Indholdsfortegnelse for September 1998 i MotorTrend

MOTOR TREND online www.motortrend.com It’s a fast-paced world, and we drive the news at full throttle on the information superhighway so that visitors read the stories first at Motor Trend Online. Each weekday, MT Online presents the hottest headline stories and interesting tidbits to keep enthusiasts abreast of the latest news. Where were you when you first heard that the Daimler-Chrysler merger was a done deal? How about when Ford announced the Thunderbird would be returning on the LS platform? Unless you creep through cyberspace with a 2400-baud phone receiver modem, you were at MT Online with thousands of fellow car nuts. Missed a few days, a week, or more? No problem. Each week’s stories are archived in a convenient scroll box on the main Auto News page. Many items…

Everyone’s definition of a fun car is different, but most anyone will agree that cars in general—fun or otherwise—aren’t as cheap as they used to be. The average cost of a new car these days is about $20,000, so we asked ourselves this question: Can someone spend this hypothetical average amount, yet somehow get a more-fun-than-average vehicle for his hard-earned buck? We hit the road in search of the answer, piloting five new model offerings that appear to combine a high fun factor and an affordable window sticker. This is not a direct comparison: A buyer needing the room and comfort of the four-door Grand Am would likely not be considering a mini-SUV half-ragtop such as the RAV4—and vice versa. As usual, we sought out the most fun photo and…

Bite-size sporty coupes are great fun for singles, but small families and traveling couples can appreciate a five-passenger sedan with aggressive looks and exhilarating performance. Recognizing opportunity, Pontiac pushed the all-new Grand Am into enthusiast territory with the head-turning GT model. From first glance, it’s apparent that GM’S body-cladding division built more visual excitement by dressing up the exterior with a Batman-style decklid spoiler and sinister front and rear fascias to augment the cheese-grater side strakes. The front fenders announce V-6 power, but we wish they displayed the classic “Ram Air” moniker, since a special force-feeding intake contributes to a 5-horse-power gain over six-cylinder SE models. In GT form, the 3.4-liter engine produces 175 horses with 205 pound-feet of hard-charging torque, up 20 pound-feet over the SE. Exhaling through the…

Merely glance at the sinewy bodyshaping and drool begins to form at the corners of your mouth. From the wide shoulders, hunkered-down stance, and aggressive-looking underbody tray to the graceful greenhouse arc and deft integration of the traditional Aston grille opening, this is one gorgeous machine. Under the skin, it gets even better. The list of mouthwatering technical features includes a 6.0-liter/450-horsepower V-12, Fl type paddle-shifted six-speed gearbox, electro-hydraulic active roll control for the suspension, massive 15-inch-diameter front disc brakes with six piston calipers, carbon-fiber and aluminum honeycomb composite construction, and fat, 19-inch-diameter steamroller tires. According to Aston’s designers, the Vantage should be capable of 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds and a top speed of just over 200 mph. It’s precisely the sort of powerful, sexy, super-expensive GT coupe that…

The Overseas Highway is not normally the type of road we’d eagerly recommend. Stretching 126 miles from Florida City, near the southern tip of the Florida mainland, to Key West, the road is mind-numbingly straight, often crowded with tourists, and the speed limit in many parts is a strictly enforced 45 mph; not usually the makings for a fun driving trip. Yet, somehow none of that really seems to matter. There’s an intangible magic in the Florida Keys that you can’t find anywhere else in the country. It’s an escape from the everyday world into a Caribbean-like slice of reality that’s dripping with a remote, laid-back atmosphere as thick as the humidity in the salty ocean breezes. Once you fall under the spell of the Keys, time slows, priorities shift,…

NEWS DRIVING IMPRESSION: SLP GTX RAM AIR Following on its Firehawk edition of the Firebird, SLP Engineering has announced the availability of a GTX Ram Air version of the front-drive Pontiac Grand Prix coupe and sedan. The GTX Ram Air package is available not just for the supercharged, 3.8-liter V-6 Grand Prix GTP, but even for cars powered by the naturally aspirated 3.1-liter or 3.8-liter OHV V-6s. The most obvious ingredient in the GTX recipe is the functional Ram Air hood and its accompanying plumbing. SLP says the Ram Air system adds 15 horsepower to cars with the 3.1-liter V-6 and 20 horsepower to cars equipped with either 3.8-liter engine. Add it up and that puts 260 horsepower in the nose of a supercharged GTX. SLP claims another 10 horsepower…

