Motorweek; 1501 PTV

This time on a motorway. The latest on a legend. A taste of the track and see first what utility come drive with us next. TV's automotive magazine. Your host for the week. John Davis Hello and welcome to motor week we're glad to have you with us. It's a popular misconception that Germans are gloomy unhappy people with no sense of fun. Of course people who think that have obviously never driven a Porsche 911 even among exotics few cars can match the giddy thrill of driving zoo fun house inns

finest with the latest 9 11 especially the new 9 11 Turbo. We understand that the German culture is full of serious fun. German engineers go to protest of the new culture and the reform back home and. They could have taken the 200 and sent it out on their own. The Black Forest You know you drive and radical suspension. They could have done all that back home but they wouldn't have got home based stuff. If you've seen Bush's latest TV commercials it's easy to get the impression that the folks building the Porsche 911 are indeed having an awful lot of fun. It's hard not to. Latest 911 Turbo has a massive dose of everything that makes driving enjoyable including massive horsepower. They tweaked and tightened 3.6 liter twin turbo classics has been redone from

top to bottom and now makes 400 horsepower and 400 pound beat up torque. That's good for a 60 spread kind of wako more seconds flat and a quarter mile run at twelve point four seconds ending at 114 miles per hour. Talk about miles of smiles. Then there's the massive grip courtesy of a modified career of four all wheel drive system and advanced Bridgestone tires a new 18 inch hollow spoke wheel. They deliver all that monster power to the ground without the sensitive tendency of spinning itself into the weeds like the turbos of all even though it wouldn't last around Pocono International Raceway snaking road force produced nothing but grins on our driver and only one. When the desire for a bit less. Input. And then there's the massive whale tail rear spoiler. This year's case an organic reshaping of this mandatory turbo styling cue that both increases downforce and houses the engines dual enter coolers. It flows

into the standard 911 Herrera style and with a grace that reflects the car's exquisitely balanced handling as well as a new corporate vibrancy that sees Porsche putting the hard days of the early 90s behind them. The fact that it's still one of the most distinctive machines on the road reflects well not only on ferry Porsches original design but on the company's brightest talents up today. The same goes for the leather covered interior which grows more user friendly each year but still maintains the look of a classic modern requirements like the turbos compact airbag modules have been integrated with precision and as sophisticated electronic security system that may confuse owners as much as thieves. Slide into the tight fitting bucket seats and you face a familiar spread of around analog gauges again friendlier to the eye than previous years and someone at Porsche has finally listened to us and given the ascent stereo big easy to understand switch here 911 is rear seat continues to be one only in

name but folds down into a convenient package shelf while the real luggage still rides up front and a trunk that finally holds a proper suitcase. But luggage space isn't a 911 Turbo. Owners mean pre-occupation driving you. Ended up properly trained owner. The turbo is one of the most capable road cars ever built. There's a power steering back and almost magnetic grip. You know you with. The. Latest. Obviously there's this tension soaked up foam filled. The old Turbo still lives in an instant. Both turbo chargers running the engine is a festival of long winded run that easily exploited by the tightly spaced ratios of the soapy six speed manual gearbox and block equip just breaks all the turbo down from 60 and only 96 feet and allow you to dive deep into the corner with the big. Board. Now this performance does exact a price in the form of a harsher ride than the standard 911 call where.

It's an astounding package and as befits a true super car sells for an astounding price. Ninety nine thousand dollars at vehicle destination charges and twenty six hundred dollars of gas guzzler tax and the total stands at one hundred two thousand four hundred fifty five dollars a hefty price to be sure but actually no more than the previous 911 Turbo. That should make. Well heeled. Or just customers. For a few hours in bodies of joy of driving like the newest for sure 911 Turbo. It's no wonder that all these Germans are having so much fun. And as long as you're behind the wheel it never stops. New Are you modern or antique motor week's top range pad gosh knows cars and what it takes to keep them in tip top condition areas with more sterling car care advice. John seems like everybody's doing it towing that is. And if you do it

properly towing can be a lot of fun and it can be safe but the equipment that you used to tow with is vitally important. The hitch number one you have a class one hitch which is good for up to 2000 pounds. You go up from there to the class too which is good for thirty five hundred. Then Class 3 at 5000 pounds and a weight distributing kit to that class 3. You have a class 4 that's good for ten thousand pounds and if you're getting into one of the heavier trailers Well you probably want to consider using a sway control device controllers will keep the trailer from swinging back and forth. That's very very annoying as time goes on. Now to go with the receiver you need the actual hitch. And they come in varying configurations to get the height of the receiver matched to the height of the truck relative to the height of the trailer. You do it right and the trailer will tow properly along with that you need some sort of

