Indholdsfortegnelse for May 1998 i MotorTrend

MOTOR TREND online www.motortrend.com Performance Powerhouse If our cover stories whet your appetite for performance data, saddle up to our online Performance Database for a test number smorgasbord. Found in our ever-expanding Buying & Leasing section, the Performance Database allows direct searches for specific models with about 50 percent more entries than the “Road Test Review” featured in each issue of the magazine. Anxious to strap on the bench-racing feed bag? Use the Custom Search to choose from any combination of manufacturer, engine, drivetrain, transmission, 0-60-mph time, and price. Ponycar enthusiasts, for example, can choose rear-drive V-8 cars with 0-60-mph times under 6.0 seconds to get the results of the dragstrip skirmishes waged over the last few years. And consumers can use this powerful tool to narrow down a list…

As defending champion from last year’s May ’97 “HighSpeed Gamble” shootout, the Dodge Viper GTS returned to face a fresh batch of competitors in the Motor Trend equivalent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Producing battleship levels of torque from the 8.0-liter/450-horse-power OHV V-10 engine that even the 13-inch-wide Michelin Pilot SX tires struggle to harness, it’s still amazing that the Viper GTS reached 60 mph in a mere 4.1 seconds. Judicious throttle application rockets the macho machine down the quarter mile in 12.2 seconds at 118.6 mph, obliterating the smaller-displacement field like so many econocars. Orbiting the skidpad like a 3375-pound centrifuge, the Viper GTS sloshed our internal organs at 1.01 g, snatching the event from the tenacious Lotus (0.98 g). The nasty Dodge then slithered triumphantly through the slalom…

High-speed cross-country battles like this were custom-made for showing off the new Corvette. Not only does the Vette run well towards the front of this pricey pack of performers, but it has class-leading ergonomics, comfort, luggage-carrying capacity, and a bargainbasement pricetag, besides. As this week-long event unfolded across several states, with high-speed travel through California in deep water and driving rain, topspeed runs at the sunny Arizona test site, and mind-numbing numbers of hot laps on the big oval at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada, the staff immersed itself in just how very good the all-new Corvette is. After all, Chevy’s flagship already nailed this year’s Motor Trend Car of the Year honors (Jan. ’98). Driving the Corvette was positively relaxing after piloting the more high-strung models in…

No question, they had done me. Edging into the pre-dawn El Nino nastiness in Los Angeles that was putting the lie to the song—it both rains and floods in Southern California—I already knew MG-TD-style side curtains and snap-on top are not a ’90s solution. And with the first 18-wheeler’s wake rolling directly onto the windshield and spraying through the top header, I quickly understood why real cars have had full fenders for the past 60 years. Just 50 miles north of the MT offices, soaked from boot to butt, I tossed the keys onto the center of the breakfast table and announced to my former pals, the editors, who’d left me holding the short straw, that either somebody else was driving, or the Panoz would look real good in the…

THE FIGHT FOR KEYS I can’t help it, I want the Ferrari. Sure, the new Carrera is a work of engineering art; yes, the 190-mph Viper is the king of all beasts; and I concede that the twin-turbo Lotus is faster and costs $50,000 less than its Italian counterpart. I just don’t care. The fact is, after the rain went away, after the tire smoke cleared, and when it was time to wrestle for car keys to drive the 300 miles back to L.A., all eyes were on the Ferrari. That says more than any test chart or data panel we could ever compile. —C. Van Tune VETTE SET It was the drive back from Vegas that made the point. After five days comparing the other seven exotics, I was…

When you were in school, wasn’t there always one kid who could do everything so much better than everyone else? Run faster? Outscore everyone on finals? The Dakota R/T 5.9 is that kid, as it outruns, outscores, and outlooks the other three students in the sport truck class. It wasn’t enough that the Dodge folks introduced an all-new Dakota last year, packing the midsize pickup class’ only V-8 (5.2 liter/230 horsepower); they’ve raised the bar for ’98 by dropping in their all-conquering 5.9-liter/250-horse Magnum monster. And conquer it does; just look at the spec charts. Compared to the small pickups in this test, the midsize Dakota simply offers the sport-truck buyer more: an aggressive 17-inch optional wheel-and-tire package, more cabin room, the largest bed, and a higher payload. It’s all…

