Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2002 i MotorTrend

Everything you’ve seen before has been a Holden Monaro. But we’re getting closer now, as GM has released this official illustration of the 04 GTO. The look is much as we expected and appears on target to successfully revive Pontiac’s much-storied rear-drive performance flagship. Though we don’t think the New-Age Goat will hit the originally rumored 350-hp bogey, its 5.7L LS1 V-8 should at least equal the punch of the outgoing Firebird Trans Am, packing something between 325 and 340 hp. The six-speed manual trans and a fully independent suspension will make the mix. Up to 18,000 GTOs will be built annually at Holden’s Elizabeth, Australia, assembly plant. Tire-melters, rejoice: The new GTO shows up late next year. We’ll bring you more details as we have them.…

LOOKS DRIVES TESTS FIRST DRIVE 2003 Audi RS6 A worthy match for M5 and E55 AMG Audi says its 450-hp RS6 is top-speed-governed at 255 kph. Why, then, did the speedo on the example we drove read a solid 280 (about 174 mph)? It’s not hard to understand: The cars from Ingolstadt, even in their most ferocious form, tend toward elegant understatement. Based on the 4.2L V-8-powered A6, the RS6 is intended to go beyond the performance levels set by the S models currently sold here. Each RS6 will be handbuilt by the company’s quattro GmbH performance subsidiary. Just 860 units will find their way to the U.S. before Audi remodels the A6 a few years hence. The RS6’s epicenter is a twin-turbocharged and intercooled 4.2L…

“I started coming to the Napa Valley in the mid-’70s to unwind after the last race of the season. We made a lot of friends here.” Although Mario Andretti had no longstanding plans to get into the wine business, it’s certainly in his blood. “My father owned vineyards around Montona, Italy, where I was born and lived up until my middle teens.” Therefore, it’s no surprise that Andretti Winery, founded two years after he retired from the CART circuit in 1994, was crafted in a style recalling the villas and farmhouses of Tuscany. The property covers about SO acres in the southern part of Napa and is home to young Merlot, Cabernet, Sangiovese, and Chardonnay vines; those needed to create a properly Italian Pinot Grigio were planted last year. Besides…

1969 • ’70-model 150-hp Datsun 240Z is introduced at $3526 • Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon 1979 149-hp Datsun 280ZX adds luxury and debuts at $9899 280ZX is named Motor Trend Import Car of the Year • Tom Wolfe writes “The Right Stuff” 1984 • Chiseled and V-6-powered Nissan 300-ZX debuts with 160 hp at $15,799 • Apple introduces the Macintosh personal computer 1990 • Fourth-generation Z-Car. 222-hp 300ZX runs $27,300; torrid 300-hp twin turbo costs $33,000 • “The Simpsons" debuts on the Fox Network and the 300ZX is again named Motor Trend Import Car of the Year 1993 $37,145 300ZX convertible drops its top Frank Zappa and Dizzy Gillespie pass away First human cells cloned 1996 300ZX retreats to Japan after 27 model years in…

If this car looks like it’s benefited from sanitary installation of a well-conceived, factory-authorized aftermarket kit, that’s because it has. Better still, the L-Tuned package actually enhances the IS 300’s above-average performance without voiding the Lexus warranty. Is this a win-win-win situation? Yes, but for a price. L-Tuned Editions start life as stock IS 300s. Lexus dealers offer two packages engineered by Toyota Racing Development, dubbed Series I and II. Both are available in Millennium Silver Metallic, Graphite Gray Pearl, or Black Onyx. Series I consists of a six-piece body kit and 55-watt foglamps plus a larger-diameter stainless-steel exhaust system that adds a claimed 8 hp to the stock car’s 215. This package gives the basic street attitude (including the gratuitous exhaust note) with a little extra punch for $3999.…

Some say American luxury is dead. In the minds of many premium-car buyers, Cadillac and Lincoln wear a musty mantle of oddball hipness. Some also say the hardware on these aging flagships is a cut or three below that of the first-class Asian and European fare. And it’s easy to notice that both are frequently sold into rental-car fleets and livery services at discounted prices. Devoted import-intenders believe the Lincoln Town Car and the Cadillac DeVille are stodgy-looking, sloppy-handling, underperforming tugboats: fitted with interior bits and features barely better than those in their platform-sharing siblings at Ford and Mercury, or Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Buick. Some of these views are justified. And some are not. It’s a bit ironic that, just as we were reviewing this brontoluxsaurus duo, the Lincoln division…

