Motorweek; 2302

This time on motor we get like stunning and sell our roadster Fords re-invented F-150 pickup and revenue it up. So come drive with us next. The little. TV's original automotive magazine by Pep Boys where car people Motor Week starting. It's my kind of show. It's our kind of show all about cars and trucks and the cool stuff people put on their cars and trucks and there are tips on tires and service and maybe we should just watch. I agree right with you. And to buy. What are you looking for. A motive. Your host for Motor Week. JOHN DAVIS Well known welcome again to motor week we're glad to have you with us. Wow. Ford has been making a full size pickups for over a quarter of a century. They are by no means assured of holding on to that title forever

along with Chevy GMC and dodge there are new players Toyota and Nissan trying to up the ante for pick up leadership in design if not sales. So to maintain that untarnished crown Ford's best selling F-150 just got a lot better with a complete overhaul. The exterior is tougher. The mechanical stronger and the interior both bigger and more inviting. In fact this is not so much a redesign as an American pick up renaissance. The 2004 Ford F-150 is truly born again style design and technology are all 21st century high praise to be sure but obvious from any angle. Adapted from the F-series Super Duty and Tonka concept the all new F-150 has a more forceful wide shouldered look that says this is one tough drug and toughness based on an all new Hydra formed and fully boxed frame that is nine times stiffer than before and which

rides on a coil overshot double wishbone front suspension. Both ride and handling are improved thanks to a long spindle design and the first aluminum lower control arm on a big pickup at the rear a traditional live axle but with 3 inch wide super duty leaf springs the big innovation here are shocks that have been moved from end side to outside the frame dramatically reducing skating and sliding on rough roads. Power for the new F-150 is all Triton V8 the carry over single overhead cam four point six leader with 231 horsepower and two hundred ninety three pound feet of torque is standard optional is a redesigned single overhead cam five point four leader V8 its sport's new three valve heads and variable intake camshaft timing pumping out 300 horsepower and three hundred sixty five pound feet of torque. Both engines use a new beefed up for speed automatic transmission. No manual is available yet with a 5.4 V8 the F-150 pulls from 0 to 60 in only

nine point nine seconds. The quarter mile takes seventeen point four seconds ending at 81 miles per hour. The engine is strong and smooth but short gear ratios deny you full use of it spreading power punch it at highway speeds however and the 5 4 pulls hard through the upper powerband hitch up a heavy load up to ninety five hundred pounds and the F-150 also pulls trailers like a champ. So there's plenty of grunt with the gearing Well space for delivering under load. It's definitely more work truck than sport truck. But it handles better than any work truck should Understeer is light and the long wheelbase tail is well planted. Body roll is plentiful as expected while the light Chriss first time rack and pinion steering provides good feedback. Breaking is by four wheel disc with standard abs and electric brake force distribution a longish 150 feet was our average stopping distance from 60 pedal feel and chassis stability were quite good though there was more nosedive than we'd like.

Versatility is increasingly important to all pick up buyers and the new F-150 meets that challenge with 26 Cav and box combinations That's 11 more than the vest rival. All cabs are also four door as the new F-150 as the first regular calf with the rear access panels. That means usable storage space behind the seat plus both regular and super cabs have also gained 6 inches in length as before the Super Crew comes with 4 car like doors beds sizes range from a full eight foot to six and a half foot to a compact five and a half foot box. For the first time the five and a half foot box can be ordered on the super cat so it will now easily fit into a suburban garage. All Boxes are also over two inches deeper for up to 20 percent increase in cargo bolt. Maximum cargo weight is a class best three thousand pounds. One neat new standard feature is tailgate assist the helper torsion bar spring inside the tailgate reduces the effort needed to open and close the tailgate

by half. The new F-150 interiors are not just roomier but far more pleasing with extremely high quality fabrics and trim. There is a different atmosphere for each of the 5 series x l s t x x x 4 and lariat. Even the gauge clusters change completely between most series a split bench front seat with center arm rest is standard on all models with broad very supportive captains chairs optional on x t and up the F-150 is also the first big truck available with a sporty console mounted gear shift and console rear air vents siddur stack audio and climate controls are another major departure from previous Ford trucks. White European in style with fewer larger nearly flush switches. They work as nice as they look. A modular overhead rail system allows customized storage as well as a rear seat DVD system. Speaking of the rear seat the longer super cab can now accommodate adults back there with far less pinch and despite early

