Innehållsförteckning för December 1982 från MotorTrend

CADILLAC’S ’84 FRONT-DRIVE MT contributing artist/designer Duane Kuchar has put together a lot of separate clues into this illustration of the 1984 Cadillac Sedan deVille, another new front-drive that will share’floor pans and bodyshells with the ‘84 Buick Electra and Oldsmobile NinetyEight sedans. All three will be built on 108-in. wheelbase pans and weigh around 3200 lb. While the Cadillac will use a transverse-mounted 4.1-liter V-8 engine, both of the others will be restricted to GM’s gasoline and diesel V-6 engines and THM 440 4-speed overdrive transaxles. Obviously, the whole fleet will be based on current ‘83 A-car styling and stretched floorpans. CADILLAC 2-SEATER Cadillac’s first foray into 2seater super deluxe cars is being kicked around for 198586. The scuttlebutt from Clark Avenue in Detroit centers on a smallish, high-tech…

1983 Mazda GLC Sport. Economy cars and sporting sedans would seem to have directly opposed requirements. On the one hand, a strict need for maximum fuel efficiency and a low price. On the other, spirited performance and a refinement of chassis behavior and feel, achievable only with technological sophistication and thorough development. Imagine the engineers’ dilemma: the concepts of economy and sport would seem so contradictory as to be impossible in one car. At least, improbable. Mazda’s GLC Sport meets that improbability straight-on. Its fuel efficiency is certified, its value a matter of record. And its sporting capabilities can be appreciated by the most demanding drivers. Because it’s designed by demanding engineers. Fully independent suspension nas extra-firm shock absorber rates and anti-roll bars front and rear. The overhead camshaft…

Over the last three decades, Chrysler Corporation has been responsible for producing a whole fleet of brutally quick and fast cars, from the first hemiengined sedans of the early ‘50s through the invincible hemiCudas and hemi Challengers of the early ‘70s, with things in between, like the 440 Six-Pack Road Runner and the Daytona/Superbird NASCAR replicants, the AAR 340 ‘Cuda, and Duster/Demon twins. All quick, all fast, and all relatively cheap to buy and keep. But not a true handler anywhere in the bunch. In fact, Chrysler Corporation, through all its years, has never even attempted a proper sports car. Until now, now being the height of the winter car show season, when Chrysler plans to show off almost all of its 1983-½ hardware, and a couple of 1984 entries…

Let’s face it, $60,000 is a lot of money for a car. Especially a small, impractical car. And when you’re talking about impractical cars, Lamborghini has to be right up near the top of the list. The Countach, a fire-breathing, aluminum spaceframe door stop with a 300-plus-hp V-12 engine stuffed in, is the kind of car 55-mph America needs like a nest of 10-ftlong silverfish. The Countach is an ultralow-volume toy for a select few monied kar krazies. Now the Bolognese purveyor of Italian exotica is about to release a Lamborghini for the masses who can toss $58,000 on a slippery 2-seater—the Jalpa. Pronounced just the way it’s spelled, the Jalpa is a mid-engined 2-seater just like the Countach. Unlike the larger car, the Jalpa’s body is all-steel and features…

We think the Volkswagen Quantum is the perfect combination of German engineering, luxury and economy. And we could build its reputation on any one of these qualities alone. Take engineering. Quantum’s driving performance is just something you have to feel for yourself. Its fully independent suspension, front-wheel drive and patented rear axle combine for the road holding ability of a sports car (the expensive kind). But, if we built our reputation here, we’d be leaving out luxury. And Quantum is the most luxurious Volkswagen ever. Its body is aerodynamically molded into classic European lines. With a rich, spacious interior where annoying outside noises are unheard of. But, stopping here leaves out what al I Volkswagens already have reputations for. Economy. Quantum goes easy on fuel in more ways than one.…

Everywhere you look these days, it’s $600 for a transmission job here, $400 for engine repairs there. It’s gotten to the point where even the remote possibility of major repairs is enough to worry anyone. Until now. Because now you can cut those worries down to a more manageable $25. And keep them that way for up to five full years. Introducing the Ford Extended Service Plan—for purchasers of Ford or Lincoln-Mercury cars or light trucks. Here’s how it protects you. The Extended Service Plan covers thousands of parts, including major repairs. And promises no parts or labor charges, except a small $25 deductible each time you bring your car in. No matter how many different covered parts need to be fixed. Which means you can go to any one…

You want fun? We’ll show you fun. And it’ll be legal, wholesome, and socially responsible. (When did you last have a really good time you could say that about?) Take one sunny day, a winding road with curves signed for 35 mph, a spirit brimming with joie de vivre, and then plant yourself in the driver’s seat of a Fiat Xl/9. This is unabashed sports car hedonism, modern style. Part of the Xl/9 thrill lies in the very conception of this tiny Fiat—it’s just econocar componentry, brought together in a racy fashion that makes you wonder why more companies don’t do it. Another part of the fun is the car’s overall road manners—its response, balance, and maneuverability are endlessly entertaining. Lots of the delight comes from knowing how much money…