Some were dead on-target and Ford Motor Company sold millions inspired by them. Others were dead on arrival and spent most of their lives locked up tight and alone in a dark warehouse. They're 51 different dream machines, conceived and most often constructed by the world’s second-largest automaker, as well as Ford’s Ghia studios. And they’re gone: Christie’s International Motor Cars auctioned them off at the Ford Product Development Center in Dearborn, Michigan, in June. All proceeds—more than $3.8 million—went to the Ford Motor Co. Fund, supporting non-profit education, community development, and environmental organizations. Why sell off these irreplaceable pieces of the company’s design history? To kick off its 2003 centennial celebration and to get the cars into the hands of collectors. “The alternative of putting these in a warehouse…

2002 NISSAN ALTIMA SE Since we last reported on our Altima SE, we’ve added over 5400 nearly trouble-free miles on the clock. We performed the initial 3750-mile service (an oil and filter change) a tad early at 3500 clicks, and as luck would have it, the front cupholder lid broke soon after. The car has since developed a squeak in the rear window area, and the shift boot separated from the console at the 5200-mile mark. We'll have these issues addressed at its 7500-mile service. So far, we’re impressed with the SE’s rich torque curve that remains generous over most of the rpm band. However, the accompanying torque steer urges the Altima to the right if you aren’t paying attention. Staffers either love or hate the new exterior sheetmetal, depending…

briefs September is the traditional start of the automotive model year. But we’re looking well beyond the ’03 models and into the future, where Cadillac wants a pricey icon to match the Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and Maybachs of the world. Thus, this month’s scoop: Cadillac plans to show a V-16—yes, a 16-cylinder—luxury-sedan concept at January’s Detroit Auto Show. More. 3 “numbers” talk: BMW is considering a V-12-powered M7, Volkswagen is installing a six-speed automatic in the New a Bug, and Subaru is getting ready to unveil a WRX STi with as much as 280 horses. Beetle to Six—Volkswagen will launch the New Beetle cabrio in late fall with a new six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission option. The six-speed is said to get the most out of the 2.0L I-4 that will be…

Volkswagen has announced what we’ve suspected for two years: The Microbus concept will go into production. Just as the Golf’s platform lends itself to the New Beetle, the Microbus will sit on a version of the Eurovan’s platform, with styling reminiscent of the ‘50s-’60s Microbus, designed to attract Phish fans who’ve grown old enough to have their own families. While the New Beetle is built in Mexico and sells mostly in North America, VW will build the Microbus in Europe, where it’s likely to have a greater following than the small hatchback. VW. plans to build 80,000 Microbuses annually for worldwide consumption, equal to the New Beetle’s U.S. sales in its 99-2000 heyday. About two-thirds of the Microbus’ annual production is slated for North America. Production will begin in Hanover,…

Cadillac is preparing a luxury-sedan concept powered by a V-16 engine for the ’03 Detroit Auto Show in January. The powerplant will likely have two 90° DOHC 4.6L Northstar V-8 blocks. If the bore and stroke remain unmodified, the 64-valve engine will displace 9.2 L, or 558 cu in., bigger than either of the V-16s Cadillac built in the ’30s. Cadillac is working on cylinder deactivation to make it run on four cylinders under light load, a source says. That would make the V-16 unusual, as GM has worked on cylinder deactivation for pushrod engines only to date, due to cost and complexity. Little is known about the look of the concept sedan. It’ll sport stupendous dimensions and further the marque’s Art & Science design on a rear-drive platform. Trimmer…

Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante • BMW Z8 • Ferrari 360 Spider • Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG He rolls up the long driveway to Andretti Winery, hops out, and surveys the hard ware. “Man, look at this. What a way to start the day.” His Indy S00 winner’s ring glints in the sun, and the eyes—which have softened over the years but can still cut glass with their gaze—dance from one exotic ragtop to another. “Where to begin?” Mario Andretti has spent 40 years squeezing speed out of anything with wheels. We thought it would be insightful—and more than good fun—to draft him into service as an MT test driver for a day. His experience in setting up and shaking down race cars would be wasted, however, on econosedans or minivans.…

