Innehållsförteckning för April 2002 från MotorTrend

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: Car of the Year/Jan ’02 “I chuckled at first, but then I seriously critiqued all the contestants, and I can’t disagree with you.”Timothy Yakich—Pittsburgh, Pa. My sympathies for the deluge of letters you’ll receive decrying your choice for Car of the Year, the majority of which will come from people who haven’t had the singular pleasure of experiencing the new Thunderbird in person. They won’t have fought for elbow space between a heavily tattooed teenager and an old man with a walker in a crowd 12 deep at the local auto show, just for a fleeting glimpse of the new T-Bird. They won’t have gathered to witness her arrival at the local Ford dealer, the showroom feeling like FAO Schwarz in December, abuzz with the magic…

We’re not sure if Bob Lutz would’ve enjoyed visiting this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. At the opening of the L.A. auto show the previous week, he received a round of applause when he lambasted cars that have too much technology just for technology sake. He might be right: In the CES hall dedicated to car stereo systems, it looked more like an electronics version of the SEMA show with heavily modified vehicles on display. You could find a slammed Rolls-Royce, a new Mini Cooper, and a DaimlerChrysler Smart along with numerous SUVs, Hondas, Toyotas, and the occasional BMW—all with the latest audio systems and exotic speakers. The hottest items were MP3 audio systems that have built-in hard drives (Sony and Pioneer), removable drives (Blaupunkt), DVD drives for…

This pair has met before, and its always been a helluva fight. Among the eight intoxicating M and AMG machines we’ve experienced throughout this hyper-performance, from-Germany-with-Love compare, these maximum-strength midsize sedans proved most everyone’s favorites. I’ve driven both on Germany’s autobahns at their maximum (unfortunately, electronically controlled) limits, and I assure you: They remain mine. You know the formula: The E55 AMG stems from the standard E-Class sedan, with the basis of its fortification being a superb 5.4L/349-hp SOHC V-8. It’s backed by a five-speed automatic transmission, now well-managed by Mercedes’ TouchShift electronic control system. The 5 Series becomes an M5 courtesy of an also-handbuilt 5.0L all-alloy DOHC V-8 that delivers an even more impressive 394 hp (same as the Ferrari 360 Modena) V-8. There’s considerable race technology here: eight…

Lush national parks, expansive coastline, temperate weather, and famous hospitality are among the many draws to the Southeast, where residents appreciate the slower pace and tourists enjoy the abundant recreation. In this increasingly homogenous world, the land that lost the War of Northern Aggression has its own cultural charm and dialects, with Southern drawls, mountain speak, and spicy Cajun tongues adding color to the rich landscape. Beyond the rebellious history and pre-served plantations, the South has much to offer car enthusiasts. Hidden in the heart of NASCAR country is a twisting asphalt ribbon that serves as the backbone to the 20,000-square-mile Appalachian Mountain range. The smooth-surfaced Blue Ridge Parkway twists and turns like a great mystery novel, offering fabulous driving through beautiful wooded landscapes. For the full 469-mile experience, begin…

THE GOLDEN STATE Starting from Los Angeles—after you visit the Petersen Automotive Museum, of course-work your way out of the basin on I-5, the central artery that runs up between mountain ranges the length of California (and on through Oregon and Washington, for that matter). Break off the freeway at Frazier Park, some 60 miles north of downtown, and work your way northwest to Cerro Noroeste Road, one of the five or six most thrilling driving roads you’ll ever see. When this tees at State Route 33, stop to catch your breath, then turn right to Taft, where you must gas up, because you won’t see another station for nearly two hours. A few miles up 33, take the left onto SR 58 and get ready. This one will give…

Ever since the formation of the Indy Racing League, race fans (and many team owners, drivers, sponsors, and track owners) have been clamoring for some sort of reconciliation between it and the Championship Auto Racing Teams. Well, stop pining. Because it’s not going to happen, at least not in the near future, and as long as these two combatants are structured and focused the way they currently are. Why? Goals: Indianapolis Motor Speedway patriarch Tony George created the IRL based on foundational premises different from those by which CART lives. For example, George was concerned about the rising costs of racing, so the IRL was developed around a lower-technology formula that would, and has, reduced the price of entry. CART has remained committed to a higher level of performance on…