Sometimes when we test a race car, the team schedules a private track session and devotes an entire day to the effort. This allows plenty of time for several low-pressure on-track sessions to learn the nuances of the racetrack, get familiar with the car, carefully work up to speed, and record a thorough driving impression that I can then wittily relate to you, our six million or so valued readers. In these cases, the schedule easily accommodates repeated instrumented acceleration runs, and, most important, an unhurried sunset photo shoot (with the next sunrise as backup). This wasn’t one of those outings. Instead, it was the equivalent of parachuting into hostile territory to get a story: I was Motor Trend’s version of WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle (who was killed in action).…

The MOTOR TREND Electronic Reprint Service The MT Electronic Reprint Service gives you anytime access to many of our popular reviews through an automated, 24-hour computerized system. With a touch-tone phone and a Visa or Mastercard, you can order up to five reviews, for delivery by mail or fax. Single reviews cost $4.95 each, and comparison reviews (marked by a “c” next to the issue date) cost $9.95 each. (Body copy and tech data are included. Photos do not appear.) It’s easy: 1. Note the four-digit ID numbers of one or more of the reviews you’d like to order from the above ROAD TEST REVIEW list. Have your Visa or Mastercard handy. 2. Using a touch-tone phone, dial 1-800-549-0682. Follow the instructions of the friendly automated voice. 3. When asked,…

HOTTEST FIREBIRD EVER? Kudos to SLP and Pontiac on the awesome new Firehawk Trans Am (June ’98). Not only have they produced the best-looking car I have ever laid my eyes on, but they have also kept the price down. Jay BakerFayetteville, Ark. I was disappointed in the performance figures of the “99 Firehawk With an extra 22 horsepower, I expected the performance to be much better than stock. The Firehawk does 0-60 mph in the same amount of time as a stock ’98 Trans Am and 0.2 second and almost 3 mph slower through the quarter mile. I know the Firehawk package gives the already beautiful Trans Am even more drop-dead good looks, but is that worth $3995? Thomas LaSalleFort Lauderdale, Fla. Note: It did dust the ’98 Formula.—Ed.…

Ford Contour SVT E1 The SVT Contour has done a pretty fair job of winning friends and influencing people since going on sale in February 1997. Ford recently made its first running change to the ’98 package. Code-named E1—for evolution—it embodies several subtle but welcome upgrades that can only help this sporty four-door’s cause in the enthusiast market. Visually, the E1 variant can only be identified by its new wheel/tire package. Wrapping around slightly lighter and more elegant-looking “SVT-style” five-spoke alloy wheels are 205/55ZR16 Goodyear Eagle F1-GS tires that replace the original Eagle GS-Cs on European Mondeo cast rims. We drove both original and E1 SVT cars during our evaluation and found that, along with a touch better bite in both dry and wet conditions, changes to the tread pattern…

When automakers began developing and fielding limited numbers of natural gas vehicles earlier in the decade, the most cost-efficient way to produce them was conversion long after they left the assembly line. Aftermarket components were typically used and automakers often farmed out the conversion process to others. This follows long-accepted auto industry practice where limited-edition cars and light trucks—the GMC Syclone and Typhoon are but two examples—are created by Detroit-area specialty upfitters not so far from the assembly line. In the case of NGVs, a few select conversion companies were given the job of transforming these vehicles into factory-warranted NGVs that could be ordered at the showroom. A lot has changed in just a few short years. In 1995, Ford began mass-producing the Crown Victoria natural gas sedan at its…

Cadillac was caught by surprise. Surprise that the Lincoln Navigator (basically a gussied-up Ford Expedition) would be successful enough to knock Cadillac out of first place in domestic luxury vehicle sales for the first time in history. The battlefield response of the “Standard of the World”? We need an SUV of our own—fast! Thus, it’ll be no surprise to learn that, when the first production Escalade is built in a few weeks, it will roll out of the same Arlington, Texas, assembly plant as the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. Like the upscale Denali version of the Yukon, the Escalade features smooth-ride suspension tuning with Bilstein shocks, body-color door handles and running boards, a leather-lined and wood-garnished interior, six-spoke chromed alloy wheels, special Firestone Firehawk quiet-ride tires, a better grade…