Sequels are tricky business. Take the feature-length films “Godfather III,” “Speed 2,”and “Jurassic Park III,” for example. Arguably, none of these follow-ups will he remembered as fondly as the originals, yet many film buffs would contend that “Hannibal” was equally as riveting as the original “Silence of the Lambs.” In the auto biz as on the silver screen, it’s tempting to capitalize on something that succeeded, but just as daunting to capture the same essence that made the original a success in the first place. Which begs the question: If the Z was such a hot concept, how come Nissan suspended sales of the previous 300ZX version in the U.S. six years ago? Fair enough. Although the ’90-’96 300ZX met with universal acclaim in the auto-buff press, it didn’t exactly…

Leno or Letterman. Republican or Democrat. Gryffindor or Slvtherin. With onions or without. Many of life’s choices come down to picking between two camps—sorting ourselves, if you will. In the vast heart of the midsize sedan market, huge numbers of consumers looking for decent transportation have sorted themselves according to their vote in the long-running rivalry between Honda’s Accord and Toyota’s Camry. In recent tradition, the Camry’s strength has been the relentlessly high standards of Toyota’s development and manufacturing practices. It’s a supremely competent and well-made automobile. The Accord, though also well put together, shows something else: a subtle creativity in its hardware. A Honda represents clever solutions to technical challenges. The compromises involving performance, comfort, efficiency, and safety always seem especially well handled in an Accord. Maybe it’s because…

Does Saturn's VUE have what it takes to compete in the compact SUV marketplace? • Saturn VUE • Ford Escape • Honda CR-V The compact sport/utility segment is one of the fastest-growing areas of the market. Why? Because these little workhorses appeal to a wide range of buyers. Younger generations want a vehicle that can cart friends around in carlike comfort, yet carry a ton of cargo for weekend getaways and fit into a compact parking space at Starbucks. Small families equally find small SUVs perfect load-haulers and kid-carriers. If you appreciate the efficiency and cleverness of affordably priced, do-it-all vehicles, check out compact sport/utilities. We did, putting the Saturn VUE, Ford Escape, and Honda CR-V under the Motor Trend comparison-test microscope. GETTING TO KNOW YOU For ’02, Saturn enters…

IMAGINE THE LOOK ON YOUR FRIENDS' FACES IF YOU DRIVE UP IN THE FORD MUSTANG MACH 1. IT COMES FULLY LOADED AND GUARANTEED TO EXCITE. AND SOMEBOSY IS GOING TO WIN IT. SO GRAB YOUR PEN, FILL OUT THE ATTACHED CARD AND DROP IT IN THE MAIL. DO IT TODAY. SUBSCRIBE TO MOTOR TREND TODAY AND SAVE 75% OFF THE COVER PRICE. GET 1 YEAR FOR $12. You’ll get so much — like pulse-quickening rides in the fastest street-legal machines… sneak previews of the hottest concept cars… rigorous head-to-head tests of hot cars, trucks, and SUVs. Plus you’ll get a front row seat for MOTOR TREND’s coveted Car- and Truck-of-the-Year Awards. Mail the attached card today. Or send payment with your order to: MOTOR TREND, P.O. Box 51195, Boulder, CO,…

First, I must admit to a soft spot for big, stately Buicks. In my mind, they do a great job of cruising that large gray area between an expensive luxury sedan, like a Jaguar XJ, and more pedestrian models like the Chevrolet Impala and the Toyota Camry. As such, they're a nice alternative to cars shouting “pretension!” At the top of Buick’s conservative portfolio for ’03 is this newly gussied-up version of the roomy Park Avenue. It helps celebrate Buick’s centennial year and shares the same front-drive G-platform as the DeVille. Its smooth-ride suspension tuning tames weather-punished roads and is well damped for an American car, though it doesn’t feel nearly as polished or substantive as something like an LS 430. Underhood, you'll find Buick’s quiet, fuel-efficient (18 city/27 highway)…

The aftermarket continues to surprise us. Hot new vehicles that have just—or maybe soon will—hit the showrooms already have a cache of tuner parts available for them. Case in point is the Range Rover 4.4. It’s all-new, powerful, superbly luxurious, and still capable of clawing through the ugliest of terrain (or the Neiman-Marcus parking lot). Yet that still wasn’t good enough for Hamann Motorsport, which felt this Rover needed even more power and pizazz. Since Hamann gained its reputation as a top BMW tuner, extracting more juice from the Rover-badged BMW-sourced 4.4L DOHC V-8 proved a no-brainer. Despite the fact that the Range Rover delivers an admirable 324 lb-ft of torque, Hamann went searching for more cubic inches. Its HM50 stroker kit replaces the factory crankshaft, rods, and pistons with…

