Indholdsfortegnelse for October 1998 i MotorTrend

MOTOR TREND online www.motortrend.com After studying our extensive “’99 New Car Buyer’s Guide” in this month’s issue, log on to the ’Net and visit MT Online for information on how to get your best deal. Click into the Buying & Leasing section to choose from a wide variety of helpful articles and tools. We just added a comprehensive buying workshop in cooperation with CarWizard, offering detailed lease, pricing, and vehicle specification data. Search the user-friendly database by monthly payment, vehicle type, and even seating capacity. Compare vehicles side-by-side, and even predict future values. An interactive quiz can help you decide if you should lease or buy, and a full-feature calculator can run the numbers for your own cost analysis. Read through “Buying Tips,” “Leasing Basics,” “Leasing Language,” “Negotiation Tips,” and…

Despite America’s infatuation with sport/utility vehicles, Toyota recognizes there remains a healthy contingent of consumers who prefer the “justifiable indulgence” of a sporty coupe, albeit one with considerably more panache than the previous-generation two-door Camry. Enter the new Solara. From its jewel-like headlamps to its carefully penned body lines and rakish attitude, the Solara looks upscale, luxurious, and fun—more like a Lexus ES 300 coupe than its Camry brethren. Although sharing a common platform, the Solara boasts a stiffer body structure and finer-tuned suspension with increased strut, spring, and bushing rates all around. The result is a solid, more responsive chassis that modestly improves upon the Camry’s soft setup without a hint of objectionable harshness. The rack-and-pinion power steering assembly also has been tweaked to increase resistance more quickly as…

One important thing to remember if you contemplate following in our footsteps: The first name of this place is “death.” As in scads of people have died out here doing pretty much what we’re doing. Nice thought, huh? As a summer vacation spot, Death Valley is like Club Med in an alternate universe, designed by Dr. Kevorkian and operated by Hell Enterprises LLC. We call it “Club Dead.” But it’s a dry heat. Yeah, like that matters. Try 97 degrees at 5 a.m. and 121 degrees by noon. In one canyon, the thermometer in the Dodge Ram read 130 degrees. By the third day, stranded for seven hours in the sun 20 miles from any paved road, thanks to two shredded tires on the F-150, we discovered the joys of…

GMC’s all new ’99 Sierra is arguably the new state of the art in the full-size truck business. That is, if you ignore the fact that Chevrolet will sell nearly three times as many of the Sierra’s virtual twin, the Silverado. Whatever badge is in the grille, the new truck’s shining achievement is its outstanding chassis and suspension. Stiff in the frame, quick to react, and supple and refined in the suspension, the Sierra worked wonderfully both on- and off-road. One interesting note here: With only its midlevel suspension option, the Z85 handling/trailering package, the Sierra got nothing but good reviews from all our testers regardless of the terrain we subjected it to. In comparison, the Chevrolet Silverado, with its Z71 off-road package, was unanimously criticized for its way-too-stiff ride…

Unique among American makes, Buick’s most powerful performance legacy lies in both forced induction and the ‘80s, Back then, its all-black turbo V-6 Regal Grand Nationals ruled the road. Descended from Buick’s turbocharged 3.8-liter sixes of yesterday is today’s 3.8-liter V-6, the supercharged 3800 Series II used in the Park Avenue, Riviera, and Regal. Fortifying the supercharged 3800 to perform like the old turbo 3,8 was too good to pass up. Buick’s Regal S concept sedan may, in fact, make it to production. Pumping the 240-horsepower Series II to 270 ponies was straightforward: Drop the supercharger’s drive-pulley diameter down to spin the Eaton Roots-style blower more rapidly, add a freer-breathing intake, and dump the waste out a dual-exhaust (from the catalytic converter back). Calling on tradition, the designers also cut…

It’s a fact: Cooling system problems are the number-one cause of engine-related breakdowns. The irony here is that this system is one of the simplest and easiest to maintain on the vehicle. Unfortunately, it’s also often neglected, and that’s when trouble can begin. However, the more you know about how the cooling system works and its inherent problems, the better able you are to take care of it and ensure maximum performance and service life. In simplest terms, here’s how it works. Abetted by the water pump, coolant—water and antifreeze—is circulated through the engine where it absorbs heat created by the combustion process. It’s then routed to the radiator where it’s cooled by airflow—outside air coming through the radiator, assisted by the cooling fan—before being sent back to the engine…