locking device to lock the hitch into the receiver. Well they come from the very Monday into the very elaborate but you pick something that suits your needs. The trailer ball is very important. There are different types you have universal types that can be turned over to give to different sizes or types that have little sockets that fit around the ball to give you the different sizes for different trailers. They work quite well. If you have a fixed ball that you're going to use you have two basic types. You have the chrome ones which tend to get mired scratched pretty easily. Or the stainless steel which stays good looking for a long period of time works really well too. Then of course you have the safety chains. Make sure the safety chains always match the weight of the trailer and if they're starting to look a little funky around the edges. Replace them. They're inexpensive. They're vitally important. Now comes the electrical parts. You've got all different

types of electrical connections that are available so you can tailor the electrics of your vehicle to the trailer and you can have a good looking good working apparatus. Don't forget if your trailer has electric brakes you need an electric brake controller too. Now a lot of problems are encountered with the wiring. If you have a problem with the wiring look for someplace that has a happy toad doctor. This will hook up to the toll vehicle and it will tell whether or not the systems in the tow vehicle are working properly. It's quick and very effective and if you have a question or a comment write to me. If I use your letter I'll send you a motor week T-shirt The address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1. Car of the week there's a classic sedan from the Great White North. It's a 1934

Studebaker dictator belonging to Maurice Scott you won Canada you have a car worth showing off some of our photos to motorway Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. For many car enthusiasts the ultimate expression of their favorite pastime is racing and every weekend all over America racing fans packed grandstands and living rooms to revel in the exploits of drivers with names like Unser Andretti and Earnhardt. But the really hardcore racing fans like our high road reporter Craig S. Haas are content to just watch someone else do it. They've been providing amateur racers a place to race for over 50 years a venue where names like Briggs Cunningham and the Collier brothers gave way to names like Carroll Shelby and Mark Donahue and they've given me a way to live out my sports car racing fantasies as well.

They are the men and women in. Sports. But America did get 1000 member strong SCCA it probably turned or want to be the safe competent sports car racers than any other organization in the world. After several years away from the SCCA club racing scene it was time for me to brush up my skills and requalify for my regional racing license. Like many folks do I opted to run the race car for the weekend. Dan Fisher of the motor sports provided me with a very well-prepared Mazda Miata shop with a sticky set of new rich tires now it should make all the school stuff pretty easy right. Have you ever noticed in my stories nothing ever turns out easy object there is when you come to school want to make sure that you have judgement maturity and that you're ready to go racing. This is a competition school not a driving school as for high speed we want to be able to race with ones with passion. And

race. School held at West Virginia summit with Raceway is run by Washington D.C. region famous for turning out skilled and aggressive drivers. Here you're basically told to go and pass anywhere you can and it's hard you know when to make that actual passing. You learn how to pass in the unconventional areas that I'm not used to and it's a lot of fun it's quite a challenge it's quite intense. You're rapidly alternating phases that the school wants a one track experience. Excellent Personal be briefing from you're individually assigned instructor and lastly the not for the thin skinned public critiques as a terrible law in our city. Going way too fast to know what you are doing. You got sideways 35 hours that passed not more than outside NASA's not going to happen.

I guess the biggest thing you find out by doing a driver school like this is that no matter how many you have in your safety belt there's still so much more to learn. Somehow I didn't get too rattled by all this personal scrutiny. Maybe it's because I knew that they're all doing it for the sport. All of them from the instructors to the timers to the corner workers are volunteers just like they are on every race weekend baking in the sun or freezing in the cold. Just to be part of the sport. I said it wasn't an easy weekend. It wasn't. I struggled to please these task masters that I usually cursed under my breath. But you know what. They forced me to improve to stretch to try to be not just a driver but a racer and I thank them every time I race. Now we head from the racetrack to the test truck. Here's Lisa barrow with all the latest Motor News. Sadie's Benz is making news with a major advance in Car Control called Electronic stability program or be using existing traction control and anti-lock braking