The compact sport-coupe segment has a well-deserved reputation as a haven for the cost-conscious buyer looking to get a little fun in a new-car deal. Hyundai’s Tiburon FX follows that exact gameplan, and comes to our test with all the necessary fun-car ingredients and a base price just short of $15 grand. Aggressive and bold, the Tiburon’s sheetmetal presents a swoopy, windswept shape that does a definitive job of setting the car apart from its competition. The marvelous design concept continues inside with an attractive and useful dashboard, well-positioned controls, and optional leather buckets that are both comfortable and supportive. The Tiburon’s 2.0-liter/140-horse-power five-speed manual powertrain is willing enough, propelling the Tiburon to 60 mph in a creditable 8.4 seconds. Unfortunately, the fun factor diminishes somewhat due to its rather…

Whether it’s a secluded mountain meadow, a remote stretch of prime surfing (or, perhaps, clothing-optional) beach, the far reaches of a wildlife refuge, or whatever lies miles beyond the end of the paved road, the fun of the Toyota RAV4 lies in the destinations it promises. And when you choose the two-door Soft Top, add to that list “pretty much any where” The Celica-based RAV4 isn’t a Moab-mashing off-road brute. Instead, its fulltime all-wheel drive and higher ground clearance offer the confidence to go down paths—rutted, snowy, muddy—that you wouldn’t tackle with a car. It doesn’t offer as much pure driving fun as the other cars, but it does offer a lot more versatility. Keep in mind that AWD can’t reduce stopping distance or dramatically increase cornering power. But when…

Even the packing was a challenge: “Let’s see, Eddie Bauer Arctic parka…swim suit; insulated Iditarod boots…beach sandals; blizzard-ready thermal underwear…sunblock.” Saab, you see, was sponsoring an unusual event: Two teams, driving two brand-spanking-new ’99 Saab 93 SE five-door hatchbacks, were attempting to establish a record elapsed time driving from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska—the northernmost driveable point in the country—to Key West, Florida, the southernmost point in the continental United States. Organized by Arctic driving specialist Billy Edwards, it was to be an around-the-clock, stopping-only-for-gas, grab-your-restroom-break-where-you-can type of endurance run. For us, it sounded a lot like an automotive fraternity initiation stunt, but it proved to be an early chance to get behind the wheel of the new 93, Saab’s successor to the 900. We arranged to join the team for the…

Our American auto industry’s year-2004 goal is to create an affordable 80-mpg midsize sedan. A consortium of 35 of the world’s largest steel makers from 18 countries has banded together to provide a new type of car body that can help accomplish that mission. It’s created using much thinner, high-strength steels, “tailored steel blanks,” and fresh types of tools and manufacturing processes. Steel makers tapped one of the world’s most respected contract engineering firms, Porsche Engineering Services, Inc., to provide engineering and manufacturing management for the project. Today, the average midsize (Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Lumina) tips the scales at between 3300 and 3500 pounds. The Ultralight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) car would weigh in at about 2960 pounds. That’s a sweet 300- to 500-pound difference. “We challenge the paradigm that…

Owners of super-high-performance cal’s quickly learn to loathe rainy days: The same wide tires that make their babies stick to the road in dry weather can exacerbate (lightening hydroplaning skids when the skies open up. And the lightning responsiveness that’s so much fun in the dry can be positively petrifying when it’s thundering. A switch to Dunlop’s new SP Sport 9000s might turn those precipitation-prompted frowns into rainy-day grins. But first a word about dry grip: Every tire that claims the name “super-high-performance” offers far more dry grip than can be sanely used on public roads. Still, the 9000 offers more excess capacity. Fitted to a Camaro Z28 SS, we recorded an impressive 0.94 g on Dunlop’s dry pad, a whopping 0.06 g superior to the last SS we tested.…

