Innehållsförteckning för January 1996 från MotorTrend

FIRST DRIVE: ’97 BUICK PARK AVENUE Buick’s full-size Park Avenue undergoes a generational changeover for the ’97 model year, and with it come major improvements. General Motors’ Cadillac/Luxury Car Division design staff has discarded the blueprints for the exterior bodywork and lightweight chassis architecture of the current car, opting instead to spin off the upcoming Park Avenue and its upscale Ultra variant from the G-platform—the same main body structure on which the Riviera and the Oldsmobile Aurora are built. The new Park Avenue’s most noticeable refinement is its uncompromising integrity and quietness; it finally has the rigid, substantial feel that the best European and Asian sedans have enjoyed for the past half-decade. Absent are the instrument-panel flutter and steering-column shake, and there’s now an enhanced connection between the steering wheel,…

BUILDING THE EV PIECE BY PIECE With all the controversy brewing about electric vehicles (EVs) these days, the field appears precarious at best. But that’s not the case…and here’s why. While it’s true that automakers are the most high-profile players in the electric-vehicle game—they’re committing considerable resources to developing EVs—they’re dwarfed in number by the hundreds of subsystem suppliers gearing up to become key players in this nextgeneration-niche automobile market. There are literally billions of future dollars at stake here, and hundreds of millions are being spent cumulatively on EV research and development here and throughout the world. Keeping abreast of press reports and professional journals is one way to stay on top of this field. But thumbing through recently published patents is truly enlightening. Here we discover who many…

Seven short months after they last met in one of our sport/utility bash-offs, things have changed significantly for the Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee. For ’96, the Explorer is available with a 5.0-liter V-8 crammed into its rugged snout, and the Grand Cherokee receives its first significant updates, with particular attention paid to its interior, where dual airbags now reside. The result is that the Explorer has become better at what the Grand Cherokee does well, and the Grand Cherokee has improved in the areas the Explorer was strongest. Ain’t competition great? Considering the way 90 percent of sport/utility vehicles are driven 90 percent of the time, the V-8 engine makes the Explorer a much better vehicle. Although the 5.0-liter engine initially may appear to be a Mustang refugee,…

Suzuki has expanded its line of established sport/utilities to do battle with the likes of Toyota’s just-released RAV4 and Kia’s Sportage. It’s new flagship offroad warrior is the four-door Sidekick Sport featuring a spunky 1.8-liter engine, flared fenders, 16-inch wheels, and a bevy of extra standard equipment. Under the hood lurks the most powerful Sidekick engine to date, an all-aluminum DOHC four producing 120 horsepower with a torque curve that peaks at a low 3500 rpm. This potent little engine contributes greatly to the rambunctious character of the Sport, al-lowing it to hold its own against more powerful, heavier competitors. On the road, the Sport feels lighter than its 2917-pound curb weight, a sensation enhanced by responsive handling courtesy of a two-inch track increase. Interior space provides comfortable accommodations for…

The large oval headlamps are reminiscent of a prairie dog’s gaze when frozen in the beam of a 747’s landing lights. Their attention-getting boldness comes not so much from the shape—cars like the Dodge Neon and Toyota Celica already have doe-eye oval headlights—but from the fact that they adorn the volume sedan of such a steadfastly conservative automaker as Mercedes-Benz. There’s no mistaking the new E-Class for any other luxury car on the road, and that’s just what its designers had in mind. The most intriguing question has been what lies behind the wide-open orbs. If eyes are truly the window to the soul, then these ovoid peepers offer a glimpse into Mercedes’ rejuvenated spirit. You see, the new E-Class is a product of turbulent times. Intense competition within the…

Put yourself in our shoes for a minute. The public relations director for Porsche Cars North America, Bob Carlson, calls and says your new 911 Carrera 4 has been ordered, per instructions, with a sunroof, CD player, grey leather upholstery, and slathered in such a vibrant shade of yellow that every honeybee in the vicinity will explode just by looking at it. The car is due to roll out of the Stuttgart, Germany, assembly facility within the next two weeks and will be shipped to a Los Angeles-area dealer for delivery into our long-term test vehicle evaluation fleet. If the Atlantic isn’t too choppy, we should see it in the Motor Trend garages within about two month’s time…give or take. Nope. Sorry. Not good enough. Drool was already puddling at…

