Motorweek; 2107

Way. Way. This time on Motor Week two different twists for Lexis hordes reborn Thunderbird and gearing up for Indy. So come join up with us next. Little. TV's original automotive magazine brought to you by. Pep Boys. No matter what you drive get voices over 27000 items in stock virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service space staffed with a a c certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service and divide. With

with. Your host from over week John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor we were glad to have you with us. Ever since being introduced in 1989 the cars that wear the Lexus badge have established an enviable reputation for luxury refinement and maturity. Last year however Lexus added a dash of youthful spirit to the mixture with a new I asked 300 sports sedan. Well now they're stirring things up even more with two new variants of the past 300. But each with its own unique twist with it. Introducing the 2002 Lexus high S-300 Sedan now with a drop of five speed manual transmission and even more invigorating. I asked three hundred support drops to make that the invigorating and practical. I asked three hundred support process. That's because added practicality was the goal for designers of the sports process but not at the expense of what Lexus calls the I.S.

300 image of dynamic performance and we think they've done a mighty fine job. The sport Cross is sleek and stylish looking much more vigorous the competitors from BMW or Mercedes bit the key to the sport. Cross look at the rear hatch was dropped sharply down from the extended roof line and while the tailgate sharp brake does cut available space when compared to a more conventionally shaped wagon it still delivers twenty one point a cubic feet of seat up cargo space more than double that of the sedan flipped a 60 40 split rear seat backs down and a sport Cross can accommodate more extreme items like mountain bikes and even snowboard as well as plenty of anybody thinks thanks to smart storage compartments under the low floor and for really long loads like skis. The front passenger seat back also folds flat. Otherwise it's that same techie but business like interior found in the I asked three hundred sedan with its tricky looking proto graph style gauges to probably organize dash controls at

a bailable eight way power seats with plush suede upholstery mechanically this port cross a standard I asked 302. With power coming from a three liter dual overhead cam 24 valve and line 6. That makes 215 or sparring 218 pound feet of torque which here drives the rear wheels through a speed electronically controlled automatic transmission. With the Lexus each shift satelite controls mounted on the steering wheel with the same drive train double wishbone suspension one hundred five point one inch wheel base and only about 125 lbs more weight than its board or sibling. The sport cross exhibits the same sharp yet luxurious feel as the eye as 300 sedan. You really don't know there's a fifth bore but with a base price of thirty three thousand three hundred five dollars it does cost about two grand more. Oh the price of practicality. If however you'd rather pay a little less and get a little more performance you can opt for the 2002 Lexus I asked three hundred with a new. Manual 5 speed transmission.

This is the transmission Lexus should have had available last year. Naturally we raced to our test track for a few runs in the manual I'm rewarded by a 0 to 60 time of six point seven seconds. That's four tenths of a second faster than the automatic the quarter mile to fifteen point one seconds ending at 94 mph but the added driving enjoyment is larger than the time saved. Still adding the 5 speed manual to the 300 image does not make for a perfect recipe at the track our hardcore drivers found a short throw shifter. Hard to master smoothly under rapid shifting approved harsh and not cheap. However on the street when darting away from a light a slight bit of patience rewarded you with entertaining throws. After all how many three hundred will ever make it to the dragstrip though no one complained about the fact that it dropped the 300 face price to twenty nine thousand four hundred thirty five dollars. That's thirteen hundred seventy dollars less than the automatic and almost $3000

less than the sport truck. So along with luxury refinement and spirit 2002 Lexus I asked 303 model lineup now includes the practicality of the sport crossed and the performance of a fine speech manual. So there truly is a lot more to Lex's than just luxury. We can't wait to see how far they push the high ass. Next. The best kind of car accident is the one you will avoid active handling and stability programs are often called DSP or electronic stability programs are designed to help you do just that. He s p works by monitoring a car speed and direction as well as the driver's actions and it automatically applies the brake to one or more wheels to correct unstable cornering conditions. It's high tech. Hands off. Keep it on the road peace of mind and it's as easy as easy as speed. Coming up putting on the race face.