BHMA NAVIGATOR BLUE, BLOWN, AND BAD Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories (BHMA) has been building personalized vehicles for decades, so the current boom in high-content, high-buck, luxury SUVs has played right into the company’s hand. Lincoln’s Navigator is one of the segment’s hottest vehicles, the perfect canvas for a trip through BHMA’s lavishly illustrated catalog of goodies. Andy Cohen, founder of BHMA and still highly involved in the company’s product development process, felt the Navigator’s exterior styling could be improved upon by dimming some of the chrome and alloy trim, so several exterior pieces have been refinished in either body color or a dark argent gray that compliments the step surfaces of the running boards. Pop the hood, you’ll see why we affectionately dubbed this vehicle the “Flying Blue Brick”: an…

’98 CHEVROLET CORVETTE After 1200 break-in miles, our long-term Corvette engaged in wheel-to-wheel combat in the “Viva Velocity!” (May ’98) international speedathon, where the Torch Red coupe achieved 173.9 mph. After the brutal week-long competition, the rock-solid Vette returned to the mean streets of Los Angeles, where it continued to impress the editors with its stunning balance of performance and civility. A staffer, whose garage has been home to three 427 Corvettes through the years, wrote in the logbook: “This is the best Corvette I’ve ever driven.” Other praise has run from admiration for the ride quality of the Z51 competition suspension to appreciation for the powerful, ultra-crisp Delco/Bose stereo system. The only major criticism so far is of the wear of the leather buckets’ torso bolsters, which is exaggerated…

In Europe, a sport/utility vehicle is not a truck-based rig with towering ground clearance. Those on the Continent call them “estates” or “touring models.” We call them station wagons. But banish all thought of’60s American versions replete with fake wood appliques, whitewalls, and screaming kids. A new roster of premium haulers has appeared, based on many of Germany’s finest sport sedans: the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi’s A4 and A6, and—appearing this fall—BMW’s 5 Series. We traveled to Austria to sample the company’s upcoming top-line wagon offering, a V-8-powered 540i touring with the new Steptronic five-speed automatic transmission. The 540i’s transformation from sedan to estate is straightforward but well done. There are extra electric defrosters plumbed into the side glass, and the rear seat folds down several different ways to accommodate various…

Declaring red-light running as one of the most “dangerous aggressive-driving traits,” the Department of Transportation wants to crack down on this deadly behavior by installing red-light cameras at intersections nationwide. But following a three-year pilot study, the feds got a setback when a majority of California legislators felt these electronic sentinels were the first step on the slippery slope to Big Brother on the highway and voted to scrap the cameras. There is little debate, however, about the magnitude of the problem. The DOT estimates more than 8000 people die every year and another million are injured in accidents caused by someone running a red light, and it’s getting worse all the time. This prompted the three-year federal pilot program, begun in 1995, that had 100 cameras installed in 31…

1969. Other than Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon and New York’s “Miracle Mets,” things were tough in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We were a country still reeling from the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and inaugurated a president who would be the first in history to resign in disgrace. Vietnam was raging, and the Beetles were preparing to break up. But, man, did we have cars. The daring new Mako Shark-inspired Vette was just a year old at the time and still about the hottest hunk of American iron (and fiberglass) on the street. GM’S big-block V-8 had grown from 396 cubic inches to 427 back in ’66, garnering the affectionate nickname “Rat Motor.” It was available…

It’s been full speed ahead of late for once-staid Swedish automaker Volvo. Last year’s debut of the C70 provided a major boost for its corporate profile here in America. This fall, the introduction of the new S80 should do even more to enhance its burgeoning reputation as a producer of not only safe, but visually exciting, highly dynamic cars. Volvo’s first-ever globally launched vehicle, the S80 will serve as the firm’s flagship for the new millennium. Boasting the most dramatic styling seen on any corporate offering since the P1800 ES from the ’70s, it’s also blessed with the largest interior of any Volvo sedan ever and sets new standards in the areas of safety and technology. Our first encounter with the S80 came in late spring at Volvo’s home base…

