Innehållsförteckning för March 1986 från MotorTrend

French Follies In a move to ease the increasing problem of uninsured drivers in France, motorists will now be required to display a green card in their vehicle to prove their financial responsibility. The card can be obtained only after buying the necessary insurance. But even that might not be enough to protect the public, so both France and Germany have set up compensation funds for accident victims. France is now paying out nearly $26 million annually and Germany S6.5 million. Chances are both these measures will be much needed in the wake of France's new variable speed limits. Take notes: Minimum speed in the passing lane on the highway is 50 mph; max is 80, unless, of course, it's not on a clear day, then it's 68 mph. Now…

The good news is that now there seems to be a Fiero for everyone with a model spectrum that includes the base coupe, sport coupe, SE, and just released fastback GT. The bad news is that, as expected, the supposedly all-new-for-'86 1/2 GT fast-back is little more than a design studio exercise in the versatility of Enduro flex body moldings. This doesn't make the Fiero GT a bad car. In fact, from the start, one of the Fiero's strongest suits was the dent- and corrosion-resistant composition shell wrapped around its space frame/chassis. The problem is that the new GT is, simply, just another Fiero, breaking no new ground mechanically and offering very little new excitement in the important area of performance. Nearly a year ago, we were invited to test…

Maybe it's the white wheels spiraling around in contrast to the sporty red lines of the car. Maybe it's the quiet responsiveness to driver input. Maybe it's the plain old sex appeal of a red sports car. Whatever the reason, the MR2 definitely attracts more than its share of attention. From the shouted questions of a driver in the next lane to the wary stares of highway patrol officers, this car gets noticed. We've lived with our long-term MR2 for about nine months now. It's been to the mountains, to the shore, and down south San Diego way. It has performed flawlessly and with vigor on all flatland roads, eating up the miles with a neat, quick appetite. During its climb up to Big Bear Lake, it handled the winding…

According to my unimpeachable source—a silver-haired hot-rodder of considerable repute and experience—a roadster, by definition, is a vehicle that seats two, has a luggage compartment or rumble seat, soft top, fold-down windshield, and no roll-up windows. It was conceived and built for bugs-in-the-face wind-in-the-hair touring. For having fun. For driving just to be driving, with no particular place to go. Vehicle as toy … to be played with. It makes perfect sense that the Last American Roadster be built by American Motors Corporation (AMC). It's the Jeep CJ-7, a genuine throwback from another era that somehow survives beyond its time as the definitive 4-wheel-drive utility vehicle. Aside from meeting the basic nuts and bolts design requirements, the Jeep CJ carries on the roadster heritage of vehicle as toy with a…

In the recent annals of truck lore, Nissan has been riding near the back of the long bed and not liking it one bit. Counted among the pioneers of compact trucks in this country, Nissan needed a remedy for its truck blahs, and the solution, though not unique, was at least noble for a Japanese manufacturer. An all-new facility-named Nissan Design International—was opened in the hotbed of mini-truck enthusiasm—Southern California—and staffed mostly by American car and truck wizards. The primary objective of the facility was to get a better pulse on the American market while working hand in hand with Japan on product development. The team spirit apparent among members of the Nissan Design Inter national group is reflected in the newest Nissan pickup—the first project to be completed out…

It was a late '50s Chrysler, owned by some visiting, distant relative from Minnesota. Not much to get excited about on the outside … but, my God, what a dashboard. The huge steering wheel wasn't round, like the one on my dad's '57 Chevy BelAir. It was oddly bent and had rounded corners. There were green-lit push buttons instead of a column stick shift. Gauges that didn't look like gauges mounted the length of the stratified dash. Huge chrome balls that you could slide a foot to control the heater fan velocity, and a massive plexiglas dome shroudlike a space helmet—protecting the weirdest horizontal bar speedometer I'd ever laid eyes on. I was hypnotized. Hypnosis, of course, is not the preferred state of mind when confronting an instrumented control center.…

I don't like death. I'm not too crazy about disease. And I really have this thing about pestilence. As a matter of fact, I hate all the bad things that happen to people, and I bet you feel the same way. Not long ago, I attended the unveiling of several “safety vehicle” mockups designed by students at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design under the sponsorship of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The occasion marked the first time NHTSA had backed a student research project (to the tune of 25,000 tax dollars) with a donation to the school's endowment fund. As government expenditures go, that was probably a wise allocation, because Art Center trains about half of Detroit's car designers and is worthy of support, but the presentation raised…