BY ANY YARDSTICK, THE EXPLORER IS ONE OF THE MOST successful vehicles Ford has ever built. With millions on the road, the product planners in Dearborn sought to expand the Explorer family by developing a hybrid model that blended basic Explorer architecture with a short bed from a pickup, generating new sales in an untapped lifestyle niche. Introduced in model-year 2000, the Sport Trac is aimed at buyers who'd never consider a normal pickup but need more cargo-carrying capacity than in a conventional SUV. Motor Trend took delivery of a Toreador Red '01 4x2 model and immediately started to roll the odometer. Though our long-term Sport Trac was well-equipped with standard features, we added the Leather comfort group ($1495), which includes leather seats, a front overhead console, floor console, and…

Among these smiling wreath wearers, you'll probably recognize the one on the left as this month’s guest test driver, Mario Andretti. You may recognize the one on the right as Jackie - Ickx, six-time Le Mans winner, among other accomplishments. Though many remember Mario best for his feats in CART, USAC, and F1 cars, he also enjoyed a spectacular sports car and endurance racing career. Among them was this victory in the World Championship for Makes series at Watkins Glen in July 1972. Andretti and Ickx drove a Ferrari 312 PB to this, and several other wins that year, en route to Ferrari’s handily winning the Makes championship over Alfa Romeo. Mario spoke highly of his teammate and anointed the 312 PB as one of his all-time favorite rides. Recognize…

Buzz is that the rear-drive replacement for the Interpid will be named “Charger” (what–you were expecting “Polara”’?). Contes Group has dropped its cab-forward design theme, as will be apparent in the LH replacements, codenamed LX. Whether there’ll be a Charger coupe or convertible appears unlikely, although just like the Charger four-door concept car of ’99, the LX-based production sedan will have somewhat coupe-like styling. Expect the volume Charger to offer 3.7L V-6 and 4.7L V-8 engine options. The hot ticket will be a Charger R/T powered by the new 5.7L Hemi V-8, making enough horsepower to go head-to-head with the Holden Monaro-based Pontiac GTO and the Ford Mustang SVT Cobra. And a European-style sport-wagon mule, based on the Intrepid but with Charger styling, has been spotted, as well. Is the…

Couch racers are in for an exciting fall/winter season with a bumper-crop of new automotive video games. We test drove dozens of soon-to-be-released titles to find the standouts at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, an industry-only event in Los Angeles. For street racing, EA presented its latest Need for Speed title, Hot Pursuit 2, Offering fast fun behind the wheel of the most popular sports cars, complete with police chases. Also on the production-car front, Sega GT 2002 will soon provide Xbox with an exclusive, 100-plus-car counter to the benchmark PS2 Gran Turismo 8 title. Several single-marque titles are in the works, including Ferrari 355, Lamborghini, and Lotus, but Mercedes-Benz World Challenge stood out for the involvement by Mercedes, breadth of cars, car physics, and 3D landscape. On the…

Volkswagen will build its most potent Golf ever, the .3.2U241-hp VR6-powered R32, as it prepares a replacement for the model. The VR6’s 238 lb-ft of torque (at 2800 rpm) is transmitted to the 4Motion all-wheel drive via a six-speed manual gearbox. VW conservatively estimates a 6.4-sec 0-62-mph time. Handling is enhanced through a sport-tuned suspension that lowers the car, 18-in. wheels, and 225/40ZR18 tires. Vented discs all around feature blue calipers, accenting the freshened exterior. Interior controls-pedals, gearstick, etc.–are brushed aluminum. The R32 won’t come to the States, unfortunately, because its price would reach well into the $30s, and that’s not counting the cost of certifying such a low-volume car. However, VW promises other, more affordable packages for the two years remaining in the current Golf’s product life.…

In the looks department, the 350Z has precious little in common with any of the Z-Cars that preceded it over the last 32 years—not the 70-78 “classic” first-generation, the ’84-89 “square-wedge" 300ZX, nor the most recent Nissan MID4/Porsche 944/928-inspired ’90-96 models. This was no accident. When Nissan first got religion about resurrecting the Z, the obvious, emotional path designers immediately started on was a New-Millennium edition of the original long-nose 240Z. Designers hauled out a 70 Z and parked it in the middle of the studio. They played 70s music. It seemed to make sense as retro-theme cars were enjoying a wave of popularity—the Ford Thunderbird, BMW Z3 and Z8, VW New Beetle, Chrysler PT Cruiser, and others. But in a sports-car scene then populated by Fiats, Triumphs, MGs, and…

