Indholdsfortegnelse for August 1979 i MotorTrend

Only one Motor Trend staffer owns a diesel. Others have tried, but repeated calls to Volkswagen of North America proved to be mere acts of futility. We did no better than any of you who have dropped by your local VW dealer to look over a 50-mpg Rabbit, only to find there are no Rabbits. One staffer would have been satisfied with a diesel Dasher, but there are none of those either. In an attempt to impress upon you how desperate the diesel availability situation is, let us report that VW employees are standing in line waiting for diesel Rabbits of their own. And the ordeal worsens: The guys on the street will be in line for about a year, because VW's production is sold out for at least that…

ERIKA TAKES A HIKE During the last six months, we’ve been feeding you bits and pieces about the Erika—that long-awaited Pinto replacement. Now she’s gone. After the abacus abusers at Ford took a hard look at the X-car pricing schedule and its mechanicals, they decided to give Erika a set of walking papers. We'll keep an eye peeled for her successor. LAND MEETS WATER For the first time in corporate history, Chrysler Marine overtly melded with Chrysler automotive in a healthy chest-beater of an exercise. While you may envy the guy and/or girls, we’d rather be sailing. THE LONG, LONG HAUL GM estimated that at the end of 1978, all its test vehicles at all its test sites (Milford, Michigan; Mesa, Arizona; and Pikes Peak, Colorado) racked up a creditable…

The Manchurian candidate had nothing on us. Say the word diesel and our shoulders hunch, nape hairs standing hopelessly at attention. This is accompanied by a feeling as inexplicable as any love/hate relationship, and it creeps over you like the morning of a 90-degree day. Diesel Land is a curious place to be, disorienting and terrifying at first. You discover the real meaning of “get a horse” and of the homicidal look in the eyes of that steaming 18-wheeler driver when you’re in front of him at his fill station. When we took our thundering turtles into the void (see map), we did it at the height of the petrol war, on one of the worst fuel weekends of the year. We had our own way of getting what we…

It was our plan to include both the 260 and 350cid Olds diesels and test them in addition to the front-drive Eldo. But it seems that our 350 car was not to arrive until long after the thrash, and the 260 we planned on using was summarily sold out from under us. So we did the next best thing and borrowed his personal 260 Cutlass from our firm’s vice president of finance. After we drove the car for 600 miles, we think he made a mistake. The fault lies not with the engine or the car, but with Oldsmobile’s marketing program. The Cutlass Supreme has a base price of $5600, which in today’s money means that just about everything else is an extra-cost option. In the case of this Olds,…

We would like to call the diesel Eldorado an experiment, but it has gone beyond that. Before the Eldo, there were a substantial number of diesel Sevilles and quite a few more light-duty pickups and Oldsmobiles of every incarnation. And the alternate power source found its niche and everyone was happy. But this game plan doesn’t work nearly so well with the Eldorado, even though that car appears to be the prime candidate. It is a medium-weight contender without a driveshaft or a 90-degree turn to go through before the power is supplied. It seems like a natural application for the torquey V-8, but somewhere there’s a part that’s not screwed on. It’s not that the car doesn’t run well, because it does; it’s the strangeness of expecting the full…

The science-fiction comic books of our youth have proved to be startlingly prophetic in their illustrations of what man's technical future would look like. When they matured as an art form, their creators ceased their preoccupation with starships and alien monsters, and turned their vivid futurist visions to more earthbound devices. The cars they drew were conceived as sleek shapes that might have been snatched down from orbit and fitted with wheels. While the predicted atomic engines for these vehicles have yet to become reality, the basic concept has been translated into driveable hardware, with a powerplant that is a highly refined blend of an 85-year-old concept and cutting-edge technology. At first glance, it would seem unlikely that a company with the conservative image of Mercedes-Benz would be the one…

When my friend Bruce McCall (National Lampoon, Playboy, “Saturday Night Live”) heard I had bought a diesel, he wrote a letter of concern suggesting that rumor had filtered to him of a dramatic change in my life: Perhaps I had joined Up With People? Never in his wildest imagination could he have dreamed that I would go so far as to embrace Dr. Diesel’s marvel. He suggested that by offering a home to a smoker, I had aligned myself with a cult more fanatic than the Reverend Jim’s; that I was indulging in some dark, possibly neo-anarchic perversity; that I had separated myself from reasoned and civilized society. Furthermore, I had made one smart decision. All this before the diesel became the darling of Beverly Hills. Two years later, I…

