Innehållsförteckning för February 2003 från MotorTrend

Die-Cast Model The Pages of MT Go 3-D Johnny Lightning has joined forces with Motor Trend to offer a new line of three-inch (1/64-scale) Motor Trend die-cast cars, 24 of which will be available in single blister packaging this year. The first release (shown here) covers former Car of the Year winners. The MT collection hits shelves this month; six more models will be released each quarter and will span the history of Motor Trend cover subjects, from the very beginning to the latest and greatest. Also watch for a boxed set later in the year. 2001 Car of the Year: Chrysler PT Cruiser 1982 Car of the Year: Chevrolet Camaro Z28 1970 Car of the Year: Ford Torino GT 1969 Car of the Year: Plymouth Road Runner 1964 Car…

About 50 brands sell vehicles in the U.S. The top five—Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Dodge, and Honda—each sell more than one million units every year. Another 22 marques sell more than 100,000 vehicles per year, and 10 sell between 20,000 and 100,000 annually, while a dozen sell fewer than 1000. During the ’02 model year, the new-vehicle market increased by four percent, thanks largely to generous incentives; yet this didn’t help Ford, whose sales volume declined. Dodge performed below average with a modest increase in sales of just under two percent. Among the major brands, Chevrolet was the big winner with a nine-percent increase in sales volume, while Toyota and Honda each managed to increase sales by six percent. Ironically, in terms of sales gains and losses, Ford Motor Company brands…

Blend avant-garde style with a healthy dose of practicality, toss in a new level of mechanical sophistication for good measure, and you’ve got the Murano. Named after Italy’s best-known maker of fine glass objets d’art, Nissan’s first venture into the realm of the in-betweens shares its FF-L (front engine, front-drive) platform with the Altima. That unibody pedigree brings a stiff central structure, fully independent strut/multilink suspension, four-wheel ABS discs with Brake Assist and Electronic Brake force Distribution, plus optional Vehicle Dynamic Control and traction control. Whether front- or AWD, far-from-basic SL or sporty SE, all Muranos boast an aggressive 18-inch wheel/tire package. Even so, user-friendly sill/seat heights ensure easy entry/exit, while a large but lightweight rear hatch does the same when cargo calls. Inside, innovative styling touches set off…

When the ’05 Mustang arrives, it will replace a car that has galloped on much the same legs since 1979. A chassis that old is mind-blowing given today’s fast-evolving auto technologies and buyers’ volatile tastes. From an automotive-product standpoint, a lot has happened since then: the birth of the minivan and the mass popularization of the sport/utility. There have been two new generations of Corvettes since the late ’70s (Viper was still just the name of a snake). The Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird have been redone twice since ’79 and have since passed on. In the meantime, the current-generation Mustang has maintained a legion of fans, scored countless race wins and championships, and continued to ting the cash register for the Blue Oval. For ’05, everything old will be…

Chevrolet Silverado SS Dodge Ram HD 2500/3500 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson GMC Sierra 1500 HD Quadrasteer Toyota Tundra SR-5 Stepside Nearly one in every five new vehicles sold in the U.S. is a pickup, and its popularity—due in large part to function and value—continues to grow as more personal-use buyers make it part of their lifestyle. Pickup trucks once were the ugly stepchild of the auto industry—tolerated, but hardly attention-grabbing. Today, it’s almost cliche to say that pickup trucks are no longer just for job sites and towing duty. Seems like every manufacturer is paying attention to this segment, either with a totally new design or something significantly revised. Full-size trucks from Ford, Chevy, and Dodge often have been the number-one, two, and three bestselling vehicles for over two decades. They…

Mazda 6s, Nissan Altima 3.5 SE, Volkswagen Jetta GLI If you’re like the majority of the working folks in this country, you commute behind the wheel of a sedan. If you’re like the Motor Trend staff, you want to enjoy the trip. And if there are some roads on your way to and from the office that are particularly fun to run—mountains, canyons, coastline—all the better to own a car that’s rewarding to drive. Enter the Clutch Players. We selected three sedans from a group that’s by no means exhaustive and whose outward missions are decidedly pedestrian—but whose packaging, styling, and sport-oriented option list offer the passionate commuter a reason to look forward to the slog home. While none of our trio will scare off a BMW M5, you could…

I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all. it had been over a decade since I’d last chatted with Dan Gurney (in a cooling hot pit at Sebring, post Eagle-Toyota victory). I assumed he’d have the same effect on me he’s always had: I’d be left stammering like the paperboy when Superman jumps out of the phone booth. But then, we’d be on equal ground during this encounter since the conversation would tend toward motorcycles—in particular, a production version of the Alligator, Gurney’s innovative single-cylinder sit-in-the-frame sport-cruiser crossbreed. As a longtime motorcycle journalist, I’d been following this bike since the late ’80s when word got out that Gurney had become serious about concocting a two-wheeler in the back room of All American Racers. A hair past two decades later, I’m…

