Indholdsfortegnelse for November 1982 i MotorTrend

CAMARO PACER-PLUS If you haven’t been to the PPG Indy Car series, you probably haven’t seen the ex-traordinary Camaro the series uses for a pace car. So here it is. While the underpinnings are modified slightly for sustained high-speed running, it’s the body shell that got most of the attention from GM Design and Chevrolet. The completely rounded-off nose gives way to sculptured rocker panels and a full-width tail panel assembly, though the aero numbers are ruined by the yellow safety lights mounted to the roof. CHRYSLER ENGINE PLANS THROUGH 1985 Chryco recently reaffirmed its plans to spend more than $1.5 billion in Europe, North America, and Japan on a whole family of engines for future products. The 1.6-liter Peugeot four that’s new in 1983 Omni and Horizon models will…

After the name the first thing that strikes you about the Nissan Pulsar is the car’s sheer size. Or, more accurately, lack of size. In pictures, these included, the Pulsar looks to be about the size of a Toyota Corolla or maybe a Nissan Stanza. But in reality it is more like a Honda Civic. However, that’s not going to hurt Nissan’s third entry in the front-drive small-car sweepstakes. The Pulsar NX replaces the long-in-the-tooth Datsun 310 GX hatchback coupe. This time, Nissan’s product planners decided to make the top-of-the-line 310 replacement something more than a mere coupe version of the everyday hatchback sedan models. To accomplish this, the styling and chassis development teams took a decidedly different tack from previous Nissan projects. The exterior design was done at the…

Yeah, that’s right buddy; a Rabbit. Do ya wanna make something of it? Volkswagen of America did. What it made is one of the most subtle and well-balanced automobiles you can buy. For a world of reasons, Volkswagen found itself in need of a super-hero, one that could remind the public of the company’s German roots, establish an image of performance to go with its reputation for economy, and bring interested shoppers back into its showrooms. You see, life has grown more complicated since Volkswagen introduced the ground-breaking Rabbit in 1975. What’s become a crowded international menu of modern, good-performing econocars left VW needing a grabber to convince a key segment of the consuming public that strudel is still a tasty alternative to apple pie or sushi. To make that…

When was the last time you walked into your office and your boss told you that you had to go to Laguna Seca and drive the last two Le Mans-winning Porsches? Well, there you are; someone has to do these dirty jobs, so…where is that helmet? The Laguna Seca paddock was deserted on the Wednesday preceding the 1982 Monterey Historic Races — except for the crowd that was rapidly gathering as the two Porsches were rolled out of their transporter. The open cockpit 936 came out first, and its competition history was clearly visible. Built in 1976 and raced extensively, it wore its battle scars proudly—cracked fiberglass, pitted body sections, well-worn steering wheel, shiny pedal and gear lever, and plenty of the obligatory racers’ tape. Not to mention reminders of…

About the first look any of us had of the Abarth was page 11 of the May 1955 issue of Road & Track. The lead picture was a front three-quarter view of an absolutely striking envelope, dark on the bottom, lighter above. The fender bulges rose above the squat body, drawn to knife edges front, rear, top. The highest point was a headrest that tapered back to a fin that echoed the fender forms. Another shot showed the car to be asymmetric, the body slightly higher on the left, the driver’s side. A rectangular alloy tonneau with generously rounded corners covered the passenger’s cockpit—itself entirely separate from the driver’s. There was a shot of the modified Fiat engine, another of the rear suspension. The brief article said it was an…

We turned off the bumpy dirt road, and an absolute sea of mud appeared directly ahead. Since no options were available (the road disappeared into pure swamp), we squished down into the goo, with this great bow-wave of mud blotting out the sun, the wipers battling furiously to clean some space on the windshield, and many crossed fingers and Hail Marys. Then came the sudden realization that we were indeed slithering through and would arrive at the other side, still dry. For a driver of the pavement persuasion, this was an impressive demonstration of the capabilities of the 4-wheel-drive independent suspension of the ‘83 Chevrolet Blazer. There were many other obstacles on this off-road course at GM’s Milford, Michigan, proving grounds, including grades in excess of 40° (complete with massive…

