Motorweek; 1407

This time on motorways. All that's new from Chrysler for 95 doing deals for collector cars. And is this new Mazda right for you to come drive with us next. TV's automotive magazine. Your host for Motor Week. Well hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. Next up on our 95 preview of the big three automakers is the Chrysler Corporation. And last fall we named Chrysler the comeback kid for a second time and the during the 94 model year the pen to start folks out did themselves producing both the hottest new truck on the market the Dodge Ram and the highest

profile small car in years. The Dodge and Plymouth neon and their new product pipeline shows no signs of slowing. For 95 Chrysler delivers a pair of compact sedans a slew of new coops and even a surprise or two. With the Grand Cherokee LH sedans minivans the Ram pickup and neons all selling well. Chrysler Corporation has earned a reputation as the most innovative of Detroit's big three. That scenario should continue to build in 1995 with Chrysler's introduction of yet another mainstream family car design code named J.A.. We've already spent a lot of time in the middle market. Chrysler Cirrus and Dodge Stratus and they are as impressive as they look and the looks are sharp with a short muscular hood blending into an extra wide cab forward shelf that accommodates a family of five in an unusually roomy space. Dual airbags are standard in a cabin that is sporty

yet very inviting. Rear head and leg room are generous and the one PC fact holds integrated child safety seat is optional. The all new chassis includes an upper and lower a arm suspension at each border of its long one hundred eight inch wheelbase. Both American style smooth ride and European form find handling for Jay a design requirements. Brakes are just drawn with anti-lock standard on Cirrus and available on Stratus. Score one more for Chrysler. The JFK twins are going to be high flyers lighting up the sales charts just like LH and neon. Speaking of which a second view of neon joins the lineup after the first of the year. That's when the Dodge in Plymouth neon two door bows and Sport Coupe tram had both a Tartar suspension then the sedan all dis brakes and a dual overhead cam to leader for belting out 150 horsepower while the four door Neon is clearly for economical families. The neon 2 door is intended for singles who want to have some frugal. John. That's not to say this spiffy coop is

small and fact there's more rear seat room here than in the sedan. Clearly Chrysler wants buyers to consider neon as more than just cute transportation. Want even more sportin you're driving past on the heels of the just introduced Eagle Talon comes another pair of American made goods based on the Mitsubishi galon arriving first is the Dodge Avenger carrying French styling with a viper and stealth. Power will flow from either the same Twin Camp or used in the neon Sport Coupe and Talon or the 2.5 liter be six used in the Cirrus and Stratus. This front wheel drive chassis is a giant step forward from the old Daytona and will be joined after the first of the year by a Chrysler version with a historic Sebring name Sebring convertible will eventually replace the aging LeBaron ranks. Everyone knows that a new Chrysler minivan design is on the way to do next spring as 96 models will carry familiar labels. The Dodge Caravan Plymouth Voyager and Chrysler Town and Country. What we know so far is that the all new chassis will feature an

equally new 2.4 leader four cylinder as standard with two B6 options to lynx as well as front and all wheel drive models will continue to be available. But there will also be a first time rear door on the driver's side. If you can't wait for more space why not try the new Dodge Ram club cab. As if the RAM was not already a success. Dodge thinks the extended model could eventually account for more than half of all RAM sales. The club pap adds 20 inches to the standard Rams cab for room for up to six. The full width rear bench seat is almost as roomy as the front and has outboard shoulder belts and holds out of the way when not needed. Swing outside windows keep things from getting stuffy. Ramp up gap is available with short or long beds and with all engines including the 10 and the serious Cummins turbo diesel. Jeep continues to flourish under Chrysler ownership with additions to models old and new on its 11th anniversary. The original compact Cherokee continues to be in strong

demand to keep it strong for 95 an airbag for the driver has been added. Meanwhile the virtually sold out Grand Cherokee takes another stab at the growing demand for premium priced sport utilities with a designer or bas addition affluent anglers everywhere will recognize the moss green and champagne with red outline Orvis trim. Somehow we doubt they'll be many fresh trout carried in here but if there are loading is easier thanks to a new tailgate with flip up window this welcome convenience will be available on garden variety Grand Cherokees as well. On the car side of Jeep Eagle dealerships the biggest news was the summer arrival of the all new talent but this fall both the summit's sedan and wagon gain dual airbags Jeep Eagle dealers will be Chrysler's sole source for these Mitsubishi imports in 95. And 95 promises to be another exciting year for all of Chrysler as their engine nears continue to redefine the way we Americans think about our cars.