For some time, Dan and Evi Gurney have been quietly working to put together a made-in-America FI effort. While AAR can build chassis (having both a wind tunnel and an autoclave for curing carbon fiber), it lacked an engine provider—and the hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to fund the project. Rumor became a back-door announcement at last year’s USGP, and the misunderstandings followed suit: One had American FI champion Phil Hill involved, another speculated that Hill and Gurney’s sons would be the drivers. While there were some interested backers, AAR was unable to secure an engine program from Ford Cosworth in time to begin development work for the 2004 season. "We weren’t prepared to commit to a situation that wasn’t properly funded for at least three years," commented the…

IT’S BEEN SAID YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO RICH OR TOO THIN. In America, we can add one more item to that refrain: You can never have too many power tools. Ah, the power tool. It feels substantial in your hand. There’s a promise implicit in its steely mass. Whatever situation presents itself, whatever challenge arises, the tool has the wherewithal to get the job done. Turn it on: There’s a presence, a measured, pulsating readiness that says, “Bring it on.” The full-size pickup has become the power tool of choice, the bigger and stronger, the better. General Motors was the last among Detroit’s Big Three to develop a clearly defined large-pickup persona. In the early ’90s, Dodge rattled the status quo with its Big-Rig-Look Ram and Cummins turbodiesel might.…

In this issue, we recount Dan Gurney’s NASCAR success at Riverside International Raceway, noting his retirement from full-time driving commitments at the end of the 1970 season. Ten years later (“It was just a midlife crisis,” says wife Evi), Dan decided to see if he could still conjure that old RIR magic. He took his running of the Winston Western 500 on January 20, 1980, seriously. The then-48-year-old Gurney (hence the car number) prepared for the race by taking a refresher course with Bob Bondurant. Drivinga Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Rod Osterlund Racing, Dan qualified a respectable sixth—but scored an unquestioned pole position in terms of fan popularity. With “Gurney for President” and other such celebratory banners decorating the course, Dan drove ’em nuts as he charged up through the…

NOTABLE QUOTABLE Enzo Ferrari, “First,”/November ’02 I got sick when you told us that Ferrari crashed eight of the beautiful Enzos. I couldn’t get the image of this awe-inspiring car smashing into a wall out of my mind. I’m sorry, I’m getting sick again.Brian Foster Lees Summit, Missouri Another View I read with interest Kevin Smith’s piece on the newest offering from Ferrari, the Enzo (November). Without question, the performance of this vehicle is staggering. Mr. Smith describes Pininfarina’s design as “a deadly-serious looking body.” Perhaps he’s being a bit too tactful because the car is a Ferrari—certainly a magical name among motorcars, but let’s be honest about the design: It’s dreadful. Except for the traditional nose badge, there’s nothing attractive about it. It looks more cartoon-car than “deadly serious.”…

Just as Ford builds SVT Mustang Cobras to get you into the showroom to buy an F-150 or a Focus, Aston Martin has its new V-12 Vanquish as a lure for the aging but still beautiful DB7 Vantage and Vantage Volante. But now Aston has a new package to breathe fresh air into the DB7. Available as a coupe only, the DB7 GT trumps the DB7’s 6.0-liter/420-horse-power 400 Ib-ft twin-cam V-12 with the Vanquish’s exhaust system boosting power to 435 horses and 410 Ib-ft. Aston promises quicker passing acceleration and a 0-100-0-mph time of 16.9 seconds, good for 0.6 second off the Vantage’s time. The GT also features a twin-plate racing clutch, reduced gearshift travel in the six-speed-manual version, stiffer suspension, reworked steering, revised damper settings, and new front-damper mounts.…

It’s ironic that at the annual celebration of trends in aftermarket automotive products, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, where taste levels range from bold to kitschy, Pontiac showed how a full line of decladded models will look—in an equally subdued gunmetal gray theme color, no less. But it was that kind of show, the kind where featured marque Chrysler Group’s biggest news was the long-anticipated announcement of the Hemi-powered Dodge Ram 1500 (in showrooms now). Dodge anticipates about 40 percent of light-duty-pickup buyers will spring for the $795 option. Well, duh! Ford Motor Co. was equally cool, showing a Euro package for the SVT Focus, a 10th-anniversary SVT Mustang Cobra, and a new 5.0-liter crate motor. OEM highlights include: Nissan NISMO Z NISMO (Nissan Motorsports), the automaker’s in-house operation with…

