Innehållsförteckning för December 1994 från MotorTrend

Rover Group’s new gentleman farmer is ready for the harvest. The spanking-new Range Rover 4.0 SE to be introduced here in early ’95 will offer refined power, new sheetmetal, a fresh interior, and modernized on- and off-road capabilities—even if most of its off-roading likely will be done in parking garages along Rodeo Drive. This big sport/ute is ever the proper British gentleman, despite a proficiency at crawling and climbing that would embarrass a mountain goat. The classy exterior design is an update of the look loved by Range Rover enthusiasts, and the new interior is comfortable and contemporary, with dual airbags, twin front climate controls, and a great stereo. The vehicle we drove during a three-day lightning raid on England was a U.K.-spec right-hand-drive model moved by the correct U.S.…

Quick-Chanqe Artists Dreamers and schemers have long looked for easy ways to extend the single-charge driving range of an electric vehicle. But the truth is, there just aren’t any easy answers to be found. Today’s EVs generally only travel 60 to 100 miles on the energy stored in their batteries, no matter how exotic the abbreviation—Ni-Cd (nickel-cadmium), Ni-MH (nickel-metal-hydride), or Na-S (sodium-sulfur). What to do? Some say the answer is to jettison an EV’s batteries as soon as they get weak at the knees, bringing in fresh replacements like highly charged mercenaries at the front. This isn’t to suggest that depleted batteries be left to languish at the side of the road. Rather, this is a plug for the concept of quick-exchange stations, where you can drive in lethargic and…

To cut one full second from a road-racing-course lap time requires an additional 100 horsepower or so in a 3500-pound car, everything else remaining the same. Or, taking care not to hurt structural rigidity, you can slice off several hundred unsightly pounds. Or you can spend thousands redesigning the suspension. Or you can choose the easy, cheap way out and slap on a set of autocross- or race-compound (but DOT-approved) tires. The tuners featured in this story know this speed secret and all but one equipped their cars with this short-lived but super-sticky rubber. To check the advantage offered by such tires, we equipped an otherwise unmodified Z28 with a set of autocross-compound BFGoodrich Comp T/A R1s. (We could’ve chosen Goodyear’s Eagle GS-CS or Yokohama’s A008R, but we’d just won…

“If the Neon says ‘Hi,’the Sunfire says ‘Yo!—John G. Middlebrook, Pontiac General Manager X marks the spot. Auto makers across the board are taking careful aim at the so-called Generation X, hoping to find the right blend of product and image that’ll click with this enigmatic group of twentysomethings. Chrysler’s cute and peppy Neon has been waving “Hi” all the way to the bank, as it crested the 100,000 sales mark in its first eight months of existence. Now Pontiac is hoping to stake an equally lucrative claim in the X vein with its replacement for the tired Sunbird. Don’t look for cute and loveable, though, from the rejuvenated Excitement Division, In fact, forget the Sunbird, too, because the new Sunfire is a whole different breed. The sport-tuned Sunfire GT,…

Groping around for the shift lever has always been a key element in the sportscar experience, but for today’s enthusiast drivers, it’s no longer mandatory. Porsche’s latest-generation automatic transmission, the Tiptronic S, incorporates up-and-down shift buttons on the steering-wheel spokes on either side of the airbag. Now, for the first time, you can live out your Formula One fantasies in the comfort of your own Carrera 2. The Tiptronic S has two different operational modes: It can be run just like a conventional automatic, or it can be switched over to manual mode, simply by pushing the console-mounted shift lever over to the right of the conventional main gate. In manual mode, you tip the lever forward to upshift, or tip backward to downshift. Or you can ignore the lever…

During its 33 years, Buick’s 90-degree V-6 has powered everything from Jeeps to Park Avenues to turbo Grand Nationals. Now the latest reduced-mass, balance-shafted, fuel-injected 3.8-liter Series II version of the engine will take up residence in the Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro as a late-’95 option, and only with an automatic transmission and air conditioning. This will be the first rear-drive application of the engine since the turbocharged, limited-production 20th Anniversary ’89 Trans Am. According to Firebird lead development engineer Liz Pilibosian, fitting the engine into the car required new accessories, intake manifold, oil pan, exhaust, and emissions controls. Because the intake manifold had to squash under the ’Bird’s low cowl, output is down to 200 horsepower, but remember, the manliest ’84 Trans Am V-8 only had 190. Besides…