Short days almost always mean long cold nights. So let's turn to pack for some warm words out of winterizing vehicles of all shapes and sizes. John as you well know my first love is for boats and that holds true for a lot of our viewers as well. But in addition to boats there are things like motor home sports cars lawn equipment all sorts of things that are only used seasonally. That means they're laid up for several months out of the year. And if you want that piece of equipment to function properly when you put it back in service. Well there are some very definite things you should be doing before you lay it up. Things that I recommend that you do to make the vehicle or the piece of equipment run good when you

put it back in service. Well they're pretty simple things. First is to change the oil you want fresh clean oil in the engine so that any acid that may have built up in the old oil is dispelled from the engine that way it can't damage the bearings and other internal parts. Very important along with that don't skimp put a new oil filter on it it only costs an extra few dollars and it gives you the added protection. Now one of the real big problems with any vehicle that is put in storage for several months is the fuel that's left in the fuel tanks so you have to be able to make that fuel last throughout the storage period. Now the first thing that you're going to do is you're going to take a fuel stable and now this is available in marine supply stores and RV supply stores. And what it does is it keeps the fuel from turning into that real thick varnish sludge that it does if it isn't treated and is left to stand for a period of time. Now once we've done that we also want to change the fuel filter or

filters some of these vehicles and some of these pieces of equipment will have multiple fuel filters. You want fresh filters on it so that there is no contamination there. Now here's something that is really important. This is a foggy spray and you have to be real careful in using this. Follow the directions to the letter so that you don't damage your engine. But basically what you do with it if you spray it into the air intake and it lubricates the upper portion of the engine the valves in the rings and so on does a very good job in preventing corrosion while the vehicle is in storage. Now if the vehicle has a cooling system change the A to freeze and flush the cooling system so everything is good there. And if it has a freshwater system on it like most boats in RV use a nontoxic and a freeze to protect that entire system if you do this the vehicle will run effectively when you put it back in service. If you have a question right to me the address is Motor Week always Mills Maryland 2 1 1

1 7. I'm mid-sized car of the week is in 163 Mercury MIDI or s thirty three two door hardtop. This light blue beauty belongs to James W. worst of Wapakoneta Ohio to make clear color photos of your collector current of the week. Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. You know enthusiast have collected were stored and traded on the cars for almost 100 years. But after 1987 stock market crash speculators entered the old car market and unfortunately they carried a lot more about making money than enjoying the old cars themselves forcing many true carb off of the sidelines. But out on the high road Greg has found that saner times have returned to the old car hobby. OK back to the ballot right

there. They are every winter thousands of auto enthusiastic flock to the warm sunny Southwest to the first major auction of the year. The annual Barrett Jackson auction in Scottsdale Arizona and this event set the tone for a year that has seen the return of the true collector and enthusiastic America. This year over last year is vastly different. Last year with the uncertain economy and the prices still falling on cars people were very hesitant to buy. But this year they figure they've bottomed out that's the time to buy cars. And it's two fold over what it was the year before I was here at this auction we've been selling 60 to 70 percent of the cars in the last year was 40 percent. I'd say the collectors that we see now

are different than the other collectors we've had in the past. And one thing they're buying your car is no good before they buy more modern cars more 50s 60s and up into sports cars and we're seeing a lot more of your and we were before we were speculators and dealers more buying the vehicles. Now you're getting more and users are buying them to enjoy. I think the magic of an option is all the people it's a circus. We run a circus we have a circus where cards are not animals. And the people who are here like observing the other people who are here and that's why we draw such large crowds here. Of course of the serious car collectors looking for a little less excitement than an option atmosphere there is an alternative that new advents like the pebble beach Concorde d'Elegance collector car authority Don Wayne's presents what can only be described as the world's most exclusive used car consignment lot. The concept that we have developed your music you would like to write back I'm pretty

terrified of what we do is in some of the greatest cars in the world we assemble here one of a kind of designer cars and we put them in an environment where people who are interested in buying them off and see what they trade involving transaction is like it's a low key approach and selling very expensive where you think about it. What we do is we try to mediate between the buyer and the seller and help explain this to you explaining what a collector is a great person who will need a little reassurance. Not everybody is an expert on every car. Many people who decide that they want to like cars can't make that save and don't want to make the decision you need to know. And while we may never again see the stratospheric prices paid by investment speculators in the late 80s it seems that really the buying and selling cars has rebounded for the 90s. Now we return to the world of new cars. As Lisa Bell brings us the latest Motor