systems. ESPN adds vast re-acting sensors to track lateral g forces steering wheel position and more to determine if the car is on course and under control. CSP continually monitors the car's actual behavior and compares it to ideal safe conditions. It's loss of control is detected ESB corrects it within 40 milliseconds often before the driver even realizes there is a problem. Mercedes on the left is equipped with ESPN. It detects the car's tendency to break away during this extreme invasive maneuver. Then corrected by stabilizing the brake pressure at each wheel and even reducing engine torque if necessary. ESB also overcomes less drastic problems such as oversteer in a corner which the system corrects my behind the right front brake. Here the opposite problem Understeer is corrected by ESPN using the left rear brake to rotate the car back on course. ESB doesn't actually drive the car rather. Intervenes to aid the driver. We tried it last winter on frozen roads and it really improves confidence Sadie's prove that in a test that featured an icy patch on a roadway on cars equipped with the S.P. drivers

avoided an accident but on cars without a system 70 percent wound up in the ditch. In Europe the ESB is already available. It comes to the US in November standard on the 12 models and is an option on the 84 20. Expect ESPN to expand to the rest of the Mercedes-Benz lineup over the next couple of years and that's it for this week's Motor News. With. With today's emphasis on automotive safety it's becoming almost impossible to sell a car that doesn't have dual airbags. But sport utility vehicles are the hottest segment of today's market. The lag behind in this area. Well that's finally changing. And one sports maker Isuzu has gone all the way. So now all of a Susu sport Hugues including this 95 trooper Ltd comes standard with dual airbags. That's one for both the driver and passenger.

A limited also has all dis ABS brakes but the trooper story only begins with security while the new look serious limited sits atop the trooper model range all four grades use a part time who will drive system with automatic front locking hub. Surprisingly you still have to stop the shift into poor will drawn a revised suspension smoothes out all terrain s ls and SE great troopers garner power from a 24 about 3.2 meter single can be 6 that produces 175 horsepower and 180 pound feet of torque. Limited support a dual cam version. Good for 190 horses and 195 pound feet of torque. It's made it only to a four speed automatic transmission with power and a winter shift modes. A 5 speed manual is standard on ES and LS troopers along with safety ergonomics are now much improved. There's a new more contemporary instrument panel with easier access to all controls. A neat trooper feature that

remains unchanged are powerful the way mirrors. The large 60 40 split rear seat bolts up and out of the way revealing a hidden storage compartment and up to 90 cubic feet of tall cargo space which can also be accessed through the trooper's signature split rear doors. Permanent access to a trooper will cost you at least twenty two thousand eight hundred seventy dollars. The Ltd will set you back a much steeper thirty seven thousand two hundred twenty dollars but by giving the trooper the safety comfort and convenience features that are blue and sport utility buyers demand this is you expected to become so popular that they've lined up a second avenue of distribution a revanche trooper will also be sold by Acura dealers in the 96 model year. That makes sense since Honda has sold a family disguised Isuzu Rodeo since December of 93 in 95 and a half. Both the Indiana made rodeo and the Honda Passport also carry dual air bags and carry a smartly redesigned instrument panel as well.

The make switchgear size and placement much more Honda like both climate control and stereo systems are now set up high in the center stack well above the shift lever mast boards are available in both too and wheel draw we sample the top of the line wheel drive. But like the trooper the wartime transfer case can't be engaged while moving that problem will finally be remedied early next year. Most passports are powered by the single campy point to leader be £6 and most trooper rear drive DX grade passport uses a 120 horsepower 2.6 leader for passport prices started a modest eighteen thousand ten dollars for that two wheel drive dx. The very well-equipped four wheel drive E X goes out the door at twenty eight thousand one hundred eighty dollars Isuzu was the first import brand to address the four door compact sport utility room now with dual airbag with rodeos in three hours at its own dealer's passports at Honda stores and a trooper clone for

Acura Isuzu is continuing that heritage again heading up the trail. Others will have to follow. We have new safety features like airbags and sport utility vehicles already impressive on and off road performance. It's no wonder they're the most popular thing on four wheels. But as for by for prices keep climbing. Many potential buyers are getting discouraged. Enter this week's road test by request subject from Kiam Motors a South Korean company that jumped into the U.S. market last year with its Syfy a sedan. Well now it is expanding its presence with you guessed it a sport utility vehicle. It's fully equipped and very affordable. But is that enough. Find out we journey to the California desert for our first outing in Rio's latest automotive in supported currently available only in the West. The Sportage is an entry level four door for buyers willing to