THE 320 GETS A NOSE JOB This BMW 320 4-door sedan was snapped recently during a photo session for a German commercial, when an unwary film crew selected a location mere blocks from the Motor Trend offices. In addition to the new 4-turig body style the upcoming 3-Series Bimmer will sport all-new sheet metal and rear suspension. The 2-door 320 shown here is fitted in full U.S. “Fedzo” trim including the no-longer-required 5-mph ram-’em bumpers. Our intrepid spy photographer snapped this 3-Series when foolish BMW film crew-types parked the vehicle in front of our Sunset Boulevard offices. The front-end styling shows a suprising move away from the traditional “reverse-slope” nose that has become as much a BMW trademark as the twin kidney grille work. The Bavarian auto maker seems to…

To call the 1982 Firebird a bright spot in a generally bleak automotive year is like saying “E.T.” was a moderately popular film. We’re talking understatement here. And everybody at Pontiac wishes the 1000, 2000, 6000, and Bonneville could be just as popular. With a single car that can be termed a runaway success, there is usually a tendency for the manufacturer to become very conservative in the engineering and marketing of a model like the Firebird as it goes into its second model year. Why fiddle with something that sells? Nevertheless, the people at Pontiac did fiddle with the Firebird and we’re happy to report the car is much better for it. The three-car Firebird lineup is the same as last year, with the first-level (Pontiac-ese for “base”) Firebird…

Since its introduction a year and a half ago, the Mercury LN7 2-seater coupe, with its outstanding aerodynamic performance (.34 coefficient of drag) and styling, has been something of a disappointment to those of us who like our 2-seaters with some built-in performance. The original 1.6-liter engine and wide-ratio overdrive 4-speed transaxle delivered plenty of economy but very disappointing acceleration. The 1.6 high-output (HO) engine, which came onstream last year, offered 14% more power—jump from 70 hp to 80—nd the optional close-ratio 4-speed made it even better. But lately Lincoln-Mercury has really got with the program in the smaller end of its product line, and for ‘83 offers the LN7 with still more power and better ways to use it: a fuel-injected, high-compression version of the 1.6 engine, and a…

Let’s pretend: You really are a Porsche fanatiker, a believer, a follower of the faith, but you’ve been away—perhaps scaling the Himalayas searching for Yeti. And so you’ve not heard that this was The Year of the Porsche at Monterey. Actually, it’s hard to believe that anyone who cared—north of Nepal or south of Tierra del Fuego not-withstanding—didn’t know that Porsche was to be the honored marque at the Histories, and that, since Porsche is distributed in the U.S. by Porsche +Audi Division of VW of America, Audi was going to piggyback along. An explanatory note for those who have truly Been Away. Each year for the past nine—1982 inclusive—Steve Earle has presented at Laguna Seca a slate of races for elderly automobiles. Preferred are those with a certified history:…

The Big news at Buick this year is T-Type. As in Skyhawk T-Type. Or Century T-Type. Or even Riviera T-Type. And, to be very frank., it will be the newer front-wheel-drive variations on the theme that will undoubtedly get the lion’s share of the attention. A pity, too, since the oldest (speaking from an engineering point) of the sporty Buicks offers the closest thing to ‘60s-style performance to come out of GM in a long while. The T-Type concept is one of “balanced performance,” to quote Buick. Obviously, this means something different as it’s applied to different models. In this application, the T-Type concept has helped position the turbo-engined Regal. First installed in the Regal Sport Coupe, the AiResearch-blown 3.8-liter V-6 was offered in both 2- and 4-bbl carbureted versions.…

Only one year ago, Ford Motor Company offered three lines of intermediate and full-sized cars with conventional three-box layouts and rear-wheeldrive: Fairmont/Zephyr, Granada/Mon-arch, and LTD/Marquis, along with its intermediate specialty family, represented by Thunderbird/Cougar. For 1983, there are substantial changes in that model lineup. The Granada and Monarch lines will disappear forever. Fairmont and Zephyr will change at midyear into new, smaller frontdrive cars, the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz. Thunderbird and Cougar are completely restyled, and the LTD/Marquis line becomes LTD Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis. In place of the disappeared Granada and Monarch lines, Ford has engineered new cars, using the LTD and Marquis nameplates for the new family. Both are 5-passenger, rear-drive cars, available in 4-door sedan and station wagon models only. There are no coupes.…

