Indholdsfortegnelse for July 1999 i MotorTrend

Strange things happen when you’re traveling at over 190 mph. Most of your brain’s hard drive is taken up merely processing the data that’s flying into it at these speeds, doing its best to sort out the myriad sensations of g-forces, wind noise, engine sounds, steering feel, and tire grip. Your eyes are busy feeding the visuals of blurring scenery, your skin bristles with hairs standing on end, and your heart pounds in every cell of your tensed body. This is not a relaxing drive, I can assure you. Above 190 mph, your preservation instinct also is in high gear, doing everything it can short of instigating a heart attack to convince you to slow the hell down, drive sanely back into the pits, and enjoy a frosty Frappuccino while…

■ ACURA NSX ZANARDI EDITION ■ BMW M COUPE ■ CHEVROLET CORVETTE ■ DODGE VIPER GTS ■ FERRARI 550 MARANELLO ■ MERCEDES-BENZ E55 PORSCHE CARRERA 4 Sports Illustrated has its swimsuit edition; Motor Trend has its annual top-speed showdown. The purpose of both exercises is roughly the same (give or take a few scraps of highly stressed spandex): a vicarious romp with exceptional lust objects. Of course, you’re about as likely to find yourself languidly rubbing cocoa butter on Rebecca Romijn as you are to be offered a chance to rip around a high-banked oval in a Ferrari 550 Maranello, turning 7400 rpm in sixth gear as a 194.5-mph hole in the atmosphere slaps shut behind you. That’s where we come in. No, we don’t have Rebecca’s phone number, but…

What can be written about the C5 Corvette that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? All things considered, it’s America’s best, longest-lived, and most-beloved sports car. Its sexy fiberglass body is complemented by an ergonomically and visually near-perfect interior. Its performance is both legendary and comparable to other sports cars double or triple its price. It can just as easily be driven everyday as it can turn lap after hot lap on a racetrack. We’ve said it all. So, what more could you want from a sports car? Well, they could make it even more affordable. Originally, the Hardtop (aka Lightweight) was planned to be a “stripper” car with all the performance of the coupe and convertible, but without some of the superfluous bits, making it lighter and less…

If you’ve ever fantasized about blasting down the interstate in a CART FedEx Champ Car, the Alex Zanardi Edition Acura NSX is as close as you can get without fear of a state-sponsored 11month, 29-day vacation. The Zanardi’s ride is harsh, like a stiffly sprung race car. Also, like a race car, its steering is heavy but hardwired directly to your brain: Think turn and it’s already rotating. With no power steering, and big Yokohama A-022s that stick to the pavement like suction cups, a handful of fast laps three times a week will build your forearms up like Popeye’s. Handling feedback is race-car subtle: It whispers about the approaching edge of the envelope, and if you don’t pay attention, you’ll spin like the Mad Tea Party ride in Fantasyland.…

Japan’s second-largest automaker has experienced some tumultuous times of late, culminating in its being taken over by France’s Renault SA. But despite the formidable long-term challenges Nissan still faces, a rich bounty of all-new or heavily revised product for the 2000 model year should bode well for its short-term competitive position here in the U.S. One of the most critical launches involves the new Maxima, due at dealers this summer. While retaining the current car’s basic platform engineering, visually and mechanically, it’s undergone numerous substantive changes and upgrades. Wrapped in clean-sheet bodywork penned at Nissan Design International in La Jolla, California, the 2000 Maxima definitely exudes a higher profile than its predecessor. However, an elevated visual index doesn’t always ensure market success in this segment. The Maxima’s reshaped forequarters definitely…

A flat tire can create an immediate emergency situation. But there’s another failure that must be addressed right away, a more insidious and subtle tire epidemic that’s compromising both our tires and other areas of driving: underinflation. It’s true, a large percentage of the vehicles on the road are operated with underinflated tires, and this can cause all kinds of problems. For one thing, it takes more energy to roll a tire with less air pressure, so the engine needs to consume more fuel. According to the American Automobile Association, underinflated tires can cut fuel economy by as much as 2 percent per pound of pressure below the recommended level. Underinflated tires also cause more heat to build up in the sidewalls. Heat is one of the primary enemies of…

