Motorweek; 2008

This time on motor week a new Sebring from Chrysler are force fed frontier and drivers ed the BMW way. So come drive with us next. Mobile. TV's original automotive magazine brought to you by Priceline.com with Priceline dot com you name your own price for new cars. All makes and models of cars trucks sport utility vehicles minivans and more. When you log on to Priceline dot com you name your own price. And buy equal tire performance in cars light trucks and SUV. Equal reduces tire vibrations. So your tires can beat the road more evenly equal. For added safety stability and handling for the life of your tires. And 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 base staff with A.S.C.

certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service. Your host for Motor Week. John Davis. Hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. It's no secret that automakers frequently collaborate on everything from engines to entire cars. This cross company sharing once led to almost identical cookie cutter machines. But today manufacturers are providing even shared platforms with unique brand images. Take this 2001 Chrysler Sebring coupe for example. It shares almost all of its major components. We have this Mitsubishi Eclipse coupe. Yet while the eclipse is a slick twenty something Sport Coupe the Sebring is aimed at the more mature a coupe buyer. But that still begs the question can this new page from the same pod really be that much different. Of course it can. And since we're talking peas and pods here horticulturally speaking the all new 2001 Chrysler

Sebring coupe could be looked upon as a product of advanced genetic engineering although it is substantially less controversial than those special ears of corn we've been hearing about lately and better looking too. And that's the one major area where the Chrysler Sebring coupe differentiates itself clearly from its fraternal twin. The Mitsubishi Eclipse as it lets you know right up front with its signature facia boldly displaying the Wayne Chrysler crest whose tree it grows on the same can be said for its cab forward rounded wedge shape profile and its 300. Looking tail amps and trunk rear deck. It's a look that is unmistakably Kreisler under the skin. However this Sebring brings mixed heritage is more evident and more powerful. The standard offering is a Mitsubishi 2.4 leaders single overhead cams 16 valve I4 that produces 150 horsepower and 158 pound feet of torque. That's 15 horsepower over the two liter engine it replaces. But our

personal favorite is the optional Mitsubishi three leaders single overhead cam 24 valve V-6 that came in our lxi tester now pumping out 200 horsepower at 205 pound feet of torque. This smoother more refined engine is a vast improvement over the 2.5 leader unit it replaces. It also puts out thirty seven horsepower or more. More good news is both engines can be coupled with either a force feed automatic with or without the auto stick Manue matic option or 5 speed manual. Sadly our V-6 tester Hatim unequipped not only without the 5 speed that we found so enjoyable on the cliffs but without the auto stick as well. With Halloween just around the corner it was enough to call for a pox on the House of Kreisler but are less bewitching and more mature testor did manage a respectable run to sixty eight point five seconds and a quarter mile pass at sixteen point four seconds. Eighty seven miles per hour. Our drivers love this strong mid range power band and noted the lack of buzz Ynez that accompanied the previous engine and how

responsive this move shifting trance is to throttle input. The like XYZ 4 wheel disc brakes with optional abs also got favorable cudos stable and controlled stop from 60 of 122 feet or 10 percent shorter than the eclipse. Also order abs and Chrysler throws in traction control to boot. Well controlled is also how we describe the Sebring low speed slalom demeanor and general all around handling prowess understeer on turn ins is minimal until pushed hard. When a quickly goes to oversteer but does so with plenty of warning and an easily correctable fashion. Despite the soft springs used on both the Sebring and Eclipse drivers like the well balanced chassis and solid feel they only let down with steering as we found the power assist couldn't keep up with rapid side movements needed to negotiate the Chrysler engineers have taken special care to see that the new MacPherson strut suspension with coil springs and a 17 millimeter

stabilizer bar and the multilane double wishbone rear with coil springs will see you through whatever with a ride that keeps you feeling in. The clips unibody will stretch nearly three inches for the Sebring and stiffen substantially and the 17 inch wheels wrapped in 50 series Goodyear Eagles also enhance the Seabreeze handling and ride quality. But while the new Sebring is quieter we found road noise still a distraction though not enough to keep the seat behind the steering wheel from being a comfortable place to be. Our lxi came with a standard manually adjusted Travis cloth buckets. Leather is optional. The driver gets a seat height adjustment and a recliner memory function and faces a leather wrap for position tilt steering wheel the dash design with its deeply recessed gauges the hooded compass an external temperature readout and at the bottom of the center stack the climate controls what's lifted from the eclipse. The AM FM Cassette CD player stereo with 3 band equalizer and 7 Infinity speakers is all Chrysler

