Indholdsfortegnelse for November 1989 i MotorTrend

Stand on It: Automotive Electronic News confirms our report that GM will make ABS standard equipment on all large and luxury cars in ’91… Blown Oil-Burning Bigfoots? Sources say GM may fund a turbocharged version of its 6.2-liter V-8 diesel for Chevy C/K and GMC Sierra light-duty trucks for the ’91 model year… Smart Cars Take Surface Streets: Twenty-five Olds Delta 88s will shake down a GM navicomputer on L. A. freeways sometime next year. Another 100 of the so-called “smart cars” will operate in the Orlando area later. The system gets maps and other information from a compact disc. Ground sensors in the test grid will relay traffic data via radio or cellular phone link… No Sunrise Omnirizon: A Chrysler exec told an industry audience that the Omni/Horizon commuter…

DODGE VIPER This Snake Is a Real Charmer. The experts call this the new golden age of the automobile. Advanced technology is hard at work making cars handle better, accelerate quicker, stop more surely, and last longer. Dodge is in the thick of the movement and this special performance report is intended to bring you up to date on several of our hotter properties. The sensational Viper RT/10 sports roadster gives you a glimpse of our advanced thinking. This report also presents performance models which are on sale today. They come in a variety of configurations but every member of Dodge’s driving team shares one common thread: this is where high technology and high performance converge with tantalizing results. The Viper RT/10 was so successful as a show car that…

From the days of the gilded coach, the concept of luxury has been one of costly indulgence and material abundance. And today, in the field of luxury cars, that definition is mostly accurate. But in Japan, centuries ago and today still, where true luxury is a spare, natural idea and beauty is a personal experience, there’s no such definition. Thejapanese idea of whata luxury carshould be is different from the Western concept. In Japan, luxury trends are seen as temporary and transient—the idea of luxury has more to do with a deeper set of values than with ornamentation or technical gadgetry. Japanese luxury is not a showy badge or a symbol of accomplishments, it is an experience of ownership based on long-lasting quality. Infiniti is primarily a driver’s car-where the…

Enough! So stop already! I’ll admit that the Quad 4 is a pretty decent engine. But that doesn’t mean it belongs in every 4-wheel conveyance General Motors builds. And it certainly doesn’t fit in this one. I suppose someone at Oldsmobile had visions of building an Americanized 535i. That’s a laudable endeavor, and I certainly won’t take issue with the attempt. It’s the results I’m concerned about. The plasticized interior, video instruments, and limp chassis strike me as a halfhearted effort and surely aren’t going to create any tidal waves in Munich, In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if this Olds simply sinks without a ripple. Just pull the engine out before it slips under the waves.…

The 300ZX Turbo is as totally satisfying as the normally aspirated 300ZX we tested earlier was mildly disappointing. As you might remember, we praised the 300ZX for its handling balance, but thought the non-forced-induction V-6 was a tad on the’ weak side. That minor deficiency is more than made up for by the twin turbo, which pulls like a big V-8 of old from about two grand on the tach all the way up to never-neverland. And little did we think that the already stellar handling of the standard-issue ZX could be improved, but the Super HICAS 4-wheel-steer system turns the nimble chassis into a slalom bandit. Gates haven’t been split this quickly since Jean-Claude Killy swept the 1968 Olympics. When you add to all that the reptilian styling, which…

In mid-June, President Bush took a spin around a test track at the University of Nebraska in an ethanol-fueled Chevrolet Corsica. He proclaimed that he would make good on his campaign promise to be the environmental President and simultaneously cut our reliance on imported energy by having Americans buy so-called alternative-fuel cars. And if the farm interests had their way, that alternative fuel would be ethanol, which is made from corn. Obviously, the country has an air pollution problem, and each year more cities experience longer smog alert periods. Smog, specifically excessive ozone, has been implicated in health disorders, property damage, and crop loss. Global warming, also known as the “greenhouse effect,” is thought to be caused by carbon dioxide, a by-product of auto exhaust. In addition to tougher tailpipe…

Age Before Beasties I’d like to commend you on Maryann Keller’s excellent column on auto insurance. In the years I’ve been reading your magazine, this is the first time I’ve perceived some intelligence when addressing the problem of high auto insurance premiums and some of the reasons for them. The high-risk cars you speak of don’t really cost much more to insure when driven by an experienced driver with a proven track record. Maybe the teenagers should get some years in before they buy the 140-mph beast. And maybe the auto companies should consider the cost of repair and injury when they design a new model. Robin L. BraunAllstate Insurance AgentRacine, Wis. No Limit I was surprised to see an article in the September Motor Trend pushing for 100-mph speeds…

Lost Love: A heartbroken Italian businessman has prominently placed an advertisement and telephone number on the front page of a Monaco newspaper, offering $160,000 for the return of his stolen Ferrari F40. We dialed the number, but weren’t the first: “Some young men think a Ferrari is so sexy,” said an exasperated voice at the other end, “that they call just to talk about it.” Having started out with a list price of $220,000, the F40 is now changing hands in Euope for more than $1 million… Meanest of Them All: Citroen’s mini-sized ZX Diesel model has set a new fuel economy world record for production cars. In front of independent expert observers, the French car headed out onto an English motorway with precisely one imperial gallon of gas in…

