Indholdsfortegnelse for November 1983 i MotorTrend

TOYOTA’S UPCOMING ROTUS, ER LOTUS Toyota’s new but still unnamed mid-engined sports car is scheduled to land on these shores by April…if the current “mandatory” restrictions of Japanese imported cars are lifted or revised. Engineered in cooperation with Lotus Cars, the all-new 2-seat sportster will be fitted with a potent 1.6-liter, 4-valve, twin cam L-4 as the base powerplant in Japan and Europe. Optional in those markets, and standard for U.S.-bound models will be the firm’s new 2.0-liter version of the 1.6, 16-valve. engine. Contrary to several reports, the midship-mounted engine will drive only the rear wheels come introduction time. The much-rumored 4-wheel-drive arrangement for the 2-seater is definitely under development but seems to be a least two years away from production. The all-wheel-drive system is almost identical to that…

Toyota’s all-time best seller gets another split personality for ‘84 Toyota has sold nearly 2.5 million Corollas in the U.S. since introducing the line here in 1968. Continued success has been a matter of periodic modernization programs, which in 1981 included the company’s first front-drive passenger car, the Corolla Tercel. The Tercel required only two years of protective nurturing before being launched as its own separate line. And now, after a single season of solo work, the rear-drive Corolla has again been joined by a front-drive marquemate. The new 4-door variant, expected to account for a nearly 80% of all U.S. Corolla sales in ‘84, indicates the direction in which future generations are headed. Toyota research found that customers for Corolla-level vehicles typically fall into two distinct categories. Both demand…

When is a mainstream family sedan not a mainstream family sedan? When it is a Jekyll and Hyde 600ES Turbo. In its Jekyll personality it drips middle-Americamsm. Your mother-in-law would love it: “Oh, Dearie, it’s just perfect for your family.” No doubt about it. In the bright light of day, the 600ES Turbo looks, smells, and even functions like your average family sedan. You can load the entire clan—and maybe even a few extras, like the neighbor’s kids—in the thing, shoehorn the dog in somewhere, luggage and cooler in the trunk, and away you go. You can dial up a 55-mph freeway cruise and come close to the EPA window sticker for fuel consumption. And if you park it in the lot for the PTA meeting, the station wagon set…

If you have read these pages with devotion, you’d know of the Bandit cars, dusky big-block jewels built by Trans Am Specialties (1514 Rt. 38, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034; 609/488-0889) and autographed by box-office Burt. You too can drive the Bandit This Bandit, No. 60 in a long line of familiar faces, appears the same as the one that is used in “Smokey III.” Affable Chuck Posey, the founder of T-A Specialties, says no, that he made the movie cars with spoilers, wheels, and tires but preserved the original drivetrain. Over his third cup of jet fuel, taken directly before repairing to his VCR for the evening, Posey advised that “we pay Universal a royalty (of unspecified amount) for every Bandit we sell and Burt gets four of ‘em every…

We may have figured, once upon a time, that the world’s car builders looked upon serious performance as a thing to be buried. Dealing with emissions and fuel economy, it seemed, had relegated everything else past the proverbial back burner and clear off the stove of development. In 1979, nobody thought we’d ever have really fast automobiles again, even if performance did renew itself in a notion of all-aroundedness, which was a concept of refined handling balanced with “reasonable” (their word, not ours) acceleration. This seems reasonable to us Well, different people might define “reasonable” in different ways, but we are happy to report that the go-slow interpretation of “reasonable” failed to dominate the thinking of Volvo’s engineering department. Exhibit A of the latest in reasonable hardware from Goteborg: the…

Holbert Marches to IMSA GTP Title A1 Holbert is not a superstitious man. But he just might agree that good Athings sometimes come in threes. Holbert became the first driver to lock up a major U.S. motorsport championship in 1983 by streaking to victory in the Red Roof Inns March 83G-Porsche at the G.I. Joe’s 3-hour Camel GT race in Portland. The victory, his sixth in 10 starts this year, marked the third time this season that Holbert had won a short distance GT race driving solo, and ensured his third overall Camel GT crown. While Holbert nailed down the GTP title and $60,000 winner’s share of the $250,000 Camel GT purse, the remaining four races promised to produce classic knock-down drag-em-out contests as the GTO and GTU class runners…