Chrysler is optional. While the backseat best accessed from the passenger side where the seat folds and glides forward benefit greatly from the added wheelbase with good leg room for two adults headroom is not so generous however especially for six footers but the 60:40 split seatbacks open the way up to a huge trunk with sixteen point three cubic feet of cargo capacity and the 2001 Chrysler Sebring coupe and elex trim can be yours for a very reasonable nineteen thousand three hundred fifty five dollars lxi models started twenty two thousand sixty dollars are modestly optioned lxi testor total just twenty three thousand six hundred twenty five dollars while the coupe shares the Sebring name with a sedan lineup. That's about all they share. But while sharing a lot with the eclipse especially the fine powertrain the Sebring coupe still comes away as its own car. Indeed the 2001 Chrysler Sebring coupe is a strong candidate for those seeking a sporty two door coupe

without all the boy racer traffic. And our friends at a.m.-I auto world weekly agree saying all told the Seabreeze are less appliance like and definitely more enjoyable to drive and to ride in than their competitors. And if the Chrysler Sebring coupe is a result of a little genetic engineering then we say Bring it on. Although we're still not quite so sure about that core do anti-lock brakes always reduce your stopping distance in emergency situations. A new government study concludes that except on loose surfaces like sand and snow all panic stops can be shorter whippoorwill anti-lock brakes than without. Short hair on wet pavement. And shorter on dry pavement. Remember ABS works best when you stop the brake pedal stay on the brake pedal and steer where you want to go. Coming up it's back to school with BMW.

Now let's see what's on tap for car care this week with our number one tack Pat Goss. John we've been out looking for some cool stuff to have around the house. Now we all need a jack every once in a while. Of course we've all got the one that comes in the car but they are pretty much worthless for a lot of things. One thing to remember if you must use the jack that comes with the car and you have to use it on a soft surface like blacktop or dirt or anything. Put a piece of heavy plywood underneath it so it won't sink into the surface and tip over that can be very dangerous. But a real jack you could go out and buy something like this Snap-On Jack does everything wonderfully. It's a professional model. It costs 430 bucks. Do you need that. Probably not. You probably won't get enough use out of it to make it worth the investment. So over here we have the AC Delco rapid Jack now small very compact. It has a carrying

handle on it so you can pick it up and carry it comes in a carrying case as well. Now it has some interesting features. Number one it has a dual stage pump in it and that means when you pump it and there's no weight on it while the jack head comes up very rapidly. So that's good. It costs about 30 bucks. Big savings and it'll do just about anything that you would want to do around the house. But one other thing we always need around the house is air. And here we have the hella man series of inflators. Now when you are inflating things there are two variables that you want to consider things like inflatable toys and air mattresses and things like that. Well they require a lot of air volume a tire on the other hand requires pressure so the air Mande series is available in either pressure or volume applications works great.

Now they also have things like this pop off shelf when it reaches a pre-determined pressure. This releases any more pressure from going into whatever you're inflating and you never overinflate. Now it's also available in 12 volt or rechargeable versions. They started about 100 bucks and they're incredibly handy to have. Now you could even do something like this you could inflate a basketball with it but basketballs they can be hazardous if you have a collectible car in the garage. You know the kids get the ball or the toys or whatever it might be and the car gets scratched or the car gets dirty. Well here we have the car capsule. You drive onto this then you zip through the top on. Then you plug it in it has a fan that inflates it. It has a filtering system so there's no dirt that gets on the car. It works very well at protecting it. They have versions that can be used outdoors as well as indoors.

They started about $250 for an indoor version for a motorcycle and they go up from there. Well it's a very very valuable piece of equipment for that car that you only use on weekends. Takes about 10 minutes to set this up. But remember take the antenna off of the car before you install the car capsule or you could be sorry if you have a question or comment right 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 beautifully restored 1972 Volkswagen Carmin get convertible. It belongs to William Wallace of Bloomington Illinois. Purchased by William's father in 1976. The car now has seventy one thousand miles on it. If your family has a special car we'd love to see it.