Horse Sense While the Ferrari F355’s powerplant is impressive, your claim that it has the “…highest specific output of any naturally aspirated engine currently in existence” (Sept. ’94) is unmerited. You’re ignoring an important adversary: the motorcycle. The ’95 Honda CBR900RR, which is a production road motorcycle, was shown to proce 114.1 rear-wheel horsepower from its naturally aspirated 893-cubic-centimeter engine. That converts to nearly 128 horsepower per liter, far more efficient than the Ferrari engine. There are also a number of other two-wheeled examples capable of over 109 horsepower per liter. How could you ignore these vehicles? R. Bruce McDowellGlendale, Colo. Simple. Since this is a car magazine, we assumed that the statement would be taken as a comparison to other automotive engines. We also didn’t research the data pertaining…

RAM AIR RETURNS TO PONTIAC IN ’96 Pontiac performance cars will once again be known for Ram Air, the famous cold-air induction method used to enhance engine performance. Sources at General Motors confirm speculations supported by this surveillance shot of a Trans Am sporting Ram Air, caught in Las Vegas during hot-weather testing. Production Ram Air vehicles won’t be available until the ’96 model year, but they’re at least scheduled for job one. In addition to Ram Air, the Trans Am’s 5.7-liter V-8 will benefit from a freer exhaust and other small modifications that will boost the engine’s output to “up around 300 horsepower,” an insider said. The F-car also gets “suspension tweaks” to accommodate its performance increase, we’re told. Vehicle cosmetics include the twin-nostril intakes in a raised hood…

One usually associates the term “niche vehicle” with some type of sporty or special-purpose offering. But for ’95, Toyota puts its own spin on that verbiage with the new Avalon. The nominal replacement for the recently departed Cressida, this expansive variation on the basic Camry theme was designed as a step-up car for people seeking more room and upscale appointments. By no small coincidence, it also provides a high-quality entry into the full-size-sedan segment, making Toyota unique among its Japanese peers. Although projected sales volume may be modest—somewhere in the vicinity of 30,000 units the first year—this auto maker’s bold move could pay far greater dividends in the long run. To keep total investment for the Avalon program to a minimum, Toyota based the car on a proven platform: its…

With nary a straight exterior line to call its own, the Dodge Avenger ES is another aerodynamic addition to Chrysler’s haute couture stable of sporty cars. It replaces Dodge’s crude but effective Daytona performance projectile like a ray gun supplants a howitzer, but unfortunately for Dodge, this is a low-energy weapon aimed directly at high-powered competition ranging from the Chevrolet Camaro V-6 to the Ford Probe GT. Chrysler’s thinkers have delivered a pleasant balance of modern design themes in the Avenger, adding yet another cab-forward notch to their artistic gunbelts. The low nose and cowl yield excellent forward vision, and the backlight sweeps gracefully down to the decklid, but the overall styling isn’t daring. This is an attractive car, but may look dated before long. It’s time to heat up…

Designing an attractive entry-level car has always been a formidable challenge. But packaging the right combination of features at the right price has become a particularly daunting task of late, especially for Japanese auto makers who’ve been battered by continuing dollar/yen exchange-rate woes. Since its introduction in 1980, Toyota’s popular front-drive subcompact Tercel has amassed an enviable record with buyers, most recently earning the top spot in the Under $12,000 category of J.D. Power’s ’94 Initial Quality Survey. For the Tercel project team led by Takashi Ishidera, nothing less was deemed acceptable for the heavily revised ’95 model. The fifth-generation Tercel is truly a child of these cost-conscious times. Although all of its sheetmetal is new, the core structure of the ’94 has been carried over and the corporate parts…