CASE CLOSED! That was the headline of a full-page ad taken out by Audi in 34 major newspapers this July to trumpet the fact that NHTSA had finally and officially closed its investigation of sudden acceleration in Audi 5000 models. NHTSA concluded that no electrical or mechanical defect could be found to cause the reported runaway Audis, and that the primary reason for sudden acceleration was “pedal misapplication,” or drivers mistakenly stepping on the accelerator instead of the brake. That’s the same finding of major studies undertaken in Canada and Japan and, of course, exactly what beleaguered Audi said from the beginning. However, in a 50-page report explaining its decision to close the Audi investigation, NHTSA gave sue-happy trial lawyers and consumer “advocates” an opening by conceding that design flaws…

The Front-Wheel Driving High-Performance Advantage, by Jack Doo. Published by Motorbooks International, 1988. Paperback; 8½X11; 128 pages; 112 B&W photos; 25 Illustrations. ISBN 0-87938-298-8; distributed by Motorbooks International, 800/826-6600; $14.95. It used to be so simple. Cars were as big and soft as Mae West’s knickers. The rear wheels did the driving and the fronts took care of steering. All was right with the world. The gas crunch of the ’70s changed that landscape. Bantamweights were hot, which meant Front-Wheel Drive. Once the shock of the new wore off, most of us found fwd pretty uninspiring. It was great for passenger platforms and econoboxes, but we wanted speed and handling. Layoutwise, fwd was the runt of the litter. After a few years of development, the playing field began to level.…

After driving the All-Trac in the sla-iMklom, I’m impressed. The improvement in grip the Toyota engineers have built into the car is substantial, and the upsized tires hang on much better than the old rubber. Compared to last year’s version that participated in Bang for the Buck, this new car is worlds better. It’s a shame it wasn’t available in time to participate in that huge fracas this year. As for cosmetic changes, the new interior’s just fine, but I’m going to need some time before I can come to terms with the newly voluptuous exterior. Maybe a whole lot of time. Maybe years. Oh well, at least the hardware gets me worked up.…

Those wild and crazy guys at Subaru have always marched to the beat of their own drummer—and he’s been known to pound out a pretty syncopated rhythm, from the looks of some of their cars. Anyway, along comes the new version of the Justy with another different twist from Subaru. The Justy’s big deal is that it makes available on the American market for the first time a modern, continuously variable transmission. Subaru people say it’s as significant as the first automatics, which were introduced some 50 years ago. We think it’s at least that, and as an engineering achievement, ranks up with disc brakes and multiple cams on four-valve heads. The ECVT (for Electronic Continuously Variable Transmission, because it’s electronically controlled), is a genuine big deal, no baloney. The…

THE DEVIL IS SIGHTED These are the first photos of Lamborghini’s Countach replacement, the Diablo, naked of disguise. The new car, whose provocative Italian name means devil, is expected to be unveiled at the Geneva Salon next March, exactly 19 years after its spectacular predecessor wowed the crowd at the same venue. It will be the fastest and most expensive car in Lamborghini’s history. There has long been disagreement about the true top speed of the Countach—the car struggled to exceed 160 mph in a Motor Trend top-speed test (Jan. ’87), was once timed between autostrada kilometer posts by a British publication at 178 mph, but failed always to reach its ballyhooed 180 mph—but Lamborghini insiders say the new car will comfortably meet its target of 186 mph. As predicted…

CSI HAT TRICK FOR ACURA For the third consecutive year, the Acura nameplate has taken top spot in the annual J.D. Power & Associates Customer Satisfaction Index. The survey, which covers ’88 models, included 35 different manufacturers. Over 24,000 individuals provided information for the CSI, which measures dealer service as well as product quality and reliability during the first year of ownership. The industry as a whole showed significant improvement, moving its cumulative average from 108 to 118. As in earlier years, Far Eastern imports dominated among the individual top scorers, earning a 130 collective rating. But for the first time, U.S. manufacturers moved ahead of their European counterparts, taking a slim 112 to 111 advantage. Biggest individual gains were scored by Buick, Mercury, Plymouth, and Porsche. RADIO DAZE Tired…

What’s an enthusiast to do? Every manufacturer on the planet seems to offer some kind of sporty coupe claimed to be the ideal balance of price and performance—the one true obvious choice. Here’s a news flash: They can’t all be right. But how are you supposed to really get a handle on where each and every spoilerized, aggressively styled sporty car fits into the scheme of things? Are some of these pups packing actual performance under their hostile-looking skins, or are we dealing with a lot of tarted-up processed cheesefood coupes that simply look the part? Are you paying for real performance, or just the look of performance? This sounded like a question that could only be answered by grinding a whole lot of tires down to tiny nubbins. And…

A whole lot of Celicas have rolled under a whole lot of ^bridges during the past two decades. Now, as the line prepares to enter its 20th year, Toyota is unveiling a fifth generation that appears destined to carry on the phenomenal success of its predecessors. Spearheading that effort is the new AllTrac, a turbocharged all-wheel-drive road-runner built for comfort as well as for speed. The well-appointed All-Trac remains a first-rate super coupe. Packed with amenities like power windows/locks/mirrors/antenna, cruise control, and tilt steering column, its limited option list includes only climate-control air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, a 220-watt sound system, leather upholstery, power sunroof, and a power driver’s seat. Our preproduction test car was fitted with all but the last two items. Continuing the aero theme embraced by its predecessors,…