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All. This time on Motor Week 88. See how one for the road can be one too many take to the road in the latest BMW executive class sedan. That Gosnell answer questions on rubber that meets that road. And say hello to the

reborn Pontiac be our own Come drive with us next. Motor Week 88. TV's automotive magazine with your host John Davis. Hello and welcome to Motor Week 88. We're glad to have you with us. We have a wide variety of automotive fun and information this time. But you know there are some kinds of fun that just don't go with driving. You've probably already guessed that we're talking about drinking and we'll repeat the cliche drinking and driving don't mix. But I asked why I-Reporter Charlotte Nichols goes beyond the cliche. And this time

she offers proof for all of those that may choose to ignore the reminder don't drink and drive. In recent years society has begun to change its attitude about having a couple and then hitting the road with increased drunk driving arrests and accidents and outrage from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Many restaurants and bars across the country are encouraging responsible drinking by eliminating happy hours and offering their patrons free food or giving soft drinks on the House to those who are designated drivers. Despite all this attention some will still give little thought to taking out the cross he's so we decided to take a look at what really happens when you drink and then drive. With the help of Maryland state police officers James Williams and Michael Cryan Douras a motor week staff members Beth not Joan and Martin Peters. We conducted a drunk driving test on a course at Martin state Airport outside of Baltimore. Our test consisted of a series of slalom turns a garage area a back up section an emergency lane

change and the stop all normal situations you might encounter in everyday driving. Since no two people react exactly the same to alcohol their height weight and sex was taken into consideration by the officers who gave them varying amounts to drink so they would reach the same blood alcohol content level at the same time. Our tests consisted of four runs at point five percent. Point 1 0 point 1 3 and point 1 5. At the first run both showed signs of reduced judgment. The first driving ability affected by drinking people when they drank they. Their judgment is affected because they do not feel the effects of alcohol. They feel they can do things better when they've had a couple drinks than they can when they're sober. And of course the more they have the better they feel they can perform different various tasks. After that your coordination starts to falter a little and then when people have three four five drinks going to be a sea level gets to be about a point zero weight

their vision is affected dramatically. A lot of people develop tunnel vision at a point 0 8 which means that the only thing they see is what's directly ahead of their vehicle. Best time at point five percent was slower knocking down three cones. With two ounces of alcohol in her system she said she felt basically normal. But was concentrating a little. More. To reach the same level. MARTIN drank five ounces. His first run was vaster. Also knocking down three pounds but going off the course at one point. He said it felt easier to drive without concentrating this much run number two came after each drank and absorbed into their systems another two and a half ounces of alcohol reaching point 1 0 percent B A C legally drunk in 38 states. Best time was again slower knocking down two cones but grazing many more. This time she said she really had to concentrate and she began to show signs of being the cautious drunk driver. MARTIN second was the extreme opposite.

His time was again faster. At point 1 0 percent knocking down 25 cones grazing many more along the way. Afterwards he said he wanted to drive even faster. And he began to show signs of being the reckless drunk driver. By this level both Martin and Beth showed visible signs of the alcohol they had concerned to reach our third Test level at point 1 3 percent. Beth was given another one and a half ounces of alcohol and Martin three and a half ounces more. Beth again drove slower and concentrated harder on the course still knocking down five cones and grazing several. MARTIN third run was again faster. Over 18 counties and grazing quite a few afterwards both said concentration was extremely difficult and they didn't remember hitting the cones at all. Finally to reach the point when 5 percent test that was given another one and a half ounces to drink and Martin two ounces more.

She continued to drive even slower yet hitting 10 come ons and graze in several. Continue to drive even faster hitting 15 cones and leaving the course twice. By the end of our test. Beth had consumed a total of seven and a half ounces and Martin 13 ounces and the sobriety test. Well they speak for themselves. MARTIN tended to get more aggressive the more he had to drink. He would be a real danger on the highways here for the kind he knocked over were people and I was. What of the people the kind that's touched about. She tended to drive slower the more she drank the slower shooter at what does that tell you. She would be the type person on interstate highway that would drive 25 or 30 miles an hour and shoot that would be a danger to the motoring public also. The statistics on drunk driving are staggering. Nearly 25000 people are killed each year from alcohol related accidents. That means one out of every two fatal car crashes is caused by a drunk driver. One accident every 20