This is the Ultimate Sport Accord, and Honda has invested a lot to differentiate the ’03 Coupe from its Sedan sibling, as well as from its two-door competitors. The Accord Coupe shares no sheetmetal with the Sedan, but headlamps are the same, so the faces are similar. A higher beltline and fast-back roofline give the Coupe racier looks, and the wind tunnel likes the shape, too; Honda quotes a Cd of 0.29. Inside, the Coupe has a three-spoke steering wheel instead of the Sedan’s four-spoker, and the seats are even more deeply bucketed. Rear-seat space is naturally tight in the Coupe. It’s considered a five-passenger car, but the trio in back must be good little buddies. The biggest news in the new Accord Coupe is the close-ratio, short-throw six-speed manual…

Mitsubishi has approached the SUV market from a different direction than most of its contemporaries. The Three Diamonds brand joined the spor/utility pool with large products like the Montero, while the entry-level SUV field has been lacking a Mitsu. Enter the Outlander. Built on the current Lancer platform, designed in California but built in Japan, the unibody Outlander is meant to compete with Toyota's RAV4 and the Honda CR-V. It's offered in two trim levels, LS and XLS. Unfortunately, ABS is available as an option only with the upper-level package. Riding on a 103.3-in. wheelbase, it uses independent suspension at each corner. The underpinnings deliver an impressively well-damped ride, with only modest under-steer surfacing when pushed hard into a corner. Under-hood resides a 2.4L SOHC inline-four, delivering only 140 hp…

"Hey, Motor Trend. How would you like to come out to California Speedway to drive an IS 300 Grand Am race car around the brand-new infield course?" asked our friendly Lexus public relations specialist. She didn't have to ask twice, and we brought our L-Tuned test car along for a suitable photo and drive companion. Just like the Tiburon Street Stock race car we drove for our July issue, the ST1 rules allow only a handful of changes to meet the racing specs. Unfortunately, we couldn't run our usual battery of tests on this race car, so only the calibrated-butt method was used. We can report the ST1 IS 300 feels just like the L-Tuned car-only much lighter (500 lb lighter), a bit quicker, and a lot louder. This season,…

NISSAN FRONTIER CREW CAB • Base engine: 3.3L/170-hp V-6 • Opt engine: 3.3L/210-hp SC V-6 • 0-60 mph, sec: 10.4 (V-6 SC) • Fuel economy: 15/18 • Price range: $18,199-$23,749 What’s hot: Superb of f-road abilities What’s not: Cramped rear seating What’s new: Redesigned instrument panel for '02 TOYOTA TACOMA DOUBLE CAB • Base engine: 2.7L/150-hp l-4 • Opt engine: 3.4L/190-hp V-6 • 0-60 mph, sec: 9.5 • Fuel economy: 17/19 • Price range: $18,110-$18,970 What's hot: Toyota quality What’s not: No manual gearbox What's new: Bed shell for 02 DODGE DAKOTA QUAD CAB • Base engine: 3.9L/175-hp V-6 • Opt engines: 4.7L/235-hp V-8, 5.9L/250-hp V-8 • 0-60 mph, sec: 8.1 (4.7L) • Fuel economy: 15/20 • Price range: $20,775-$22,380 What's hot: Tire-melting potential What’s not: Big-hammer approach w/5.9L V-8…

The ’80s were ostensibly the dark ages for the affordable, fun-to-drive roadster (there were few, if any, introduced), but Mazda helped fill the void when it brought the MX-5 Miata to market in late 1989 as a 90 model. Sales were brisk from the get-go, and have remained healthy since. Over 600,000 units have been produced so far, garnering it a spot in the “Guinness World Records” as the world’s best-selling sports car. With a 140-hp (142 in ’01) 1.8L DOHC I-4 tucked under the bonnet, the second-generation Miata, introduced in ’99, is a sprightly performer whether it’s mated to the base five-speed manual, four-speed slushbox, or close-ratio six-speed manual. While 140 ponies don’t sound like much, with a 2299-lb curb weight and a rear-drive platform, the package provides a…