Will the Mark Go Front Drive? Debate is raging in Dearborn over the direction the successor to the Lincoln Mark VII should take. Some suggest that it should remain a front-engine rear-drive vehicle, particularly since arch-rival Cadillac has abandoned that traditional formula, but the guess is that the upcoming Mark will be based on a front-wheel-drive Taurus-derived platform and will look much like this illustration. The key to the success of the new fwd Mark is its powertrain, according to a source close to the project. Should a Taurus-based Mark get the okay, it will be contingent on a multi-million-dollar engine program that could result in a large-displacement V-6 or perhaps V-8 to be used in a transverse layout, plus appropriate transaxles to handle the relatively high torque such an…

The floor of the Los Angeles basin rises slowly eastward from its flat, featureless beaches, 2600 feet in 70 miles, to the Banning Pass. It then plunges down into the hot, white, Coachella Valley-land of the Palm Springs and the double-knit Cadillac. This immense basin is bordered on the north by the towering San Gabriel-San Bernardino mountains. At the far eastern end of the basin, the overpowering San Jacinto range rises 11,000 feet, then trails away south into the Santa Rosas—and eventually Mexico. These mountain ranges all converge at the Banning Pass, to form what surely must be one of nature's oldest and largest venturis. Normally, Southern California's winter weather originates in the cold northern Pacific, marching in a slow procession down across California. Occasionally the pattern will be broken…

Some heady philosophical questions have arisen over the ages: Is there life after death? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Why do firemen wear red, white, and blue suspenders? But perhaps the most pro-found question of all, at least to a car crazy, is the age-old query, “What is a sports car?” Of course, the answer is anything but self-evident. Those of us who write about automobiles for a living have wrestled with it throughout our careers, and we consider ourselves lucky if we survive the best of three falls. It's the kind of question that makes Roddy Piper look like a candystriper. We bring this old chestnut to this context because the folks at Toyota would have us believe their new Supra is indeed…

FROM NISSAN—A TOTALLY NEW LINE OF TRUCKS Introducing a full line of trucks so tough, so powerful, so bold in styling, they could only be called Hardbodies. A revolutionary concept in compact truck design from Nissan, the company that invented the compact truck. MORE POWER THAN EVER Totally re-engineered. A full line of fuel-injected trucks. With a re-geared powertrain that delivers more real power and torque to the rear wheels. Available with the biggest engine of any compact truck. Nissan's new 3.0 litre overhead cam V-6. BIGGER INSIDE Totally redesigned. Nissan created this new truck around its most important payload—you. With the biggest, broadest, roomiest cab in any Nissan. BIGGER OUTSIDE Totally re shaped. With hot-rolled steel wrapped around the longest, widest, most aerodynamic truck Nissan's ever built. And the…

There are two diametrically opposed philosophies in big auto biz. The conventional Detroit Wisdom tells us that small cars equal small profits. The other theory, that of the Entry-Level Car, was also born of Detroit, fathered by Alfred P. Sloan. In that theory, we have the basis for the reasoning behind GM having five (once it had nine) price-graduated nameplates on its cars, and now it's the basis for the distinctly entry-level Hyundai Excel. The idea is to shuffle the folks up, as quickly as possible. It's an idea as American as Honda, remembering that a bare dozen years ago Honda was selling only N600s for a price that wouldn't cover the additional dealer profit on a Prelude today. And who knows what economic havoc the Acura might wreak? Who…

Over the years, Subaru has achieved no small measure of success in the American auto arena by providing an assortment of decidedly understyled vehicles to buyers who valued reliability and cost-effective operation over absolute performance and come-hither looks. By carefully nurturing the fine art of niche marketing, Fuji Heavy Industries—which sells cars here through Subaru of America—has become a familiar part of the U.S. automotive scene. Things are changing, however. Although the basically conservative approach and some degree of inscrutability remain an important part of the auto maker's fundamental formula, the latest generation of Subarus has come a long way toward broadening the marque's general appeal. At the forefront of this re-imaging program is the XT Coupe, a slippery 2 + 2 that debuted last spring to a collection of…