It turns out that making history is easy. At least it is in this case. Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award has been in existence since 1949, and during that nearly half-century, we’ve scrutinized every new domestic car to hit the marketplace. We’ve driven thousands of cars over the years, but never before have we selected a vehicle quite like the Dodge Caravan. For the first time ever, we’ve awarded a minivan Motor Trend’s Car of the Year. It seems fitting that the company that created this segment should drive home with MT’s Golden Caliper award. Particularly when you look closely at the magnitude of accomplishment Chrysler has made with the brand-new Dodge Caravan. Point after point, the Caravan redefines the boundaries of what we’ve come to expect from…

When you get into a new race car, bring your experience with you and leave your preconceptions behind. Thinking that an unfamiliar race machine will behave like a street car or any other race car you’ve driven will keep you from extracting all it can perform. Approaching the Scandia Motorsports Ferrari 333 SP IMSA World Sports Car (WSC) at Sears Point Raceway (where just the day before, it had finished a strong second), I put aside my impressions of IMSA GTP ears with their stiff suspensions, ground-effects aerodynamics and 800-horsepower engines. I even disabled the part of my brain that stores the sensations generated by the Lexus/Spice WSC racer I tested earlier this year (“Driving the World’s Only Full-Race Lexus,” MT March ’95). If I was going to get the…

TAURUS RIOT It seems like only yesterday when Motor Trend displayed photographs of the original ’86 Ford Taurus prototypes. I remember thinking the new model was brilliant, gorgeous, and intelligent. A clean break from the past, a breath of fresh air, an automotive-design tour de force. Now we see the first really all-new Taurus in a decade, and I am profoundly disappointed. Whereas the beauty of the original hid in the high-tech aspects of its all-new design, the ’96 model looks merely styled and not functional at all. The aesthetics may be new, but they appear no more rational than the chrome and fins of the ’50s. Additionally, there’s no beauty or grace. The car is ungainly, with odd lumpy-bumpy proportions. How the mighty hath fallen! Robert CharetLos Angeles, Calif.…

The promise of fun and freedom is the sport/utility vehicle’s reason for existence. Yet with the average SUV sticker price racing toward $25,000 and accelerating hard, it’s difficult for many to join the fun, and for those who do, the monthly payments are hardly liberating. Subcom pact SUVs are little help; prices are creeping toward $20,000 for vehicles that are often less polished and less substantial feeling than such imposing stickers might suggest. But now Toyota has entered this market niche with the vivaciously styled RAV4, a car-based vehicle that’s as refined and solid feeling as its close relatives, the Camry and Celica. While the RAV4 (Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive) does little to reverse the green tide of rising SUV prices, at least Toyota is making a valiant…

Kia’s design intent in creating the Sportage was to wring out the negative “trucklike” attributes associated with sport/utilities, and to create a pure distillation of comfortable interior, smooth ride, and off-pavement potential. Entry-level customers expect to make certain concessions, but Kia has kept the compromises to a minimum. In fact, the Sportage delights with its tasteful surprises and good overall packaging, to provide a solid value in this increasingly competitive market segment. Designed for the U.S. market, the Korean-built Sportage uses a Lotus-tuned independent front suspension and rear four-link setup with coil springs and dampers to provide a compliant, carlike ride that contradicts its truck-tough offroad image. Most sport/ute owners spend the vast majority of their time on pavement, where the Sportage is clearly in its element. However, for the…

Sport/utility buyers demand that their vehicles possess the capacity to carry them to the tops of snow-covered mountains, to the center of the rockiest desert, and deep into the old-growth forest—even if they rarely use that capability. Yet since the time spent communing with nature is outweighed by the time spent commuting to work, these same buyers also require that their SUVs offer comfort, convenience, safety, and performance to rival luxury sedans; after all, they cost about the same. In response to these demands, Toyota redesigned its 4Runner for ’96 with the goal of making it more user-friendly, yet more road-serious. The friendliness comes in the form of a host of new safety features, enhanced ride comfort and control, a more confidence-inspiring steering feel, increased interior room, easier cargo access,…