While visiting the Geneva Motor Show to check out all the new production vehicles, we also had a chance to take in what the European aftermarket parts manufacturers and tuners had to offer. The most popular vehicle among the aftermarket set was Audi’s new TT sport coupe, which has just hit the shores of the U.S. Autex Tuning’s stand displayed a TT A fitted with Work Wheels. Remus Sport Exhaust had an all-black beauty B in its show booth, which featured aftermarket tires and wheels and, of course, a performance exhaust system. Swiss outfitter, Pro Car, showed a sharp looking blue TT C equipped with Work wheels and tires. Wagons are alive and well in Europe, as evidenced by the abundance of modified family rides in Geneva. Manufactured Superior Design…

This spring, GM partially pulled back the curtain on the 2000 Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon, revealing some styling and mechanical details (GMC also markets a version of the Suburban and Chevy will continue to offer the Tahoe). Because these soon-to-be-introduced sport/utility vehicles are based on GM’s Silverado/Sierra pickup, you knew there had to be all-new sheetmetal, ride, steering and handling tweaks, bigger brakes, and significant powertrain changes. But there are also a few nice surprises, like third-row seating in the Yukon, side-impact airbags, and a factory power sunroof. As we go to press, powertrain choices have not been fully sorted out. But the base Suburban and standard Yukon engine is likely to be a 5.3-liter Vortec V-8 mated with a four-speed automatic; this Yukon show truck was powered by…

The Cherokee Indians used to call it “the land of the blue mist.” It’s a rolling band of mountains that straddles the North Carolina/Tennessee border and cloaks its forested hills, sprawling meadows, and undulating two-laners in a thin, wispy blanket of everpresent haze. Today, the Smoky Mountains are more than a beautiful section of the southern Appalachians; they’re a destination for some nine million travelers every year, making the Great Smoky Mountains National Park the most popular in the U.S. With that many visitors passing through the park’s gates, the prime season can mean crowded roads. So some of the best driving can be done before you reach the entrance. We began our excursion in nearby Asheville, North Carolina, which provides a great start to a low-stress adventure with a…

485 horsepower, 12 cylinders, massive acceleration, and that gorgeous Pinmfarma bodyshaping gets the head-swiveling attention of even the most jaded of the super-rich. The sights, the sounds, and the in-your-guts longing to have this $226,000 Italian masterpiece are ah easy to understand. But before actually driving the 550 Maranello, it’s impossible to realize just what an incredible car it is. Even’ one of this machine’s many talents and temperaments needs to be tasted before you can fully appreciate it. After living with the newest front-engine V-12 Ferrari for a week, experiencing it as city commuter and highway cruiser and driving it flat-out at top speed, the MT staff is proud to bow its collective heads in respect for the designers of the 550 Maranello. This is not only the best…

They don’t get a lot of excitement in Needles, a wide place in the road at the California/Arizona border. Sure, there was the time a semi lost a load of Dead Coyote Malt Liquor on the 1-40 Business Loop, but that hangover has just about worn off. So when seven flashy performance cars roll into town for a splash of gas and a quick windshield squeegee, people sit up, rub their eyes, and take notice. Even the residents who aren’t homeless. Our plan was to run about 300 miles northwest of L.A. to Kingman, Arizona, where we’d spend a few days at the off-limits-to-virtually-everyone Ford Arizona Proving Grounds testing, shooting photos, taping video for “Motor Trend TV,” and watching over the 28 tires on our seven test cars as if…

It’s a sobering testament to this collection of elite, high-performance machinery that a purebred sports car with the lineage of the 911 and the awesome credentials of the Carrera 4 could end up in the middle of the pack. Yet, overshadowed by the atomic acceleration of the V-10-powered Dodge Viper, the incredible top velocity of the V-12 Ferrari F550, and the epoxy-like cornering grip of the race-tuned Acura NSX-Z, this 911—at least in terms of numbers—turned out to be more of a support player than a star on this dream team. Test numbers, though, tell only part of the story. The Porsche offers its own unique driving experience, one that still generates cult passion. It’s the visceral sensation of its 3.4-liter/296-horsepower flat-six spooling up a few feet behind your head…