This section was originally intended for women. Research, however, indicates that men harbor the same reservations about diesels as women, leading to the conclusion that both sexes need advice where diesels are concerned. The counsel that follows is therefore unisex in all respects. 1. My new diesel car will smell up the neighborhood, and everybody on the block will hate me. Wrong. Nor will it spread fatal fumes across nearby playgrounds. Your old diesel car might smoke and smell a bit, but only if you haven’t taken care of it. The same is true for old gasoline-powered cars. 2. It sounds as if it’s coming apart in there. Calm yourself. Your diesel car will not fall apart even though it does clatter and chatter under the hood. This clattering noise…

One of the interesting things about being on the staff of an automotive magazine is watching people’s reactions to the cars we drive. We use test cars as we would our own automobiles, and it is a rule of thumb that the more unusual, exotic, or expensive the car, the better time we have with it. Stories about such cars are also easier to write. This particular one began when Joe Molina, a PR man with an instinct for the unusual, walked into our offices one afternoon with a photo album in hand. Molina has an impressive list of high-dollar specialty-car manufacturers as clients. Every time he shows up, he brings us something startling. From the aura of excitement he radiated, we knew that once again he must have latched…

GOLF RABBIT MOVES UP A notchback version of the Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit) is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this fall. The car is expected to have the same front-wheel-drive components as the current Golf/Rabbit and will ride on the same wheelbase. Overall length may be a bit greater due to the basic difference in design, and cargo capacity will suffer a fair amount as a result of the notch rear. Overall theme of the sedan will be on a more luxurious path than that of the Rabbit. The sporting nature of the Golf/Rabbit will be carried over, however, with rectangular headlamps, black grille, accenting, and the possibility of a sporty GTI version. SUGAR ’N’ SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE The Mazda 626 has barely gotten its feet wet,…

The Rabbit diesel is a flat amazing car. It does things so well, you’re inclined to think that all autos should be built this way—and maybe someday they will. The Rabbit is not as fast as its gasoline brother, but the diesel engine will wind to at least 5000 rpm (pretty risque for a clatter motor) and affords the Rabbit a modicum of flexibility over most other small-displacement diesels. The diesel is apt to speed cleanly through its first three gears (which are direct) and then bask in the unhurried rpm of its overdrive 4th and 5th gears. The car doesn’t nose-dive when you change ratios, and the engine has enough power to propel two plus luggage and full-on air conditioning to an all-day 85-mph outing. The Rabbit’s negative side…

Once you work your way around the funky old body, you get a great view of the past and Peugeot’s heritage of being the oldest production diesel maker on earth. Peugeot touts the 504 as a lifetime car, and by the feel of it, we'd agree to at least half of that. The 504’s prosaic exterior completely belies its warm, down-home demeanor, welcoming its passengers with seats that are cushy at first and delightfully firm shortly afterward. You sink into their plushness for the first, inch or so, then your bottom stops on a firm, well-padded seat that increases in comfort as miles pile up. It’s like settling into a big puffy armchair only to find that there’s a Recaro under it all. The rear bench has a similar feel…

The 300TD: Is it really a Mercedes-Benz? Is it really a station wagon? Both questions can be answered only after you’ve spent time on the inside. The TD is based on the 123-series Mercedes and is very similar to the 300D sedan. It uses the same engine, chassis platform, running gear, etc., and differs only in curb weight; and due to better aerodynamics, the TD is capable of a higher top speed than the sedan. In Europe, this car is available in several incarnations, including several gasoline-engine models and varied levels of interior trim. Here, what you see is what you get, and that includes an engine choice of one: the 3-liter 5-cylinder diesel. It also has one price: more of an admission fee, actually, that will allow 3000 Sybarites…