ROAD TEST SALEEN S351 Saleen’s supercharged S351 Mustang would be inexcusable if it weren’t so fast. It’s a fiend with so much brute torque the driver feels as if he could pull both the Titanic and the ocean floor beneath it up out of the North Atlantic. Through corners, it’s as effective and subtle as a leopard clamping his jaw down on a zebra’s femur. The S351 is for fanatics—those few people with $60K to spend who value sheer performance over sophistication, comfort, or the prestige of a luxury nameplate (and who just have to have a Mustang). Saleen is a small-volume manufacturer, not a tuner, and the S351 is almost a completely un-Ford Mustang. Saleen starts with a base Mustang, rips out the V-6, and replaces it with a…

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG SPEEDWAY When the switch was thrown to illuminate Daytona International Speedway, it culminated what the Speedway claims is the world’s largest lighting project. The lights will glow in anger at this year’s Pepsi 400 Winston Cup race on the evening of July 4. To light the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Muscco Lighting installed 170 light poles and 2200 fixtures. A downside to the expanding number of night Winston Cup races is a radical drop in attendance at local short tracks when a Cup race is live on the tube. Traditionally, July 4 is one of the biggest money-making nights of the year for short track promoters. SMALLER, SHORTER, LIGHTER Race car aerodynamicists and chassis designers think of engines as obnoxious, noisy lumps that mess up air flow, screw up…

We’ve broken from “Long-Term Update” tradition to welcome Motor Trend’s ’98 “of the Year” winners for an exhaustive year-long evaluation. Ordered after the awards were announced, these standout vehicles arrived at the MT offices just in time for this photo shoot, all still on their first tanks of fuel. The ’98 Car of the Year Chevrolet Corvette model range will be represented by a Light Pewter automatic convertible and a Torch Red six-speed manual coupe, giving us the enviable task of evaluating both configurations over the next 12 months. Standard features abound, including air conditioning, power windows/door locks/mirrors, cruise control, body-hugging leather buckets, and wonderfully crisp 252-watt Bose stereo. The sort-of-silver convertible totaled $48,444 due to deep dipping into the options for such goodies as the Real-Time Damping system ($1695),…

HORSEPOWER WAR RAGES ON For the first time in over five years of reading your publication, I actually disagree strongly with an article. In “Horsepower War” (Feb. ’98), Keebler and Bartlett choose the Camaro as the best bang for the buck. The Firebird is a hands-down winner here. It starts from the first glance at the lineup. The Firebird is undoubtedly the best-looking car of the three; it also feels more powerful than the others, even if it’s not. I have driven all three and immediately fell in love with the Firebird. Tell GM the joke is over, it can now begin the real makeover on the Camaro front end. How can anyone tolerate that kind of treatment to a vehicle? Dennis DickMiddleton, Ohiovia Motor Trend Online The “Horsepower War”…

Positive Impact of Negative Emissions Achieving zero tailpipe emissions is a goal sought by virtually all the world’s automakers. While this is done in a high-profile way through their electric vehicle programs, plenty of activity is occurring in other areas of research and development that also merits our attention. Underscoring this is the ZLEV (Zero Level Emission Vehicle) prototype engine displayed by Honda at the recent Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. According to Honda, the ZLEV is one of the automaker’s most promising efforts to develop near-term, practical solutions for emission reductions “using the most prevalent engine on the road today—the gasoline-powered, internal-combustion engine.” Based on the 2.3-liter four-cylinder VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) engine used in the ’98 Accord, the ZLEV powerplant brings to bear a…

