Indholdsfortegnelse for January 1988 i MotorTrend

NOW FORD BUYS AC Just 21 days after taking control of Aston Martin Lagonda Limited, Ford of Europe also bought a majority shareholding in AC Cars. “Several millions of pounds” are guaranteed by Ford for a new factory, and for the launch of the 2-seat AC Ace sports car, which was first seen in prototype form in October 1986. For a mere $2.1 million, it is believed that Ford obtained a 76% stake in the publicly quoted AC Cars PLC (Public Liability Company). “The deal is a friendly one, and I am absolutely delighted with it,” says AC Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Angliss. “We will have the warm and supportive arm of Ford around us, and I admit now that the thought of launching a new sports car without…

Consider this: In 1917, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche designed and developed a 44-liter 1000-hp engine. Was this behemoth a Formula One race engine, for a land-speed record attempt, or what? Surprise! It was an aircraft engine. It’s not well known that Dr. Porsche was awarded his doctorate primarily for his work in aircraft engine design and development. In fact, the first air-cooled flat-six Porsche-engined aircraft flew in 1909, near Vienna, Austria. After World War One, Dr. Porsche was involved in one of the first jet engine projects, when the dark clouds of World War Two ground all such endeavors to a halt. Fast forward nearly 50 years, as the latest 911 with its air-cooled flat-six rolls off the Porsche production lines. To date, over 300,000 of these engines have been built,…

Volvos don’t change; they evolve. They’re sturdy, surefooted comfort zones designed to move people about with a minimum of fuss. For 1988, the luxury touring flagships of the Volvo line have some new features to tout: a new multi-link independent suspension at the rear, a fresh treatment of hood and headlights, 15-in. cast alloy wheels, revised front and rear valances, and a redesigned functional/luxury interior. The sibling 780 Coupe, styled and crafted by Bertone in Italy, also gets the new independent rear suspension and electronic climate control. During a recent Volvo press showing, in conjunction with the Frankfurt Auto Show, we criss-crossed Sweden alternating between the 760 sedan and the 780 coupe for a firsthand impression of the two vehicles in their homeland. Volvo calls the ’88 version of the…

Of the hundreds of domestic automobile models available in a given new-car season, only a select handful meet the exacting criteria for nomination as Motor Trend’s Car of the Year. This year, there are seven candidates under the magnifying glass. This is no simple popularity contest: We examine performance, handling, comfort, styling, dollar value, and more, in a wide range of objective and subjective examinations. And, despite our general editorial tone here, the voting staff consists of more than just gear-slammers. The COY structure is created so that raw sporting flavor cannot enjoy an unfair advantage. We drive each nominee not against the other members of the COY Class of ’88, but against our previous experience in and knowledge of cars in the nominee’s class; that is, the Eagle Premier…

Designer Roof Racks Today’s cars are a study in aerodynamics. Low, sleek profiles, rounded edges, inlet scoops, and flush-mounted headlamps and door handles make a good case for form following function. But with this good news comes some bad. Seems all this effort toward improved performance, both in speed and gas mileage, has cost carrying space. Not a big problem until you consider that Americans today are more than ever involved in outdoor recreation. Add the fact that no self-respecting Yuppie wants to ruin the looks of his BMW, Porsche, or Mercedes with a conventional aftermarket luggage rack, and you’ve got quite a dilemma. Enter Rola International, the Calvin Klein of roof racks. An award-winning designer and manufacturer of automotive accessories, Rola has responded to the demand of the auto…

’90 CHEVROLET EUROSPORT! The front-drive midsize Chevrolet GM 10 will replace the reardrive Monte Carlo in 1990 (Detroit Report, Nov. ’87). When that happens, the detailed uplevel car shown here also joins the showroom traffic. The styling enhancements on this distinctive variant are evident, beginning with the mildly disguised front end. GM sources identify this car as the ’90 Chevrolet Eurosport. Chevy what Eurosport, you ask? At this writing, the Chevy GM10 hasn’t been officially named. One presumes the Celebrity badge is at least in the candidate mix. This car replaces the Celebrity A-car entirely. Generically, the Chevy GM10 has a lower front end and higher tail than the Celebrity, with reduced grille area, halogen headlamps and integral driving lights, a deeper front airdam, and a ground-effects styling theme that…

It exudes a willingness to do what the driver asks Remember when BMWs weren’t Yuppie food? When a 2002 tii was the sure sign of a real “car guy?” Clearly those days are gone. Today’s Bimmer driver is about as much an auto enthusiast as Tammy Faye Bakker is a country singer. But the news isn’t all bad. If the BMW 2002 was the automotive “cult car” of the ’70s, then the new VW Jetta GLI 16V is its replacement for the late ’80s. Never as dull to drive as its external appearance misleads folks to believe, the latest Jetta is a long-fanged version of the same car. Add 21% more power, revalved shocks, and bigger anti-roll bars, and you have more car than the old 2002 ever was. A…