minutes. So if you want to make sure you never hear this State Police please step out of there the next time you're out having a drink or two and you're thinking about driving. Ask yourself this question How much is safe. And if you don't own a new car well I guess this is a good time for a new car road test. Our subject is the BMW 735. It's all new and next to its aggressive looks the thing people notice most about it is its price nearly $50000. You know there's just something about a round total of 50000 that seems so much more outrageous than say 47000. So the obvious question is just what does BMW give you for your 50

grand. You get every bit as much car as you would from the maker of that other popular German luxury sedan and the BMW 735 II is better looking too. Even if you aren't impressed by it's a get out of the way boldness. The BMW 735 II is still a harmonious work of Teutonic sculpture sculpture that makes today's wind cutting efficiency with yesterday's practicality. And unlike so many new models the 735 eye still has drip moldings. They keep rainwater from ending up on your head and the seats. Speaking of which things look pretty familiar inside just a bit more contemporary than the previous 735 I. You can choose from any of six up whole tree collars and the bottom half of the dash is actually finished in that color. We recommend any color but black for making the interior a pleasant place to live. And for staying

alive you get BMW supplemental restraint system which has a driver side airbag because of the bag the steering wheel is not adjustable but you still get a good view of the large instruments. While there are no read outs for oil pressure or volts there is a check control warning system that covers every malady you can think of. The 735 II seats are a little on the firm side but you get used to them. It helps if there's a 3 position memory for all of the seats adjustments and the mirrors also adjust to match the seats. For ventilation the 735 eye has separate climate controls for the driver and the passenger. The system works automatically but the driver controls the fan speed. Everything in the 735 II is less than half an arm's reach away. The radio especially and it's easier to use than the ones in some other German cars. Our only complaint here is for reception from the rear window mounted antenna. The trip computer is an advancement we prefer for winter driving it sounds a warning when you encounter black

ice. And while we're on the subject of electronics the 735 eyes for speed automatic is controlled electronically. There are three shift programs manual sport and economy. They gear and programs are displayed on the dash. Unfortunately the gear readouts on the shifter don't light up at night. A 5 speed manual is also available. And when you shift into reverse the right side mirror automatically drops down to give you a view of what's immediately behind you. A nice touch to the rear seat offers plenty of Heaven like room and three point shoulder belts for the outboard passengers and there's also a window shade to keep the ultraviolence to a minimum. But we did find two flaws inside a poorly attached section of otherwise lovely wood trim and a flimsy plastic ashtray. Perhaps the latter is just a sign of the times and for those times when you have to travel with luggage there's a wide flat trunk and an unfortunately high sill. Also the now familiar BMW tool

kit. And at the other end as BMW is excellent three point four liter fuel injected six cylinder. It's pretty much the same engine that was in the previous 735 OC but it's been modified to pump out more power. Horses are up to to a weight torque is impressive too now at two hundred twenty five pounds feet a little bit of vibration produced is kept to a minimum with hydraulic motor mount. Maybe that's one reason why the 735 II doesn't feel like it goes as quickly as it really does. Zero to 60 took a scant 9.5 seconds but felt wrong. Power build slowly and comes up most at higher engine speed transmission shifts are smooth enough to go unnoticed and quarter mile times are good at seventeen point two seconds with a speed of 83. They should pick up even more when the V12 version of the 735 III shows up next spring and in handling this seven thirty five eyes two tons of weight nearly goes unnoticed to the body lean is well controlled and transitions from side to side are smooth.

Aggressive maneuvers are met with a touch of scrub from the front in and the back end stay solidly put on last you are running late with all the gear. Our only complaint here is with the 735 high steering it's electronically controlled power system varies with speed and hard turns at moderate speeds. The assisting creases too much and makes the steering suddenly very heavy. Just when you don't want to be. Electronic controls are put to better use in the 735 eyes. All this right there of the anti-lock variety as so many luxury cars are now and hold the BMW. Down from 55 with a distance average of one hundred eight feet very short and on the highway the 735 eye delivers a compliant. If I'm wrong I interior sound is a very quiet 64 decibels and fuel economy for our car was also a pleasant surprise despite EPA ratings of 14 city and 9000 highway. We managed a much better twenty two.

