Indholdsfortegnelse for January 1983 i MotorTrend

What you see here, spelled out in printed circuits and tri-hemispherical combustion chambers, is the philosophy of BMW. A philosophy that holds that nothing justifies the price of a luxury car so conclusively as its performance; and that nothing heightens its performance more than Its underlying technology. You are also looking at one of the world’s most efficient translations of theory into practice: the BMW 528e. THE CAR THAT THINKS ITS WAY TO HIGHER PERFORMANCE. In a 528e, the functions of the engine include not just internal combustion, but data processing. Electronic sensors ask all manner of questions of the engine: What is the precise mixture of fuel and air? How far open is the throttle? The answers are fed to a microprocessor that makes instantaneous adjustments, coaxing maximum performance…

ENGINEERING THE WIND. Beyond Aerodynamics, into the Era of Air-Flow Management. If you’ve ever walked into a stiff breeze, you know the feeling of aerodynamic drag. That’s the same wind drag that robs your car of mileage and performance as it rolls into the onrushing air. Reducing wind drag has long been a challenge to automotive designers. Now, Ford Motor Company designers and aerodynamicists are discovering new ways to overcome wind drag and use oncoming air to improve the way cars ride. This new technology is called “Air-Flow Management.” Air-Flow Management means using a car’s outer surface to redirect air-flow in a controlled way. Ford designers are using the wind to control lift and downforce (negative lift) to create cars with better road-holding ability. By studying wind response to design…

A brand-new quasi-Cobra The Aurora is a handbuilt sports car in the image of the 289 “Don’t call ours a kit car,” pleaded Aurora’s Managing Director Blaine Hobson. Fair enough: The Aurora Mk.II is not a kit car. What it is, is a handbuilt (in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada,) sports car almost identical in styling and concept to Shelby’s first-generation 289 Cobra. It differs from the do-it-yourself kits in ways beyond the simple fact that you can just write a check and drive it home. The Aurora is emissions-and safety-legal in all 50 states, and comes with a genuine factory warranty. If you’re lured to the Cobra magic, but uninterested in protracted wrench-twisting, the Aurora has clear appeal as an alternative to kit Cobras. Aurora Cars came into being in…

Motor Trend’s Car of Year award has become something of a tradition for the editorial staff and, judging from your letters, for you, the readers. Well, it’s almost tradition time again. Now we’re going to whet your appetite with a little sneak preview of next month’s complete Car of the Year report. Before we get into the details of the ‘83 candidates, we’d like to go over the criteria for selecting the cars that will compete for the award. About four months ago, the editors got together to compile a list of the more important models for the ‘83 model year. After arriving at a list of around 15 possibilities, we separated out the models that won’t be in dealer’s showrooms by the time the February issue of Motor Trend…

To judge by the reaction of the legion of journalists assembled in the Parc des Expositions, the 69th Paris Salon de L’Auto seemed close to rating as something of a disappointment. “Zut!” they said. “There ees nothing new.” And from the point of view of automotive journalists, this complaint was essentially accurate, not only for this show but virtually every major show of recent memory. With a world car market that’s as soft as a round of Camembert left too long in the sun, manufacturers have lately taken to announcing new models the instant they’re ready for production — and frequently well before. None of this waiting around for the Big Show. “Is the paint dry yet, Wolfgang? [Or Knut, or Jean-Paul, or Reginald, or Guido, or Hiroichi, whatever’s appropriate.]…

The surge of acceleration. The hum of the highway. The glow of the instrument panel in the dark. Open lines of communication between you, your car and the road. That’s what Pontiac calls excitement. Throw it a curve. Take it through the bumps. Send it down the straightaways. Your Pontiac will respond to your commands as if it were part of your central nervous system. Now tune in to the music of the road. Or your favorite cruising tunes. You’re in perfect harmony. Give in to these sensual delights and experience the ultimate in Pontiac inner space technologhy: the new Pontiac 6000 Special Touring Edition.…

Think of it as one 4×4 for the price of two In the larger scheme of things, the Range Rover isn’t what you could call new. Though it was introduced in June 1970, we in the States have been denied the 4×4 utility wagon for various corporate/political and economic reasons. Until now. Enter Range Rover (North America) Inc., a group of enterprising individuals headed by Stuart Taylor, an expatriate Australian car crazy. Taylor and company couldn’t understand why British Leyland never imported the Range Rover to the U.S. All the right bits and pieces were there, conservative but clean appearance, well-proven driveline components, the almost-legendary Land Rover durability, and exclusivity, all in a package that proved 4wd vehicles don’t have to be synonymous with Wellington boots and mud. Fact be…