News. This week we take our first look at Honda's long anticipated entry into the minivan wars with a 1995 Odyssey based on the proven accords front drive platform the Odyssey has a number of features to make it the most car like of any minivan. Most obvious are poor sedan style doors because Honda engineers believe the more reliable and easy to use than the normal minivan single sliding door on sale in January. The Odyssey has very car like ride and handling. Thanks to a four wheel double wishbone suspension a first for minivans and this breaks all around with standard antilock under odysseys Long-Nose a slightly beefier addition of the elex accords a 16 valve two point two leaderboards cylinder engine producing 140 horsepower and 145 pounds be of tour. There's no B6 available and that could be the Odyssey's big a shortcoming on the other hand there are a few shortcomings to the user friendly dash with Honda as always excellent ergonomics and dual airbags. Eight inches longer than a standard Chrysler minivan Odyssey scores well in the seating and storage Department.

Standard setup is a three place bench seat in the middle and a two place bench in the rear. It can be reversed for tailgate parties or folded out of sight in a storage well leaving a flat if somewhat narrow cargo area. Two optional captains chairs can replace the middle bench. Hyundai expects to sell 30000 of these Japanese media vans during calendar year 95 at prices between 22 and $25000. We'll have a full Odyssey road test in the near future. And that's it for this week's noted. Over the years of Mazda has designed many excellent vehicles and more than a few of one our drivers choice award is best in class but while we love to write about the breezy Miata or blast around the track in an Oric 7 it's the economy minded protege that's Moscow's best seller. And for 95 there's a new protege and then size and more to keep it sales appeal

strong. It can if it matches or improves upon those features that made the original protege such a hit with Mazda fan. Styling is becoming increasingly critical. Even in the economy car circles so Mazda made sure that the sleek little protege presented a handsome face to prospective buyers borrowing many details from the upscale millennium including a toll study rear end. The protege is available in four door sedan only but that sedan has a substantial four point one inch longer wheelbase and three point three inches more an overall length then before the compact proteges ninety five point five cubic foot interior is very airy looking even wider and larger than it is in fact it's actually roomier than the millennium. This is partially due to details like the deeply sculpted door panels and recessed glovebox I'm like it's slightly cluttered predecessor the dash design is smoothly shaped efficient and also quite upscale and features the necessary dual airbags as standard. These buckets are the roominess

protegee seats yet but some of our drivers felt they were overly hard for long trips. No complaints about the analog age cluster which is clear and as complete as any in its class. The high volume vent system feature simple buttons and slide controls and the radio is placed high enough so the shifter doesn't get in the way. With so much interior room the rear seat is naturally generous. All the seat back is fixed on the protege dx. You'll find a 60 40 split folding design on L X and E S cars. It opens to a thirteen point one cubic foot trunk larger than most of its major competitors. Power for the latest protege comes from a pair of in-jokes. The xx and Alex cars get a new 1.5 leader for the next ninety two horses and ninety six pound feet of torque. The sportier X gets a reworked version of the Miata roadsters one point eight leader that makes one hundred twenty two horsepower and 117 pound feet of torque. Transmission choices are a 5 speed manual with a somewhat vague shift mechanism for a

smooth four speed automatic. On our first drive through California's Napa Valley the new protege proved itself to be as friendly as its predecessor. But now even more nimble power and response from both engines was quite acceptable with a 1.8 naturally getting the nod for performance and the 1.5 did tend to be a bit fuzzy on the hard exhilaration had moderate back road speeds. The MacPherson strut front and trailing link rear suspensions provided smooth competent handling but were looking for. Or do our own test track through a more thorough workout. The brakes too. Who will discover the e-s disc and drums on the dx and elex performed well on the twisting road. Prices for the protege DX started at eleven thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars the elex at thirteen thousand three hundred ninety five dollars and the E S at sixteen thousand one hundred forty five dollars. That's near the top of the compact sedan range but one could argue that the new protege stylish fittings expanded interior room and all around performance

improvements. Now put it in a class beyond that of its traditional competitors perhaps even into a class by itself. I rode Test by request this week and boss the only auto maker headquartered in our home state of Maryland Landrover of North America. Now its parent company and one has been producing the world's most renowned and long lasting off road vehicles since 1948. Recently we Americans were introduced to an update of the original open top Land Rover. The short wheelbase Defender 90. Now our staff were so taken with the promise of this little go anywhere machine that we could hardly wait to try it out and we weren't the only ones. So the folks from Saly hauling Glenn and reduce their Rover without a roof to America's motoring press and a setting well suited to its character and ability. The wilds of western Wyoming intended as a rugged companion for the more cosmopolitan Range