If it’s sleek looking, quick, and prowls as smoothly and quietly as a cat, then it must indeed be a Jaguar. But how does the eagerly awaited 2000 S-Type perform? Between late April and early May, the all-new 2000 S-Type joined Jaguar’s two-seater XK8 and the longer, heavier XJ8 sedan in North American showrooms. Today, it’s making a convincing statement in regard to corporate parent Ford’s careful husbanding of the Jaguar brand. Initially, though, news of this junior Jag was not well received. Simply the announcement of this vehicle a few years ago garnered the type of dismissive criticism an overly ambitious high-school production of “Hamlet” might receive. Old fans of the marque arose, along with sectors of the motoring press, to express skepticism bordering on contempt for the idea…

Beyond comprehension. There’s no other way to describe how the Team Gordon Toyota Tundra SCORE Trophy Truck shaves down Hereford-size bumps and spackles in bottomless ravines. CART race winner, desert champion, and certifiable wildman Robby Gordon took me for a ride in his truck down a rutted desert path that looked like an ocean frozen in mid-storm. At times, the digital speedometer on my side topped 100 mph. Then, we approached a particularly deep crevasse. I closed my eyes and whimpered, “This is going to hurt.” The fact that I was sitting to the right of Gordon, who’s crashed a wider variety of race cars than any active driver, did nothing to allay my fears. But the landing was no rougher than—perhaps not as rough as—running over a speed bump…

Often the hardest part of changing a tire by the side of the road is simply operating the factory-standard jack to get the tire off the ground. Micro SuperJack can make this task easier. The unit simply plugs into your cigarette lighter or other 12-volt accessory outlet and can be operated by a handheld remote control to lift any load up to 4000 pounds. Suddenly, operating the jack is the easiest part of the job. The Micro SuperJack can be power-operated to extend 5.5 inches and, if necessary, can be raised an additional 2.3 inches manually, providing a total height of 13.3 inches. When not in use, the compact jack is easily stored in the trunk or rear cargo compartment. The Micro SuperJack has won the American Quality institute’s “Award…

There’s no getting around it: The Super Duty is an amazing truck line. Ford invested untold millions to develop the Super Duty, which neatly splits the seam between a light-duty pickup and industrial-only haulers. The F-250 and F-350 SDs are already a runaway sales success, hauling as many horse trailers as they do construction crews, though not even Ford could have anticipated their popularity as recreational-use vehicles and pure sport trucks. The two Super Duties on these pages demonstrate just a taste of how enterprising owners can modify and tailor the Big Bad Ford to their own needs and style; we suspect the aftermarket will continue releasing more new products for these rigs over the next few years. Similarities: Both these Super Dutys pack Ford’s more-than-capable 6.8-liter Triton V-10. Differences:…

Since its introduction during the Reagan years, the Escort moniker has been synonymous with affordable, no-nonsense transport available in sedan, wagon, and hatchback varieties. As the next millennium nears, the U.S. economy booms and consumer priorities shift: a gallon of gasoline costs the same as a 16-ounce bottled water, bigger is better, and Internet shares have driven the stock exchange past the 10,000 mark. Evidence of the changing market can be seen by Dodge/Plymouth, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota each pulling out of the entry-level coupe segment, leaving Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, and few others to share the remaining sales. Debuting a year after the current Escort sedan and wagon, the ZX2 coupe fills the slot once occupied by the hatchback, pushing the vehicle slightly upscale in prestige and styling to address…

While researching this month’s Motor Trend’s 50th Anniversary section, we ran across this print in a pile of old Corvette photos. A caption identified the vehicle in the upper left as the “experimental Chevrolet Corvair,” while the wagon in the middle is described as the “Waldorf Nomad.” Our Chevy history buffs around the office say both vehicles were Chevrolet prototypes built for the 1954 Motorama car show held at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City (thus the Waldorf Nomad name). There were more than one version of the Nomad, and one is known to exist today in a private collection in Nevada. Both the Corvair and Nomad feature Corvette styling cues and would have made great cars had Chevy built them. It’s also worth noting that the Corvette in…

MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE Carrying on the basic flavor of its ’98 SST concept car—but with slightly less in-your-face styling, Mitsubishi’s new Eclipse goes on sale in August. Engine choices for this sporty hatchcoupe include a 2.4-liter DOHC four set to make about 155 horsepower and a 3.0-liter SOHC V-6 that should develop around 205. Transmission options are a five-speed manual gearbox or optional four-speed Sportronic autoshifter that can be used as a clutchless manual. The new Eclipse is 3 inches longer than the current car and has 2 inches more wheelbase. Although it’ll be front drive only—less than 5 percent of buyers opted for AWD—Mitsubishi promises the Eclipse’s top-notch handling capabilities won’t be compromised. Inside, there’s more room for people and cargo, with particularly notable gains in the rear seat area,…

When we bring a Dodge Viper GTS to the test track, a long line of thrill riders magically materializes. Suddenly, I’m Chief Imagineer for Mr. Mac’s Wild Ride, ready to tantalize every track employee from general manager to janitor. Step aboard. My victims, uh, passengers often stammer nervously as they hunt for the unique outboard-mounted seatbelt buckle. The instant it clicks, I rev the 8.0-liter V-10 to three grand and dump the clutch. All talk ends. The Dodge catapults forward in an opposite-lock, tire-smoking powerslide, its uneven-firing pushrod mill bellowing like a WWII Merlin. I snatch a redline shift to second and ask, ‘When should I get on the brakes?” Most shout, “Now!” I punctuate my response (“Oh, no, not now.”) by slamming it into third and going back to…

Efforts to explain the two-seat M Coupe’s shoe-inspired styling to the uninitiated are best dealt with a firm application of your right boot—on the throttle pedal, that is. Strap a victim in the passenger seat and unleash the smooth 240-horsepower DOHC inline six, and snide comments about the off-beat styling are replaced by gasps of amazement. Let’s not forget, after aft, that the M Coupe is the best-performing car BMW has ever offered for sale in America. Pouncing to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, the M Coupe keeps right on pulling with seamless enthusiasm until it slams headlong into the electronic speed limiter that waits at 137.5 mph to unceremoniously dump ice water on your feverish quest for terminal velocity. Without the limiter, and with a sixth ratio taking up…

The answer to this question is simple. Look at the decklid badge. If it says E55, then you’ve got yourself a full-fledged, four-door sports car that’s ready and willing to trounce new Porsche Carrera 4s in 0-60, quarter-mile, standing one-mile, and 0-100-0-mph tests. Each editor who drove the E55 had the same opinion: A vehicle that looks this unassuming just can’t be so blazingly quick. It’s this kind of performance that landed the E55 in Motor Trend’s annual speedfest. When someone suggested that we include a sedan just to give the story a different twist, the E55 was the logical choice. However, few of us thought it had a chance of beating such stout competition. But when we hit the test track, the 5.4-liter/349-horsepower V-8 quickly made us all believers.…

FIRST TEST Audi is on a roll. Clear signs of its renaissance began with the lithe-looking, fine-driving A4 and continued with last year’s introduction of the sensitively sculpted A6. Aid now, it’s TT time. Senior Feature Editor Rik Paul gave you the first inside details of the TT program in our Dec. ’98 issue, but to refresh: The design first bowed (and wowed) as a concept study in coupe form at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 1995, then as a convertible at Tokyo the following year. Crowd and media reaction ultimately provoked production approval, and it’s due here this fall as a 2000 model—avant garde, concept-car shapes firmly intact. Audi has high sales hopes for the TT. In support of those goals, the TT will be offered in an…