How good a driver are you? If you’re anything like us, you probably give yourself a “pretty damn good” on that one, at the very least. In fact, it seems to be a uniform reaction with all right-thinking American motorists. We may not be rich, or famous, or good-looking, but we can sure drive, no two ways about that. To admit to anything less qualifies you as either some sort of airhead wimp, or earless Commie, or both. To be fair, dispensations from this general ethic of American driving excellence should be allowed for residents of Manhattan, Santa Catalina Island, and the rushhour denizens of the San Diego Freeway. They are all obviously helpless behind the wheel of an automobile. But aside from this handful, we represent a nation that…

MERCEDES ENTERS THE REALM OF AFFORDABILITY The veil of secrecy slipped recently in Las Vegas when one of our spies caught a glimpse of a new Mercedes-Benz 190E undergoing air-conditioning trials in the desert wastes of Nevada’s Frenchman Flats area. As previously reported, the 190E will be introduced in Europe with an OHC 2.0-liter gasoline four. By June 1983 the 2.0 will be joined by a high-compression 1.6-liter super-economy engine. When the 190E finally makes it to these shores in October of next year, the 2.0-liter powerplant will be the only gasoline-fueled engine available. The 190 will also be offered with a diesel for the North American market. Details of the oil-burner are somewhat sketchy at present, but it appears the 190D will be fitted with an all-new diesel engine…

REVIEW “The Miller Dynasty,” by Mark L. Dees, Barnes Publishing, Inc., Scarsdale, N.Y.; 9¼ x 12¼ in., 527 pages, profusely illustrated, $59.95. If you have any interest in American racing, you must own this book. Harry A. Miller set the course of American racing cars for more than 60 years. If you have no interest in American racing specifically, but racing in general, you must still own the book. Dees talks about Miller’s contemporaries, competitors, and his effect in Europe. If it’s history you like—general and not specific—you still must have “The Miller Dynasty.” Dees’ book is a chronicle of technology, aeronautics, motorsport, greater Los Angeles, people, the government, the time. The amount of research is colossal. Detail is not spared, but the book is never a dry technical recitation.…

While the G24 sports car is still about 10 months away from public introduction, Chrysler Corporation has an interim sporty car entry that’s sure to be a sellout when it hits the market in a couple of months. The 1983-16 Dodge Shelby Charger was designed for the company by none other than Carroll Shelby, creator of the Cobras and Shelby Mustangs and good buddy to Chrysler Chairman Lee IacOcca. Shelby recently signed an agreement with Chrysler to develop this and other car products, as well as consult with the corporation on its highly successful Direct Connection performance parts program. The Dodge Shelby Charger is essentially a Charger 2.2 with a whole wad of changes to body work, drivetrain, and interior. Its 2.2-liter engine will carry a rating of 110 hp,…

Stated simply, the Honda Accord 4-Door Sedan is the best-selling front-wheel drive 4-door sedan in states all over the country.* Which comes as no surprise. The beautiful styling and thoughtful engineering on the Honda Accord have seta standard to which other cars are compared. And raised the standards of quality you can expect. The Accord Sedan reflects a level of luxury unusual for a car in this price range. In fact, it’s often compared to cars costing more than twice as much. Its elegant styling is sophisticated. The luxuriously plush interior designed to be comfortable for five. The interior is roomy. The trunk is roomy. Even the gas tank is roomy. But when it comes to standard features, it would be hard to find room for improvement. The Accord Sedan…

Import! No longer does that word strike terror into American car buyers. In fact, about 38% of the new-car market is going to foreign manufacturers, and that is striking terror into their domestic counterparts. You cannot say, as you once could, that an import is just an alternative. Today, miserly gas consumption is but one factor in the purchase of an import. Import has become synonymous with quality. It is a word no longer whispered in back rooms, but rather spoken in board rooms. The word implies something even more important now—status. With the number of imported cars in the market, 120 by our count, serious organization and consideration are necessary to find the right car, the car you really want and need. To help you in this quest we…

History is rife with famous rivalries that have become part of language and culture over the years: the Montagues and Capulets, Hapsburgs and Hohenzollerns, Guelphs and Ghibellines, Tudors and Lancastrians, Republicans and Democrats, Hatfields and McCoys. In the history of automobiles, though, rivalries have never been as clearly drawn as in politics. Perhaps the newest rivalry in autodom is the one about to start between the Hondas and the Mazdas over the leadership of Japanese sedans. For in the all-new Mazda 626, Toyo Kogyo has produced a line of cars more than equal to the task of toppling the long-reigning Accords. The 1983 626 is all-new from the ground up, and the family is 50% larger than it was last year. The ‘83 626 has made the transition to front-wheel…