Picture the cold metallic nature of titanium, mixed with the warmth of bamboo. Now add in machined aluminum and lightweight carbon fiber, with nary a weld to be found. Innovative materials choices and production methods are just two of the more unusual facets of one of Ford’s newest concept cars, the MA. Even its unveiling was a refreshing departure. Instead of a turntable appearance at a major auto show, it broke cover at the opening of “Retro-futurism: The Car Design of J Mays,” a Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit dedicated to the work of Ford’s global design chief. “[The MA] is an amazingly different form, but it still has the wind-in-your-hair feeling you might find in a sports car of the ’50s, all done in a very…

From the earliest pictures of these Mustang concepts, it appears the new car is inspired more by Larry Shinoda’s Boss Mustang designs from the late ’60s and early 70s than the original mid-’60s Mustangs, forever locked in our memory by Steve McQueen’s GT in the 1968 film “Bullitt” and by Carroll Shelby’s GT-350s. The current Mustang seems to have become almost as wide as it is long and carries a large inventory of extraneous trim. The ’05 design abandons the “some of everything” look of the ’02 model in favor of a far smoother, tastier, and less-cluttered concept. Discussions around the Motor Trend office have been divided. A few editors expressed an uncomfortable feeling that what we’ve seen so far may be too minimalist and rectilinear. Others have been enamored…

From the onset of our Truck of the Year competition, we knew the Ram Heavy Duty was a prime contender. It fulfills the promise set forth last year by the introduction of an all-new Ram and now offers the power and capability expected in the three-quarter and one-ton segments, plus features, content, and capacities that in many ways raise the bar for this class of truck. Time and again, we gravitated to the Ram HD’s potent new V-8 Hemi, 8.0-liter V-10, and Cummins turbodiesel powertrains. We were impressed by the HD’s living-room-like interior, high feature content, and big-rig styling. The Ram exhibits fine driving manners, hauls a bed full of concrete blocks with ease, and pulls loaded trailers without breaking a sweat. Think of it as a burly lumberjack dressed…

A test drive is one thing. A road test is another. But covering more than 10,000 miles of highways, country lanes, and main streets, and going places where there are no roads at all, is something else entirely. It’s a chance to get to know a unique automotive product. A chance to get to know more of these United States and their wonderfully diverse population. A chance to get to know oneself. And a chance to sample some of the worst road food available anywhere. Care to ride along? It would be tough to find a more “unique automotive product” than Hummer’s all-new H2. We’ve had a fair amount of experience with it, yet the same question comes up from anyone encountering it for the first time: “Has Hummer cashed…

Back in the days when a humble car magazine could afford to sponsor and promote a NASCAR race, we did just that. The Motor Trend 500 was held at the late and absolutely great Riverside International Raceway from 1963 through 1971; NASCAR continued racing there until the track’s still-mourned demise in 1988. During the nine years MTs name was affixed to the event, Dan Gumey won it an amazing five times. Though he ran several other NASCAR races during the meat of his driving career, all his stock-car victories came at RIR. He was so dominating there—winning four times in a row from 1963 through 1966 (plus 1968)—the race was colloquially dubbed “The Gurney 500.” Dan was by no means a NASCAR regular; if anything, the stock-car establishment saw him…

Acura set a lofty first-year (2002) sales goal of 30,000 units for its sporty RSX—and quickly met the number. It’s a popular piece: fresh styling, good handling, a rev-friendly 2.0-liter/200-horse-power I-4, and a sweet-shifting six-speed gearbox. Factor in affordable pricing and Acura/Honda’s superb record of reliability, and it’s easy to understand the strong demand. The crew at Advanced Engine Management felt the RSX could use even more performance, so they went to work to develop some potent power parts. We tested AEM’s RSX Type-S development car and were pleasantly surprised with the results. AEM wares include a cold-air-intake setup, Tru-Power underdrive pulleys, Denso Iridium spark plugs (shielded with AEM’s billet-aluminum plug cover), and its EMS programmable engine-management setup. A Thermal Research cat-back exhaust system relieves backpressure and delivers a throatier…

Mazda’s sports-car revival beginning with this year’s RX-8 and the possible return of the RX-7 (see RX-8 “First Drive,” January), culminates with a new Miata expected in 2006. While the two-seat sportster will be only slightly larger than the current model, there’s speculation the Miata will share its platform with the RX-8. More likely, the connection will be limited to some component sharing. One unusual feature of the ’06 Miata is the convertible roof, which, we’re told, is a manually raised and lowered metal top. Whereas the old BMW Z3 often was criticized for being an overpriced Miata, the new Z4 distances itself from the affordable Japanese alternative. However, Mazda also is rumored to be considering a new lightweight V-6 as an option for the Miata (also known as the…