Several years ago the minds that guide the oldest automobile producing company in this solar system sat down and took a long and somewhat confusing look at the American car market. Daimler-Benz had been finding the United States an increasingly profitable place to sell its Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. This was in the face of emission and safety regulations that were growing more stringent with each successive model year. The firm’s gasoline-powered cars promised to become less powerful as these government-mandated rules tightened. At the same time, diesel Mercs were being accepted by more American buyers than ever before. Good thing, since one of the wild cards the U.S. government had up its collective sleeve was the now-infamous Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) legislation. Put simply, CAFE dictated that any company…

Remember all those early-and mid-’50s Universal-International monster pictures, the ones where you were sure the gill-man or whatever was “dead” but was sure to be up and around in time for the next sequel? Well no one ever accused the auto industry of sequel immunity. For 1984, Cadillac’s Eldorado is the latest of Detroit’s brood to have its roof lopped off. Not too long ago, 1975 to be exact, Cadillac Motor Car division made big news when it announced its Eldorado would be the Last American Convertible. And now, eight years later, GM’s premium car maker is reintroducing its ragtop 2-door as the top of the Eldorado series. Return of the last convertible As soon as Cad announced its last Eldo convertible would be the Last Convertible, thousands of people…

The Cordia debuted last year to somewhat restrained praise from enthusiast circles. Mitsubishi’s stylish 2-door hatchback incorporated loads of intelligent design touches, and was greatly admired for its clean lines and good looks, which many felt outshone the company’s top-line Starion. Its fundamental weakness revolved around truly average performance and handling abilities. Flashy, rapid transport at a popular price Things have taken a definite turn for the better in ‘84. Drivetrain upgrades head a lengthy list of across-the-line improvements. But the biggest news comes in the form of a new Turbo model. With its sub-$10K price tag, the T-charged Cordia is guaranteed to help budget-bound FTD fanatics beat the autoblahs. Mitsubishi is billing its entire 1984 lineup as “second-generation” product. While that may overstate the case a bit, the Cordia…

Do you think Dolly Parton needs silicone treatments? Do you think a BMW 533i needs more horsepower? Realists will insist that in both cases the standard equipment is more than adequate. Men of vision, on the other hand, will insist that in certain areas (money, horsepower, good luck) it is impossible to have too much. We have mixed emotions in Dolly’s case, but enthusiastically agree with respect to this high-pressure Bimmer. White lightning with boost The merry boost bandidos of BAE Turbosystems (Torrance, California) decided to spring this killer street car on the world to (A) demonstrate (again) their turbo expertise, and (B) inspire looks of dejection and/or green envy on the faces of assorted Mustang/Supra/RX-7/Porsche owners. BAE chose as a starting point an ‘83 BMW 533i—no slouch in its…

One might think, what with the “voluntary” import quotas up for review, that Japanese manufacturers would show a little restraint for a while. But Honda, for one, is clearly not in the mood to hold back. As you read this, the company is already selling one of 1984’s hottest headline grabbers, the Civic CRX sports/economy coupe. Sports car thrills with econocar bills With this new nickel rocket, the conservative but thorough engineers and product planners at Honda create a distinct meaning for the term sports/economy. The CRX 1500 is a tiny 2-seater that’s spirited, entertaining, and highly efficient. It generates 0-60-mph times around 10 sec, approaches 0.80g on the skidpad, and maintains three-digit speeds without strain. Meanwhile, it carries an EPA city rating of 36 mpg, has loads of useable…

Three kinds of Classified Ads are available to advertisers. Commercial Classified: $100 for 25 words. $2.75 for each additional word. One-inch photo or illustration, add $110. A 5% frequency discount for ads in six or more issues. Car Club Classified: $60 for 25 words. $1 for each additional word. Add $35 to include photo. Personal Classified: $35 for 25 words. $1 for each additional word. Add $35 to include a photo. Name and address free on all ads. 25-word minimum. Count telephone numbers as one word. Advertisers using P.O. boxes are required to supply permanent street address and telephone number. Orders are not acknowledged. Closing date: All ads must be received by the 15th of the third month preceding publication date (e.g., April issue closes January 15). Payment must accompany…