At top speed, the Aston Martin DB7 felt like a nuclear-powered locomotive: A torrent of supercharged torque (a mountainous peak of 361 pound-feet) pushed it to a potent 163.5 mph, while its sleek bodyshaping and well-tuned suspension kept it solidly planted to the banking course, absorbing crosswinds and bumps that made the Viper and Lotus dance and dart. Cruising down the highway at 100 mph, it evoked the milled-from-a-single-stainless-steelingot-solid cliche. On the road course, the DB7 was like Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson in a Savile Row suit: It stylishly dashed to a respectable time without the major drama of the Ferrari and Panoz. And what’s a couple of seconds a lap when you’re treated like royalty? On the street, the Aston’s Tyrannosaurus Rex snout and classic flanks attract attention without…

How do you improve an automotive icon? Very carefully. And that’s exactly what the Weissach wizards have done. Our second drive and first-ever American road test with the all-new ’99 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe confirmed our optimistic hunches—and then some. Circling the high-speed test track like a low-flying aircraft, the normally aspirated 296-horsepower 911 achieved an amazing 174.8 mph (just 7 mph slower than the last-generation 400-horse-power, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive variant), and it held that velocity in a rock-steady one-hand fashion on the banks of the oval. This impressive top speed is due, no doubt, to its new body’s slippery 0.30 drag coefficient and better airflow management in general. Just one look at the love-it-or-hate-it shape tells you “form follows function.” On the track, the functional benefits of sending the 911…

• DODGE DAKOTA R/T • FORD RANGER SPLASH •GMC SONOMA SLS • TOYOTA TACOMA SR5 What can sprint 0-60 mph in under 9 seconds, tow a boat trailer, carry a new sofa home from the furniture store, seat four passengers, and cost less than the average new car? The answer to this simple transportation riddle is a small pickup. Versatility and affordability have helped trucks become overwhelmingly popular personal-use vehicles, often replacing high-insurance sporty cars in consumers’ driveways. This select breed of street-tough models takes one step further to successfully bridge the gap between work trucks and sport coupes. To determine which of these fun machines offers the most sport truck for the buck, we rounded up four feisty pickups representing each major model line. With a heavy emphasis on…

As the best-selling, import-badged (though California-built) compact pickup truck, the Toyota Tacoma served as a benchmark of quality and refinement in this “Sport Truck for the Buck” shootout. While all the other trucks are available with handling/chassis-enhancing packages and all have larger-displace-ment engines, our V-6 Tacoma was at a measurable disadvantage from the start—or so we thought. An optional 3.4-liter/190-horsepower DOHC engine provided a seemingly effortless sprint to 60 mph in a mere 8.0 seconds that not only earned it second place in this group (behind the fuel-swilling Dodge), but puts it on par with some pretty nice sedans. The seamless four-speed automatic (pleasantly car-like) was delightfully undramatic and went nearly unnoticed until we had driven all the trucks over demanding mountain roads. While the rest of the haulers were…

It’s only natural that some people tend to write off Indiana as simply “the place that holds the race.” And that would really be unfair, as this Heartland of America state has a lot more to offer than 2.5 miles of pavement punctuated by a few rows of bricks. Irrespective of your feelings about the CART/IRL tug-of-war, the Indy 500 is still a great reason, and place, to begin an Indiana vacation. But it’s not the only reason or place. Appropriately located in a town called Speedway, about 8 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is worth a visit even if it’s not Memorial Day Weekend. This is home to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum, the main attraction of which is an impressive collection of Indy…

Paris. Milan. Tokyo. Frankfurt—major international cities, each with major traffic and parking problems. And even though you may have experienced what you perceive to be gridlock in such calmer, gentler driving environments as Manhattan or Los Angeles, you haven’t really experienced driving lunacy until you’ve tried to circumnavigate the intricacies of large foreign hubs. And all this fun occurs in places where gas is four times as costly as it is here. That presents a major problem. One answer is the city car. City cars, being pint-size, fuel-miserly, park-anywhere commuter machines by loose definition, are nothing new. There have been best-selling and even cult-inspiring ones: the Mini, the Isetta, Citroen’s ever-so-camp 2CV. But as our world looks for more space-efficient, greener, alternativefuel answers to complex transportation questions, the city car…