Introducing a new car line into the market is always a formidable challenge. For Cadillac, the fall 1996 launch of its Euro-themed Catera sedan will take on particularly critical proportions. Not only will it be responsible for putting the division into the hottest segment of the U.S. luxury market, it’s also expected to serve as a catalyzing agent to firmly position Cadillac as GM’s international brand, to lure a whole new breed of buyer (read, younger and more European-oriented) into Cadillac showrooms, and to reestablish the division as the automotive “Standard of the World.” That’s no minor undertaking by anybody’s account. Throughout the ’90s, the “affordable luxury” niche has been quickly gaining significance. By the year 2000, Cadillac believes models in the $30,000-$35,000 arena will account for almost 40 percent…

FACTORY NEWS SAAB’S ENGINES OF THE FUTURE Just when it seems that every possible development has been made to the gasoline-fueled, internal-combustion engine, along comes Saab, which showed four exciting new engine technologies at the recent Frankfurt Auto Show. All four appeared under Saab’s new Ecopower name as demonstrations of the innovation necessary to meet tomorrow’s emissions and fuel-economy standards. The most intriguing of the four is a new sparkplug system that uses the piston as an electrode. As on a conventional spark plug, the new Saab system fires a spark across’ electrodes—but instead of crossing a gap to another electrode mounted on the plug, the spark jumps to an exaggerated peak at the piston’s crown, which acts as an electrode. The advantages, Saab claims, are numerous. Because the spark…

’95 HONDA ODYSSEY LX Honda’s entry into the minivan fray, the Odyssey, is the latest addition to our long-term vehicle pool. We ordered the six-passenger LX model, which comes equipped with a long list of desirable features, such as front/rear air conditioning, power windows/mirrors/doors, four-speaker AM/FM/cassette stereo, dual airbags, and four-wheel anti-lock brakes. To the base price of $23,625 we added floor mats C$99) and a roof rack ($225) to improve overall utility. In the short time we’ve had it, the Odyssey has converted several naysayers to firm believers in the vehicle’s merits. While it isn’t as big as purebred minivans, it’s hard to argue against the Odyssey’s carlike ride, innate Honda quality, and user-friendly nature. Thus far, the standout feature would have to be the slick third seat, which…

FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW-DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH It was hardly a party atmosphere in Frankfurt, with the home-team manufacturers continuing to reel from the weight of a strong deutsche mark, a debilitating profit squeeze, and a sluggish European car market. Despite a depressed excitement index, plenty of significant new production models were complemented suitably by a gaggle of impressive concept vehicles from both the West and the East. Here’s a brief look at the most intriguing of those offerings. —Michael Cotton LOTUS ELISE As the spiritual successor to the Lotus 7, the new Elise was indisputably one of the stars of Frankfurt. Originally code-named Mill, this mid-engined two-seater reportedly was developed for a mere $7.75 million. Its extruded aluminum spaceframe is wrapped in slick fiberglass composite bodywork. The petite 1500-pound roadster…

A direct link has been established between the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and the national Auto Safety Hotline in Washington, D.C., allowing museum visitors to access information on government crash-test results, to check on vehicle recalls, and to report possible defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated this unique interactive exhibit to increase awareness of automotive safety. On hand to cut the ribbon to this display were California Senator Hershel Rosenthal, NHTSA Administrator Dr. Ricardo Martinez, Petersen Automotive Museum Executive Director Dick Messer, and the crash-test dummies, Vince and Larry. The first use of the phone was for an incoming call from Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, who used the Auto Safety Hotline to address a group of school children and to answer their questions. The Auto…

GRADING THE OLDSMOBILE AURORA’S BOSE AM/FM/CD/CASSETTE SYSTEM Just as the Aurora doesn’t represent business as usual for Oldsmobile, this car’s premium audio system outperforms what we’ve come to expect from many factory stereos. Building on a longstanding relationship, GM once again turned to Bose to create a worthy upgrade system, this time for the Aurora. For the commendably low total of $1131 you can get the upgrade, complete with a 12-disc trunk-mounted changer, plus Bose amps and speakers. Bose strived to create what it calls a “natural panorama of sound” in the Aurora. Due to tight cost constraints set by General Motors, the Olds doesn’t enjoy the luxury of A-pillar tweeters or great thumping subwoofers in the back deck. Instead, the Bose system consists of seven speakers: One 6.5-inch woofer…

