Motorweek; 802

All all. This time on Motor Week car with the airplane that goes into building their two minute look at Green Motor Week long term car parts for his garden.

Eighty nine TV's automotives magazine with your host John Davis. Oh and welcome again to motor week 89. We're glad to have you with us. For years Chrysler's main product in the family sedan market has been the good old car. But for the last couple of years the K car has presented the good folks at Chrysler with something of a quandary. A one hand it's not doing as well as it once did thanks to competition from more modern designs. Not the least of which is Ford's formidable

Taurus. On the other hand it still sells well enough to justify keeping it in production for several more years. Chrysler's solution is not to replace the K car at all. Instead it gets a heavily renovated version to liven up the lawn. This new Chrysler goes by two different names. Buy it from a Plymouth dealer and it's the plane. Go to a Dodge dealer. And it's the spirit no matter what name it goes under. It's a step forward I'll be a conservative looking one for Chrysler's basic line a family car. The spirit of claim is known in Chrysler circles as the body a mostly new chassis. It's both three inches longer and taller and it's a car. Styling is typical Chrysler but the smooth out box takes more than a few cues from its predecessors. This may be to Chrysler's detriment as many drivers who favor the rounded looks of the Ford Taurus or Chevy Corsica may not even get the spirit to claim a second look. Salvation comes in the form of the Dodge Spirit

E-S the application of some aerodynamic add on's and a monochrome paint scheme. Transform the state a body into a rather sharp looking sporty sedan a nose sports a deep gender spoiler with enterable fog lamps and a body color grille side skirts drop the spirit closer to the ground for a more aggressive look. Even the squarish tail benefits from the fuller bumper and single color finish the e-s package rides on smart looking 15 inch alloy wheels wearing 2 0 5 series High Performance rubber. Power comes from a variety of sources in the case. My car cannot prove either makes one hundred forty one horsepower. One hundred seventy one pound piece of pork is made into a new electronic or automatic ransacking compound time. Chrysler got one a new turbo charged version of price was driven 2.5 here for his standard on the horsepower his one of the six is also available in the top of the line Plymouth Acclaim Alec's as standard equipment.

The rest of the line gets by rather well with the normally aspirated 100 horsepower and 125 pound feet of torque it moves the a party along quite well with the sticks on the other hand moves the spirit E-S along very well. We clocked this prototype in a 0 to 60 run at nine point one second and a quarter mile and seventeen point three seconds and seventy nine miles per hour. Handling was also a pleasant surprise. While the spirit E-S won't make any German engineers looseleaf our short drive to Christ was proving ground. It could be a very small town. Heart breaking is accomplished by disc in the front and drums in the rear. The stop the spirit in only one hundred twenty two feet from 60 mph. That's as good as you're likely to get from a mid-size family sedan without any locks. The e s interior is naturally quite on the sporty side. The seats appear to have been lifted directly from the shadowy Yes a good choice is they're comfortable with good back support.

More conservative family drivers will likely be more comfortable and something a bit less striking. No matter what great spirit or acclaim they pick they'll get a modern interior with plenty of head and leg room bucket seats are standard. The Dash 8 reminds you of the upmarket Chrysler LeBaron coupe. It's well laid out with easy access to all control. Unfortunately the prototype we drove had cheap looking shiny plastic in the dash that ruined its otherwise excellent design gauges on this TS come in a clear comprehensive cluster. What's more there are standard on all spirit clay models. The center pod house has one of the simplest crypt computers that we've seen clear education he controls. I want to write first fine sounding infinity cassette stereo the digital equalizer is a bit gimmicky but all of the controls work well rear seat room is excellent with plenty of space for tall passengers. A split folding seat back is a variable on all models. A rear passenger feature that we

particularly like is Windows that go all the way down. Chrysler recognizes that children aren't the only ones that ride in the back seat as befits a family car. A body has a spacious trunk with a lower left over for easy loading. The spirit Iesous price will probably start in the $11000 range but the more basic spirit and acclaim coming in well below that. Time will tell whether the new Chrysler will heavily impact the basic family car market as its maker and I will have more finely tuned impressions when production versions arrive this winter. The one thing looks likely even. Now we have this much improvement over its predecessor the competition that finally kills the K-car may come from much closer to home right. Think. Over the last 20 or so years the word quality has been as stinging to Detroit automakers as a cruel joke. Yes quality has improved in the Motor City but slowly and painfully now thanks to a unique experiment