Time now to see what kind of smart car carried by motor week's top tech Pat Goss has for us this week. John just about everyone has some piece of equipment with an engine on it that is used only part of the year. The rest of the year it sits. And that means if you want it to last a long time you have to perform some preventive maintenance before you put it in storage. Well that applies to things like chainsaws lawn mowers motorcycles cars boats. They all have engines they all need proper preparation for storage in their downtime. One of the first things you should do with anything that has oil in the crank case is to change the oil. You want to have fresh oil because old oil has acids in it that can damage bearing surfaces when the engine isn't running. But then the next thing. If this particular item has paint then you want to protect the paint and you also want to protect the upholstery. Here we're talking about

cars naturally right next. Fuel the fuel has to be treated with a stabilizer if you don't treat it with a stabilizer. It will break down and form gums and Vine issues inside the fuel system. That can lead to expensive repairs. When you put the item back in service. Oh by the way after you put it in make sure you run it for a few minutes so that the fuel is distributed through the whole vehicle through the whole fuel system. Then you want some type of dry gas to deal with the moisture and it wants to be ice appropriate based so that your full tank of fuel will not absorb moisture while it's in storage. And for most engines you're going to want to use fogging spray. Follow the label very very carefully because if you don't you could wind up with some problems. But if you do what you wind up with is well lubricated cylinders and valves the whole top end of the engine will

be protected against rust and corrosion while it's in storage. Now another big problem. Cars. The tires on them they tend to flat spot when they're sitting. The old tried and true way to do it is to use jack stands one at each corner is close to the wheels as possible. This prevents that under this BMW we have something new is called a tire cradle and the manufacturer says that it will prevent flat spotting. We'll see how well they work as time goes on. Make sure that everything on your motorcycle or whatever it is that it is well cleaned and everything is protected before you put it in storage. Check the tire pressure and come time to put it back in service. You won't have problems 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 always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7.

The banks. Are car of the week is of one thousand forty seven Packard super clipper. It belongs to Mike Scott of Walnut Creek California. This gorgeous four wheeled locomotive with its straight 8 engine recalls a time when style and performance truly When hand in hand. If you have a fantastic classic like this image at least three good color photos and a description of the car to Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Being a race car driver looks like a pretty cushy way to make a living right. After all you only have to work a few hours every weekend. Like most jobs there's a lot more to it than meets the eye especially when it comes to preparing for the biggest race of the year. So this week reporter Jennifer because novice takes us behind the pit wall where the hard work starts long before you hear ladies and gentlemen start your engines for race fans who travel from near and far

to attend the Indy 500 it's time to party and get a little rowdy. But for the drivers it's time to focus. Race day at the Indy 500 is crazy but the race preparations are even crazier. We had a chance to follow driver Eddie Cheever around and see what makes him a true athlete. Being a race car driver means being in top shape both mentally and physically. I think it's very hard from a television set to get an idea of the speed and just a brutal inertia of a car turning into a corner at 230 miles an hour. India is incredibly fast. The Indy 500 is by far the most hyped up and intense race on the Indy racing league schedule three and a half hours of intense concentration and physical endurance. You spend the whole year working on your Indy 500 program and as you get closer things

become a little bit more tense. Physically you train the rest of us right up to have any undue pressure in your day. That would take away from Will meant getting mentally prepared for the rest. Not only drivers prepared to race they also have public obligations being that this is the Super Bowl of open wheel racing with fans and hundreds of celebrities in attendance. Additional duties like signing autographs making public appearances talking to the media and attending special events are squeezed into an already. Schedule is always a lot of press. There's always a lot of sponsors you have to take care of the sometimes there's family and had one added responsibility this week. Me We followed him everywhere like hard to get us on but he's definitely a good sport we didn't give him much privacy but hey that's how we found out what really goes on. We met up with him on carburation day. For Eddie it means the final practice before climbing into his car on race day. The first thing you've got to do when you come to Andy is you have to be

confident that your package your car your engine your everything. You. Can finish the race can run 200 miles. And to win the race you have to be right and I think. We had a few problems with the brakes early on to take the brakes off. But. So far on. OK the right is very difficult right now it's like playing poker you don't know what everybody else has and the only time you really have to show your cards is in race day so we made a decision we think the pace is going to be. Were either very wrong or very right right or wrong a debriefing session is in order. Eddie basically powwows with the rest of his team and talks about what he experienced during practice with his infinity 35 on the exit. Because I don't have enough room. I don't know what the track is of wide angle but while the car has to be ready in time for the race to start the driver must be in tip top shape all the time. Jim Leo president of training here in Indianapolis and his staff work with Eddie and many other drivers such as

Cory with Will was just finishing up when we arrived. We train them to be able to handle the stresses of the car basically train them a strength. And muscular endurance to keep them able to drive the car. But also in the event of an accident our drivers because the joint stability is so strong they're able to recover much faster for practice. All the week's preparations have led up to the beginning of the Indy 500 and for the team the reward will be seeing Eddie Cheever in victory lane. And they're off. Fortunately he couldn't finish. Yet it still works. You know you might compare the Indy