press at how much all this would cost. 2004 F-150 prices will be. Due to much more than last year the regular cap starts at twenty two thousand ten dollars. Super caps started twenty four thousand six hundred sixty dollars while four door Super Krewe prices begin a twenty nine thousand eight hundred fifteen dollars an increase of only two hundred forty five to six hundred forty five dollars over comparable 2003 model. The 2004 Ford F-150 truly is the king of trucks reborn. It's bigger tougher stronger to be sure but also smarter and far more sophisticated and determined to reign over all other pickups for another quarter century. Coming up racers skills make safer drivers. Time now for our weekly stop by Goss's garage and guess what we're already here. Hi Pat. Hello John. What have you got for us this week. Well you know you try to buy parts and accessories for your

car. Seems like they're either too new they're too old or too rare always to something. Boy I sure know that when I bought my mini cooper last year wanted to find some special floor mats and a car cover two new couldn't find them anywhere. Yep. Well let's start with old cars. You have an older car and you need to find some parts. A lot of magazines out there. A lot of them have ands in them. Research those. The granddaddy of them all though is right here Hemmings Motor News been around forever. Thousands of parts available there. What about going traveling. Well travel to flea market right flea markets are a great resource but they're going to take more time than some of the others. But it has the advantage that you can handle and you can see what you're going to buy. Big advantage for me I know that. Yeah but the industry is changing dramatically. The Internet is coming into play now. You know Pat I just read that the largest auction site for parts and accessories moves 35000 parts and accessories a day. That's one every two and a half

seconds. That's amazing. And it's an amazing resource because you have this huge inventory of parts that are listed. The only thing is you have to pay attention to the rules. Read the auction rules and follow them. And most auctions are also going to have a provision where they rate the seller. Now that's all well and good for classic car parts but suppose you do run into a situation where you just can't find the part. Well that may not be altogether a lost cause either because many times you'll find sources where they will rebuild or remanufacture your existing part like this dash pad really rotten here. This is before I guess before this is what just dashes did as a remanufacturing process is better than any used one you'd ever find. That's before and after pretty impressive and all because of what's going on the Internet. Absolutely. Thank rate resource. And if you have a question or comment write to me.

The address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Unless you're naturally gifted like Jeff Gordon or Michael Andretti driving is a skill that you have to learn and most folks need more training than a high school driver's ed course so working you get more of that vital training and have some competitive fun at the same time. Well Jennifer because novice knows where most manufacturers have driving to help effect the skills of the average driver but they're very clear that it's a competitive level so muste is diving in head first by giving everyday drivers the chance to be a racer for a day. It's a program called rev it up and it ventures from city to city rounding up locals with a need for speed. And for a price of only thirty nine dollars. It's a lot cheaper than a speeding ticket and a lot safer. Or two. Well monster rev it up is quite simple if the world's largest performance driving school national competition. What we do here is that we give people the opportunity to come out spend the relatively small amount of money get some actual driving instruction and and

compete for the chance to win a brand new Mazda 6. And how do you win a Mazda 6 you might ask. Well you have to have the fastest time in your city. You then head off to California's Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca where you compete against the top drivers from other cities. The winner there will drive away with the car. But before you get ahead of yourself here the local program starts with John Rutherford the fourth son of three time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford giving what they call a chalk talk. I give them an overview of their day and how my title will be chief instructor when they come to me first and I like to think that they come here just to hear the talk but I think it's to go for the driving courses which which there have been eligible to take part in once they go through the chalk talk. And there are no exceptions if you skip the talk you're not allowed to drive. After the talk students hit the track for driving and they go through three skill clinics break and turn small in the racing line. All courses. Try to help the person not only on the current competitive side but also on everyday driving

and then everyone gets the opportunity at two runs on a competition horse to run against the clock. And the goal is to beat the index time which is set by one of the pro drivers at the event. Then the fastest gets the all expense paid trip to Laguna. We ventured out to the event in Washington D.C. but there are 14 other cities that were on the tour. The instructors who have been traveling to most of the cities say they are pleased with the skills of the entrants. I think everybody does a pretty good job I haven't seen anybody struggle too much they you know some people maybe underestimate what it's going to take to do well in the competition. But you know that's that's what we're here for we're here to to to notice that to help them along. But there is an ulterior motive for Mazda. They are aiming to help. The skills of the driver are not on the race track but on the road. I just think people don't take driving seriously enough. You know it's. It's a pretty serious responsibility when you're out there on the road. And and I don't think people realize that in a lot of hope they just come away as