RUG IT There will be times when you need to make use of the “utility” aspect of your sport/utility, and a BedRug from Wise Industries will help protect your Durango’s rear cargo area. Like all BedRugs, it’s made of rugged polyester carpet bonded to a waterproof, closed-cell foam shell, and is custom-fit for the Durango. Separate pieces for the floor and seatback panels ensure the entire cargo hold is covered. 800/462-8435. www.wiseindustries.com. MOPAR’S FACTORY AFTERMARKET Dodge knows it has a winner and is introducing a line of accessories specifically tailored for the Durango. Along with such items as the ski carrier, bike and luggage racks, runningboards, and grille guard shown here are interior upgrade pieces, sound systems, and more. And there’s something to be said for components designed and warranted…

’99 TOYOTA SIENNA More conservative than the supercharged Previa egg it replaces, the Sienna set its sights firmly on mainstream America. All the minivan prerequisites are available: dual sliding doors, seating for seven, rear air conditioning outlets, abundant cupholders, and car-oriented dynamics. We indulged in the premium XLE model to gain an attractive two-tone exterior and laundry list of power features. The XLE’s $27,100 base price includes power windows/door locks/mirrors, keyless entry anti-theft system, power driver’s seat, second-row captain’s chairs, tire pressure monitors, and alloy wheels, among other pampering items. We opted for a $2390 primo package with leather upholstery and power moonroof—a true minivan luxury. For a reasonable $180, the standard stereo was upgraded to an AM/FM/CD/cassette head unit with six speakers, pushing the bottom line to $30,090. Our…

635-HORSEPOWER SHOOTOUT “The Ultimate Ponycar Shootout” (July ’98) only further points out that the Camaro and Mustang have both done a complete about-face from their position in the ’80s. Now, it’s the Camaro that’s cheaper, option-for-option, offering the better performance of the two. The pricetag on the Roush Mustang is much higher than the factory Cobra’s, yet doesn’t yield significant performance increases over the SVT car. As the proud owner of ’97 versions of the more garden-variety Z28 and GT, I can honestly say the Camaro is just flat-out more fun to drive. If Chevy kills off the F-body line, I think that would be a stake in the heart of car nuts everywhere! America needs the Camaro. Besides, the lease on my ’97 Z28 is up in two years,…

Like the proverbial Phoenix, the recently departed Ford Thunderbird is about to rise again for the 2000 model year. Along with resurrecting the two-seat/rear-drive configuration of the classic ’55-’57 models, the troops in Dearborn plan to infuse this modern rendition with a good bit of the visual impact of those first T-Birds, as well. Why the retro style? For openers, Ford knows the original sold well, easily and consistently outpacing its primary rival, the Chevy Corvette. And with today’s legion of Boomers apparently eager to own the kinds of cars they dreamed about driving as children—witness the smashing success of Volkswagen’s New Beetle and the Plymouth Prowler—Ford seeks to offer this young, relatively affluent buyer group a package that combines the saucy styling of those early Birds with modern-day reliability…

The fact is well known that BMW will soon market a 5 Series-based, high-performance sport/utility vehicle. You may have seen fuzzy, long-distance spy photos of the camouflaged test mules—replete with Country Squire-inspired fake wood on the sides—being flogged about Europe by the Munich development team. BMW itself has admitted the machine, which it calls an SAV, or “sports/activity vehicle,” does indeed exist. Furthermore, the company has announced it will be built at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, assembly plant, current birthplace to all Z3 models. But there’s a world of difference between grainy photos, shot with a 600-millimeter lens through a chickenwire fence while the spy photographer is chased by a factory security guard, and being close enough to one of BMW’s development rigs to touch it. That difference is in…

CHEVROLET S-10 ● CHEVROLET SILVERADO LS ● DODGE DAKOTA SLT ● DODGE RAM 3500 V-10 SPORT ● FORD F-150 ● FORD RANGER XLT ● GMC SIERRA SLT ● A couple weeks ago, dreaming up testing parameters while lounging in our comfy offices, this torture test idea sounded like a good one: See just how tough the fully redesigned ’99 Chevy and GMC full-size 4x4 pickups are by taking them, and five other all-American best-sellers, to the blast furnace hell of Death Valley in the hottest part of summer. But now, as this thought is being written (scribbled into the notebook as we’re about to pulverize our insides by attempting yet another skidplate scraping, axle-straining, gut-dislodging mountain trail in this God-forsaken earthly Hades), we’re less than certain this is actually fun.…

