Motorweek; 1514 PTV

This time on motorways the latest on a legend a taste of the track and Zafer sport utility. So come drive with us. Next. Week TV's automotive magazine. You're. A host for Motor 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 all gloomy unhappy people who have no sense of fun of cars people who think that have obviously never driven a Porsche 911 even among exotics few cars can match the giddy thrill of driving Zupan Houseman's finest with the latest 9/11 especially

the new 911 Turbo. We understand that the German culture is full of serious fun. German engineers Quidam road test and the Porsche Carrera fall back home in Germany. They could have taken the two hundred and seventy horsepower engine out on the autobahn in the Black Forest. The all wheel drive and radical suspension. They could have done all that back then they wouldn't have gone in place. The stuff. You've seen Porsche'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. The latest 911 Turbo has a massive dose of everything that makes driving enjoyable including massive horsepower. The tweak and tighten 3.6 leader twin turbo flat 6 has been redone from

top to bottom and now makes 400 horsepower and 400 pound feet of torque. That's good for a 60 Scranton and I've watched for seconds flat and a quarter mile run at twelve point four seconds ending at 114 mph. Talk about miles and miles. Then there's the massive Rim courtesy of a modified Ferreyra for all wheel drive system and advanced Bridgestone tires on new 18 that follows both alloy wheels. They deliver all of that monster power to the ground without that sensitive tendency of spinning itself into the weeds like the turbo's of old. Even that would last around Popenoe International Raceway snaking road course produce nothing but grins on our driver and only one request a desire for a bit less work in full. And then there's the massive whale tail rears Wheeler. This year's case in organic reshaping of this mandatory turbo styling to the both increases downforce and houses the engines dual intercooler. It flows into the

standard 911 Herrera's like with a grace that reflects the car's exquisitely balanced handling as well as a new corporate vibrancy. Sees Porsche putting down 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 Porsche's 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 turbo's compact airbag modules have been integrated with precision and a sophisticated electronic security system that may confuse owners as much as the. Slide into the tight fitting bucket seats and you face a familiar spread of round analog gauges. Again friendly to the eye than previous years and somewhat at Porsche has finally listened to us and given the stereo big easy to understand switchgear 911 is rear seat continues to be one only in

name but bolds 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 goes in the 911 Turbo owner's main preoccupation driving you. Hands of a properly trained owner. The Turbo was one of the most capable road cars ever built with superb steering feedback and most magnetic grip. Will you with. The. Latest. Of the late rear suspension souped up them so that if the old Turbo's tail loose in an instant. Turbochargers spinning the engine is a festival of low end grunt that easily exploited by the time the space ratios of the the six speed manual gearbox is huge and with tool of a turbo down from 60 and only 96 feet and allow you to dive deep into corners. Now this performance does exact a price in the form of a harsher ride than the standard 9 11 era.

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-healed. Your customers smile even. More fuel cars and bodies are driving like the newest Porsche 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 stop. New or used modern or antique motor week's top ranch pad Goss knows cars and what it takes to keep them in tip top condition. Here he is with more startling 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 use to tow with is vitally important. The hits number one first you have a class 1 here which is good for up to 2000 pounds. You go up from there to the class to which is good for 3500 then class three at five thousand pounds and a weight distributing kit to that class 3 you have a class four 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 sway 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 various configurations to get the heights 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 mundane to the very elaborate but you pick something that suits your needs. Of course 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 Mardan 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. We'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. This will hook up to the tow vehicle and it'll 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 7. Car of the week is a classic sedan from the Great White North.

That's a 1934 Studebaker dictator belonging to Maurice Lapeer of Saskatchewan Canada. You have a car worth showing off some good color photos to motor with 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 and Freddy and Earnhardt. But they're really hardcore racing fans like our high road reporter Craig saying Haas aren't content to just watch someone else do it. They've been providing amateur racers some place to race for over 50 years a venue where names like brig's Cunningham and the car your brothers gave way to names like Carroll Shelby and Martin Donahue. And they've given me a way to live out my sports car racing fantasies as well. They are

the men and women of. The Sports Car Club of America 1000 members strong. SCCA is probably one of 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 Fischer of B.F. motorsports provided me with a very well-prepared Mazda Miata shop with a sticky set of new tires. It should make all the school stuff pretty easy right. Have you ever noticed in my stories. Nothing ever turns out easy. Opposite here is when you come to school want to make sure that you have judgment 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 you once we pass. And

race. The school held a West Virginia summit going race which is run by SCCA 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 learning you know when to make that actual pass. 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. Or three rapidly alternating phases that the school lots of boring track experience excellent personal briefing from you individually assigned instructor. And lastly the not for the thin skinned public critiques as a terrible lie. You are simply. Going way too fast too early. Know what you are doing. You got sideways thirty 35 hours have passed. Not anymore outside. I'm not going to happen.