500 to letting. You spend months and months preparing for it. And when the day finally comes. Just a few hours. At home. By now you know this 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan se with all wheel drive is like a plane we can really rely on people video gear or household furnishings. You just don't realize the value of a minivan until you need one. No SUV or pickup truck is a complete replacement. As we drive through our tenth month for the Grand Caravan the odometer is just clicking over 13000 miles in all that time problems with our gran have been many. While we did have an electrical system fall when it first arrived and a check engine light for an emissions core. Otherwise our logbook sing the grand caravan's praises as both the short and long haul carrier. It's very comfortable on the highway and very maneuverable at the moment. We do wonder about some buzzing in the dash on rough roads however and wonder if it will get worse as

time goes by. Still with fuel economy of 1000 mpg and smooth performance from the 215 or 3.8 leader V-6 this looks like an automotive reliance that will last. We're pretty tight with our Mercedes been C3 20 sedan as well. Now it would be easy to just laud praise on the overall attributes of this fine entry level luxury car. But what if we look closer. Take for instance the 12 way adjustable seat. After fifteen thousand three hundred twelve miles we know the C-Class seats Well yes they are FIR but after a 10 hour stint behind the wheel they also leave you amazingly relaxed and refreshing. This notion that a car seats need to be living room soft to be comfortable on long trips is rubbish. Another item how the transmission ships. Yes it's smooth but most luxury car transmission ships move on the sea three 20 even without using a manual mode touch shift. Your changes are smooth but also firm precise and perfectly matched to engine speed.

That's what we mean by a seamless gear change. So even under a microscope the C3 20 looks great as does its twenty five point five mile per gallon fuel economy. That's better than we expected and we don't get to say that very often. Another vehicle that usually gives us pleasant surprises is this Mazda Tribute many. Next up on motor weeks long term road test update. Now let's turn again to Jennifer because novice for more exciting models and all the latest Motor News. There are dozens of off road vehicles on the market that can take on rough terrain. But up until now one company's ultimate SUV has been hard to come by. We're talking about the fabled Mercedes-Benz 500 luxury sport originally designed for military use. It's been available to European buyers for over 20 years but only to Americans through private importers. For 2002 however American drivers will finally have their chance to buy a class through their local Mercedes-Benz dealership.

The rugged G 500 is powered by a 5 liter V8 the same engine used in both the S class sedan and SL roadster. Ratings are two hundred ninety two power and three hundred thirty six pounds of torque. Power that you really appreciate on bucket off road trails. It can climb grades up to 80 percent and it's amazingly steady on lateral slopes up to 54 percent. This is especially makes use of strong rigid axles at the front and rear as well as longitudinal and transverse links with springs and gas shocks and all four corners. It carries full time drive and can be shifted on the fly straight into low range. The transmission is a 5 speed automatic with touch shift. Unexpected rough terrain and smooth Autobahn passing Torc is dispensed through front center and rear differentials and the G Wagon is the only production vehicle to feature mechanical locks for all three differentials. Even though it's rugged on the outside the inside is nothing but plush bells and whistles like Power Windows 10 way electrically adjustable front seats with memory and AGP s navigation system are included. The integrated display on the center console also controls

a nine speaker audio system with a 6 disk CD changer. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class will be available sometime in the fall with an M S R P of seventy two thousand five hundred dollars and that's it for this week's Motor News. Nowhere is the law of supply and demand more in force than in the auto industry. And this year the car and most demand is the reborn Ford Thunderbird. Now we brought you a preview Tess of the new 2002 T-Bird a couple of months ago and we were duly impressed. But due to our limited time with the car we weren't able to give it our full motor week workout or now we have so pull up your driver's seat and let's see just how hard the T-Bird fly is. While it didn't take us long to realize that this new 2002 Ford Thunderbird flies pretty high indeed the new T-Birds looks alone were enough to make us a bit light headed from every angle it was indeed love at first flight. Thunderbird designers did a masterful job of blending styling cues borrowed from long good short

keywords of the 50s and 60s into a thoroughly modern driving machine that is instantly recognizable as a Thunderbird. The most obvious heritage inspired details include the chrome the egg crate grill topped by that classic long wing Thunderbird emblem. Distinctive but subtle nonfunctional scoop races the hood while they also nonfunctioning chrome louvers set high in the front. Also embrace curly T-Bird road skirts and at the rear the large round tail lights stir up memories of the fighter jets School of Design a look that was popular with many cars throughout the 50s. Another tip of the hat to the good old days can be found in the optional 83 pound removable hard top complete with its feeding T-Bird porthole windows. But the smooth operation of the fully lined electric sock top instantly propels the T-Bird back to the 21st century. It requires nothing more than the flip of a latch in the push of the switch to release it from the chrome trim header and put you in the wind. There is no wind