So even though the seven thirty five I may not deserve it's $1050 gas guzzler tax it does deserve high marks for exterior fit in finish and a solid air tight feel that tops our list of hits followed by a performance of luxury passenger room and high tech convenience features. As for Mrs.. We don't like the 735 eyes variable power steering a limited radio reception or the quality of some of its interior fittings. In our safety check the 735 eye passes all points with front passive restraint rear shoulder belts. 5 mph bumpers and radial tires all standard. As for comparison to equal high brow competition we found the Jaguar x J 6 we tested last year to be slower than the 735 II. It has less interior headroom too but is more luxurious overall. The Mercedes 560 FCL on the other hand costs more than the 735

eye is less nimble in traffic but is considered more prestige. But getting back to tangibles the $50000 BMW 735 I is nearer perfection than ever before and even with a few flaws we predict it could sell for thousands more. And now here's Pat Goss to answer a couple of viewer letters. Pat. Talk about engines and transmissions can get to be a little tiresome. Thankfully we have a few letters about a different subject John. Our letters are about tires. Our first one from Virginia Womack of Apache Junction Arizona. She writes My 81 for DXP has twenty eight thousand miles on the odometer and I'm about to replace the original Michelin tires. Any suggestions about new tires. Yes as a matter of fact. But first we're talking about Michelin tires. What are they. Well they are a high performance tire that is

used considerably on Ford products. They're optional on most of them and they're standard on a few. But what is a TR ex Tire. Well the big thing that makes it different than anything else is that it's a metric tire. The inside diameter from one side of the rim to the other. Well that is a metric measurement and it's in between conventional sizes. It's not a 13 inch tire it's not a 14 inch tire. It is a metric tire. Now if you have one of the larger Ford cars that use these tires then what you might be able to do. Well you have some options. You could replace it with the Michelin Rx tire which is well it's a little bit expensive it's an excellent tire. But if you want to save a little money you could go to a different brand because there are some other manufacturers like this Avon tire that make tires to fit the larger 390 millimeter size. But on the escorts and some of the smaller cars that use three hundred

sixty five millimeter tires basically the only tire that you're going to be able to get for it is the Michelin. Now there's one option that you could employ and that is that you could go to a wrecking yard and you could buy steel wheels for one of the smaller cars and put conventional tires on it. Now there would be a sacrifice as far as handling performance is concerned but you could save a considerable amount of money by doing this. So that's the only real option. Now our second letter. This one is from Robert Drayer of Sunnyvale California who writes is 1975 all star fire still has its original tires the tread is still good. Does the age of the tires pose a threat. You bet it does. So tires not only do they wear out as far as the tread is concerned Time is an enemy and the reason time is an enemy is because ozone occurs naturally in the air. Ozone

damages the compound of the rubber in the tires will actually cause them to deteriorate. Many times what you will see is like what we have on this tire down here. We squeeze us a little bit we can see that the side wall of the tire is badly dry rot it is full of cracks. If you have a situation like that the tire definitely needs to be replaced. But in addition to that if the tires are five years old or older they should be replaced because even though you may not see the deterioration it's still going on in the tire. It is a matter of fact tire manufacturers recommend that to their dealers and so on the tires not be kept in storage more than six months. You know one time I saw a situation where tires had been kept in storage for several years and then they were sold to retail customers and within the first few months virtually all of them failed because they had the period with age and time.

So five years. Replace the tires whether they have good tread or not. And if you happen to have a question about your tires or some other part of the automobile we would certainly love to hear from you. How about dropping us a line here at Motor Week. Always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's Motor Week. Always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. You know sometimes car makers don't see as far down the road as we'd like them to take Pontiacs to see the Aero. The Fiero was conceived as a fuel efficient commuter car. By the time it appeared in 1904 people wanted sports cars. The Pharaoh looked like a sports car but his performance fell far short. So Pontiac went to work transforming the pharaoh right away. But they caution that the job couldn't be done overnight. It's now the nineteen eighty eight model year and the pharaoh's Dawn has finally arrived appropriately Pontiacs little son is sporting a