TRAFFIC-TRACKING CRUISE CONTROL Cruise control works great in low-density, high-speed highway driving. But as you get closer to cities with increasing traffic, clogs, and surges, rather than steady speeds, you find yourself playing the steering-wheel cruise buttons like the valves on a trumpet. What if you could set your cruise to lock onto the vehicle ahead in the lane and it would automatically maintain a safe distance, whatever the preceding vehicle’s speed, right down to a stop? We recently spent a morning in Dearborn, Michigan, sampling the latest version of what Jaguar’s parent, Ford Motor Company, calls adaptive cruise control in a 4.0-liter XJ6 development mule. Almost as interesting as the system itself was what Doug Holloway—a Ford product-design engineer with the advanced vehicle technology group and my co-pilot—politely refused…

The 240-horsepower, 351 Windsor-powered Special Vehicle Team (SVT) Lightning was the best of the factory-offered sport/performance trucks when it debuted in ’93. The nameplate took a rest upon the introduction of the new-for-’97 F-Series, but is on its way back in a big, fast way. And it’s poised to handily outperform the original—as well as any other truck, and quite a few performance cars in the process. Based on a standard cab, shortbed, stepside F-150, the ’99 SVT Lightning packs a factory supercharged and intercooled 5.4-liter Triton V-8. While Ford’s preliminary power estimates are 325 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque, sources near the project indicate these numbers may be “five to ten percent conservative.” That could easily mean a 350-plus-horsepower 0-60-in-6.0-seconds kind of hauler. The Lightning powerplant, which is…

To date, the promise of the world platform has proven little more than a promise, and an empty one at that. The world platform, we’ve been told by manufacturers, including Ford Motor Company, would allow a variety of low-volume niche vehicles to spring forth from a single basic architecture in a cost-effective (road: affordable for the consumer) manner because of the vast economies of scale achieved. So far, delivering on that commitment has fallen short. Now Ford gives it another shot in the form of an unusual concept car, displayed for the first time at the Chicago Auto Show in February. Based on its small, front-drive BE91 platform used primarily in Europe for the Fiesta, Ka, and Puma, and the Brazilian-built Courier pickup, the designers created the Libre, a small…

Driving to Distraction Gliding along the open road in splendid isolation used to be an escape from stress for millions of American drivers. But now that the “open” road has all but disappeared, the techno whiz kids have invented all sorts of ways to reach out and touch us. Cellular phones and pagers were the first to squelch a getaway from home or office, and by the year 2000, automakers will be teaming with Bill Gates to offer a recently unveiled Microsoft auto PC that will read e-mail and faxes to drivers. The black cloud over all this fun is, as usual, the government, which is concerned that blending office, home, and car is dangerously distracting. Driver inattention is already a factor in half of all auto accidents, according to…

Your broker calls with exceptionally good news. And you just happen to have a vacant stall in your four-car garage. Friend, you deserve a new car, something exceptional. But what to buy? Sophisticated British performance coupe or bare-knuckled Detroit street brawler? European exotic or off-beat retro roadster? Bargain American performance machine or big-fun German sportscar? Bavarian uber-convertible or Italian lust icon? One could spend many sleepless nights wrestling with such thorny issues. For most of us, this is an exercise in pure fantasy; for a fortunate few, it’s a tantalizingly hard choice. Regardless of your personal circumstances, to add depth and detail to those fantasies, Motor Trend has once again assembled a sampler of some of the most desirable exotic cars currently available in America. The mix ranges from the…

BMW has declared global performance war as it launches the latest weapon in its blitzkrieg: the ferocious M Roadster. Based on the overwhelmingly successful Z3, the M Roadster takes the platform well beyond the affordable four-cylinder and spunky 2.8-liter six versions into the realm of near-exotic, high-horsepower predators. Flared fenders, aggressive front fascia, unique decklid, and quad exhaust announce the threatening presence of this South Carolina-built sports car. Underhood, the M Roadster is fitted with the superb 3.2-liter/240-horsepower inline six borrowed from the M3, delivering a smooth, linear torque curve that reaches a peak 236 pound-feet at 3800 rpm. Routed through a precise five-speed manual transmission, the bite-size two-seater pounces 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds, quick enough to threaten the much more powerful Corvette and 911. This test’s formidable international…