blocker but our drivers didn't feel it was much of an issue as wind buffeting is minimal but there is a nice and welcomed heated blast backlight. There's plenty of 21st century technology under the Thunderbird spell bodywork too as it shares its platform with the Lincoln LS and Jaguar S time. In fact two thirds of the parts come from other Ford vehicles. The structural rigidity lost to its toplessness is somewhat compensated for by the addition of three sturdy X braces mounted to the underside of the car and for the most part they work well. House shake is barely perceptible and it's not until you encounter a really rough going that the T-Bird begins to feel a little squishy contributing to this T-Bird smooth and quiet ride is the generous one hundred seven point two inch wheel base and a nearly 50 50 weight distribution front to back. Another is the careful tuning of the independent short long arm suspension found in each corner. Ford engineers targeted what they called a relaxed ride by using coil springs with fairly low spring rates.

But don't confuse war lacked with sloppy drivers were pleasantly surprised when maneuvering the T-Bird through our low speed slalom course. Body roll for this softly sprung ride was minimal and the side to side transitions were very controlled giving the T-Bird a secure and stable feeling. The variable assist vehicle speed sensitive rack and pinion steering unit is precise and offers plenty of useful feedback and the repeat and quiet 17 inch Michelin tires seem a perfect match. Still in keeping with the original 55 birds this head turning new coupe is more Sunset Strip cruiser than road course bruiser cruising power is also borrowed from the Lincoln LS as under the hood is the sedans all aluminum 3.9 liter double overhead cam 32 Balbi 8 with the same 250 two horsepower and two hundred sixty seven pound feet of torque. Despite some very hot days during our test schedule we experience none of the engine overheating problems that stalled early T-Bird production with the twin can be connected to the

LS. 5 speed automatic transmission. We flew past 60 and 7.7 seconds now that's almost a second faster than the heavier ls and we cross the quarter mile stripe and fifteen point eight seconds at 92 miles per hour. Now our car's engine did stumble slightly upon launch but then pulled strongly all the way to the 65 hundred RPM redline. Oddly there is no manual shift mode like in the LS. That's from a performance perspective shift to be restored. But the final drive ratio has been lowered to give the bird some extra momentum is slowed by four wheel vented with ABS an electronic brake force distribution. We average stuff from 60 in a fine 1 to 20 feet stability under hard braking is first rate and to help this rear drive birds fly in bad weather all speed traction control is optional while the T-Birds exteriors design may stir the best memories of days past. There is far less to be found in the up to date interior. True it is still a two seater and the door trim panels tend to tuck

and roll leather seats are unmistakable T-Bird touches but the driver gets six way power adjustable seating with manual one bar just much and there is front and side impact airbags. A power adjustable steering wheel which brought onto a set of simple clear analog gauges and the center stack which houses the stereo and climate controls will more or less looked at directly from the Ls and the possible end of the T-Bird with just a few subtle tweaks Kompany functional approach. Then while not inspired is cost effective behind the seats is a carpeted shall pursue mall still bolt and the trunk has a capacity of 6.7 cubic feet just enough for a drive down the coast. When it comes to putting your money down one of the 25000 2002 Ford Thunderbird can be had in any of five colorful flavors. Also drawn in the past the deluxe convertible is about thirty five thousand four hundred ninety five dollars for the slightly more option premium convertible bring thirty six thousand four hundred ninety five dollars and a removable top of the deluxe package and you're looking

at thirty seven thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars. Drop it on the premium model and your price is thirty eight thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars. But even with that we expect keyboard stuff flying off dealer lots for the forseeable future. So our first impressions have been confirmed. We are still very high on the 2000 people toward the end of work. Ford has done an outstanding job of recapturing everything romantic about the original Thunderbird and putting it in a modern competent and thoroughly enjoyable to drive machine and back. We think this T-Bird is the only way to blog. I hope you'll join us next week for more motor week when we'll test the new Kia Sedona minivan and take an Icelandic adventure in the new Land Rover Freelander. I'm John Davis. Well see that. To learn more about Motor Week television's original automotive magazine visit PBS online at PBS dot org or America Online keyword PBS to order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4

2 2 0 0 6 for Motor Week has been brought to you by Pep Boys. No matter what you drive Pep Boys has over 27000 items in stock virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service space staffed with NASA certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service and to buy. What are you looking for. They Motors. You. This is PBS.