VIDEO MIRRORS I Donnelly’s new ReversAid and BabyVue VideoMirror systems are an easy upgrade that allows you to Increase your rearward visibility without having to take your eyes off the road. The ReversAid unit incorporates a tiny video camera that easily mounts M to the rear of a car, truck, SUV, RV, or trailer. A special automatically dimming rearview |f mirror incorporates a flip-down video monitor that displays the rear-camera image. y With ReversAid, the tasks of safely backing up, aligning a hitch with a trailer, or negotiating an RV in a tight location are greatly simplified. The BabyVue system is similar, but uses a camera to show the status of a child in the rear seat—gone are the days when you needed to turn around to check on your…

We do, however, have a sense of the sort of car that competes in serious rallies and the particular kind of performance it requires. At least, car-makers assume we do. Because at the season-opening auto shows in Los Angeles and Detroit, there were clear and numerous references—verbal, visual, and thematic—to rallying and rally-style capabilities in an astonishing number of the concept cars manufacturers unveiled. This struck me as curious. Designers and engineers suggested how exciting and forward-looking their projects were by invoking a connection to a form of motorsport that’s about as visible as garden aphids. Fans stay away from it in droves, yet our industry’s most brilliant minds believe it has some currency when they want to create an image of an active, youthful lifestyle that’s fast-paced and rough-’n’-ready.…

More important than its tie-in with a toy manufacturer is the concept Ford Mighty F-350 Tonka’s prototype Power Stroke Super-600 turbo-diesel (see Los Angeles/Detroit show coverage in this issue). The high-tech 6.0L V-8 is designed to improve power, fuel economy, and noise and vibration levels. It’s a 32-valve, OHV configuration, which has good volumetric efficiency without the complexity of an overhead cam. A variable-geometry turbo improves low-speed engine response. The adult Tonka also has a regenerative braking system hooked up to the middle of the driveshaft. When the driver brakes the truck, a liquid is pumped from one container near the driveshaft to a container filled with nitrogen gas. The liquid compresses the gas, and when the driver “flips a switch,” i.e., moves his foot from the brake to the…

Roadster, that fundamental expressed of top-down motoring, which combines two seats with an engine in the front and drive at the rear. The word conjures sunny summer drives to no place in particular—when the route taken has little to do with arriving in the least amount of time and more to do with appreciating the journey, the road, and the car. Two of the most rapid roadsters at the pinnacle of the art are BMW’s $45,990 M Roadster and the $54,900 Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG, which is new for ’02. Both reflect each company’s convertible motoring roots and philosophy, while each has been breathed on by its in-house racebred engineering divisions endowing it with heightened capability, rarity, and higher prices than its more common Z3 and SLK counterpart. While much attention…

We’ve all had a friend or relative tell us about the sedate family vacation they took aboard their sedate family (or rental) car. Of course, they inadvertently took a wrong turn and ended up on some fantastic “driver’s road.” You know the one: little traveled, freshly paved, laced with twisty turns and great scenery. The storytellers are always wishing they’d been packing a Porsche Carrera 4S instead of the family Taurus. The following pages outline a few of our editor’s favorite drives and some car-related events to check out while you’re in the neighborhood. It’s the perfect family vacation-well, at least among the Motor Trend family. We’ve also included more conventional attractions for those who may not enjoy cars on an enthusiast level. We’re confident everyone will find something to…

There’s only one place in the U.S, where tour states meet at a single point: Four Corners. This is where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona connect, and although it doesn’t amount to much more than a big parking lot, a granite and bronze plaque monument, and a few local craft stores, the territory surrounding Four Corners provides just about the most remarkable topography each state has to offer, as well as some amazing roads. We begin in western Colorado, in the small town of Fruita, about a half-hour west of Grand Junction. Nestled off 1-70 and claiming to be the Mountain Bike Capital of the World, Fruita is a good example of an old-style Colorado town where Main Street is clean and the people are friendly. Although mountain bike…

FROM DEVILS TO ANGELS DAY ONE Get yourself to Devil’s Tower National Monument (America’s first national monument) located in northeast Wyoming. If you like camping, there’s a KOA Kampground (307/467-5395) near the park entrance. As you drive in, stop at Prairie Dog Town to see thousands of these little critters scurrying j about. There’s no mistaking Devil’s Tower as it rises 1267 feet from the grasslands. Check out the visitor’s center and then embark on the 1.3-mile trail circling the base of Devil’s o Tower. Look closely as you can spot rock E climbers ascending the huge sedimentary f monolith or just climb some of the base rocks like Richard Dreyfuss did in “Close E Encounters of the Third Kind.” Drive south on Highway 24, then transition to Highway 14.…