Like a best-selling author who has labored in a garret by candlelight for 50 years to be recognized, the diesel engine has spent most of its life trying to be an overnight success. Considering that the diesel’s garret was a lavish laboratory at Daimler-Benz in Sindelfingen, West Germany, and that its artistic sponsor was that same respected and wealthy auto manufacturer, the sudden emergence of the diesel passenger car is all the more surprising—particularly since it’s been 43 years trying to edge its way into the spotlight. Yes, Daimler-Benz introduced a genuine corn-popping, smoke-spewing, middle-distillate-burning diesel passenger car in 19 and 36, only to watch it become the darling of the neo-bizarre fringe buyer and a joke to the asphalt-stomping, pavement-tearing, tire-eating performoconverts of the postwar world. They were far…

BMW is tinkering with an experimental turbocharged diesel engine that is perfectly compatible with their sporting Bavarian image. And while it certainly\idles like any other diesel, it accelerates like a 3-series body (320i) at an expected BMW pace. The converted 6-cylinder produces 115 horsepower and, in the 3-series body, is expected to pass the EPA mileage cycle at 31-32 mpg. Of course, we can only guess what the final word will be on particulate emissions, so this saver of finite fossil fuel could well be shut out of the U.S. before it’s launched. Munich believes small firms must project advanced technology, yet they disdain rotaries or turbines and insist that the inline six is dynamically ideal above 2 liters. Although their M-60 six wasn’t intended for diesel use, Dr. Goschel…

In 1975, Chevrolet introduced the Monza, a new subcompact loosely based on their late and not particularly lamented Vega. First offered only as a 2 + 2 hatchback, it immediately earned kudos from the automotive press and public as a welcome contender for American GT honors. The Monza 2 + 2 was certainly born with looks that bespoke a European heritage. Its graceful body was suitably accented by a soft front end with dual rectangular headlights and a noticeable absence of brightwork. Today, due to a broadening of the model line, only the 2 + 2 Sport hatchback retains this unique appearance. The Spyder option debuted in 1977 and was Chevrolet’s first tentative step towards reinforcing the Monza’s image. Decal and spoiler freaks were elated, but it wasn’t until the…

If only Willie boy had one of these, odds are he’d still be out there driving around. The Regal Limited is a perfect car not only for harried traveling salesmen, but for anyone seeking sanctuary from the rigors of the road. This car is not just transportation; it’s an environment. The Regal is designed for people who really would rather have a Buick but who aren’t too keen on the prospects of wheeling some oversized gunboat across the concrete seas. Even the name bespeaks a certain type of carefully nurtured attitude. Decked out in Limited trim and optioned to the hilt, the Regal becomes a top-notch escape module for those whose most fervent desire is simply to keep the rest of the world on the outside looking in. They say…

In one short week in May, Washington, D.C., went from a comfortable, relaxed place to live and drive, to a panic-crazed asylum. Spurred by reports of gasoline shortages in California and exaggerated reports of local cutbacks, gas stations closed en masse; long lines formed at those that remained open; and those of us unfortunate enough to be caught in these lines were witnesses to the incredible spectacle of shouting, cursing, fist-fighting consumers sloshing gas over the pavement as they tried to squeeze every last drop into their tanks—sometimes less than a dollar’s worth! Price, of course, was no object. How could this happen, buyers were asked as they waited in line. Who was to blame for this mess? Those who were willing to roll down their windows and talk, responded…

TURBO CORVETTES FROM MILD TO WILD American Custom Industries (5035 Alexis Road, Sylvania, Ohio) manufactures this modified Corvette to customer specifications, from cosmetic-only to fully race-prepared, with a starting price of $25,000, and up to $45,000 for the turbo-racer model. ACI also builds Corvette station wagons, sport wagons, and other variations to customer specifications. Further information is available toll-free: (800) 537-1943. GERIATRIC DERRING-DO ON THE THRILL CIRCUIT According to Racing Promotion Monthly, a snappy idea-exchange organ for racetrack owners and promoters, Ken Butler, 69, operator of Atlantic City Speedway, will take his specialty act on the thrill-show tour. Butler, who’s been in racing for 50 years in one way or another, and who has an artificial leg, will jump a car over a school bus for the paying customers. Be…

If you’re waiting for a side-by-each Dasher/Rabbit comparison, don’t hold your breath. Although the cars share certain mechanicals and construction ideas, there’s no real similarity between them. The Dasher’s interior is opulent and very Germanic, but instead of being a cold, sexless frontier, it has a personality to foil its efficiency. Quality pervades wherever one looks, and it’s pleasing to the eye as well as to the touch. It’s so nice that you'll feel as if you're driving a much more expensive car. In LA, used diesel Dashers have been. seen as high as $12,000 loaded, and that way is the only way you'll have one this year because Wolfsburg can’t make them fast enough. The seats are very supportive and fully adjustable. Rear seat leg room is comfortable and…