You don’t have to be named Al in order to win a Can-Am race in 1982. But it certainly doesn’t hurt. Just ask veteran Al Holbert or rookie Al Unser Jr., who split the first four rounds of competition in the SCCA’s Budweiser/7-Eleven Can-Am Challenge. In so doing, they served notice that the series was almost certainly destined to end in a two-car showdown. Unser the Younger, who stood as point leader after four of nine contests, drove the Galles Racing GR2 Frissbee to an opening-round win at Road Atlanta. He followed it up with an equally convincing performance at Mosport. Holbert, who replaced Patrick Tambay after the latter was released from his Racing Team VDS contract to assume Gilles Villeneuve’s seat on the Ferrari Formula One team, stayed hot…

COURT ORDERS PASSIVE RESTRAINTS FOR ‘84 MODELS Like a recurring dream that begins in your youth and continues through middle age, passive restraints are haunting us again. The latest ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals reinstates the passive-restraint standard starting with all 1984 models sold after Sept. 1, 1983. If you have followed this safety saga, you may recall that the new staff at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rejected the passive-restraint requirement a year ago, claiming that “it no longer met the statutory criteria which requires all auto safety standards to be reasonable, practicable, appropriate, and meet the need for motor vehicle safety.’’ While auto makers cheered the recision, insurance and consumer groups took the issue to court. Last June, the three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals…

The new Volvo 760 was conceived in the mid-Seventies. It is neither the least nor the most of what it might have been, but it follows the best European (perhaps Nordic?) school of automobile design. The concept rests near the high end of designer Jan Wilsgaard’s dream, a dream that embodies consistency, faithfulness, and honesty. Corporate Volvo demands it; Volvo buyers expect it. If they didn’t then 15 years of the same body style would be hard to explain. This marketing philosphy must work because last year Volvo became the best-selling European import in the United States. People have traditionally bought Volvos for their quality, longevity, reliability (and, more recently, performance); and did so for a relatively modest cash outlay. But they didn’t buy many GLEs. Those incar-nations were based…

Racing driver and instructor Bob Bondurant has written a book on his experience in international competition and in teaching thousands of drivers of all abilities. Co-authored with photographer/writer John Blakemore, the book is scheduled for release this month. As an exclusive for Motor Trend readers, we preview the book with this excerpt from the chapter, “Getting to Know the Road.” Other chapters include “Getting to Know the Lingo,” “Getting Comfortable,” “Getting to Know Yourself,” and “Getting into Racing.” As a treatise on the art of driving, whether you want to compete seriously or just drive your best, “Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving” is filled with tips, insights, and good advice—from a guy who should know. Bondurant’s credentials are unimpeachable. He owns and operates one of the most successful race…

To understand why someone would attack a $60,000 car with an air chisel to create a $90,000 car, you must remember two things about convertible-top automobiles: (1) convertibles are lots of fun, and (2) convertibles are powerful status symbols. Remember especially item number two, as it helps distinguish between enjoying a possession and enjoying the possessing. That convertibles are fun is a modern maxim. Any open-cockpit car brings to the driving experience sun, wind, and an intimacy with the passing scenery. And that’s true regardless of purchase price. Will the breeze smell sweeter in this almost-six-figure Mercedes than in a Fiat for a tenth the cost? Will the tan you get be deeper and richer? Will you see something from the Mercedes you wouldn’t otherwise? Actually, to that last the…

Dennis Gulyas is an old hand at Nelson Ledges. He’s been around the track, much of the time acting as track manager, for 15 years, and he’s been through 14 24-hour motorcycle races and now three 24-hour SCCA Showroom Stock endurathons. Like everyone else who works at Nelson Ledges Road Course, near Warren, Ohio, Dennis Gulyas is an unpaid volunteer. He’s also a full professor of social psychology at nearby Hiram College, and he says he enjoys the round-the-clock races because they afford him an opportunity “to watch closely knit groups operating under pressure in a controlled environment.” Gulyas, sixtyish, had plenty to observe this year, because the third running of the Longest Day of Nelson Ledges was closeness and pressure personified. Here in the Ohio heartland, on the same…