rapidly climbing prices of most utility competitors. He intends to rope those buyers in by not only offering a low price but high content and short styling as well. And this shortage is a sharp looking little machine short aggressive nose to its tall airy greenhouse and back to its standard 15 inch wheel. Although a full two feet shorter overall than the Ford Explorer the space between those wheels measures a healthy one hundred four inches. I give the very compact sport its competitive interior room with an inside volume of one hundred twenty six cubic feet. The well-equipped Sportage cockpit has a car feel but a glaring lack of airbags. They come next year and utilitarian patch materials tell you that the Sportage isn't quite ready for the big league but the sport it bounces back with plenty of standard features like power mirrors power windows and power door lock the front seats are familiar looking plus numbered buckets but leather is

available as an option. Either way they're firm with good support. Only manual seat adjustments are offered but combined with a standard tilt will provide a comfortable driving position gauges are large and clear but the ventilation controls are dated and a bit flimsy. While the optional is that stereo it sends you low in the national easily while driving but someone here was sharp enough to design a cup holder that actually holds big pots. It's the same story in the back seat. There's plenty of room in a comfortable split bench seat. It bodes for additional cargo space but lacks the refined design of say the Chevrolet Blazer loading wads of cargo is easy thanks to a tailgate that swings completely away. Plus there is a handy tool box under the cargo floor and if you need more room a sturdy roof rack is optional. The six engines are all the rage in today's sport utilities but the economy oriented sport needs gets more bang your only two will drive models for the two liter

single overhead can invent to make only 94 horsepower and 114 counties of course who will drive models take on a more powerful dual hamburger with 139 horsepower and 133 pound feet of torque. Both feed power through a light long probe 5 speed shifter on poor wheel drive models you can also opt for speed automatic on California roads we've found the sport has to be a pleasant companion as we expected the dual cam engine in our next great forecaster was a bit fuzzy. It's no be sick but it strongly in the lower gear and still have enough power up top to cruise comfortably at interstate speeds. Latter type frame with double wishbones up front. A multi link set up in the rear and all boil Springs provided a comfortable but not luxury it's raw and nimble handling would be equally useful on both twisty rule roads and. Home field from an alleyway. The front desk rear drum brakes rear and you are not secure enough.

We had few opportunities to really test them on the wide open desert highway. We did however get to test the Sportage is off road capability. Its Hi-Lo part time transfer gates can be shifted on the fly at low speed on very thin and soft sand the Sportage charges along with the best of them and would make short work of the heavy rains and winter snows that most modern whereby boars are purchased to conquer. It's 7.9 inches of brown Clarence is higher than most larger four by fours and the Sportage is reduced size as a last warning. Countering serious off road obstacle. Yes like the US border it is a capable and well equipped little machine. Albeit one that don't do a price and that price now that we've finally gotten through it it's pretty tempting to wheel drive model started only thirteen thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars through a drive model started ticking Dowson $295 and the top line real driver is sixteen thousand one hundred ninety five dollars. If the Sportage looks good to you. Good. Don't live in one of the 13 western states where it's

available. Be patient. Hiya Motors America plans a rapid expansion over the next two years and the Sportage as well as the Saffir sedan should be available everywhere by 1997. By then we'll know if this promising new comer has what it takes to carve out its own niche in the hostile sport utility market. It's no Range Rover and that's it's plus the four by four by or on a budget Sportage it's a snappy new name with a lot to offer. Cars of the stars are always a popular subject for books so why not cars of the president's presidential cars and transportation by William Saroo and Andrea Stuart covers a little known but surprisingly significant area of American automotive history. But it doesn't just cover automobiles every other kind of presidential transport is covered as well. From the horse to the Air Force it's all here but the bulk of this volume remains about the cars of the Oval

Office and how they develop to meet a changing presidency and a changing nation. A good car book but a good history book as well. Join us next week for more motorways and a test of Ford's new family car revolutionaries. The 1996 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable as well as the lightning fast Lotus Esprit F-4s Lisa Barrow checks out world class tire testing while Pat Goss has motor oil on his mind. I'm John Davis. We'll see you then. To order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4. Or send twenty nine ninety five plus $4 shipping and handling to this address. Voter from the voter week home video collection or cover the best episodes of the motor week

television series 1 800 4 2 2 0 6 4 0 to order catalog send a self-addressed stamped envelope to this address. Oh hello I'm John Dave. On the next edition of motor we will test for its revamped family car kings. The Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable and drive the lightning fast Lotus Esprit asked for it. Lisa Barrow puts her spin on world class tire testing while Pat Goss has motor oil on his mind.

Plus we'll have all the latest Motor News. But don't you miss the next motor week.