a better safer driver and through that and just learn some skills and techniques to help them avoid a situation on the highway and skills to help them prepare for situations on the highway. You know the competition is great for them to they have the option to get a new car. That is our main part is just to teach him what a car is capable of. With the engineering of today cars are capable of impressive performance and are dripping with safety features Mazas rev it up program will help drivers use both to the best of their abilities. If you're a Buick fan have we got a book for you. The Buick a complete history is a massive and incredibly thorough work by Terry Dunham Lawrence Augusten and the staff of automobile quarterly. It contains everything that you could possibly want to know about General Motors other luxury brands and offers a wealth of historical photos to boot weather for the reference shelf or coffee table. This one's a must read. Cars trucks SUV. We always had keys to something new around the office. So

let's give them a spin and see what's fresh and exciting in a four wheel world. One of the most important new sets of car keys for the 2004 model year. It's the second generation Toyota Prius. Gasoline electric hybrid five door sedan. Our first impressions of the new Prius were garnered during its California press launch. It's wider longer taller form was obvious outside and a jump from compact a mid-size room was obvious inside the gasoline electric drive train has also been revamped and is now dubbed hybrid Synergy Drive as in the first Prius this is a full hybrid system. They can run on gas or electric alone or any combination of high voltage power converter and more powerful 50 kilowatt drive motor car combined with an Atkinson cycle 1.5 leader four cylinder gas engine. The combined boost in total horsepower is 25 percent from 114 to

143 and most importantly boosting fuel efficiency by 15 percent. We're talking 50 miles per gallon and normal driving all while lowering exhaust emissions. A further 30 percent. A clean shave helps mileage too with a drag coefficient a point to six. The Prius is one of the most aerodynamic cars ever that shape houses and inviting interior for a growing family that includes an air conditioner that uses an electric powered compressor. The rear seat is a split folding design while the hatch covers nearly as much cargo room as a Camry. An optional proximity feature allows keyless unlocking and start up the all new 2004 Prius will glide into showrooms this October but will the same old base price of nineteen thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars has the most fuel efficient midsize car yet the 2004 Prius is a true watershed vehicle adding more evidence of a bright future for hybrid vehicles of all

types. When the first luxury sports sedan hybrid arrives it will have to contend with some still impressive conventional models like the new 2004 Acura T.L. the invigorated T.L. is much more aggressively styled than its predecessor with a real cut through the air look but the sharpest edge of the personality is a heavily revamped three point two leaders single overhead cam V-6 that now delivers 270 horsepower. That's more than last year's high performance best. Transmission choices are close ratio six speed manual or five speed sequential sport shift automatic. The chassis is naturally been upgraded as well with double wishbone front and five linked rear suspensions. Post new geometry while the torque sensing variable assist power steering provides precise control. Electronic assistance comes in the form of vehicle stability assist traction control ABS and brake assist. Indeed there's so much performance hardware standard on the new T.L. that there's no need

for a typist in the lineup. I really like this new line. I like the previous generation as well but the exterior styling was just a little bland on that car. This new T.L. exteriors Chris is sporty looking to great looking great handling. Inside the new T.L. the cabin is roomier and ritzy here it's stuffed with standard and available features ranging from hands free phone and navigation controls to DVD audio and satellite radio. Like the previous TLC the 2004 edition looks to be a posh performance bargain when it arrives in showrooms this fall with prices starting at about thirty three thousand dollars. Making an even bigger imprint in showrooms soon is Nissan's 2004 Pathfinder armada the Mississippi built Armada is Nissan's first true full size SUV and it goes on sale this fall before the new Titan pick up on which it is based its curvaceous rear roof styling is meant to appeal to

buyers bored by traditional to box SUV. But like the Titan the five point six leader dual overhead cam V8 engine pumping out 300 horsepower is pure truck. As is the fully boxed frame the available full time four will drive system with two speed transfer case and a 90 £100 towing capacity. But a fully independent rear suspension provides a most civilized ride and handling standard features include vehicle dynamic control tire pressure monitoring and sonar backup sensors. The seven and eight passenger interiors bow side curtain airbags adjustable pedals and full seating in the second and third rows. A console gear shift and navigation system are optional while full size SUV competition is fierce. The Pathfinder omadhaun offers a lot to consider. Impressive hardware for aggressive looks and prices starting around thirty four thousand dollars. So we think this big Nissan will have little trouble squeezing out its own niche.