The best of the shrunken Peterbilts I was going to begin this article by congratulating Mitsubishi on calling its trucks “trucks” instead of something in the Cordia/Tredia/Starion vein. After years of driving Japanese cars with (semi) meaningless alpha-numeric designations or vaguely Italianate names, “truck” was refreshing. Then I noticed that the standard baseline truck is called Mighty Max. More silly names. Our truck, however, was not the stripper Max but the SP T/D 4×4. More alpha-numerics. If you’re interested in mini-trucks, you’ve already no doubt become familiar with the Mitsubishi-manufactured, Dodge-distributed Ram 50 (or badge-engineered Plymouth Arrow). They are, perhaps, the nicest, best-performing of the shrunken Peterbilt crowd, challenged only by the Chevy S-10/GMC S-15 twins, and then only when optioned to a fare-thee-well. Familiarity with the imported Mopars means…

The Formula One fraternity will long remember 1982. For many, the memories will not be pleasant ones. By the time the FI entourage gathered in Las Vegas for the 16th and final round of action, the FIA’s World Driving Championship had experienced no less than a driver’s strike, a constructor’s boycott, two race cancellations, multiple disqualifications of point-scoring cars, and increasingly ominous threats of wholesale sponsor and manufacturer pullouts if the aforementioned craziness was not brought under control. Those unfortunate events were all overshadowed by the tragic deaths of Gilles Villenueve and Riccardo Paletti. And by the terrifying accident at Hockenheim that ended Didier Pironi’s 1982 championship bid and very nearly closed out his career. Somehow, all these problems managed to temporarily fade away at Caesars. The parking lot Grand…

Sure the Fuego’s fun — but what’s it like to live with? Two things bothered us in our first encounters with the Renault Fuego: a ride height that gave its otherwise graceful profile the look of an armadillo on tiptoe, and handling that, like so many French cars, possessed far too much lifeboat for our tastes. So we were pleasantly surprised when we stopped by AMC’s Southfield, Michigan, HQ to pick up the little sweetheart you see displayed on these pages. We knew the car was going to be something more than stock, of course, since its setup was the result of collaboration between MT and Renault Racing. We sought to level out the Fuego’s rather nautical behavior in corners while simultaneously increasing cornering power. However, handling aside, we were…

Ever wonder why French names dominate the list of grand prix drivers? Part of the reason is that Renault, the giant French auto maker, has for the past 16 years provided a farm system that helps identify talented drivers. In 1966, the first year of the Renault Cup, there wasn’t a single French driver in Formula One. Now at a typical grand prix, a quarter of the field is French. And all the active French drivers participated in the Renault program during the formative years of their careers. Renault Cup racing, which utilizes showroom stock Renault sedans, has spread throughout Europe, with national series being held in most countries. This past season the Cup came to North America for the first time, with the International Motor Sports Association sanctioning a…

RIVIERA INDY 500 PACER Buick, which has dominated the Indianapolis 500 pace car scene since 1975—with selections in 1976 and 1981 as well—will be back at the Brickyard in ‘83 with a Riviera convertible done up in cream and brown with brown leather interior. Under the hood will be a twin-turbocharged 4.1-liter V-6 with digital electronic sequential port injection making in excess of 350 hp, built up with Buick’s own Stage II heavy-duty parts. Buick is calling the car’s engine the most technically sophisticated engine that has ever run at Indy, in a pacer or a racer. PONTIAC’S T.A.L.E. All that abbreviation stands for Trans Am Limited Edition, about 5000 of which will be rolling off California and Ohio assembly lines shortly. The Limited Edition, to be modified for use…

OPEL UPDATES ITS V-BODY V-Body? Yes, the Opel Monza is, in GMese, the V-car. And, in the near future, the Monza will be receiving a stylish new nose. Displayed at this year’s Paris Auto Show as a design concept car, the Monza GSE is a preview of the revised Opel V-body range (Rekord, Commodore, Senator, and Monza) that will be introduced at the upcoming Amsterdam Auto Salon. The GSE will replace the Monza S as the sportiest giant Opel. Fitted with a 3.0-liter Bosch-injected inline six, the GSE should top out at over 130 mph on the autobahn. While Opel has not officially confirmed it, the Monza GSE will be the first GM product to offer their hybrid American-German-English 2.8-liter DOHC, 4-valve, 60°V-6 powerplant derived from the X-car’s optional engine.…