Detroit Crossman ship is no longer just a marketer's dream. The folks a GMC Buick olds Cadillac division have seen to that. In Lansing Michigan workers are handcrafting GM is new sporty to Sita Buick riata forsaking traditional production line techniques for an experiment known as the riata craft center. You agree on his bill here aren't cranked out on mindless assembly lines and so far this uniquely humanistic approach to building cars is paying off. Back in 1985 it was not perceived that the American worker could build a high quality you know world class cars. We have proven along absolutely with people having built cars before you can best help class and operate with you apart anywhere from 50 to 60 seconds worth the craft. Our

workers are our brass when arguing with 27 minutes on a car so they're doing a lot of money while assembling a car virtually by hand paying homage to the big picture rather than workers turning a screw here or attaching a bow. There is something new to the modern US auto industry where the typical auto plant makes a thousand cars a day. The riata crafts center may turn out 50 or less but they do get a lot of high tech help. Incomplete riata chassis travel from station to station on a gvt or automatic guided vehicle and return to carry the cars to the next work station. In contrast to this electronic ballet of sorts. Each step choreographed by a mainframe computer is the human element. York reactors are painted pounded polished and perfected by craftsman working in teams. There are few riata craftsman whose responsibility is merely one job together team members may prep surfaces for glass or adjust body alignment. Install electronics

wiring or take the extra care to ensure a perfect pinstripe and then they inspect and approve their own work. Building the Riyadh in station is not only a better way of building an automobile it's also. While I am more comfortable with that and the reason there is again they're not chasing us we just want somewhere like the station here where we have a problem we go and help the one that's what you know whatever the problem may be. Well you know we do have a team working here in France and it's a teamwork not just among hourly workers but between craftsman and management and even between competing car divisions the Buick riata is built on GM Z car platform and Cadillac has corporate responsibility for the e-card chassis. Can he build the riata or Buick the riata crafts center is something of a gamble thrust on the U.S. auto industry by intense foreign competition that has already cut us scoring 30 percent gallons into the American market.

GM hopes to reverse that trend in part with high quality techniques gained from the Kraft Center's humanistic experiments. While no one yet knows how much of what they are learning at the craft center can be applied to conventional plants. The gamble is paying off big for the low volume viewer. Briana dealers have already ordered more re autos than can be built this year for a low volume vehicle. Wheel of the craftsman across the face death by the way to go were an incubation there here we're going to ride a lot of new ideas. Cadillac and for the corporation at minimal risk for a plant that was so desperately survive we know that the only way to. We know that. People's plaything is the illustrated story of America's Original off road vehicle

grassed news and includes photographs of the very first prototype through board and Willie's military follows the evolution of the Jeep through the civilian versions. Today. Some jeeps seem to go on forever. That's because somebody has been taking care of them. Pat Goss is here now to help you take care of whatever you happen to drop that. There's an old joke about the name for John the letters in the word are said to stand for something. Of course they don't. But we have letters from two Ford owners whose cars are likely to be found on the road dead if they don't fix them soon. Our first letter is from David G Cozma of Youngstown Ohio. I own a 1983 Mercury L-N 7 with a 1.6 liter engine a peculiar problem has developed when conditions are wet snow or rain. Throttle response is sloppy after 30 miles or so of driving. The problem gets worse the FI the right drive but it disappears

after the car is parked for a while. Mechanics have looked at the car but the problem doesn't occur during their short test drives. The ignition wires have been replaced. The carburetor rebuilt and the vacuum lines checked. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. OK we'll see if we can't do that. I suspect the problem is carburetor icing. Now it's a term you may never have heard of before but it's something that definitely occurs in the way it occurs is very simple. The air has to get into the engine. It does this is it comes through the carburetor. Now coming through the carburetor we can look at the shape of it it's shaped like an hourglass here in the center. That means that as it goes through here we get what is known as a venturi effect which means that the air speeds up and as the air speeds up it gets much colder. As a matter of fact it gets cold enough to cause more fear in the air to freeze on the sides of the carburetor. And this continues until the opening in the carburetor gets so small that it's like driving with the choke closed.

Right so that's the problem. But what causes it. Well the most typical cause right here this is a pre heater tube that delivers warm air from the exhaust manifold up into the air cleaner to make the car run better when it's cold and also to prevent carburetor icing deliver some warm air in there to keep the ice from forming. OK that's the first thing to check next. You would want to check the air cleaner itself. Now more specifically right here and we've cut this one away and we can see the little trap door inside. Depending on the position of this it determines whether the air is coming from the exhaust manifold or cold air from the outside of the car. Now what controls it is this little vacuum motor up on the top of the the air filter. Have to check that make sure that it functions properly. Check the vacuum hose leading to it. And there's also a temperature sensor inside the air cleaner that has to be checked. So in essence what we're saying is that you check all of the component parts of this pre heater Assembly

