and responsive and balanced like a Miata, it’ll be worse than not having done it at all.” Jack agreed with a nervous laugh, we made some Fiero jokes, and that’s where we left it. But I’m serious about this: The Solstice is a bellwether project for GM, one we'll be watching closely. Why? Because in choosing to bring to market a bouncy little car whose…

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi is preparing the next generation of its Lancer-based Evolution for our market Times have been anything but easy for the company, but Evo enthusiasm—and sales—have been a bright spot Mitsu dropped some big hints about the car at last year’s Tokyo motor show with the Japanese domestic-market-only Evo VIII MR (Mitsubishi Racing). The MR’s features, over the standard Evo VIII, include Bilstein shocks for improved handling, upgrades to the car’s electronic all-wheel drive, traction control and ABS sport systems, and an aluminum roof panel and other bits to reduce body weight and lower the center of gravity. When this version morphs into the Evo IX, with plans to import it here, it’ll (finally) get a six-speed gearbox, lighter forged wheels, and a 10-horsepower bump to 281…

The future of chinese car design In 1972, President Nixon gave Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev the gift of a brand-new Cadillac Eldorado. Seventeen years later, the Berlin Wall fell and Soviet communism was dying. We’d like to think the 1972 Eldo had something to do with it: Capitalism rules. Automobiles are now taking that other great Workers’ Paradise, China, by storm, with car sales up 20 percent over last year. At its current growth rate, China, with its population of nearly 1.3 billion, will be a bigger market than Germany by 2005. Each year, Michelin challenges designers from around the world to pen new cars and trucks that reflect the styling influence of a specific market, and this past year’s country of choice was China. Judges chose two designs as…

The Boxster is the spiritual successor to the 1953 550 Spyder, Porsche says. So, to celebrate the Spyder’s 50th anniversary, Porsche offers a “50 years of the 550 Spyder” Boxster S, for, uh, 2004. A sticker of $60,665 gets you an on-board computer, heated leather sport seats, automatic air-conditioning, polished stainless-steel exhaust pipe, 18-inch Carrera wheels, Litronic headlamps, and a headlamp-cleaning system. Most important, you get six extra horses, to 264 horsepower from the 3.2-liter flat-six. Production of the special-Boxster is limited to 1953 units.…

A journalist we know who writes for a design magazine quoted another journalist who doesn’t like the taillamps on the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve, which consist of 96 LEDs. “It’s a rash,” she said. While we don’t often quote journalists quoting other journalists, the criticism highlights the pitfalls of introducing a super/sports car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit: Until we drive it this summer we have little to go by other than styling. Chrysler understands this pitfall. Before the car could expose itself to public and critical scrutiny at Detroit, its automaker provided an impressive volume of technical and design information on it. We offered a first taste of it here last month, but felt it worth a longer look in advance of that…

The adage that how fast you want to go depends on how much you’re willing to spend certainly applies to the John Cooper Works (JCW) tuning kit for the Mini Cooper S. The late John Cooper is the race driver who turned the original Mini into the hot-rod Cooper S. What makes a Mini a “Works?” The package, developed in concert with the factory, centers on a higher-flowing cylinder head mated to a JCW exhaust system optimized for lower back pressure and a sportier sound. An Eaton-sourced JCW supercharger is included, along with specific engine calibration engineered to match the improved airflow. The obligatory chrome enamel badging, a numbered engine-bay plate, and special intercooler surround complete the package. The result adds 37 extra hors es to a Cooper S…

Something happened at the swinging Bowling Green bachelor pad of America’s favorite sports car, the Corvette. A snooty rich aunt from Cadillac crashed and made herself comfy. But this visitor turned out to be more Auntie Mame than Auntie Em, and her high-class fun-loving ways rubbed off on our hero, who suddenly seems an all-new man. And the transformation is most evident when he’s dressed in the top-down couture favored by his rich Auntie XLR. Don’t get us wrong, as roadsters go—even $50,000 ones—the pre-XLR C5 Corvette was a stout piece of work, thanks to many patented structural design elements like bumper-to-bumper hydroformed frame rails (still the largest in the industry), a structural backbone tunnel, and a floorpan made of balsa wood and composite sandwich material. But when Madame XLR…