Since we number ourselves among the feverish group known as car crazies, the sentiment is common around here. We all want a car we can point to with pride, that can turn heads with its looks, its panache, and its price. More often than not, as you well know, we tortured souls must settle out of court for two out of three. We can have a classy, stylish car with an appearance capable of stopping line-of-sight foot traffic like a wild-eyed man with a shotgun. But at what cost? (“How many ’sheets’?” as my brother-in-law would say.) Bigger tires, BBS wheels, and major interior trim upgrades are standard fare on the Convertible When Mazda’s Bill Wolf picked me up at the Hartford, Connecticut, airport the night I flew in for…

As part of our visit to Sweden, we toured Volvo’s unique Kalmar plant where cars are built by teams responsible for an entire system. Instead of a traditional assembly line, each car is placed on a computerized, self-propelled carrier directed by a central computer along a magnetic track in the plant floor. It’s eerie to watch the car ride along on the carrier through the various assembly sections of the plant where the different work teams successively build the final car. Each work team is responsible for an entire system in the car, such as the electrical or the brake system. This gives each worker more time with the car and a feeling of building an automobile rather than just performing a repetitive task for an eight-hour shift. Members of…

What’s happening to our beloved American V-8? Is it about to slip quietly under, like bell-bottom trousers or love-ins? The V-8 is singularly American, like the Superbowl or Chicken McLugnuts. Car freaks were awakened to the lure of the automobile by the sound of an American V-8. Ford flatheads were probably the first V-8s adopted into the hot-rodding movement, followed by overhead valve engines like the small-block Chevy, Chrysler Hemi, etc., and it was these “hot-rodded” V-8s that changed American autodom. My earliest automotive memory is of standing on a street corner with some friends, mesmerized—slack-jawed—at the sound of a then-new ’55 Chevrolet Bel-Air with its 265 V-8 at full song, accelerating hard through the gears, the sound simply riveting. The Bel-Air had “dual exhaust and Smitty mufflers,” a big…

HONDA ACCORD COUPE-ONLY FROM AMERICA While 1988 was scheduled to be a largely carryover year for Honda’s Accord line, the recent short lead in Las Vegas did provide one major surprise in the form of a new Coupe model. The handsome addition to the Accord ranks, conceived by Honda R&D North America and developed in conjunction with the parent company in Japan, will only be built in Honda’s Marysville, Ohio, plant. It’s slated to go on sale in late January or early February. Besides augmenting the current U.S. Accord lineup, the new 2-door is particularly significant in that it will play a key role in Honda’s future worldwide expansion plans. The newest member of the company’s lineup will be the first American-made Honda sold in Japan. Several other European countries…

We hurtle down one hill and, before I can even focus the camera, we’re at the top of the next. In front of us is a canary-yellow Testarossa zapping along at ungodly speeds; on either side, the rolling green hills of northern Italy, decorated for the occasion with undulating grapevines and tired brick farmhouses. We fly down another steep incline, inches off the Testarossa’s bumper, then begin another quick climb. I’m still trying to focus as we plunge into a narrow opening between the trees, but, even with my seatbelt on, I’m being thrown around the cabin so hard I feel like a stalk of celery in a Cuisinart. Of course, the fact that I’m laughing like a madman doesn’t help the camerawork much, either. This is so much fun…

What’s This All About? Since the middle of 1971, when it was inherited from Sports Car Graphic, Retrospect has appeared nearly every month in Motor Trend, long enough to establish a tradition in automotive enthusiast magazine terms, certainly long enough to consider carefully before changing. But, while there are plenty of writers (me included) only too willing to continue pumping out a feature story each month on a single automobile of historical interest, there are those in the Motor Trend audience who would rather we devote the same space to broader coverage of the vintage car community. Back then you could buy a Ferrari Lusso Berlinetta for $7500. A 330GT 2+2 could be had for $5500. A Jaguar SS100 was offered at $6700, and a Mercedes 300SL coupe owner who…

Porsche Project Puzzler Pick a fight with big guys like March and Cosworth, and you’d better bring a lunch. Although Porsche certainly merits heavyweight status in the world of auto racing, the realm of openwheel single-seaters has historically proven its Achilles’ heel. During the early ’60s, the legendary auto maker managed to win only one Formula One race in 33 starts as a total vehicle builder (of course, as engine designers of the Porsche-TAG V-6 turbo powerplant used by Team McLaren, the firm contributed significantly to F1 Manufacturers Championships in 1984-85). In America, the record has been even less impressive. There was one aborted factory Indy attempt in 1980, but to date that’s been it. Regardless of past tribulations, when Porsche shows up at any race venue, wise men generally…

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