fresh bright yellow paint scheme to mark the debut of its new steering and suspension systems. Pontiac put their money where their press releases are to by letting automotive writers have a first crack at this true sports car. Zero on the demanding Mid-Ohio Raceway. It didn't take long to feel the differences from past fear of. Garner the sluggish manual steering and heavy front end plow of the car's original Chevette based front suspension. The fi arrow now steers with persuasion and can be tossed from one curb to the next exhibiting fine agility. The Pharaoh is the first production car with a new electro hydraulic power steering system. Since the pharaoh's engine is behind the driver a conventional engine driven steering pump is impractical the Pharao power steering system uses an electric motor to drive the hydraulics. That also means that if the engine quits unexpectedly power steering is retained as long as the ignition is on.

Steering boost is speed sensitive too with full assist for parking and city creepy at highway speeds. Behavior is close to that of manual steering. With. Good Road feel and hire wheel turning effort. More important however is the new coil spring front suspension. It not only makes the car handle better but it's geometry also reduces the pharaoh's turning circle. At the rear I knew tried link design includes softer springs and more after wheel movement or a smoother ride and improved road holding on rough pavement. Combined with past improvements like the multi-port injected V-6 engine and the get track 5 speed manual transaxle the 1988 fi aero now seems a cohesive sports car design. And if you think that all this means a lot higher price tag Pontiac is also introducing a bargain formula package that includes most optional fee aero performance hardware. We'll be putting the 1988 Pharao through our full road test procedure soon to

see if it's transformation to a true sports car is really complete. Our car of the week is a 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL roadster and it's owned by Kenneth R. chain of Tarzana California. Now if you have a special car that you'd like to share with us send a good color photo and a self-addressed stamped return on below to Motor Week in Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. There are many of those 300 SL roadsters left but there are always upcoming models for us to dream on plus plenty of rumors. And that brings us to Charlotte Nichols and this week's Modern News Charlotte. Thanks John. We have good news for people who missed their energies and triumphs but the successor to the British roadster wrote come from Britain. It will come from Detroit

and Ford will sell it here beginning in 1989. The roadster will be known by a familiar name Capri. The car's concept comes from a Ford of Europe show car called the gear bar chata. But the new Capri was engineered by Ford of Australia. The chassis is by Mazda Mazda already supplies components for Ford's Mercury Tracer. The front drive Capri will have a fully independent suspension and a one point six leader four cylinder engine. Prices should start at eighty five hundred dollars and we have details of Ford's recall of four point one million vehicles. It spans 86 87 and 88 models with fuel injection including escort and Mercury Lynx Mustang and Mercury Capri Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar Ltd Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis Taurus and Mercury Sable all the Lincoln models and many Ford light trucks including the popular Aerostar van. There is a chance the fuel line companies may not have the latch problem. Joining some play or service

to correct the problem Ford will install an extra retainer clips to keep the couplings from separating. Ford says it will take about 30 minutes to fix each car. John thanks Charlotte. OK let's get back to the fun part of driving Greg saying hoss roads the countryside defying quintessential cars and the people who make them interesting. He takes the high road this time to a time before that road was even paid. Will. Lose. This is a genuine 1917 Packard truck that was restored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and it represents a milestone in the history of transportation. You see a handful of trucks just like this one where the very first the pioneer interstate trucking in America. And they were called the Winged Foot Express.

Before 917 most of America was moved by railroad. Horse power meant horse drawn wagons hauling goods from warehouse to railhead. And there was no need for speed traps because motorized trucks could move at only four or five miles per hour over crude roads. There were lots of damaged goods and sewer kidney's. That was mostly because of the hard solid rubber tires on trucks. The pneumatic or air filled tire was available for cars but the pneumatic truck tire was not yet perfected. Until the Wing Foot express caravan. Or America World War One was only three days old when the very first Winged Foot express trucks on their pneumatic tires started the trip from Akron Ohio to Boston Massachusetts. Now that trip today would be measured in hours. But that very first one took 28 days. Highways were unheard of. Most roads were really farm trails. It also took 28 tires to get that first convoy to Boston. And there were no CB radios either. Good buddy.