0-100-0 MPH (SEC) Originally conceived as a British test of performance mettle, the 0-100-0-mph accelerate/stop test combines elapsed times from both acceleration and braking to arrive at a single figure. Even the fastest street cars take about twice as long to build speed as they do to get rid of it. Meaning that acceleration is a proportionately larger factor in deciding which cars win and lose. The Viper GTS’ awesome lunge to 100 mph is quick enough, in fact, to overcome a lackluster stopping time—proof that 450 horsepower can overpower even the lack of sophisticated anti-lock brakes. The Lotus Esprit V8 makes no secret of its status as fullblown exotic. Get used to it. The Esprit’s roofline is so low (and the resultant window opening so short), you’ve got to…

It’s all about air flow. Simply put, the engine that swallows the most air with the proper amount of fuel wins. We took a deep look into each of our eight engine bays to see how each maker gets it done. Here’s what we found: Given the high weight of the Aston Martin DB7 (3802 pounds), a smallish 3.2-liter inline six would not seem the obvious choice for lively propulsion, even with a five-speed manual transmission. But Aston’s powertrain mavens also tucked an Eaton supercharger into the car’s beautifully chromed and powder-coated bay. Although about the same displacement as the pressurized DOHC six in the Aston, the unblown 240-horsepower BMW engine has roughly 800 pounds less chassis to motivate. And so, although hardly the big gun in this shootout, the…

Evolved from the successful formula that has earned Ford the enviable honor of producing the best-selling compact pickup over the last decade, the improved ’98 Ranger is poised to maintain that title. The basic formula is the same, but a longer wheelbase permits a 3-inch gain in cabin space. The corresponding interior benefits are immediately apparent when the commodious Ranger is compared to the smaller trucks. A marvel in basic packaging, the driverfriendly Ranger features a clean and handsome dash design and easy-to-use controls. The SuperCab offers generous storage space, but access is difficult especially for passengers sentenced to sit on the clever fold-out rear perches. Fortunately, a much-needed four-door variation arrives in late spring. We mandated V-6 engines to ensure that these bite-size pickups could haul more than just…

The secret axle to unlocking the normally stock GMC Sonoma’s handling is “ZQS.” Checking this box on the GMC Sonoma’s order sheet blings up a well-conceived performance suspension package that gives genuine sport-truck credentials to GMs junior pickup. And it’s a bargain option at only $455. Both the Sonoma and its Chevrolet S-10 cousin got a minor but worthy makeover this year. The changes include a much improved dash and interior layout (now incorporating dual airbags) and revisions to the front fascia, grille, and bumper. In most areas, GMC is really pushing the ZQ8-equipped Sonoma as an alternative for sports-car-minded buyers who just happen to need a pickup, and they’re right on. The ZQ8 option is comprehensive, including firmer front and rear springs that bring with them a 2-inch ride…

HOW TO DETAIL YOUR CAR LIKE A PRO What’s the difference between a typical weekend wash, wax, and vacuum and a full-scale professional detailing? Can you achieve the same results in your driveway as you’d pay a pro $125 to $175—or more—to do? What tricks and secrets have the pros learned over the years that help them satisfy the expectations of even the pickiest car owner? Inquiring carcare minds want to know. That’s why we took these very questions to one of the top detailers in Los Angeles, Bradley Herman & Associates (310/457-0057 or 818/991-0391). What we learned is that the real secret to achieving stunning detailing results is, yes, paying attention to the details. Brad Herman and his staff have been detailing professionally for about 20 years and he’s…

You can now buy an electrically powered ’98 Ford Ranger pickup from a select group of 10 California and five New York dealers. That seems like such a simple statement. But the reality is that it took big bucks and an enormous research and engineering effort to make it possible. And though the sales volumes will be modest, Motor Trend considers this electron-burning truck important as part of a new type of automotive technology. I invited an electric Ranger to come live with me, my wife, and kids for two weeks to get a handle on the good news and bad news regarding this product. At home, we discovered four obvious flaws. First, two seats are rarely enough. Second, sooner or later, you’re going to have to cross several states…