I guess the biggest thing you find out by doing a driver's school like this is that no matter how many laps you have under 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 fighters 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 taskmasters that I occasionally cursed under my breath. But you know what. They forced me to improve to stretch to try to beat not just a driver but a racer. And I'll thank them every time I race. Now we head from the race track to the test track. Here's Lisa Bero with all the latest Motor News. It's been eight years since Cadillac killed its imported fighters Cimarron and while Cimarron sold fairly well being little more than a chrome plated cavalier ruined its reputation.

Now however Cadillac looks serious at attracting younger buyers with this 1997 caetera the long awaited German Bill rear drive caetera maintains virtually all mechanical aspects of the highly regarded Opel Omega including monitoring rear suspension. And relator Twin Cam 200 horsepower. He said. In the prototypes he drove that translated into convenant road building and European style acceleration. Cadillac also resisted tinkering too much with Omega's round styling other than adding an egg crate grill and light bar. Rear Vision the cabin also retains a strong European flavor. The caetera actually gets more gauges than the Omega and easier to operate climate controls the rear seat can be heated and has three openings to the trunk. Caetera sails begin next fall with an expected base price of thirty thousand dollars. That's less than Lexus as 300 or BMW 5 series and Kent-Erik will be the first Cadillac to offer side impact airbags following the airbag trend. Ford Motor Company has announced that it will install side airbags on its more popular cars and trucks within two

years. Zeid airbags say 2000 people a year from serious injury or death. This board test shows a 96 Taurus being hit by a steel barrier at 31 mph while side impact airbags are not required. Most manufacturers are planning to use them on their next generation designs. Volvo was the first brand to use side airbags and is being joined this model year by Mercedes Benz and BMW and that's it for this week's Motor News. With todays emphasis on automotive safety it's becoming almost impossible to sell a car that doesn't have dual airbags but sport utility vehicles. The hottest segment of today's market have lagged behind in this area. Well that's finally changing. And one sport maker Isuzu has gone all the way. So now all of Isuzu sport utes including this 95 were limited

come standard with dual airbags. That's one for both the driver and passenger. The limited also has all this ABS brakes. But the trooper story only begins with security while the new luxurious limited sits atop the trooper model range. All four grades use a part time 4 wheel drive system with automatic front locking hubs. Surprisingly you still have to stop the shift into four wheel drive. A revised suspension smoothes out all terrain s l s and SE great troopers garner power from a 24 hour 3.2 metre single cam B-6 that produces 175 horsepower and one hundred eighty eight pound feet of torque. Limited sport a dual cam version good for 190 horses and one hundred ninety five pound feet of torque. It's made it only to a four speed automatic transmission with power and winter shift modes. A 5 speed manual is standard on S and LS troupers 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 two way mirrors the large 60:40 split rear seat folds 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 Limited 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 affluent sport utility buyers the man Suzhou expected to become so popular that they lined up a second avenue of distribution of revanche trooper will also be sold by accurate dealers in the 96 model year. That makes sense since Honda has sold a thinly disguised Isuzu Rodeo since December of 93. Ninety five and a half. Both the Indiana made rodeo and

the Honda Passport also carry dual airbags and carry a smartly redesigned instrument panel as well. That makes 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. Passports are available in both two and four wheel drive. We sampled the top of the line while we were right. He acts like a trooper. The fourth time transfer case can't be engaged while moving. That problem will finally be remedied early next year. Most passports are powered by a single cam 3.2 leader B-6 bound and most troopers rear drive DX great 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 X goes out the door at twenty eight thousand one hundred eighty dollars. Isuzu was the first import brand to address the more compact sport utility