1985 CHEVY NOMAD Spotted recently on General Motors’ test track is the first finished prototype of the ‘85 M-van (the “M” is said to stand for “midi”). The reardrive M-van is a scaled-down version of the conventional G-series vans, to be sold in both commercial and 7-passenger versions by Chevy and GMC, beginning in the fall of ‘84. About the same length as Chrysler’s front-drive Caravan/Voyager models; the M-van is taller and wider than the T1 15, with its short snout receiving the usual aerodynamic treatment from GM designers. Power is to be supplied by the ubiquitous 2.5-liter “Iron Duke,” with optional powerplants said to include Chevy’s 2.8-liter V6 and a larger 4.3-liter unit. GM is shooting for city mileage of around 25 mpg with the 2.5 and 4-speed manual.…

Nissan just about single-handedly started the modern sports car revolution when it unleashed the 240Z back in 1970. At the time, the car was rightfully heralded as the vanguard of a powerful new force from the East, a force that managed to reconcile, in the automotive market, the apparently contradictory terms of affordability and fun. Prior to the introduction of the car, a sports car shopper was in pretty desolate territory if his aspirations were higher than anything MG, Fiat, or Alfa Romeo had to offer. Certainly they were affordable cars, but then again there was always the element of anguish (part time electronics, leaky carbs, non existent heaters, etc.) mixed in with your fun. Nissan, aka Datsun, taught everybody that pain and pleasure need not be the yin and…

Buried away in Ford’s 1984 press material, overshadowed by the Europoidal Mark VII LSC and higher-tech SVO Mustang, was Henry’s true King of the Corral, the 4-bbl 5.0-liter Mustang GT. Okay, there’s been a lot of talk about how the SVO version has helped bring the six-year-old, Fairmont-based Mustang back into technological parity with cars of the ‘80s. Conversely, the old adage about there being no substitute for cubic inches is truer now than ever. Hokey religions and port-injected turbo fours are no match for a 205-hp V-8, kid Last year the 5.0-liter Mustang wound out a respectable 175 hp at 4000 rpm with 245 Ib-ft of torque making its presence known at 2400 revs. For 1984, the FoMoCo engine development group has slipped a new cam with less overlap,…

According to the U.S. government, it’s a gas guzzler. According to James Bond (“For Your Eyes Only’’), it’s what the well-dressed spy is driving. And according to your coldly objective testers here at MT, it’s one of the most shamelessly covetable automobiles available today. The Esprit Turbo—offered now by a brand-new U.S. Lotus organization—appeals for lots of reasons. First, the Esprit takes a most forward-looking approach to creating a modern supercar, particularly in the areas of body construction and horsepower. Then its layout, of course, is contemporary exoticar: two semi-reclined seats with the powerplant just behind, all wrapped in rakish bodywork. Finally, the car is supremely fast, whether the road is straight and flat or twisting playfully. Attention prancing horses: beware low-flying Limeys So there’s plenty for a serious enthusiast…

We’ve seen this coming. Long hoods and short decks flutter our pulses but don’t do much for modern package efficiency. The space conservators have been after us, shortening our hoods, uprighting our windshields, boxing our swoops, squaring those ravishing rumps. All this makes perfect packaging logic, of course; the space conservators are right and we’ve all known for longer than we care to admit. And so, at the spot on the graph where the curves for optimization of volume and utmost cargo capacity for leastmost energy output all intersect, there we encounter the Mitsubishi-built, Dodge-sold Colt Vista. And we can say it’s a vista we’ve seen coming for a long time. This is the future—and the future is now Before proceeding further, it’s necessary to announce a warning: In an…

A day at the wheel of an ultimate statement Is $150,000 too high a price for a car, no matter how nice? Is Aston Martin’s 4-door Lagonda really a car? Might Paul Simon have had an Aston customer in mind when he said, in “A Simple Desultory Phillipic”: “He’s not the same as you and me’’? A day at the wheel of an ultimate statement We pondered these questions during a day with Aston Martin’s new offering. Morris Hallowell IV, president of AM’s U.S. operation, lent us one of these supreme tributes to the handcrafter’s art, for a long lap around Southern California’s varied roadscape. Besides having a memorable drive, we realized a Truth. Whatever the Lagonda may or may not be (it is a car, by the way, and…