to make sure that they function properly. So if you have a problem with carburetor icing I know that you'll find a fix for it in one of those areas right now. Our next letter this one is from Herbert R. would of Raleigh Massachusetts. I have a problem with a 1984 Lincoln town car that's been happening on and off for the past two and a half years. At times it will just not idle. It happens every couple of months when it does happen dry gas seems to help and so does taking the gas cap off. My mechanic blew out the lines and changed the filters but that didn't help. The car is stalling more often now. I really need to fix the problem. Please help if you can. Ok will try to do that. First thing the car has to be checked on a diagnostic tester such as we see over here that checks all of the basic things. Wires plugs cap and so on. All of that has to be good first. If there is no problem found there then the most common thing with

late model Fords right here what happens with them is down here on the business end of them they get carbon that builds up on there and they don't function properly. And this will cause intermittent stalling at idle. So check the valve first. Second most common thing right here this is a coolant temperature sensor for the fuel injection. Now if it goes bad it can cause intermittent stalling as well. So that is the second thing to check. Good thing now this applies to all cars right here. THIS IS A MAP sensor and it controls the mixture of the fuel entering the engine. Now this has to be checked because if it goes bad many times it will cause a very rich mixture. And it may happen intermittently and this will definitely cause stalling. So these are the three things that you want to check above and beyond the the normal things and pay particular attention to that valve first. If you have a problem with your car if its performance or if its tires or whatever it might be. I'd like to hear

from you and if I select your letter well I will send you a motor week T-shirt and the address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Color choice is a personal thing but here at the Motor Week staff red and white would seem to be the colors of choice. The long term 66 is white. Our Bronco is red and white and now our latest edition is also red. A Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo. Here's the black and white on all three. The veteran of the trio is the Mazda 6 2 6 4 wheel steers to Dan even after 11 months. Twenty three thousand five hundred miles can you know if it's steering it. He has changed a little and adds a small margin of safety on the highway making the car more maneuverable for parking.

But for the eleven hundred dollars it cost. We don't think it adds enough value to this otherwise fine handling comfortable and spirited front wheel drive sedan lackluster four wheels. Your sales seem to confirm our feeling. Mileage has continued to improve during the test but the total now standing at twenty four point five mpg. That's very good for a turbo charged compact with an automatic transmission. But our total test operating costs have risen to six point one cents per mile higher than the 5 to 6 cent range we deem average per car. This is due to require dealer service to tire rotations and unexpected were fair. We noticed uneven tire wear early on could be caused by this. However the culprit turned out to be a bent rim of unknown origin. It cost a hefty $274 to replace. We also finally got the stereo fixed after replacing one of the rear speakers three times. We encourage the dealer to look elsewhere for the sound distortion problem turned out to be the stereos amplifier. We're glad it's fixed but wonder why it took our dealer

so long to solve this seemingly simple problem. Our full size Ford Bronco has accumulated over 18000 miles and nine months of use and continues to be a versatile and hungry beast of burden. Mileage forty five point eight liter engine stands at twelve point six for the test. We've managed as high as 14 on the highway which is what the government says it should be while improving operating costs remain high at 9 cents per mile. However recent operation has become. These problems are only impending expenditure is for tires. Tread life has been short and all four are in need of replacement. Then there is the Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo. We were impressed when we first drove this all new hot hatchback design and after two months and 30 700 miles remains so mileage is outstanding. Twenty eight point seven miles per gallon with nothing but an oil and filter change to report this is costing us only a cheap 4.5 so we'll let you know how the color of our opinion changes over the next twenty thousand miles and we'll have a

complete test of this fire engine red Mirage turbo soon. Our car of the week is a 1930 American Austin. It's owned by Raymond Swartz of Chicago Illinois. If you have a very special car you'd like us to consider the car of the week. Send us a good color photograph and a self-addressed return to motor we always milled Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Lisa Barrow is standing by with the latest Motor News. What's barkeeper waiting all yours Lisa. Thanks John there are few swearwords cars more prestigious than those that carry the Aston Martin name. The current vantage of a lawn to have survived for 20 years with very little changes and many consider them the pinnacle of British sports car design. Not a company to rest forever on its laurels. Aston Martin has used the infusion of capital

from new owner Ford to design an all new replacement for the current dbx platform. The car will make its public debut at the British Motor Show this fall smoother and more aerodynamic than its predecessor. The new car will also be faster thanks to a lightweight aluminum skin and for about personal and or heads on the five point three leader V8 engine. Push horsepower close to 350 and the top speed to around 170 mph. In addition to the four valve heads the new car will also be the first Aston Martin to have anti-lock brakes. The Ford connection will also probably yield the new automatic transmission to replace the current Chrysler unit even though the new Aston a sport a few Ford parts. The $130000 price tag will keep it well beyond the budget of the average Ford buyer. A subject of more immediate interest to Ford owners is the recall of eighteen thousand nine hundred Ford Tempo and Topaz models sold in California for repair of faulty emissions systems testing by the