Welcome to the Far East edition Hot Rod magazine. For this month’s project car, we’re going to shoehorn a 2.7-liter SOHC V-6 from a ’90 Acura Legend into a ’95 Honda Accord. After we rip out the Accord’s 145-horsepower inline four-cyUnder, we’ll massage virtually all of the Legend V-6’s mechanicals and do a little hacking on its computer to bump it up to 170 horsepower. Next comes a Legend-based four-speed automatic tranny to which we’ll add electronic shift control. To make room for the new mill, we’ll chop the Accord’s engine bay, frame rails, front fenders, and hood, and stretch them 2.75 inches. Our colleagues at our sister publication, Motor Trend, called the ’94 Accord “a baby Legend” and named it 1994 Import Car of the Year, but we want…

For more than 45 years, Lincoln’s been producing the Mark series in one form or another. Even though it’s metamorphosed through a variety of sizes and shapes, culminating in its current form—the Mark VIII—its mission has remained intact: to be the ultimate personal luxury coupe, one that incorporates its owner in the entire driving experience, fostering a close-knit relationship between man and machine. Our surveyed owners seem to have experienced this caring relationship, given the positive response we garnered from the survey. The Mark VIII scored at least 90 percent excellent/good in every category except rear-seat comfort— and this is with more than 4.4 million miles total of seat time. Our survey fleet averaged 15,220 miles, approximately 1000 more than we racked up on our long-termer. Owners also beat us…

Infiniti will bolster its U.S. sedan lineup next spring with this mid-size offering, the 130. Derived from the recently introduced Maxima platform, the handsome four-door is powered by the firm’s new 3.0-liter DOHC VQ V-6 engine that’ll produce 210 to 220 horsepower. An electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission will ship power to the front wheels through a limited-slip differential. The 130 shares its running gear, unibody, and many sheetmetal panels with the new Nissan Cefiro, which went on sale in Japan in August. Like the Cefiro, the 130 was designed at Nissan’s technical center in Japan and will be built at the firm’s Oppama assembly plant. U.S. Infiniti representatives have yet to release any hard specifications on the 130, but its Cefiro cousin has a 106.0-inch wheelbase, is 187.5 inches…

In the old days, it was known as “hot-rodding.” The art of modifying factory-spec iron into machinery fast enough to win, tough enough to survive, and brash enough to scare off most would-be challengers. This was decades before the mail-order 500-horsepower crate engine existed—back when individual ingenuity and skill with shop tools meant you’d go faster than your local rival. Following the tradition of John Dillinger and Clyde Barrow, young guns of another sort, such as Edelbrock, Hilboro, and Offenhauser, made names for themselves on the Main Streets, dragstrips, and dry lake beds of America. Today, those former social renegades (and/or their offspring) are well-respected captains of the automotive aftermarket—a multi-zillion-dollar biz that peddles everything from gold-plated emblems to smog-legal superchargers. The so-called “tuner car” market began in earnest much…

The year was 1964. Ford introduced its hot-selling Mustang, Pontiac rocked society with a tire-blazing 389 tri-carb GTO, and Chevrolet rolled out a model called Chevelle Super Sport. Chrysler power freaks rumped from Pasadena to Poughkeepsie in aluminum-nosed 426 Max Wedge “swiss cheese” Mopars, and even dowdy ol’ Oldsmobile faced the battle of the night with its own nasty new musclecar, the 4-4-2. In 1964, Buick had…nothing. Nothing to appeal to the power-hungry youth market, that is. The gorgeous Riviera bulged with a mega-torque 425-cubic-inch V-8, but was far too pricey for most anyone under age 35. Buick’s 401-powered full-size Wildcat was nearly as expensive, and too big to qualify as a serious street racer, anyway. All that was left to consider was the lowly Special, replete with Aunt Bea…

’94 GMC SONOMA GMC calls it raspberry; we call it hot pink. Either way, it’s an attention-grabber! The Sonoma began its stay with the Motor Trend staff in Detroit, in the capable hands of Dan Ross and Don Sherman. We ordered the extended-cab version, which provides the much-needed extra room in a compact pickup truck. Midwest comments in the logbook praised the Sonoma for its impressive go-power, plenty of interior storage area, a nicely appointed cab, and two auxiliary power points in addition to the cigarette lighter. Unfavorable notes included a somewhat slow steering response, seats that could be more comfortable and supportive, and a steering wheel that’s just a click too big. The GMC truck sure came in handy when it was time to pull a tree stump from…