What Could Be Better Than Unbelievable Range? By now, you’ve probably heard some tall sounding stories about how far away the ESCORT* radar warning receiver picks up radar traps. You know, the ones where they talk in miles instead of car lengths. The stories go on to say that ESCORT’S superheterodyne receiving circuits provide as much × and K-band warning as you can possibly use, and then some. If you’ve never used an ESCORT, they may seem pretty far fetched, but most of them are true. Over hills, around corners, and from behind. Car 54 Where Are You? Maximum detection range is wonderful, but it’s far from the whole story. In some ways, radar detectors are like smoke alarms; you want to make sure that you don’t miss anything, but…

In about 90 days, Ford Motor Company will roll out still another set of all-new 1983 cars, at the midpoint of the most active year in the company’s 80-year history. These are the Ford Tempo and the Mercury Topaz, the latter taking its name from the project code-name that has applied to these cars over the past four years. “Topaz” was and is the replacement program for Ford’s original downsized cars. The light weight, unit construction, and rear drive of the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr will be discontinued with the startup of Tempo and Topaz production. The Topaz family brings together elements of the company’s first front drive, the Escort/Lynx family, the Ford of Europe Sierra, and the Thunderbird/Cougar, the former providing the basic floorpan, and the latter two…

American Driving Machine Performance Report. □Advanced front-wheel-drive performance. □Rated over Mercedes 300D for overall driving superiority by 38 out of 30 automotive engineers. □Sports sedan suspension and 5-speed manual transmission. □38 est hwy [23] EPA est mpg. Cars that combine sports car performance with family car room fit into an exclusive category known as sports sedans. Traditionally, (like BMW, Audi and Mercedes) they came from Europe. Until the new 1983 Dodge 600ES. It’s the American alternative that rivals Europe’s best. Selected ahead of Mercedes 300D for overall driving superiority. When 50 automotive engineers compared the Dodge 600ES to a Mercedes 300D, they preferred the 600ES 38 to 12 for overall driving superiority after making comparisons and evaluations of maneuverability, cornering, pickup and acceleration. Most of the credit goes to advanced…

The scene has changed considerably since Marmon-Herrington introduced the first 4-wheel-drive vehicles in 1935. The firm’s initial 4×4 conversion of a Ford half-ton pickup truck started a revolution. Today, over 8 million 4-wheelers are registered in America. Although pickups still constitute a majority, utility vehicles and even a legitimate passenger car or two have appeared to fill in the gaps. While few are as exotic as John Buffum’s SCCA PRO Rally Audi Quattro pictured below, all are capable of delivering plenty of traction under some pretty grim driving conditions. First-time 4-wheel drive buyers have been known to labor under several misconceptions. The hard facts show that 95% of all 4×4s seldom if ever leave paved roads. The necessity of having all four wheels powered also tends to get highly exaggerated,…

MAXIMUM TRACTION. IN MINIMUM TIME. Subaru pioneered the only vehicles in America you can switch into four wheel drive without stopping. With our “On Demand Four Wheel Drive System” the instant you need extra safety and traction, you simply flick the lever. And immediately you go from full time Front Wheel Drive to Four Wheel Drive. (For tougher going, certain models offer a dual range gear box). Subaru gives you the advantages of both Front Wheel Drive and 4WD in one road-hugging vehicle. HOW WE DELIVER MAXIMUM VALUE. EVERY TIME. Great gas mileage. The average mileage for our entire line of “On Demand 4WD’s” is [26] EPA est. mpg, 35est. hwy.* Low sticker price. We offer some of the lowest priced 4WD vehicles in America. In fact, our “On Demand…

A natural extension of a logical idea The old joke used to be that a GMC was just a Chevy truck with lockwashers. A later variation of the joke—not too funny if you’re Ford or Dodge—is that a GMC is a Chevy with a different dealership network. More dealers mean more exposure, more sales. If a man-(or woman) on-the-street reaction is any indication, GMC (and Chevy) have another badly needed winner. Reaction to the littlest Jimmy is instant, constant, and near universal. Women think it’s cute, so do some men. Others think it’s “just the right size,’’ others, that “it’s about time.” No adverse reaction whatsoever in car-crazed Southern California. Depending on who is doing the statistical collection, the figures for actual offroad use vary, but it’s safe to say…