The wing for Express drivers also explored routes to Florida and San Francisco in crossing Wyoming. Thirty five of the 56 bridges collapsed under the weight of Winged Foot trucks and the pioneers persevered over almost nonexistent roads. They eventually helped establish what would become intrastate trucking in America. Almost seven decades later to commemorate the Wing Foot express Goodyear pried the remains of an early truck from a frozen Minnesota bog. It was a 1917 Packard just like the one from the old kidney busting days working from old photographs. A craftsman an artist authentically restored the old Packard to its former glory. They scoured the country to find the right parts. The headlamps came from Chicago the differential gear from a barn in Pennsylvania and ironically Goodyear got the tires from a fire station in Arizona. And just to prove that those tires could still do their job Goodyear entered the Wynford express in the Great American Race a coast to coast dash for pre 935 cars

and trucks. Well it took a mid race engine swap to get the old Packard from Los Angeles to New York. But the old hauler still had its pioneer grit. The Winged Foot completed its coast Coast track and along the way reminded millions of Americans that the spirit of adventure is still alive and well out on America's highways. When we come back next time Charlotte Nickols will answer all our questions about government crash testing and Pat Goss will have more answers for your Karkare questions. I'm John Davis and we'll all see you then. And.

I. This time on Motor Week an 89 super goes gear list with a just

ECV team. Lisa Barrow gears up for a trip to the factory for your delivery. Bad God fixes things they have never heard of at the factory. Now we find things to fix in our longterm testily. So come drive with us next. Eighty nine. TV's automotive magazine with your host John Davis. Hello and welcome again to motor week 89 we're glad to have you with us. The auto industry advances pretty quickly. It seems there's always another new product right around the corner. Subaru has introduced its share of innovations mostly

related to four wheel drive automobiles. Now Subaru is introducing what many industry analysts consider the automatic transmission of the future. It's available in the newly restyled Juste and goes under the acronym East see the T. A CVT stands for electronic continuously variable transmission. Simply the ECV system uses a metal belt and two variable diameter pulleys to transmit power rather than relying on fixed gear ratios with the engine running at an almost constant speed. The belt slides between the two variable pulleys pulley consist of two halves that move either towards or away from each other. This movement forces the bell to ride each pulley at the proper spot for the required ratio. The result is a shiftless feel that should appeal to drivers who spend a lot of time in heavy traffic and are noise with a low speed jarring of regular automatics. Power for this unique drive train comes from the

justes proven one point two liter three cylinder engine sixty six horsepower and 70 pound feet of torque through an electromagnetic clutch and to the tee and finally to the front. We. Pulled our test juste from 0 to 60 and twelve point five seconds. That's a full second faster than the manual transmission model that we tested last year. A quarter mile ended in one thousand point four seconds at 70 mph. Unlike the up and down bobbing of a regular automatics RPMs the ECV rabs jump quickly to the 3000 range and stay there throughout the run. A sports setting is also available. It keeps the rpms at 4000 for quicker engine response but we notice little difference. The transmission smoothness is offset by a loud raspy engine. The little 3 cylinder thrash is quite a bit when pushed hard. There's nothing harsh about the suspension however extensive changes have produced a juste that handles and rides as well as cars costing thousands more. Grip is excellent

and the power steering provides plenty of feedback. All in all it's a much more competent car than last year's model. Even emergency maneuvers require a good deal less adrenaline. The back end feels lighter but front wheel plow keeps you out of trouble. The juste seldom loses its grip or composure. Larger tires and most 89 just have a lot to do with that. The brakes have received an upgrade as well. Larger front desk. Are cylinders allowed just to stop in 125 feet from 60 miles per hour. A good result is nonexistent and pedal feel is good. Well the white locks up occasionally and the nose pulls to the right and hard stops. One of the greatest advantages that Subaru claims for a TC BT equipped car is improved gas mileage the EPA rates the automatic juste at 34 city 35 highway test car delivered a consistent 35 mpg and all kinds of driving conditions. By the way. 5 speed manual and four