In the Sept. ’69 issue of Motor Trend, Julian Schmidt and four other staffers took a trip to Death Valley, and Schmidt wrote of the place, “Lucifer’s anointed land of depravity and desolation; the one spot on earth for which he didn’t have to battle the Almighty.” In the 30 years that have elapsed, it’s obvious that vehicles have greatly evolved, but not much else in Death Valley has changed. This time, the competition was contemporary and contentious—the battle was on. Okay, we tried to get a Ram half-ton to go up against the GM and Ford counterparts, but…let’s just say “stuff happens.” What we did get—a Ram V10 Dualie 4x4—is one of the biggest, baddest, vehicles off the road; and one of the biggest surprises of the test. Tb…

No one who tackled our three-day, two-state, blisteringly hot, mostly off-road, 800-mile pickup truck evaluation could say it was anything less than a true torture test. A trial by temperature of men and machines alike. Each of us learned volumes about each pickup’s respective prowess, and our individual stamina. I came away from the ordeal with an even greater respect for the redesigned GM full-size trucks. Although I’d choose our GMC Sierra’s particular level of equipment as what Td own, a Chevy Silverado could obviously be outfitted identically, so the ultimate decision between the two rests in which subtle styling differences you prefer, and which dealer gives you the best price. But the greatest surprise of the group came from the behemoth Dodge Ram V-10 dualie, which went everywhere the…

Kermit the Frog would feel right at home in the Pacific Northwest because, if there’s one key impression that lodges in a traveler’s brain while driving through this lush coastal region, it’s “green.” Well, “wet” comes to mind, too. But the land is saturated with a zillion different shades and tints of green: deep forest greens, subdued bluish greens, sun-painted fluorescent greens, chilly envy greens, you get the picture. It’s a complex mosaic of greenery invigorating in its intensity—or is it just an oxygen high from all the plants and ferns exhaling all around you? For this excursion, we focused on the Washington Cascades, that ruggedly picturesque, volcano-infested range of mountains dividing the state into separate east and west realities, and extending from Northern California up into British Columbia, Canada.…

Factory participation is a key element to success in any form of professional motorsport. This is true not only from a sponsorship level but, more important, from the development of chassis, engine, and related technologies. International manufacturers have come and gone from the 24 Hours of LeMans over the years, but at no time has their involvement been higher—and more expensive—than it was at this year’s running of the French endurance classic. Among them were BMW, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, and Toyota, each of which fielded or supported entries among the race’s three major classes, thus setting the stage for one of the more dramatic faceoffs in the history of the event. A quirk in the rules calculations for 1998 resulted in the GT1 cars actually being faster than, and…

Import marques were gobbling up affluent buyers during the early ’90s like a blue whale slurping down plankton, beginning long-term relationships that would see customers graduate through the model range into increasingly profitable product. As Cadillac saw its buyer demographics shilling more and more toward “final car” purchasers, this growth in the $30,000-35,000 mainstream luxury segment did not go unnoticed. Since repeat customers, brand conquests, and market share are key strategic elements for any successful automaker, the premium CM division saw an opportunity in the near-lux segment that wasn’t being fully exploited by an American company. Needing a roar-drive sedan in a pinch to compete against the well-entrenched imports. Cadillac turned to Adam Opel AC. an European General Motors’ division with suitable existing product for a market transplant. Working with…

Recalibrate your impression of the Acura TL. While the previous TL and its Vigor forbear were competent-but-unexciting also-rans in the near-luxury category, the new ’99 Acura 3.2TL will prove a stimulating and attractive alternative to the likes of the Lexus ES300, BMW 328i, and Mercedes C280. The TL gains its new stature from a solid chassis, sporty steering and handling, a spacious cabin virtually as roomy as the ’95 Legend, a silky, muscular 3.2-liter DOHC V-6, and a window sticker thousands less than comparably equipped opponents. Along with the Honda Accord, this new TL is built on the “Midsize Global Platform” by Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio. The TL shares its floorpan and suspension layout with the Accord and also meets the EPAs standards for domestic content. Still,…