One step closer in MT’s quest for everyman’s supercar On-road 4-wheel drive has always found its uneasy niche somewhere between “Indy Oddities’’ and “Cowboy Cadillacs.” Every time 4wd threatened to make a mark in hard surface racing, it was either outlawed outright, superseded by rules changes, or made superfluous by aerodynamic devices. Sure, Jensen made a few four drivers and the late Wm. Harrah caused a Ferrari-powered Wagoneer to happen, but not many enthusiasts knew or cared. A few years ago, Subaru introduced a little 4wd wagon and was rewarded by immediate success—but not from those enthusiasts busy trading their MGBs and string-back driving gloves for BMWs and Style Auto jackets. It was Mr. and Mrs. America who took the Subaru wagon to their ample waistlines and/or bosoms. Room for…

The United States Auto Club drove three 1983 Honda Civic 1300 FE Hatchbacks around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until they ran out of gas. They ran 578 and 581 and 604 miles on a 10.8 gallon gas tank at highway speeds. That’s official. The EPA went farther? And its official mileage figures also made the Civic FE the best gasoline mileage car in America, again. EPA estimated [46] mpg and 59 highway. Use 46 for comparison only? Our competition was tough. We had to beat our own record. But engineering improvement is what makes a Honda. We’ve had a year to refine the Civic FE. The time was well spent. Our engineers placed an economy driving indicator on the instrument panel. It’s a transmission upshift light that glows at the…

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Consumer Orientation No. 20 in a Series of Technical Papers Subject: Introduction of the 928S. New Power. New Performance. New Parameters of Comfort and Luxury in Porsche’s Finest. At Porsche, our philosophy is to design, test produce, and constantly improve. The new 928S embodies this tradition and is the proud successor to the 928. Consider its aluminumalloy V-8 engine. Displacement has been increased to 4.7 liters. And output has been raised to 234 hp. On the track, with manual transmission, the 928S accelerates from 0 to 50 mph in 5.2 seconds. And it has a maximum speed of 146 mph. The 9288’ transaxle design produces balanced front-to-rear weight for improved cornering and balanced braking. And it creates a high polar moment of inertia for increased directional control. The 928S’ unique…

AMERICA PICKS UP THE PACE As a nation, we are traveling at 55 mph. That is not a reference to the state of the economy but the literal average speed for all roads posted for 55 mph, according to Federal Highway Administration data analyzed in a recent report by the Highway Users Federation. You would think that the HUF, long a champion of the double nickle, would be tickled that the nation is right on the button. But they are not. That national average includes thousands of miles of twisting, winding two-lane roads where the vast majority of drivers are clocked well under 55 mph. But on the Interstates it’s another story, and that is what has them distressed. Close examination of the FHA’s latest Quarterly Speed Summary, from October…

It is rather puzzling why some carmakers are still building lowper-formance luxury cars. Here in Bavaria, Audi engineers find it inconceivable that a true luxury car can’t maneuver through the mountain roads of Oberbayern without stumbling, or rocket down the Munich’ Salzburg Autobahn without maintaining directional control. We have never sacrificed mindful pen formance for mindless luxury. Granted, we do appreciate thick can pets, sumptuous seats and the like. So, a luxury Audi comes replete with the de rigueur amenities that the modern world expects in a car. But it also comes replete with something else: legendary engineering finesse. Searching constantly for new innovations, such as our front’ wheel drive, high’ efficiency five-cylinder engines, negative steering roll radius, and torsion crank rear axles is what makes Audi engineering unique. It…

Fighting fire with fire, Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo are two sporty road-handlers built by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Master Car Builders of Japan. With their slinky, out-of-the night looks, their high-tech electronics, nimble-footed hustle and long list ‘of standard equipment, they don’t give an inch to Toyota Celica GT and Datsun 200-SX. With such comfort and convenience refinements as reclining buckets with adjustable lumbar support for the driver and memory return on the passenger side. Remote-controlled electric dual outside mirrors. Locking fuel fille door with inside remote control. And digital clock, all just for starters. But a few other items really stop the competition cold. For example, the patented Silent Shaft system of engine counterbalance that makes the Challenger and Sapporo so free of engine noise and vibration that it’s…