Rover the open air Defender 90 looks more at home climbing rocks than cruising around the country club. This traditional Land Rover look should be a big hit with those customers that missed their chance to grab the larger defender 110. No vehicle is look this is home and America's house back since the original Willys jeep or better suited to the terrain than the short ninety two point nine inch wheel base for quick maneuvering Land Rovers famous long travel for all spring suspension on the company's potent 3.9 leader V8 engine also residing in the Range Rover County delivers one hundred eighty two horses and 230 £2 feet uphill climbing torque and climate dead as the press took turns tackling everything from steep hills. Walks and not. Soft snow. Hard. That. Power reaches the defenders full time four wheel drive system through a long throw but precise five speed manual gearbox to speed transfer case and manual locking center differential complete the drive train while a set of have to

be a good range off road tires mounted on standard steel or optional alloy wheels. Give the defender its bike still off road and experience did occasionally strand someone. Yes you can even get a Landrover stuck if you try but an optional £8000 winch easily pull the three thousand five hundred sixty pound aluminum body defender to solid ground. If your driving is more urban in nature such as at our home base in Maryland the defender will easily be EPA economy estimates of 13 city and 16 highway. We manage 16 on our mix. Suburban drivers will find the 90 to be a much firmer ride than its fans your relatives and a more austere one as well. The sliding glass windows are as minimalist as you can get a tano cover is the only standard protection from the elements. Better is the optional soft top that easily zips and snaps into place. I have top is also available inside there are no fancy leather seats or compact disc players standard floor coverings or rubber mats

but carpeting is an option and the dash is sturdy metal and plastic built for plenty of hard use. The top by nal covered bucket seats are basic but surprisingly comfortable over a long haul. The steering wheel is fixed but well positioned for both on and off road driving. The steering column also keeps its ignition lock on the left a legacy of the defender's right hand drive origin. The analog gauges are also basic and feature what may be the smallest tack ometer in the industry. While heat is provided by stiff but straightforward levers controls for the optional air conditioning reside in the center dash and bringing in fresh air is an easy matter of opening an extremely simple system of outside vents. As with the larger defender 110 the standard cassette stereos location is somewhat of an afterthought and the center console console also provides enough storage for many small items but the real storage is in the back. Without the optional rear seat there's enough room back here for us safaris worth of cargo. Now you may have to cover

that cargo if it rains but not the stereo speakers. They're water resistant. Outside the defender is made damage resistant by optional like guards at both ends and the side runners are also available to make getting in and out of the tall defender a little easier. Paying for the Defender 90 is also easier than for its bigger relatives. While you can easily tack on thousands in options the base price is down to twenty seven thousand nine hundred dollars nearly $20000 less than that of a Range Rover. Granted the Defender 90 doesn't have all of the luxury and convenience features of many upscale sport utility vehicles but its builders are convinced that there are plenty of serious buyers out there looking for a proven Land Rover performance without the frills. And we agree for the roughly 500 vendors that Land Rover will probably import to the U.S. each year won't last long but the 46 year reputation and tradition that the Land Rover Defender 90 represents will endure for many more years to come. The two latest catalogs in the matching numbers series from Carson parts

magazine should be among the most popular because they're about two of America's favorite cards catalogs of Corvette and Mustang ID number. Now both tell you how to decode bend tags body plates engine numbers and paint and trim code. Plus they have color sections showing exterior paint chips and correct interior colors enough for Street Fabrics. There's loads of information for the restorer collector or potential buyer of these cars. Join us next week for more motor week when we'll drive all that's new from Ford for 1995. And check out the latest drop top from both Wygant updates us on factory installed new car security systems. And Lisa Barrow shows us the only way to use child safety seats. 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. An expanded version of motor week's Porsche past present and future is available on video

cassette. It explores the history and future plans of the German automaker and that includes test drives of the Porsche 911 Turbo at 9:59. To use your credit card call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4 4 Sen 1095 plus $4 shipping to Motor Week home video. Post Office Box 6 8 6 1 8 Indianapolis Indiana 4 6 2 6 8. Oh I'm John date for the next edition of Motor Week. We'll show you all of its new from

Ford for the 95 model year. And check out Volkswagens latest dropped off that sauce updates us on factory installed new car security system. Well Lisa Barrow shows us the only way to use child safety seats. And we'll have all the latest Motor News. So don't you miss the next motorway.