Innehållsförteckning för December 1987 från MotorTrend

A $20 Driving Lesson Auto racing is acknowledged as the No. 2 spectator sport in the U.S. Its popularity is growing so fast, even anti-motorsport networks have responded to the demand, resulting in more big-time auto races making it to the tube. But this is the ’80s, a time of involvement and doing. Sitting on the couch watching an auto race on television—especially with the new in-car camera systems—is terrific, but you can’t feel the forces through the airwaves. However, now there’s a way you can get a firsthand taste of racing, develop some valuable car-control skills, and do it inexpensively. Across the country, this beginner’s sport has a variety of names: Solo II, autocross, gymkhana, or slalom, but in most cases it’s basically a parking-lot race around pylons or…

MORE EXCITEMENT FROM ALFA Alfa Romeo has asked the Pininfarina styling house to shape a convertible and a 2-door coupe version of its 164 luxury sedan. The drop top, with a power-operated hood that tolas into the trunk, might be built on a new production line at Pininfarinas factory in Turin, Italy. Both will share the same floorpan and running gear as the sedan. Alfa executives will not yet reveal which engine is slated for the coupe, but spies report that a quad-cam 24-valve V-6 is under development. Said to produce 250 hp, this could propel the 4-wheel-drive sports coupe to 150 mph. The 164 sedan, just launched in Europe, will reach U.S. showrooms in 1989. The coupe is due in 1990, the convertible in 1991. RX-7 LOSES ITS HEAD…

If the big noise in auto enthusiast magazines is generally reserved for the more sporting output of world car factories, what do you do when a 4-door sedan comes along and starts pushing at some of the technical barricades? What you do, if Mitsubishi Motor Sales invites you to preview the new mystery coach up in New England (with a side trip to L.L. Bean as added inducement), is this: You go. Having renewed acquaintance with Ken Gross, and having met Hiroyuki Hosono at the introductory dinner, I was able to enjoy the first leg of our sally north to Bar Harbor, Maine, in the company of these two worthies. One plugged what looked like a small cassette machine into the lighter socket and stuck it against the wind shield…

Any car this comfortable at high speeds shouldn’t have to be driven slowly We’re well beyond sticker shock here. We’re talking sticker molestation. We’ve always thought of the 4-cylinder Porsches as the “affordable ones,” so when we took a look at the as-tested cost ($45,437), we figured the price of this puppy should have included the kennel. Excuse us, but at $45,000, our first impression was that a complimentary backup car should be thrown in to drive while the 944’s in for service. No, better yet, it should never need service. Resentful of the price, and spitting mad about the international monetary situation, we forced the 5-speed gearbox into 1st and headed for the exit of the Petersen garage; a quick right turn, and onto Sunset Blvd. Instantly, the 944…

Last season was a period of growth and maturation for Honda’s V-6 turbo Formula One engine. This year it’s become the dominant force in the Grand Prix game. During 1986, four players actively vied for the World Driving Championship title, ultimately claimed by McLaren’s Alain Prost in a TAG-Porsche-powered MP4/2C. This year the same foursome remains at the top of the points chase. But the order has been dramatically revised. The reason is simple: power. Wide open to the halfway point, with 11 of 16 races on the books at this writing, the ’87 F1 season is taking on a certain air of predictability. So far, Honda-powered cars have swept to victory in nine of those contests. While Porsche engineers are finding it tougher and tougher going, Honda gains momentum…

’89 PONTIAC 6000 STE Pontiac will strengthen the identity of its ’89 6000 STE AWD (all-wheel drive) with a complete sheetmetal makeover. Starting with the basic shape of the A-body 4-door sedan, the roofline is changing from its upright formality to the faster style seen on A-body coupes like the Oldsmobile Ciera. The decklid flows from the base of the rear window down to just above a backup light arrayed between the taillights. Blend the current taillight treatment with much of the fresh styling seen on the ’88 Pontiac Grand Prix, and that about describes the car. THE FACES OF THE BIRD Have you noticed that suddenly there’s no shortage of completely undisguised ’89 Thunderbirds running around in full view of spy photographers? Confidential sources at Ford Motor Company say…

Oh my God, I’ve died and gone to heaven. This couldn’t possibly be anyplace else. St. Peter has apparently been persuaded that gas-guzzlin’, rip-roarin’, hollerin’-’n’-howlin’ supercars are not immoral, not really, not even those that cost more than $200,000 and exceed 180 mph: Before me rests a startling, canary-yellow Aston Martin Vantage Zagato—value $205,000, top speed 185 mph—and a deep, blood-red Ferrari 288 GTO—value $410,000, top speed 189 mph. And in the palm of my hand lie the keys to both. I must have been a disciple. Both the Zagato and the GTO produce nearly as much power as an early ’70s Formula One Grand Prix racer, and both will ultimately attain a higher top speed. Of all the production sports cars in the world, only the 200-mph Porsche 959…