The George family are courteous, generally soft-spoken people. Yet it isn’t hard to create mental visions of Tony George, his mother, Mari Hulman George, and the rest of the clan sitting around the proverbial Thanksgiving turkey and telling CART jokes. It was no fun for anyone to suffer through CART’s trials and tribulations last year, but we suspect the Georges had plenty of other things to talk about. The main reason is that the IRL is growing and remains staunchly dedicated to much the same plan it had when the League was formed. It isn’t wavering from that plan, largely irrespective of what CART does, or doesn’t, do. A former IRL executive confided that “you may or may not like what Tony does or what the IRL stands for. But…

Executive Director of Design, Saab The smaller of Sweden’s two major automakers struggled through the ’80s. In fact, it nearly put itself out of business with mainstream designs, such as the 9000 sedan, with its ignition key on the steering column. Now that General Motors owns Saab, the challenge is to maintain the brand’s quirky character in cars that’ll share platforms with Opels, Pontiacs, and the like. Who better to handle that task than Mauer, designer of the Mercedes-Benz SL, SLK, and A-Class? Mauer moved to Saab last year and quickly made an impression with his 9X and 93’x concepts. We caught up with him at Detroit. MT: What does the 9X say about the future of Saab design? Mauer: I hope it’s a bold statement. The 95 today tells…

THOUGH IT SELDOM MAKES THE SHORT LIST FOR MOST die-hard enthusiast drivers, Toyota’s ubiquitous Camry has long managed to exact the sweetest kind of revenge upon detractors and competitors alike. For the best part of.a decade, this genuinely purposeful, relentlessly reliable, and heretofore blisteringly bland front-drive sedan has either led’ or challenged for the top spot in U.S. passenger-car sales. With its all-new fifth-generation offering, Toyota sought to… push the envelope in yet another way; by bolstering the rational side of this hardy perennial with a well-measured.infusion ’ of style and performance. To better gauge the success of that mission on a grassroots level, we gathered two variations orr the ’02 tfieijie: one, jts volume leader; the other, its most affordably priced sport version. For those of you not up…

The East Coast boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in America. The Northeast, in particular, offers automotive aficionados the double blessing of several historic racetracks nestled in forested areas and some great roads on which to drive to them. Since we like nothing better than playing connect the racetracks, our trip to paradise begins at the road-racing center of the East: legendary Lime Rock Park, a perfect place for auto-maniacs to start their journey Leaving Lime Rock on Route 112, turn onto Route 199 heading east. Wild turkey and deer thrive through these rolling hills of the New York country-side. The road is literally cut through an old forest, with trees forming a complete canopy over the roadway. Merge onto Route 308, and you drive through Rock City, a…

GREAT LAKES AND GREAT CARS AT THE ST. IGNACE CAR SHOW So come early summer, Midwest car enthusiasts roll out of their garages and onto the roads in colorful packs searching for that great drive. For many, that long-awaited cruise is to a small town and a big event on the coastline of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A straightline 300 miles north of Detroit up 1-75 is a tourist community on the shore y of Lake Huron with a spectacular view of the grace-5 ful Mackinac Bridge (one of the world’s longest suspension spans). The town is St. Ignace, and the bridge joins lower Michigan with its storied Upper Peninsula. Drivers who cross the bridge toward St. Ignace can look to the right over the blue waters of Lake Huron and…

For CART, 2001 was the Season From Hell. Canceled races. Major engine-supplier troubles. Embittered board members and unhappy race promoters. CART teams crossing over to race in the Indy Racing League sanctioned Indy 500 in order to satisfy sponsors. The loss of its feeder series, Indy Lights. The further loss of important, historic race venues: Michigan International Speedway and Detroit’s Belle Isle street course, to name just two. Uprisings in the ranks of its major stockholders. And the monumental loss of its winningest team, Marlboro Team Penske—to the IRL, no less. What’s a race series to do? Install a leader everyone believes in, and who knows the territory, for one thing. Which is what CART management thought it did in December 2000 with the naming of Joseph Heitzler as its…