That's our first impressions for this key trio. We'll be back with another new batch of car keys in a few weeks. In a world driven by pop culture and breaking news there is one American car company ready to deliver on both fronts when their jewel jumbo escalate SUV and beat Europe at their own game CTF sports sedan Cadillac is back and turning heads once again with their boldest entry yet. The 2004 Xcel our luxury roadster. This sleek drop top combines Cadillac style and luxury with performance car routes. But can this modern icon stand up to his star studded siblings and more importantly will they give its classmates a run for their money. It will at least have them checking their backs. And why not. The 2004 Camelot excel or has what it takes to compete fully embracing Cadillac stealth fighter

inspired art and science styling in the spirit of the concept. The cause such a stir the 1999 North American International Auto Show in Detroit emerges as Cadillac's first two seater since the 90s but the ex-sailor is no followup to the uninspired front wheel drive along today this is a rear wheel drive roadster with a sharp character of youth gone wild shored up by the same chassis architecture as the forthcoming C6 Chevrolet Corvette the Xcel or has all of the latest caddy facial features a strong horizontal bar grill and wide lower air inlet plank by crease headlight housings secure an aggressive front facia pronounced wheel arches a tool belt line and flush folding steeply slope part top reveal both its grace and greatness. The exhale are steep where fish is raised in a bit exposed reminding everyone of its Corvette chassis performance routes but that's well intended since Cadillac's aim is to establish themselves as a global luxury brand and that means the X LR must

contend with such impressive offshore rivals as the Mercedes-Benz SL 500 Jaguar expiate and the Lexus SC 430 and fact the X LR has the widest track longest wheel base lowest height and weighs at least 200 pounds less than its prime competitors. The interior has a standard a minute ease that are simply plush by any standard soft leather eucalyptus wooden aluminum accents and Gauri designed gauges create an incomparable cabin convenience technology is a hallmark of this class on the X LR is similar but with less fuss. Proximity keyless access an ignition heated and cooled seats Head Up Display. Voice activated telephone On-Star and AGP s navigation system that will also play bag DVD videos when Park are all standard plus something often lacking in elegant roadsters. Plenty of interior storage and to go from coop to convertible a single button stores the Four Seasons retractable hard top under a hard time no cover in under 30

seconds. The top mechanism is sourced from the same firm that supplies the Mercedes-Benz SL and it works with equal persuasion. Also like the SL once down the trunk space shrinks dramatically from eleven point six cubic feet to a minimal four point four cubic feet. But practicality aside the Xcel aura is all about open air play and display and it shows both on the road and under the hood. No Corvette influence here. The Xcel our houses the revamped 4.6 leader dual overhead cam all aluminum 32 belt Northstar V8 now with variable valve timing. It generates three hundred twenty horsepower and three hundred ten pound feet of torque. The V8 is matched with a 5 speed where mounted automatic transmission with manual driver shift mode. Standard wheels are 18 inch spun cast aluminum is gripping all season run flats set this caddy loose on the track and the numbers speak graceful speed 0 to 60 is a pretty quick 6.5 seconds.

The quarter mile takes only fourteen point eight seconds at 97 mph roughly neck in neck with the SL 500. But while the newcomer delivers smooth power and shifts the sounds and sensations are not quite as pleasing as the season competition. Yet despite its luxury image the exhale are handles like a road champ showing its prowess to the rigid C6 chassis magnetic ride control suspension. The best feeling Magnus steer yet and new generations to build track electronic stability control. On track the double wishbone suspension with coils up front and the Corvettes familiar transverse plastic leaf spring at the rear delivers sharp near neutral cornering while the backbone chassis resist body roll and keeps each corner firmly planted on road the ride is both smoother and quieter than any Corvette we've ever tried. With excellent bump control there's no body flex to speak of over rough roads and even with the top down only an occasional structural tick.

The exhale are delivered stuff from 60 then average to short one hundred twenty one feet. They all vented disc with four channel abs performed expertly and kept the caddy safe and stable and safe is where the X LR fulls in price at seventy six thousand two hundred dollars to start and the only option being a $325 XM Satellite stereo. The exhale our sticker sits in the middle of its rarefied class and about ten grand less than the Mercedes-Benz SL 500. Bottom line Cadillacs rookie roadster may not yet be the class leader but right out of the gate it proved to us that it can easily trot with the front runners. Moreover the extra large joins the CTA sedan and showing the Cadillac brand is not only turned the corner but is turning heads around the globe. Well I hope you'll join us next week for more motorway. Test Chevy slick new SSR pick up and Toyota's quirky Cylon sub compact. Frank takes us on a bus tour that's both vintage and

buried today. Pat Ghosh has advice on building your dream garage. Plus we'll have another long term road test update and all the latest Motor News. I'm John Davis. We'll see you then. To learn more about Motor Week TV's original automotive magazine. Visit PBS online at PBS dot org. Go order a video cassette of this program Call 1 888 7 3 6 1 5 4 Motorway has been brought to you by Cowboys where car people. We love cars we live cars we breed cars. That's why we're such big motor week fans. The cars after all they love cars too proud to support Motor Week on PBS boys where car people tend to buy. What are you looking for.

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