Ingolstadt comes up with the slickest sedan in Germany—and maybe the world Audi’s infatuation with advancing the state of automotive technology is a well-documented fact. Most recent beneficiary of the firm’s ongoing love affair with innovative engineering is a frontdrive 4-door sedan, known as the 100 series on the home front and the 5000 here in America. And while it employs a substantial number of components from Audi’s existing parts catalog, the second-generation 100 clearly marks the start of a new era in the history of Ingolstadt’s favorite auto maker. The latest 100 debuted in Germany last fall. Since the line is destined to serve in a number of roles over the course of the next eight to 10 years, a great deal of forward thinking went into laying out…

Exceptional handling is essential to a sports car, but it’s an elusive quality, hard to define. While engineers know the terminology for vehicle dynamics, on the road it’s more than numbers. A good sports car is responsive, smooth, agile. Yet giving a car these valued characteristics is not easy. To achieve the desired subjective results, engineers sort through thousands of objective choices for that optimal balance. The small number of good sports cars proves not all succeed. 29 EST HWY MPG 20 EST* MPG As one example of success, consider the Mazda RX-7. With it, Mazda engineers used a sound approach—simplicity and thorough attention to detail. The rear suspension is typical: a simple live axle is located by a sophisticated Watt’s link for precise geometry, a system found only on…

Two more driving wheels, but still no V-6 In less than a year, the whole light-truck market has been turned upside down by the timely arrival of the Chevy S-10 and Ford Ranger midi-pickups. These newcomers have sent the former owners of the segment, the Japanese, into a price-cutting, interest-slashing frenzy. American light trucks appear on their way to dominating their own market again, and the rivalry between Chevrolet and Ford gets more complex every day. Ford got a late start with the Ranger-leaving the S-10 alone in the segment for six months—and ended up finishing the ‘82 model year with almost exactly half as many sales (Chevrolet reported 152,965 sales between October and September; Ford reported 76,684 sales between March and September). Ford also came to market with fewer…

At Volkswagen we’re never completely satisfied by what we’ve built before. No matter how good it is, it’s never good enough. That simple philosophy has forced us to push back established limits of design and performance. To set standards for excellence. To seek creative solutions. And we’ve done it so well, for so long, that every time we introduce a car, the world expects something unique. The new Rabbit GTI is a culmination of everything we’ve ever learned at Volkswagen. It has a powerful 1.8-liter overhead cam engine coupled with a 5-speed gearbox, so it not only goes from 0 to 50 in 7.2 seconds, it delivers an EPA estimated [26] mpg, 36 mpg highway estimate* Its suspension system gives it a cornering ability unequalled in a car its size,…

We live in parlous times. The Rough Beast slouches through all the world causing us to Doubt and Despair. Captain Marvel is forever bound in litigation. Pennies are made with zinc, quarters are made with copper; the coinage is debased. Volkswagens are built in Pennsylvania, Hondas in Ohio, Kawasakis in Nebraska, Datsuns in Tennessee; our borders have been breached. Red, white, and blue are bands on the tricolor and they soon will own AMC. That’s American Motors. What’s left? Well, we still have heroes; we still have legends. And if those are still terribly important to you—if you want, like Rick Nagel, to remain a believer—turn quickly to the large color photo, look at that brutal winner, make plans to visit the museum, then pass on. I have not met…

Championship seasons are getting to be a habit with 20-year-old A1 Unser Jr. Little A1 displayed much the same form in collecting the 1982 Budweiser/7-Eleven Can-Am title as he did in nailing down the Robert Bosch/VW Formula Super Vee crown last year. Unser’s season-long struggle with A1 Holbert saw each driver walk off with four wins during the nine-race Can-Am campaign. Qualifying for the Laguna Seca finale commenced with Unser perched atop the standings by a 450-440 count. Longshot Danny Sullivan, who had earlier driven to victory at Caesar’s Palace, also had a slim mathematical chance at the title. As most insiders expected, the Trevor Harris-designed GR-3 proved indomitable on Laguna’s twisting 1.9-mile confines. The Galles Racing organization came ready to win big, and Little A1 put on a qualifying…