Just admit at least two good color photos plus a description of the car to motor week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Have you ever driven a classic car one built in the 1920s or 1930s. How about a 60s era muscle car. While I know it was a great drive you probably were surprised at how poorly the classics steer and brake compared to modern cars. Unfortunately the driving skills of most of us have not kept pace with car development. BMW maker of some of the world's finest sports sedans knows that all too well. But as f y our reporter Jennifer because Navis found out firsthand they're doing something about it. If you like the majority of the driving population you probably think that the basic driver's ed training you had when you started out is enough to become an expert driver that BMW is of a different opinion driving experts at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg South

Carolina. So there are too many drivers on the road that haven't been given adequate instruction. And since modern day cars are so fine tuned and hybrids need to be to. The general drivers finally get it. It's all in knowledge in me. Maybe it's the time to change the tower in parallel park before that is enter the BMW driving school. You have the option to take the one day or two day course if you decide to take a 2 day. Get ready for some really challenging exercises because basically you take the first day skills and build on those at the BMW formant center we offer to driving schools. One is our one day car control clinic and then you can add an additional second day advance school to it. We focus entirely on teaching just good driving skills practical information that everybody can use every day the. First. They do a lot of the skills they can every day and the second days more just building on them. We add new to. We really refine your technique. We make it sound a little tougher to change out the

exercises. Basically point the limits of the car. So we all buckled up on day one myself included and went back to school. Throughout the first day we all were given thorough instruction on basic things like seat positioning and proper steering wheel grip. Cane braking exercises with and without ABS. Maneuvers and the emergency lane change which turned out to be one of the hardest. At least I thought so. One of the simple things that we teach is proper vision. Where do you look if you're going down the road. People don't have enough attention to driving tests that they can when they're behind the wheel of a car. So we teach a simple principle of look as far down the road as you possibly can provide yourself with information that just gives you a decision making

process that helps keep you out of trouble on the street. And that's what made the emergency lane change exercise so difficult. It seemed like none of us looked far enough. We also got our first lesson on staying off the cell phone while driving. Good job you talk. On the. Right answer. On the second day everything got more intricate faster speeds and more obstacles made everything just a little tougher. One of my fellow classmates Gordon divid says he recommends this class to anyone. Oh I think it's fabulous. I wish I'd done it before and I'd really encourage especially the kids to come through and get a. Real sense of the vehicles. Mike I have teenage boys. And they are just talking as I was and I think. First of all this will. Give me a comfort level that they knew. What the car was capable of and secondly give them that kind of zone of discomfort that I think is what keeps you alive. Seems like children are bad. Generally have parents. They've they've learned bad habits from the parents and hopefully get someone early enough and the parents can still feel good

driving behavior and instincts on the children. This course is not restricted only to BMW owners. Anyone can take the class. You'll be glad you did and we'll all be safer for it. We're now eight months into our yearlong road test of this 2004 excursion the unquestioned nuking of SUV. In that time we have built up a few pretty big impressions of this huge hauler. First off almost nineteen miles. It is totally troublefree second are 7.3 leader turbo diesel delivers amazing fuel economy for any three and a half ton vehicle. Sixteen point seven miles per gallon is our official reading but highway excursions deliver a solid 90. Even though the diesel with it's now five hundred five pound feet of torque is a forty six hundred sixty dollar option. It's worth it if you plan to tow anything close to its max of ten thousand pounds. And

third we've grown to like the tri panel rear door stop a release latch allows the doors to open even wider than normal. So all of the excursions fifty two point two each with between the wheel wells can be used so far were those. The Ford Excursion lives up to its big reputation in all positive way. Well our impressions be positive or otherwise about this Oldsmobile Aurora and this Mitsubishi Eclipse could find out on our next motor week long term road test update. Now for a look at what will soon drive. Here again is Jennifer because not us. But this time with all the latest Motor News. When Kellock first announced there we're going to sell a sport you loud guffaws were heard across the land especially since it's no more than a rebadged GMC Yukon Chevy Tahoe. But look who's laughing now. It's the folks at Cadillac because after a mid year introduction in 1998 nearly 24000 escalates rolled off the lots in 1999. And success like that spun this all new escalate for 2002 and at

least in the looks department it's no longer simply a knock off as a new escapade wears a distinctive Cadillac face that shows traces of the evoke show car. And in keeping with Calix vision is a blend of art and science. The escalator is loaded with plenty of tasteful comfort and safety wizardry. Like standards to build a track electronic stability system for improved cornering. It's augmented by a road sensing suspension system with active shocks that AIDS body stability and handling as well as low level and ride comfort. Under the hood are two engines all wheel drive models get the new vortex six thousand V8 ratings are 345 horsepower and 380 pound feet of torque. That's 45 more horsepower than Lincoln's navigator and the all wheel drive system uses a viscous coupling transfer case to nominally split torque 38 percent front 62 percent rear 100 percent of the torque can be directed to either end when needed to drive models. The Vortex 50 300 with 285 horsepower and 325 pound feet of torque.