We’ve twice introduced you to the styling philosophy and Countour/Mystique-derived hardware that make up the new-for-’99 Mercury Cougar, so we won’t rehash them here. We will say that time spent on a twisty mountain road in Mercury’s new kitty uncovers the genuinely good driver’s machine that lies beneath the Cougar’s avant garde sheetmetal. The 2.5-liter/170-horsepower DOHC V-6 is a jewel. It’s sweet sounding, smooth, and simply loves to rev. Peak horsepower appears at a sonorous 6250 rpm, and torque tops out at 4250 revs, so smart work with the slick-shifting five-speed gearbox keeps the Cougar really hustling. Yes, it’s now front-wheel driven, but torque steer is reduced to an absolute minimum. Suspension tuning feels right on for spirited driving, and the underpinnings are better than what the 0.80g skidpad number…

We all know the New Beetle is as cute as a newborn koala. It turns more heads than Ms. Lewinsky in the White House lobby. And with all the attention it draws, it’s the best way to meet new people since the invention of the astrological sign. We already know that. What gets lost amidst those “thumbs-up” signs and spontaneous parking-lot gatherings is just how much fun the ’90s Bug is to drive. Underneath the brilliantly executed retro/futuristic styling is a solid, finetuned chassis, based on the fifth-generation Golf platform, which verifies there really were as many engineers as cartoonists working on the project. From the outside, the New Beetle’s like an escapee from Looney Tunes; however, from behind the steering wheel, it’s a tight, confidence-inspiring German road machine. The…

Dodge rescued itself from pickup purgatory in ’94, with the introduction of its all-new, way-bold Ram trucks. Part of the appeal came from the availability of two unique powerplants: the immensely popular Cummins turbo-diesel and the world’s first V-10 to be offered in a light-duty truck. This 8.0-liter torquemeister has become a favorite of the tow truck and fifth-wheel trailer crowd. But it’s Ford that gets to make the big news this time, and we mean big. Rather than attempting to equip the F-150 up to 1-ton-and-beyond spec, the Blue Oval gang pulled out a clean sheet of paper and drew a completely fresh truck platform. It’s available now as the ’99 Super Duty and can be had in F-250, 350, 450, and F-550 ratings, in two- and four-wheel-drive form,…

When you’re surrounded and the enemy is steadily advancing into your home territory, there’s only one thing to do: Attack! With the all-new ’97 Malibu, Chevrolet mounted a massive counterstrike on the Japanese models consistently winning skirmishes in the lucrative family sedan segment. Chevy instilled the attributes that make Americans flock to Accords and Camrys: a generous interior surrounded by a svelte exterior, confidence-inspiring ride and handling, taut steering feel, firm seats, well-placed controls with rewarding switchgear feel, a plethora of thoughtful features, potent acceleration, and a fun-to-drive attitude. After testing solidly constructed preproduction cars, our editors were convinced Chevy had produced a worthy four-door warrior. As one said, “The Malibu offers interior room, performance, and features to rival a Toyota Camry, but at a sticker price closer to a…

We sampled the four distinct flavors within Dunlop’s Rover series of sport/utility tires. Even the most insensitive amateur tire tester would have no trouble pointing out the differences between the hardcore off-road Radial Mud Rover and the low-profile Sport Rover GTX. And it didn’t require an educated palate to also tell these two from the all-weather Radial Rover A/T and the light-off-road Radial Rover RV. The four share little more than the Rover label: Construction and compound are different—often radically so—for each. In addition to public-road driving, we pounded a Lexus LX 450 shod with each of these tires around the wet road-race course and off-road course. Conclusions sprang like daffodils in March: ● On the off-road course, the three traditional SUV tires—A/T, RV, and Mud Rover—exhibited amazing aplomb. Even…

Automatic transmissions have come a long way from the days of the proverbial “slushbox.” With sophisticated electronic controls, fine-tuned internals, and ever-improving designs, they’re better performing, more reliable, and longer lasting than ever. In fact, for drivers, automatic transmissions have become so carefree that it’s easy to forget they still should be checked periodically. For the do-it-yourselfer, this basically boils down to checking the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) on a regular basis. Sound simple? Well, yes and no. The physical process of checking the fluid is easy and takes only a minute. Yet, there’s more you should know about your ATF than just where the level falls on the dipstick. ATF, in fact, is your window to the inside of an automatic transmission. If you know what to look for,…