wheel drive gestes are still available. The juste has certainly changed for the better and not just underneath. There's also sleek new sheet metal to replace last year's boxy styling. The juste is also growing. It gained six inches in length and one inch in height for 89. The result is a cabin with more headroom and a higher grade of trim. Sound insulation has also been upgraded interior sound is now a very reasonable 67 decibels. The 89 dash is a more efficient affair than last years with larger clearer controls and a new steering wheel design gauges are large and easy to read the cluster is a bit sparse but a gear selector readout for the automatic transmission is a welcome addition. Seating comes in the form of a comfortable cloth covered buckets. The manual adjustments are basic but a good driving position is possible. Heat and ventilation are controlled by four well-marked slide controls a separate button controls the optional air conditioning and an AM FM radio is standard in our

geo grade car. It's a much more modern unit than the one in our last just in the ECV shifter looks like any other automatic shifter but this one has an annoying cork. It's so light and vague that our test drivers found themselves constantly overshooting gears shift lock is provided for extra safety. Rear seating is surprisingly generous for a small car. It's a squeeze to get in but quite comfortable once you're there. A split folding seat back allows access to the cargo area that space grows by one cubic foot this year. There's plenty of luggage room and left over is low. The juste is a vastly improved car and the price reflects that. Our Geo grade car now starts at seven thousand two hundred fifty one dollars. The ECV transmission is a five hundred forty dollar option. Our test car totaled eight thousand five hundred fifty six dollars. By comparison a comparably trained Honda Civic hatchback will cost you more. But like the juste it does make very efficient use of minimal interior space.

On our safety check the juste passes with new rear shoulder belts but lacks front passive restraints and antilock brakes. Head Start with the ECV T itself. It's the smoothest automatic transmission we've ever used. We also like the all around performance improvements. Sharp new styling better interior and excellent fuel mileage misses include the vague shift lever noisy engine and mediocre braking stability. Subaru deserves a lot of credit for upgrading a fairly new model so quickly. Many larger car companies would have tread more cautiously. As for the success of the ECV that remains to be seen. Both Ford and Ffion have marketed this type of transmission in Europe with only moderate success but neither is as sophisticated as the Subaru system. The juste itself looks set for a long unhappy day. As one of the best values in this sub compact plant. Lisa Barrow travels far and wide for her effort i reports to find the

information that motorway viewers need. This time our topic is buying a European car and she went a little bit further than any of us expected. If you're planning a trip to Europe here's something you might want to think about combining your vacation with the purchase of a new European car. It's called European delivery. European delivery means you order your car here in the US and take delivery in Europe. Most European car companies offer delivery programs and they're all very similar. But let's take a look at how Mercedes-Benz does it. Very simply you would place your order through an authorized local Mercedes-Benz dealership here in United States. And they handle all the paperwork for you and that includes the shipping and customs paperwork and a travel agent to arrange the airline reservations. To use only. One single thing. Unless you're me that's a big one here. And if you like.

Take an tour of the factory. A factory tour. Gives the customer. An opportunity to victimise. The production process. He sees the quality of the workmanship which goes into the car. He appreciates his car. Much more if he does. See that process. You also know that it. Establishes a special bond between the customer and the car. Next you're introduced to your car. A Mercedes-Benz representative will go over the car's features and functions and then you're on your way. Two weeks of driving insurance is included in the price of the car. Of course more insurance coverage is available if the choir the car is registered on international custom license plates and ready to roll when you take delivery at the factory. It is US certified meets or US standard. European delivery has many benefits. You can travel at your own pace. Cities

like Rodenberg. A town whose history begins at the turn of the millennium or sample some of Germany's famous pastries. Thank you. And of course to be saving on the cost of a rental car and the cost of the car itself depending on the model you choose. European delivery offers a savings of up to 10 percent off the domestic retail price. BMW Jaguar Peugeot Volkswagen involved all offer European delivery plans. Some plans have attractive offers such as reduced airfare and a complimentary hotel stay after the customers travel through any of 27 different locations located throughout Europe. The cars then shipped back to the United States and the next time the car would be at the dealership where he bought it. This takes anywhere from three to seven weeks. Whichever manufacturers plan you choose bear in mind their extra expenses you'll have to pay for. For example are charges for your car to be shipped from the port to the dealership included in the