Yuppie (yûhp-ē) (-e) n. Young, upwardly mobile professional (the professional classes, of qualifications, social status, and barge trips on the French canals), typically aged 30 to 40. One whose religiously accumulated disposable income is often lavished on the sophisticated, stylish, fashionable, and downright flashy, i.e., Cartier watch, Reebok shoes, Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, white Zinfandel, blackened redfish, tax advisor, psychoanalyst, and overpriced luxury condominium with ocean view and heated double-garage housing expensive German performance cars (see BMW). BMW (bē-em-dŭbl-yū) n. Abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke. Type of automobile and motorcycle manufactured in West Germany, purported as The Ultimate Driving Machine. Noted for engineering integrity, build quality, snob appeal. Upscale pricing to match image. Products range from $25,000 3-Series to $60,000 7-Series. (Be realistic about this. See 3-Series.) 3-Series (thrē sěr-ēz)…

Cadillacs can be fun to drive. It depends a great deal on what kind of fun one is used to, though, doesn’t it? If your idea of a great time is cruising to a candlelit restaurant at a sedate pace in climate-controlled comfort, swaddled in leather and soft stereo, then the Cadillac of recent vintage is your kind of ride. Any Cadillac. But with that rep in mind, the ’88 Eldorado is going to come, for some drivers, as a very big surprise. Some of the most vitriolic commentary about the latest generation of Eldorado made reference to the total absence of Cadillac exclusivity, Cadillac personality, in the car. The historic appeal of a Cadillac product flowed from its desirability as a unique motor car, reinforced by a high price…

Contact DETROIT REPORT confidentially at p.O. Box 9089, Detroit, MI 48224. Caravan on the Clamshell: Chrysler is experimenting with replacing the T-115 Caravan/Voyager rear door, a single door opening upward on top hinges, with two single doors opening left and right. The “2- door” would be for vans ordered for commercial or heavy-duty use … First-Year Blues: Allanté sales are way off the prognosticator’s charts. Hopes of 6000 cars dwindled to 3363 after a delayed start, and only about 1400 units were sold … NEW BRONCO II TROTS OUT Ford Motor Company will update the Bronco II sport/utility vehicle with the introduction of this redrawn model in ’89, sources say. The new look is apparently intended to also differentiate the Bronco II from the Ranger small pickup truck, with a…

1986 marked the first year all BMWs offered in the U.S. were I equipped with its butter-smooth overhead cam 6-cylinder engines, while the 4-cylinder was abandoned. So, it seems strange that little over a year later BMW has chosen to introduce a new 3-Series 4-cylinder model for (gulp!) $35,000. Strange indeed, unless you happen to have driven or at least seen the new M3. The name alone should be enough of a tipoff, but for the uninitiated, the M-Series cars are a special breed built by BMW Motorsport (a BMW subsidiary), the group responsible for projects like the all-dominating Formula 2 engine, the ’83 World Champion Fl engine, and the original M-car, the Ml. BMW decided for 1987, for unspecified reasons (maybe to add some macho to its Yuppie image),…

The sporty GT-S has gone front-drive for ’88 Toyota’s venerable Corolla is one of the most successful nameplates in the world. Over three million have been sold in the U.S. alone during the past two decades. The bread-and-butter sedan model is responsible for the bulk of sales in the line. But it’s the flashy coupe, specifically the GT-S variant, that’s become a favorite around here. The top-of-the-line 2-door that debuted in ’85 carries one of Toyota’s potent naturally aspirated 16-valve twincam fours underhood. As part of a generational changeover that involved all Corolla models except the FX hatchback, this high-profile performance machine underwent a total makeover for 1988, going from rear to front drive in the process. We checked out a prototype version of Toyota’s newest pocket-rocket and came away…

Things hadn’t gone well for France during World War Two. The Belgians had resisted the Wermacht and had been run over by the Panzers for their trouble. The British had gone home from Dunkirk, leaving demoralized French forces to cope with the Germans the best they could. Then there was that tiresome Occupation, with most of the decent wine confiscated by the Boche, the horrid rationing of horsemeat, perfectly vile cigarettes, and no essence. When the dreary business ended, there was a great rush to get back to whatever one had been doing before the lights went out. For the people at Automobiles Delahaye, it meant resuming production of the last prewar model, not at all unlike what was going on at Coventry, or in Detroit, for that matter. Fortunately,…