Most of us use our car for more than getting from point A to point B: We also use it as a means of personal expression, like the clothes we wear or the watch we flash on our wrist. Face it, whether you drive a glitzy, I-have-a-car-phone zoom-mobile or a beat-up, bumper-stickered rustbucket, you're making a statement about yourself. When it comes to rolling resumes, to cars that veritably shout MONEY, few vehicles come close to the Mercedes-Benz products altered by Styling Garage, a Hamburg, West Germany-based modifier. As you can see from the cars on these pages, Styling Garage is a combination of Italian carrozzeria and George Barris customizer, and the products it markets are a mixture of Rolls-Royce and Munstermobile. Or, more succinctly, a mixture of Class and…

Imagine if you will an early spring morning. The robins have just returned from their winter wanderings and are whistling a sprightly tune as you emerge from your smartly decorated residence in an exclusive part of town. Every breath of air you take is more refreshing than the last, and as you look back on yesterday's business conference you can bask in the knowledge that you pulled off another multi-million dollar deal, again outwitting some older, slower adversary. Tonight your beautiful heiress ladyfriend plans an intimate celebration of your 46th birthday. Right now you have only one problem in the world—you're late for tee-off time. Enter the Lincoln Mark VII LSC. If this car won't get you to the country club in time, then, brother, nothing will. There's a school…

EVERY TRUCK FUEL-INJECTED Regular Bed. Long Bed. King Cab.® 4X2.4X4. The whole line fuel-injected for more power and performance. With a new 5-speed manual transmission standard throughout the line. BIGGEST V-6 IN THE CLASS Workout the biggest engine in any compact truck ever—Nissan's new 3.0 litre overhead cam V-6. With 140 horsepower, no other compact pumps out more power. Or, choose Nissan's twinspark, hemi-head 2.4 litre NAPS-Z engine. It's got the most power—106 horsepower—and torque of all the leading standard model compact trucks. NEW FUNCTIONAL AERODYNAMICS Nissan knows that power alone doesn't make a truck great. It takes a truck designed with agility and finesse, too. Witness the new Nissan—the airfoil roofline, raked windshield, sloped hood and flared fenders. They weren't designed to make this Hardbody the sleekest, hottest-looking truck…

Five years ago, any Ford other than an esoteric race or rally car costing $20,000 before tax would have been unthinkable. Those were the days of boxy sedans, live axles, and elliptic springs, built down to a family budget. The Scorpio, laden with advanced technological features to ruffle the feathers of BMW and Mercedes, breaks new ground for Ford of Europe, and its price, in luxury-laden trim, raises few eyebrows. This is the model Bob Lutz says won't reach Americans unless they knock hard on Lincoln-Mercury's doors. The viscous-coupling permanent 4wd system is only available at the moment with the aging 2.8-liter V-6 and 5-speed manual transmission, which H.Q. doesn't want to take. Before 1986 is out, though, the power unit will be replaced by a brand-new 2.9-liter V-6 with…

There's something exciting about watching a high roller at the craps table, the dice clacking inside his cupped fist, voice quietly coaxing a successful pass, towering stacks of $500 chips scattered across the board. Even if you haven't laid any money down next to his, there's a thrill knowing that so much rides on his throw. A similar game is continually played by the world's auto makers. Despite tons of R&D dollars, auditoriums full of focus groups, and brainy product planners, the introduction of a new car is very much like a giant craps game. It's intriguing to watch, and one of the major players in 1986 is Honda. It has those old devil's bones in hand, some major chips on the table, betting on a successful roll—at stake is…

It was a victory of the first magnitude for perseverance. Alain Prost, who had finished 2nd in the World Driving Championship for the past two years by a total of 2.5 points, came storming back in 1985 to grab his first F1 crown. In the process, he scored more WDC points in a single season than any driver in history. Prost also put himself in good stead for the Legion of Honor, as the 30-year-old ace pilote for McLaren International Limited gave France, the country that played host to the inaugural Grand Prix race back in 1906, its first native F1 champion. Prost began racing karts at age 15 and continued his quest for the World Driving Championship in the same manner that so many other past and present French…

Hollywood couldn't have come up with a better script. After the most competitive CART season ever, a year in which an unprecedented nine drivers won races and six remained in contention for the Indy Car title through 14 of the 15 scheduled events, the final battle came down to a family feud that pitted father against son for the first time in the annals of the sport. It was only fitting that this dramatic denouement would involve one of the greatest dynasties in motor racing—Clan Unser. At ages 46 and 23, respectively, Big Al Unser and Al Jr. were also in line to become either the oldest or the youngest driver to win the Indy Car crown. In the final accounting, experience took the measure of youth—but by the barest…