Inside you'll also find a trick looking dash and plenty of smart wood in leather to coddle you. There's also seating for 8 and room for plenty of cargo. The 2002 Cadillac Escalade goes on sale in January of 2001 with prices expected to start in the mid-40s. We'll have a complete road test of the Kalac escalate in the near future and that's it for this week's motor news. These latest shots show Ford is moving ahead with the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood looking much like the show concept to will drive luxury pick up will be powered by the navigator $5.40 300 horsepower V-8 the Blackwood's 56. Bad will include a double Hynds door style tailgate and a remote controlled hard tonneau cover. Blackwood is slated to begin rolling off the assembly line in January and should arrive in dealerships shortly thereafter. Automakers are on a no win situation when it comes to horse power. Namely they never having enough of it to satisfy everyone. Most could add rocket assist to their latest

models and they'd still hear someone complaining that it's a little weak. But what if here Nissan and your freshly restyled frontier pickup like its competitors already has V-6 horsepower. How much more. Well how about 40 horsepower and up to £46 feet up two or more. That's the added output of the frontier's new engine which makes the same three point three leaders single overhead cam engine we loved in the Xterra SUV with a roots type supercharger made by the blower specialists even with the SuperChargers. Three low rotors spinning peak output is 200 horsepower. Torque is 200 £31 feet with a five speed manual transmission and 200 £46 feet with a speed automatic. Our test truck was a manual and we liked it. Positive engagement. Although the long throws which seemed perfect for a truck through those who wanted to drive this blown frontier like a sports car.

Nevertheless we still managed a very respectable 0 to 60 Ropp of nine seconds flat and a quarter mile time of sixteen point eight seconds. At 81 mph while a turbocharger contributes most at higher RPMs our roots type supercharger adds more grunt off the line plus more mid-range punch. So we weren't that surprised that the top in pool was mild. Idli even with more pulling power. Our test truck carried the same tone rating as the normally aspirated three point three thousand five hundred pounds with the manual five thousand pounds with the automatic. Fuel mileage for a rear drive supercharged Frontier's EPA rated at 15 city and 18 highway. We managed 17 and mixed driving. Driving in our test track showed this desert runner like all recent Frontier's to have a solid feel with very stable handling and a smoother ride than most small trucks to back up its extra horsepower. The Frontier has received steroidal styling for 2001. The body on all fronts including R4 by desert runner is far more muscular with

industrial strength bumpers and blistered headlamps with styling borrowed from the Maxima. All Frontier's sport angular fender flares with four by fours and desert runners adding even more big as well as cool expose the rivet cap look while a new lock tailgate completes the frontier's big truck styling the front here gets a new look inside as well. The dash features clear gauges in our trucks trendy pewter faces and larger controls for heat and ventilation. As well as a standard CD stereo although the stereos low dash position still makes it a stretch to use so to compensate. Nissan added satellite stereo controls on the steering wheel which is a desert runner trim also has contrasting red stitching to match the stitching on the available leather upholstery and the rear of the desert runner standard King Cab. There's plenty of small cargo room plus a pair of pull down Kit size jump seats though the real space is still on the front big for its class. Seventy four point six inch long double wall cargo

box. Frontier pricing however is no more substantial than that of its competitor. Desert runner started sixteen thousand four hundred sixty nine dollars for an X-C with a manual transmission. SC trim starts at eighteen thousand six hundred nineteen dollars for the supercharger. Add another $649 to King cabs and crew cab. But that includes leather upholstery and a six CD stereo so it's a bargain upgrade. Indeed Nissan surprised everyone when it added the extra punch of a supercharger to its 2001 frontier. Giving it a big boost over its competitors in more ways than one. It not only should satisfy those jaded customers who always want the feel of just a few more ponies under the hood but it all comes in an eye popping wrapper as well. I hope you'll join us next week for more Motor Week one will test Toyota's new so Koya full size sport and a lushest Rolls Royce Corny's convertible. I'm John Davis. We'll see you then.

To learn more about motor week. TV's original automotive magazine visit us online at PBS dot org or America Online keyword PBS motor week has been brought to you by Priceline.com with Priceline.com. You name your own price for new cars. All makes and models of cars trucks sport utility vehicles minivans and more. When you log on to Priceline.com you name your own price and buy equal tire performance in cars light trucks and SUV. Equal reduces tire vibrations. So your tires can meet the road more evenly equal for added safety stability and handling for the life of your tires. And by pep boys no matter what you drive Pep Boys says over 27000 items in stock. Virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service based with ACS certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service. To order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 0 6 4.

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