MotorTrend November 1985

By anybody's reckoning, we've been at it for at least a century now—charging around the landscape in privately owned, self-propelled vehicles. Measured against the length and breadth of the human experience, this isn't much time—an extended blink, an exhale that draws itself out into a sigh. Measured on the good old societal impact scale, though, the automobile has produced a century of change unrivaled in all the centuries preceding it, recorded and otherwise. And it's 200-to-l the automotive pioneers had no notion of what they were about to unleash. I mean, what do you suppose Benz and Daimler and Levassor and the rest were thinking about when they rolled those first spidery creations out into the sunshine and lit them up. “Well, she seems to be running pretty good. Guess…

The Wizards of Weissach I've been reading Motor Trend for almost 10 years, and I've seen MT out-do itself, but never like the September issue. Being a dedicated Porschephile, a wide smirk ran across my face. Great 959 article! Great cutaway drawing! Great pictures! John Stern Lodi, Calif. Veil comrades, ve have finally zeen decadence in its final form. What say we all hop down to our corner Porsche dealer and lay down 130 grand and some odd change for our very own Starship 911. And then next week we'll be the first on our block to own the ugliest car ever graced with the Porsche name. We're not just talking ugly duckling here, we're talking state-of-the-art vulgarity. This computerized behemoth ought to be buried in some deep dark closet,…

You would have to be even older than I am to remember when tires were white. Not just their sidewalls—that was a cosmetic evocation of the transitional days when the tread had become black but not yet the rest of the tire—but tires in their entirety, all the way from crown to clinch. The natural latex from the rubber tree arrived in creamy bales at the rubber plant, but the finished stuff was often startlingly white. It was zinc oxide that did it (not to mention dollops of china clay or French chalk to fill out and cheapen the mix), and by about 1910 the Silvertown Rubber Company was pretty well fed up with it. Located in a part of England's capital where the streets were even filthier than most,…

Chrysler-Maserati—A Coupe for the Club Lee lacocca might cringe if he heard us say it, but in the much-publicized Chrysler-Maserati convertible coupe due in 1988, the pentastar people have found one more way to slice and dice the much doneover K-car. With an Italian wedgie shape, high-luxe interior, and a designer name to go on the flanks, the convertible coupe is quite an appealing concoction, but there's little doubt that under the briqhtwork will beat the heart of a K-car, albeit a remarkably transformed K-car. Best guess is the Italian charmer will be powered by an intercooled turbo version of Chrysler's 2.2-liter four-banger (the 2.5-liter might make the cut if development is concluded in time), backed by Chrysler's 5-speed manual transaxle. Front suspension will use MacPherson struts much like a…

What's in a Name? In researching the genesis of the present-day automobile, we came across a number of names proposed over the years for the car. Some of the more notable: Motor Fly, Dia-mote, Automotive, Autometon, Mocole, Oleo locomotive, Motorig, Bolvite, Locomotive car, Autobaine, Autokinetic, and Electrobat. U.S. Cars Too Durable? According to Philip G. Gott, senior automotive engineering analyst at Arthur D. Little Company, it would make economic sense for domestic auto manufacturers to use less durable parts to lower their unit costs, thus making them more competitive with the import market. Gott explained that many parts, such as valve springs and clutch pressure plates, show little if any wear when the car is finally turned over years later. Crash Stats Favor Big Cars No one plans to get…

At Large Maryland Says 55 If you happen to be cruising comfortably down Maryland's highways and find yourself attracting a lot of attention from that sporty little import in the next lane or that tractor-trailer behind you, don't be alarmed. Sure, it could be that new tie you just bought, but chances are it's the Maryland State Police traveling incognito. This is just one of their latest efforts to enforce the 55-mph speed limit. Sgt. Bill Tower, a police spokesman, says abuses have become so great that “some of our troopers are even being passed as they drive marked patrol cars.'' Another method already in effect is “rolling roadblocks”—marked cruisers traveling abreast in all lanes of traffic to prevent motorists from creeping up the speedometer and passing. —Susan M. Brooks…