boun now with dual airbag equipped rodeo's and Freebirds at its own dealers passports and under stores and a trooper clone for Acura Suzhou is continuing that heritage. Again heading up the trail. Others will have to follow. With new safety features like airbags and sport utility vehicles already impressive on and off road performance. It's no wonder they are the most popular thing on four wheels. But as for before prices keep climbing. Many potential buyers are getting discouraged. Enter this week's road test by request subject from key Motors. A South Korean company that jumped into the U.S. market last year with its Cepheus sedan. Well now Kim 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 Korea's latest automotive

in port Sportage currently available only in the West. The Sportage is an entry level corridor for the buyer. I'm willing to put a rapidly climbing prices of most sport utility competitors. Dia intends to wrote those buyers and by not only offering a low price but high content and short styling as well and the Sportage is sharp looking little machine short an aggressive nose do it's tall airy Greenhaus and back to a standard 15 inch wheel although a full two feet shorter overall than before to explore the space between those wheels measure is a healthy one hundred four inches. That gives them very compact Sportage competitive interior room with an inside volume of 126 cubic feet. The well-equipped Sportage cockpit has a big car feel but a glaring lack of airbags. They come next year and utilitarian materials tell you that the Sportage isn't quite ready for the big leap but that's what it bounces back with plenty of standard

features like power mirrors power windows and power door lock up front seats are familiar looking Plock cupboard buckets of leather is available as an option. Either way they're firm with good support only manual adjustments are offered but combined with a standard tool will provide a comfortable driving position. Ages are large and clear but the ventilation controls are dated and a bit flimsy. While the optional Croisette stereo is set to low in the dash they easily use while driving. But someone here was sharp enough to design a cup holder that actually holds big pumps. 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 lots 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. 6.

Engines are all the rage in todays utilities but the economy oriented Sportage gets 4 bangers only to drive models for the 2 liter single overhead cam and then it makes only 94 horsepower and 114 pound feet of course. Four wheel drive models take on a more powerful dual cam version with 139 horsepower and 130 Greentown feet of torque. Both feet power through a light long throw 5 speed shifter on four wheel drive models you can also up course speed automatic on California roads. We've found those Sportage to be a pleasant companion as we expected the dual cam engine in our next great for Tester was a bit buzzy. It's no be sick but it is strongly in the lower gear and still having power up top to cruise comfortably at interstate speed. The latter time frame with double wishbones up front a multi linked set up in the rear and all coil springs provided a comfortable if not luxurious ride and nimble handling will be equally useful on both questi rural road and pothole filled

urban. Anyway. The front disc rear drum break through rear and locked helped secure enough that we had few opportunities to really test them on the wide open desert highway. We did however get to test the Sportage off road capability. It's high low part time Branzburg case can't be shifted on the fly at low speed on Barragan and soft sand Sportage charges along with the best of them and would make short work the heavy rains and winter snows that most modern by fours are purchased to conquer. It's seven point nine inches of ground clearance is higher than most larger for by before and thus to reduce size is lost when encountering serious offroad obstacle. Yes like the escort it's because I hate for boat and a little machine albeit one that's built to a price and that price. Now that we've finally gotten to it it's pretty tempting to wheel drive model started only thirteen thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars four wheel drive model started fifteen thousand two hundred ninety five dollars and the top line driver is sixteen thousand

one hundred ninety five dollars. If this looks good to you you don't live in one of the 13 western states where it's available. Be patient. GM Motors America plans a rapid expansion over the next two years and the Sportage as well as the safety of Sedan should be available everywhere. By 1997 by then we'll know if there's promising new comer has what it takes to carve out its own niche into hostile sport utility market. It's no range rover and that's it was to the four by four buyer on a budget. He sported a snappy new name would want to offer. Cards 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 Stewart covers a little known but surprisingly significant area of American automotive history. But it doesn't just cover automobiles. Every other kind of precedential 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 for s Lisa Barrow checks out world class tire testing while Pat Goss has motor oil on his mind. I am 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 percent twenty nine ninety five plus 495 shipping and handling two motor week Post Office Box 5 5 7 4 2 Indianapolis Indiana 4 6 2 0 5. To.

Order from the motor home video collection for current and past episodes of the motor week television series. Call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4. To order a catalog. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to this address. Hello I'm John Day on the next edition of Motor Week. Will test Ford's revamped family car kings the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable and drive the lightning fast Lotus Esprit S4. Lisa Bero puts her spin on

world class tire testing while Patkar has motor oil on his mind. We'll have all the latest motor news. Don't you miss the next motor week