You don’t realize until much later that the stickshift 240D is a barebones auto, because inside the looks, the smell and the clarity whisper luxury at a wholesale price. Certainly it is the chicquest economy car going, even though no Beverly Hills matron will ever mate her Calvin Klein jeans with the M-B Tex upholstery. It's the exterior that fools you, with its economy of design and carefully arranged sheet metal providing a much more aerodynamic form than you can believe with your eyes. When the vehicle is conventional, this factor is important; but when it’s a diesel, the factor is imperative, even though oil burners don’t like anything over 65 mph. Once you’re securely belted in the driver’s position, the 240 could just as easily be a 450SEL; this…

The turbocharged 300SD isn’t sure whether it’s a diesel or not. It sips No. 2 but runs like a high-octane gas motor. It is the state of the diesel art, the concept that all other makers will copy. It is also the most expensive car of the lot. The SD isn’t particularly fast, but it is so smooth that it gives an illusion of mega-power and seems to possess two modes of acceleration. The first is obvious. You tromp the throttle and, after a moment of turbocharger hesitation, the forward thrust comes with the alacrity of a gas motor. The 4-speed automatic is especially useful here, helping the 3-liter engine to hold correct rpm range. Ninety-five percent of the time, there is no noticeable diesel lag. When it falls out…

New West magazine, the darling of the trendies, runs a piece called “Diesel Chic.” UPI and AP, which heretofore have never considered the automobile a fit subject for wire stories, are covering the diesel engine as though they were following Linda Ronstadt through Africa. Dieselmania has hit Perry’s in San Francisco and P.J. Clarke’s in Manhattan right between the single malt scotch and the Pimms Cup #2. Daughters of the American Revolution are sitting around beflowered parlours of the old South gossiping about injector nozzles while rent-a-limo services are costing diesel conversions for their battlefleets. Dr. Rudolf Diesel is chortling in his grave as GM slips further and further behind in diesel deliveries, and Mercedes-Benz of North America is breaking diesel sales records in each succeeding 10-day sales period. The…

It doesn't take a fuel shortage to bring out all the gas-saving gimmicks conjured by everyone from the serious inventor to the fast-buck artist. For years, the motoring public has been exposed to campaigns for special spark plugs, spark intensifiers, mini-superchargers, ionizing screens, miracle additives, air bleeders and super carburetors. Many of the fuel mileage claims have been so fantastic, that if they were applied to a real automobile, it would run forever on a single tank of fuel. If only the claims were true. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your position, the government has stepped in to question these claims and, at the same time, has created a schedule of fuel-economy standards by which auto makers must abide. The latter have proved difficult but not impossible to attain, as…

With a dazzling display of technological fireworks, Lincoln-Mercury Division will shortly introduce the sixth in the Continental Mark series, a line of cars that has been around for 40 years—the first of which was designed to the personal specifications of Edsel Ford. The 1980 model will be available as a 2-door coupe or a first-ever 4-door sedan. Both vehicles are brand new from the tires to the tops, though they retain the unmistakable identity established by the III, IV and V series that lived through the Seventies. The biggest single difference between the outgoing V series and the new VI Marks is weight. By using computerized structural analysis and finite element modeling techniques also used to build the Zephyr, Capri and Monarch, L-M engineers have pulled a total of 930…

What we have here is a clash between titans. The field of honor is every mile of paved highway in this country. The rules are framed by the U.S. government and the U.S. consumer. The weapons in this duel are matched 5;door hatchback sedans. The combatants are Chevrolet—the largest domestic seller of cars—and Toyota—the largest importer of cars. The prize is a silver chalice full of sales, share, penetration, and profit so intensely desired by both heavily armed camps. The Toyota Corona 5-door Corona LE Liftback is all new this year and the only 5-door hatchback sedan in this size class to be exported from Japan to the U.S. It wasn’t a part of last year’s old Corona lineup but was created from the 4-door Corona sedan as new styling…