It was a gem of a year. Excepting the tragic event that took place in Dallas, Texas, that November, 1963 was a stunner. Just look at those new cars: the landmark split-window Vette, a concept-carish Avanti, and Buick’s sexilicious Riviera, just to name a few. Horsepower was still in charge, though the big motors generally came only in the heavy hardware—midsize muscle and the ponycar revolution were just around the corner. And what did we select as Car of the Year from this cornucopia of fabulous new machines? Aack! The Rambler! Just what were we thinking? ON TRACK · Parnelli Jones takes a controversial Indy 500 win in an Offy-powered A.J. Watson machine dubbed “Calhoun.” A front-engine roadster would win for the final time the following year, but in spite…

Despite the significant improvement in both the quality and durability of tires in recent years, flat tires still remain one of the most common causes of roadside emergencies, accounting for one of every 10 emergency calls received by the AAA. At best, a flat can be a real hassle; at worst, it can compromise your safety. Moreover, it’s usually not the dramatic blowout that will sideline you, but a more subtle loss of tire pressure from either an undiscovered slow leak or a recently picked-up nail or other sharp object. Sometimes, a slow leak due to a minor puncture can take days to make itself known, and, of course, it never happens at an opportune time. The industry has responded to this problem with several impressive models of run-flat tires,…

PERFORMANCE TEST Carroll Shelby recently introduced a new line of Shelby Cobras called the CSX4000. To quote the man himself, “I’ve stood by for 20 years watching others make knockoffs. Would people rather have one of my CSX4000s from Shelby American or one of those bootleg deals?” Point well taken. Shelby describes the car as a “component vehicle,” not a kit car. It’s manufactured to Shelby’s original ’65 S/C Cobra CSX3000 specs, but features improvements for increased durability and ease of maintenance. Sold through a 10-dealer network as a rolling chassis, each car comes with a 427 Ford engine and four-speed Toploader transmission, which the buyer must install. The standard body is fiberglass; however, aluminum doors, hood, and decklid are available as options. The chassis is based on 4-inch round-tube…

BMW knows how to build and market specialized versions of its production models; witness the success of the M lineup. Saab management knows sound product planning when they see it, and is stealing a page from the M playbook by creating Saab’s own line of hot-rod sedans. They’ll be called Viggen, after Saab’s rather high-performance military fighter jets. The Viggen approach is much similar to the M’s: more power, beefier suspension and upgraded wheels/tires, some aggressive body trim, and an all-business interior. It works for BMW, and it should work for Saab. The heart of the Viggen, for ’99 available only in the three-door body style and only in Lightning Blue, is a hopped-up, turbocharged 2.3-liter DOHC four. A larger-than-standard, variable boost Mitsubishi turbo, special valves, and revised engine management…

HOT WHEELS Canepa Design is one of the more creative tuners when it comes to building up great-looking sport/utilities that really perform. They’ve come up with several new wheel designs made specifically for trucks and SUVs. Constructed with 6061-T6 alloy centers, Canepa wheels are available in many popular 16-, 17-, and 18-inch sizes. Choose between painted, polished, or chrome finish on most models, with rim widths ranging from 8 to 11 inches, Canepa Design, 831/423-5704, or www.canepa.com ULTIMATE SEAT PROTECTION Make sure dirt, water, and other muck stays off of your sport/utility’s soft leather trim with Wet Okole seat covers. These covers offer protection that goes way beyond that of normal cloth covers, as they are made of the same nylon-laminated neoprene material as a diver’s wet suit. They obviously…

’99 CHEVROLET SILVERADO LS Although we’ve driven dozens of Chevrolet Silverados by now, we wanted to run one of the award-winning pickups through an exhaustive year-long evaluation to report on how the ’99 Truck of the Year performs. We ordered an extended-cab Silverado LS 1500 with a variety of cosmetic, comfort, and work-oriented features. To the $22,200 base price, we added the potent 5.3-liter/270-horse-power V-8 engine ($1295) and four-speed automatic transmission ($995). The LS package includes air conditioning, AM/FM/CD ’99 CHRYSLER 300M Capturing our ’99 Car of the Year award, the 300M impressed the staff with its bold performance statement, modem styling, and upscale driving feel. Chrysler’s latest ‘letter car” was a long-term must-have. Starting just shy of the $30K mark, the Canadian-built 300M boasts an enticing list of standard…