DODGE VIPER COMPETITION COUPE The previous-generation Viper GTS-R cleaned house in international sports-car racing from 1997 through 2000. While the current Viper Comp Coupe isn’t as radical as those purebred racers, it’s the only new Viper you can buy in closed form—although we bet it foretells the look of the next GTS coupe that’s two to three years away. The Comp Coupe isn’t street legal, but you can run it in the Speedworld Challenge Grand Am Cup series (where it won a race last year in its maiden season) or the single-marque Viper Racing League. It also makes a formidable club racer. As of this writing, the second batch of Comp Coupes is under construction. You’ll need a racing license and $129,000 to buy one directly from Dodge. MITSUBISHI EVOLUTION…

Got dirt? Then don’t buy a small, car-1 based, all-wheel-drive sport/utility crossover demi-wagon thingy. Nobody with true trail experience WU would consider one of them a true 4x4 Dailies A rutted, rocky, and off-pavement excursion will leave those four-cylinder pantywaists at the trailhead. This comparison is reserved for rugged conveyances with a low-range transfer case and more than a few inches of ground clearance. The three we picked feature V-6s ranging in size from 2.7 to 3.7 liters, automatic transmissions, the aforementioned low-range gears, and workaday sticker prices. What might surprise you is that they also cater to your desire for luxury, comfort, and convenience with split-folding, second-row seating and a full complement of power accessories and safety equipment. What’s more, they each have some of the industry’s best warranty…

1962 Mustang Concept A mid-mounted V-4 engine, tube frame, and two-seat layout has noting in common with later Mustangs, but it creates excitement 1964 first production car On April 17, 1964, the Falcon-based Mustang goes on sale with a base price of $2368. Ford sells 70,00 in first month 1965 2+2 fastback In fall 1964, this fastback 2+2 joins the Mustang coupe and convertible. The top engine i$. a 2/1-horse 289 V-8. 1965 Shelby GI350 It’s not long before Carroll Shelby works his magic, This 1965. 06-horse 289, Koni shocks, Detroit Locker rear, and lots more. 1966 Sonny and Cher cars George Barris applies his own particular blend of flamboyant excess to a pair of custom Mustangs for the Bonos 1967 Shelby GT500 No shortage of scoops (hood,, roof, and…

Your guess is probably as good as ours, but if this unusually early report from the 2044 North American Auto Show is to be believed, it could be worth the wait. For long-time fans of the Ford Motor Company, it was a poignant moment: After being gingerly lifted on stage, 86-year-old Bill Ford, chairman emeritus of the legendary automaker, slowly pulled away a white sheet emblazoned with the familiar logo of the galloping horse. As the elderly Ford tugged, caught his breath, and tugged some more, there appeared what we were all waiting for: the glistening 2044 Mustang. An “ooh” went up from the thousand or so journalists on hand in unison with the flashing teleprompter. Overhead, a large hologram blinked to life to explain what makes this latest Mustang…

In the classic film “Bullitt,” Steve McQueen had his hands full hustling a green 1968 Mustang GT fastback as he tried to ditch a duo of shotgun-wielding thugs in a black Charger. The Mustang was a performer, but it required performance and suspension upgrades for its high-flying stunt work. The same goes for today’s Mustang, a platform that’s proven popular with the aftermarket and club-racing set during its 25-year tenure. In an effort to maintain interest in the current car while the 2005 was under development, Ford launched a series of retro-themed special models, including the Bullitt and the even more potent Mach 1. The latter incorporates a special 4.6-liter V-8 with DOHC four-valve heads and unique “shaker” intake, improved suspension, and better rolling stock. It outguns a standard GT,…

Purpose-built hybrid vehicles first went on sale in the United States in 1999, with the Honda Insight leading the post-electric vehicle charge. As with the Toyota Prius that followed, the Insight’s distinct styling announced the driver’s environmental concerns and tech geekdom far better than any pollutant-spewing VW Microbus held together with Save-the-Whales stickers ever could. Both cars were critical in proving the virtues of hybrid drivetrains and paved the way for mainstream machines to join this revolution. The perennial best-selling compact car, the Honda Civic became the first mass-production vehicle to offer a hybrid system as a powertrain choice, joining a model line that already boasted ultra-low-emissions and fuel-efficient engines. This special Civic model features a newer, more compact, and more powerful version of the Integrated Motor Assist system pioneered…