No, they’re not quite direct competitors. But both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have convertibles—real rag-tops rather than folding metal-roof convertibles—due in the next couple years. First up is the Mercedes CLK Cabrio, following hot on the heels of the all-new C-Class-based CLK. The CLK Cabrio shows first at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show and launches in North America by this summer as an ’04 model. The 5.0-liter V-8 and 3.2-liter V-6 will be offered. A year later, look for the cabrio version of BMW’s 6 Series, a new coupe based on 5 and 7 Series components and featuring a 3.5-liter I-6 and 4.4-liter V-8. It’s not certain whether a V-10-powered M6 will be available as a cabrio, although you can bet on it if Mercedes does a CLK55 AMG ragtop.…

LOOK DRIVES TESTS No more fuzzy spy shots of camouflaged test mules. No more computer-enhanced renderings. No more searching the Web for information on the Maximum-Strength Mitsubishi. The wait is finally over: This is the Lancer Evolution VIII, just as it’ll appear at dealerships in February. Though it shares its platform and architecture with the Evo VII, there are enough significant hardware changes to warrant the additional Roman numeral. Most obvious is a new front-end design, allowing one of the acknowledged stars of the world’s favorite computer driving games to pass North American crash-test standards. The hood, air intake, lighting, and several other body panels have also been tweaked. A revised 2.0-liter turbocharged intercooled four (now designated 4G63) is rated at 271 horsepower at 6500 rpm…

Imagine that an all-wheel-drive 227-horsepower Subaru Impreza WRX sedan swallowed a cocktail of steroids and methanol. Not that we recommend that particular blend, but the result would do something similar to the decidedly manic Subaru STi Type RA Spec C. This STi is a lightweight, right-hand-driver that you can’t currently buy in the U.S.—though, after the race-car miracle workers at Prodrive are finished, you’ll be able to see the Subaru compete in an SCCA ProRally event on a circuit near you. At idle, the Spec C’s turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four gurgles innocently. There’s no clue that 276 horses are waiting at 6400 rpm or that you can rev it to eight grand if you so desire. Another pleasant surprise is the solid hunk of low-end thrust on hand from about…

When I first laid eyes on this ’05 Mustang convertible concept’s flat flanks, wide multielement taillights, brushed-aluminum interior trim, elegantly gaping front-end design, and prominent rollbar, I found myself muttering the obvious: “’68 Shelby GT500 KR convertible.” If the new car is intended to recognize heritage without repeating it, it could have done no better than to bank off Carroll’s best Mustang ragtop. Ford Design California isn’t just a design studio; it’s a hot-rod shop in the best West Coast tradition. Now that Shelby is back working with Ford on the GT project, the Mustang seems like his next logical stop. Want to see a demonstration of Mays’ notion of “Retrofuturism” at its best? Let’s get some snake logos, skunk stripes, and a 500-horse SVT motor in this thing, pronto.…

If someone were to suggest a while back that Volkswagen would soon be producing a Mercedes-Benz S-Class-caliber luxury sedan and a Range Rover-challenging sport/utility vehicle, he might not have been taken seriously. Volkswagen became one of Europe’s leading industrial operations by producing millions of popularly priced, high-quality products for the masses. Volkswagens weren’t cars you aspired to; they were what you drove until you could pony up the coin for the German car you really wanted: a BMW, Mercedes, or Porsche. That was then. This is now. For its part, the new Touareg (say tour-egg) fits right in among its luxury-SUV competitors, within a few inches of wheelbase, length, width, and height of the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Volvo XC90, Toyota Land Cruiser/Lexus LX 470, and Range Rover. In a…

I left my home in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, at the end of April 1967, and didn’t return until after the middle of June, following the Gumey/Foyt victory at Le Mans. In the weeks between, I attended the Nür-burgring 1000 kilometers, the Targa Florio, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, and, of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The great sleight-of-hand artist and racing photographer, Pete Biro, was my companion for most of that time. I also visited Fiat in Torino, the Festival of San Ysidro—a week of bullfights—in Madrid, and picked up the BMW 2000 Tilux four-door sedan I’d ordered on the European-delivery plan some weeks before. I enjoyed several great moments in that BMW, one of which occurred when Biro and I…

2002 NISSAN ALTIMA SE In our last Altima update, we had the front cupholder door and the shift boot replaced. As luck would have it, after leaving our dealership, we noticed a few new squeaks and rattles in our tester, primarily the rear window that creaks when entering or exiting driveways. The interior may be a bit on the cheap side, but Nissan clearly spent its development dollars under the hood and in the chassis. The Altima still receives raves when our editors take it through canyons or over twisty local roads. Crossing the 12,000-mile threshold, the 3.5-liter V-6 delivers the punch needed for passing slower vehicles, and the sporty suspension provides the right amount of communication, without transmitting any harshness to the cabin, something we didn’t find in the…