California Air Resources Board and showing the affected cars to be producing excessive amounts of hydrocarbons and nitrogen as well as double the allowable amount of carbon monoxide. Ford dealers will adjust the air injection and install new catalytic converters to correct the problem. In other news the on again off again introduction of Chrysler's TC a luxury sports coupe being built in partnership with Mazda Roddy is finally on for real. The $30000 TC has been plagued with problems since its initial introduction date in 1987. Disagreements between Chrysler a Maserati as well as manufacturing difficulties have continually stalled the TC's release. Those problems have now been resolved and the TC should here on the West Coast in November of this year. While the DC is finally coming. The difficulties in producing the car have soured the relationship between Chrysler and Montserrat. Chrysler has abandoned its proposed collaboration on two more new cars as well as its plans to add Monza rally

to a Chrysler stable which already includes a giant super car builder Lamborghini to add to miles around these problems. Automotive News reports that the company has been rejected in its petition for exemption from federal passive restraint regulations until a new airbag system can be produced in mid 1989. This means that the company can sell only convertibles to its U.S. dealers for the remainder of the 88 model year and no hard times in 89 and less wordy percent of them are equipped with some sort of passive restraints. A goal Monza rally says it will meet. John. Thanks Lisa. Greg Singh ha spends most of his time out on the high road but when he's not there he'll settle for a hanging out in driveways or even garage floors. You'll see. Hi You know I've been working on this old Shelby Mustang for about

10 years now and it's almost done. Just a couple more parts to get it finished and I know just the place to find them. Like many cars all across the country I find lots of my car parts and an automotive flea market automotive flea markets. Like this one held several times a year in Carlisle Pennsylvania offered the and he and historic car enthusiasts a unique chance to step back in time and track down old or rare reproduction auto parts hundreds of thousands gather to buy and sell an incredible variety of items that often can't be found anywhere else and usually for makes of cars that disappeared years ago. Well if you're looking for parts for an asterix or a Franklin here they are. Of course I'm looking for Shelby Mustang parts. The problem is there's so much other interesting stuff. It's easy to get distracted. I don't even know what half the stuff is but it's still really neat right. I was one of

Thunderbird many project cars already. The sign says nine hundred sixty four and a half Mustang dream car but fortunately this is one dream car that's still in the nightmares. You want the ultimate sound system for your car. It will put one of these babies in your Toyota. And even the guys with the Blaupunkt will be jealous just about the busiest guy at the Carlisle flea market is one of the organize. Users of this massive event. Bob says a lot of markets have become popular with all kinds of car busts a mark of this nature really what it's all about as a person can bring their hobby all together in one weekend. They can see the cars they dream about or maybe want to buy they can come out and find the parts they need to finish the restoration. They can go through the memorabilia the car cross-sections the flea market has about fifteen hundred cars and it's all for sale. It's one of the best car shows you can ever see but the neat part is everyone is for sale and you'll find cars from muscle cars their

antique cars as Cobra replicas and Ferrari's over their unusual trucks street rods. If there's a car you like this there's one over there for sale for sure but the muscle cars are probably the hottest item right now among the average collector collectors. The other thing that's right a phenomenon right now as we get a tremendous amount of foreign buyers in from Europe and foreign countries because of the low dollar value and they seem to really like the cars in the late 50s early 60s with lots of chrome and big fins. Where you're from in Australia that's there and we have some in the south near the Marriott. OK you know we have a look to the graduate and can't play too much of the time. Time is what you need because everything the Carlisle flea market your work. He'd have someone who works on your mind. Luckily for my poor tired Mustang Shelby parts are pretty easy to find.

But of course I do have to live on a budget. I want it all. That's the problem I want to buy it all I can afford it so I just keep on shopping for Mustang bargains until your Reka. That's what I'm looking for and it's at a price that frankly even a public television salary can afford by shopping around with different dealers. I may have saved myself a few bucks. I've raised myself as that is what you think and it really isn't. Like so many others I've managed to come away from the Carlisle flea market with a bargain or two. Some new acquaintances and a bit of inspiration. So next time you need some old car parts Why don't you meet me at the auto flea market. Now let's see if we can link up by the hotdog stand. Yeah now I have out of by the car you know when you're there I know by the tube. Yeah that's it the coolest like it's a big red tent with stripes. Everybody north you know by the parking lot.

You know if you get there early you get right with the heart of the home parks and we can do that together. MARTIN He's your brother the one that you think might be sure to join us next time when Craig gets back to doing some real work instead of playing with this car. Lisa Berra Well take a look at auto buying services. I've had awful talk about we'll sometimes also have a new car road. I'm John David. See that if you'd like a transcript of this program send $4 to Motor Week transcripts Owings Mills Maryland. Two one one one step. Residents of Maryland dead 20 cents sales tax as Bushnell number 8 0 2 Motor Week is a production of Maryland Public Television and.

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