Armed with alarming real-world statistics that show passengers in cars are 30 times more likely to be killed if slammed in the side by a light truck, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently held the first in a series of six side-impact crash tests. What the test produced, however, was more controversy and a call for more research. A hapless ’97 Honda Accord was T-boned at 33 mph by a ’98 Chevrolet S-10 pickup, a ’97 Ford Explorer, ’97 Dodge Caravan, and ’97 Chevrolet Lumina. Surprisingly, all 16 dummies—two in front, two in rear, all wearing seatbelts—survived the crashes without serious injuries. Moreover, the Lumina inflicted as much damage as the light trucks, prompting automakers to point out that crash survivability relates more to differences in vehicle weight than…

Ford’s Mustang formula is simple: start with bold styling, muscular engines, and proven mechanicals, then add in value pricing: Voilà! Market success. The original Mustang created the affordable, fun youth-car segment 35 years ago, and Mustang’s been the sales leader in the small-specialty segment for 12 years running. Still, it’s a formula that Ford itself violated with the relatively expensive, intercooled, turbocharged—and now extinct and rare—SVO Mustang of the mid-’80s. Competitors likewise bent and then broke that success equation to create their own progressively more sophisticated, pricey, and eventually low-volume models. Today, Mustang’s only direct competitors are the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, both of which are currently balanced on the knife edge of existence. Keeping it simple for ’99, Dearborn massaged the Mustang with sharper styling, more V-6 and…

It’s a natural question to ponder while crossing this scorched wasteland and watching the ambient temperature display climb mercilessly upward: Just how did Death Valley get its name? It goes back to a wagon-train of so-called ’49ers—miners and families trekking to gold-crazy California—who in 1849 managed to get themselves stranded in the midst of one of the hottest places on earth. After weeks of being lost, out of food, and down to the last reserves of water, their only hope was in two men—William Manley and John Rogers—who left the group and struggled across stark mountain ranges and what must have seemed like hundreds of miles of spirit-crushing desert to look for help. Weeks passed, and with the ’49ers on the verge of succumbing to starvation and the elements, Manley…

Ford is good at creating catchy slogans for its popular truck lines, such as “Built Ford Tough,” or in the case of the much-revised-for-’98 Ranger, “Fun, Tough, Real.” Those buzzwords must have some impact, as the F-150 and Ranger each represent the best selling trucks in their respective classes. But do these jingles speak the Trucking Truth, or are they merely hype—spun up and spewed out by the Blue Oval’s ad agency? Both of our test trucks were equipped as many off-roaders would want them, including the largest available engine (the 5.4-liter SOHC Triton V-8 in the F-150, and a 4.0-liter V-6 for the Ranger), automatic transmission, four-wheel drive, A/C, a normal complement of power accessories, and each vehicle’s appropriate Off-Road package—but leaving off the gingerbread such as three-tone paint…

Welcome to the biggest automotive showroom on earth, Motor Trend’s New Car Buyer’s Guide, where 159 shiny, new passenger cars and minivans await your perusal. (We’ll cover trucks, full-size vans, and sport/utility vehicles in next month’s New Truck Buyer’s Guide.) Based on the best information available as of press time, this alphabetical listing includes estimated prices for base through top trim levels (without destination charges or federal taxes), as well as safety, curb weight, brake, and fuel economy figures for the base trim level of the model in question. By our calculations, you’ve got 636 tires that need kickin’—hope you’re wearing comfortable shoes! ACURA 3.5RL Acura’s flagship 3,5RL luxury sedan returns for ’99 with a more sharply defined sporting edge—and an extensive rework. With the exception of the doors and…

As the truck and sport/utility vehicle markets continue to grow at an amazing pace, manufacturers are working hard to figure out the next trend that’s likely to excite. One of these is multidoor trucks. While full-size “crew cabs” have been around for decades, a new generation of four-doors are appearing, and they’re aimed squarely at families and recreational users who need more than seating for two or three. In our August issue, we tested the Dodge Ram Quad Cab; we’ve also shown you the Toyota T150 concept four-door—look for a full test on the production version this fall. Here’s a brief look at a few others on the horizon, or in the design study stage. Ford completes its much-talked-about 12-door strategy for ’99 when the F-150 Supercab grows a fourth…

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