One learns the damnedest things en route to becoming an expert. F’rinstance: Jack Dempsey was not, as I had long believed, the Manassas Mauler. In fact, his name wasn’t even Jack Dempsey—it was William Harrison Dempsey. Old Tiger Jack was the Manassa Mauler, as in Manassa, Colorado, his home town. And if you really cared about this, you’d be reading Police Gazette. Nevertheless, Manassas, in Virginia (just south of Washington, D.C.), has its own points of interest. I’ve not been there, but I’d be willing to bet there’s a marker commemorating the Battle of Bull Run and/or the Battles of Manassas One and Two. (If you cared about this, you’d be reading American Heritage.) And there’s Röhr’s Store, Edgar E. Röhr, Prop., right in the middle of town near Röhr’s…

(YOUR ROLLS ROYCE WAS FOR WEEKENDS!) Duesenberg, Bugatti, Hispano Suiza, Rolls Royce—names that live on as legends. They’ve all been reproduced with exquisite care by RIO, the finest name in automotive miniatures. And you can be among the discerning collectors to acquire them—to capture the spirit and mystique of the world’s finest vintage automobiles through authentic cast metal replicas of their memorable namesakes. Rio cars are not toys. They are the most carefully detailed automotive collectables available. If you are already a collector, we need say no more. But if you are new to this rewarding hobby, we must ask you not to confuse Rio vintage automotive miniatures with any other replicas you may have seen or read about—anywhere. No other miniatures so faithfully replicate their originals. None are so…

For the space it takes up on the road, a station wagon offers the most versatile and useful interior of any passenger car. Modern wagons see duty carrying everything from kids and dogs to lumber or skis or a vacation’s worth of luggage. They’re even handy places to bunk down for the night. But none of that relegates the station wagon to purely utilitarian service. Certain wagons, both because of and in spite of their usefulness, have emerged as status symbols. Maybe it’s reverse snobbery (trying not to be stuffy is still the stuffiest anyone can be). Or perhaps an air of practicality is especially chic in this economy. Whatever, a few high-style wagon models have become just the thing for running down to the country club, or driving out…

More and more smart drivers are depending on Fox radar detectors. Once you’ve seen how they perform, it’s easy to understand why. Fox makes four high-performance radar detectors—from a powerful Super Het with ten times the range and sensitivity of ordinary radar detectors to the compact XK model that dips neatly behind a sun visor. All give total protection on all bands, all waves, all bolarizations. Take a ride with one and see for yourself why the Fox has gone to the head of the pack. For the dealer nearest you, call 800-543-7892 toll free.…

What Could Be Better Than Unbelievable Range? By now, you’ve probably heard some tall sounding stories about how far away the ESCORT® radar warning receiver picks up radar traps. You know, the ones where they talk in miles instead of car lengths. The stories go on to say that ESCORT’S superheterodyne receiving circuits provide as much X and K-band warning as you can possibly use, and then some. If you’ve never used an ESCORT, they may seem pretty far fetched, but most of them are true. Over hills, around corners, and from behind. Car 54 Where Are You? Maximum detection range is wonderful, but it’s far from the whole story. In some ways, radar detectors are like smoke alarms; you want to make sure that you don’t miss anything, but…

Some people will go to extraordinary lengths to get Kenwooa Car Stereos for Christmas. And once you’ve sat in a car that’s been Ear Conditioned by Kenwood, you can’t blame them. Every Kenwood sound system, from the least expensive to the most sophisticated, works the kind of magic that makes your car’s interior a wonderland—winter, spring, summer, and fall. So if you know someone who deserves the best, or if you want someone else to know that you deserve the best, there’s just one word for you to have at the ready: Kenwood. And here’s hoping that when you spring out of bed this Christmas morning, you’ll find a little something under the windshield. If you haven’t seen Kenwood’s line of Ear Conditioning systems, call toll-free 1 (800) 453-9000 for…

Mears Repeats as CART King Rick Mears made it look easy again this year. Team Penske’s resident superstar needed only a 5th-place finish in the Road America 200 to successfully defend his CART/PPG Indy Car World Series title, making it two in a row and three championships in the past four years. Going into the contest, Mears had run up a string of 11 wins in the last 22 outings, including five victories in the last six road course starts. The 32-year-old ace put his Penske-Ford PC-10 on the pole for the first-ever Indy Car race held on the winding 4.0-mile Elkhart Lake circuit. Pacing himself for what turned out to be a fuel economy run, Mears was content to watch others, including Al Unser and CART Rookie of the…