During our first test drive of Nissan’s new bigger, rounder, more powerful Pathfinder, we discovered that it has a split personality. In the vein of the Bruce Wayne/Batman dichotomy, this new sport/ute exhibits urbane highway manners, yet possesses the ability to answer the call of duty and/or adventure. (Nonetheless, a Batphone is not included.) For ’96, the Pathfinder is 6.7 inches longer and 2.2 inches wider than its predecessor and rides on a two-inch-longer wheelbase. Overall its lines are softer, and its personality is more accommodating. Still, it retains a strong resemblance to the previous generation, with carryover design cues like integrated rear door handles, signature grille slots, and sloping C-pillars. Inside, care was taken to create pleasing ergonomics for the driver and passengers: The oft-used controls in the instrument…

Occupying a spot smack dab in the heart of low-cost miniute land, Geo’s Tracker enters the ’96 model year with an entirely new outlook on life. The big news comes in the form of a new four-door model to be teamed with the returning two-door convertible. (Last year’s two-door hardtop has been dropped.) Both versions are offered in base and upscale LSi packages, in either two- or four-wheel drive. The entire Tracker lineup has a new look for ’96, featuring a freshened exterior and a new instrument panel with dual airbags. The four-door sits on an extended version of the same sturdy chassis as the two-door, adding an additional 11 inches to the wheelbase (now 97.6 inches) and 15 inches to the overall length (now 158.7 inches). A 1.6-liter/95-horsepower SOHC…

The term “sporty” is used to describe many vehicles, but typically not a Range Rover. This luxury 4x4 is often rightly regarded as “rugged,” “elite,” “pampering,” “unstoppable”—but “sporty”? It didn’t quite suit the Range Rover…until now. In an attempt to bridge that emotional chasm, Land Rover has pulled the wraps off a new, even higher-scale version of its perennial off-road wanderer. Meet the 4.6 HSE. The HSE is primarily about power. A bump in displacement from 4.0 liters (in the Range Rover 4.0 SE) to 4.6 boosts power output from the 4.0’s 190 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque to heartier 225/280 figures. The company claims that this additional oomph trims two seconds off the SE’s 0-60-mph time, allowing it to make the charge in just 8.5 seconds—downright excellent for…

Have you ever seen a pickup truck dance? We have—and it ain’t pretty. Under a pitiless desert sun and surrounded by mountain horizons resembling huge, jagged pieces of broken pottery, we watched as the top-selling full-size pickups from Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge skipped, hopped, and shuddered across man-made craters in Arizona’s Mojave Desert. One truck shook its bed so hard it dented the back of the cab. This was serious rock and roll. Ford Motor Co. invited us to its Arizona proving ground to demonstrate that the all-new F-150 is an iron fist in a silk glove. Although its new truck has gone through engineering’s equivalent of charm school, Ford claims the F-150 is still built for a market that works brutally hard all week, but wants a soft ride…

“Beer colder than a mother-in-law’s heart,” read the hand-scrawled sign over a ratty storefront somewhere in Mississippi. A poignant story in black spray paint, yet the place was scary enough to keep me from stopping too long to gawk. Then I saw him. Well, after he saw me and my “whirrin’ little ain’t-no-pickup-truck sports machine with fancy-ass paint and California license plates,” that is. He was standing in the doorway of a derelict railroad car behind the store, surrounded by waist-high weeds and more trash than on a New York garbage barge. He was lookin’ at me. He was cradling a shotgun. Zero to sixty in 5.9 seconds was never appreciated more by anyone in time immemorial. Thirty hours earlier, I’d seen our long-term Porsche for the very first time,…

MAXIMIZED miniVANS Although the vast majority of minivans earn their keep as family cars, the sheer utility of these practical vehicles appeals to plenty of truck lovers as well. With a dose of tough-looking truck-style accessories and a few alterations to further boost utility, a minivan can trade its family-car image for an aggressively functional look. To that end, Chrysler has introduced an in-house brand of aftermarket accessories for its new Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, and Chrysler Town and Country. Sold through any Chrysler/Plymouth, Dodge, or Jeep/Eagle dealer as Mopar accessories, the line was designed and tested by Chrysler Engineering to ensure factory-equipment levels of durability, performance, and fit. Among the most useful components in the Mopar minivan inventory are exterior racks with adjustable tie-downs, crossbars, center supports, and skid…