price. And the more expensive the car the more you'll save. For instance buying a Benz 300 a European delivery plan would save you over $5000. Buying a 190 you'd save about twenty five hundred dollars. It's still winter here in the US but if you're planning a vacation to Europe this summer now's the time to make arrangements. Just think your car could include like seeing the castle in Heidelberg. Or window shopping in a quaint little town. Or sampling more pastry. Or drive through. The great American pickup truck is a colorful look at the life of America's favorite workhorse rather than offering endless list of production numbers. Henry Rasmussen prefers to hit the highlights and doesn't restrict himself to show quality restorations. While hardly a comprehensive history the beautiful

photography alone makes it a must buy for pick up aficionados. And now here is Pat Goss to make two more car owners lives a little easier. Pat engine vacuum is very interesting John. Iran's a lot of things on an automobile and it's at the root of many problems and we have a couple of letters about vacuum problems. First from Harold Clo Pac Sun City Arizona. I have a 1977 Lincoln Town Car. It's a great automobile with one exception. When you drive up a hill the air conditioner goes off when you release the accelerator it comes back on. I would appreciate any suggestions you offer. Well I think it's probably a vacuum problem. But before we get into what it is we have to know a little bit about vacuum. Now here we have a diagram that shows what happens inside the engine of a car as this piston

inside moves downward. It produces a suction or vacuum in here in the cylinder itself. Now this suction draws air from the outside of the car through the carburetor and into the intake manifold bringing fuel with it. This is how we make the engine run we draw this fuel in the air in there. But what we're really concerned with is vacuum. Now the vacuum there's negative pressure or suction extends up into the intake manifold and we can use this negative pressure to do all sorts of things on the engine of the car because we can tap into this and we can run a vacuum hose out to various accessories under the hood. Now the manufacturer of this particular car this diagram that we're using Well they elected to use. Engine vacuum to control all sorts of things the PCV valve the valve the vapor cannister and so on. Now in most all cars vacuum is used for

these things. It's also in some cars used to shift the automatic transmission and it's most always used to control the air conditioning. If you have factory air. OK now how does that relate to the problem on this Lincoln. Well as you go uphill or you accelerate hired with a car the vacuum in the engine the levels of this suction become less. And if you don't do something to protect the accessories from this lessening of the vacuum they will change positions and so on. Like the air conditioning will turn off. Now what do they do to protect that well they put vacuum storage canisters on the car. One type is like we have here this is made of metal. Then we have the type that we can see back here this is made of plastic. Well the Lincoln in this particular letter should have a metal one like this. And as we can see on this particular one it has rusted through. There's a hole in it and it can no

longer contain the vacuum to back up the engine so that these systems don't change. So whenever you have an air conditioning problem like this where it changes position as you go uphill. Well that means that you should check that vacuum storage canister. All right our next letter. This one is from Milo Peka of Dayton Ohio. I own a 1982 horizon TC 3 17:00 cc engine. The engine will not idle smoothly or pull at 1000 rpm. Once rolling it will surge and bucket fifteen hundred to 2000 rpm above that it runs fine with only slight hesitation. The distributor cap the ignition wires and engine computer were replaced new bushings were installed in the distributor and the carburetor has been rebuilt. What could cause this engine not to run right below 2000 rpm. Well everything that's been done to this car. I would be very suspicious of a pipe that is many times overlooked. A

lot of the early Chrysler Corporation cars with the 1.7 lieder engines. Well they had an adapter plate between the carburetor and the intake manifold of the car and that adapter plate was made like this one. You have a metal piece up here a metal piece down here and between the two of them is rubber that is molded to the two pieces to hold them together. And over a period of time because of the fuel and everything passing through this the rubber becomes porous. That means we have a vacuum leak and a vacuum leak means that we don't get enough fuel into the engine for the amount of air that we're getting into it because the air is bypassing the carburetor. It makes the car idle poorly gives it poor low end performance. And what do you do to correct it. Very simple. Here is a replacement adapter plate. This one is made of solid metal. You simply take the old one with the rubber in it. You take it off throw it away. Put one of these solid metal ones on. And in most cases this will take care of the

problem. And if you have a problem with your car how about writing to me. If I select your letter to be used on the air I'll send you a motor week T-shirt. Now the address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. The winter months are always the best time to say just how good I long term test vehicles really are. If a vehicle is going to have problems this is when they'll really show up. So let's see how our current fleet is handling the cold. Will start with the long term model that is the biggest winter road unknown. The Mazda MPV minivan being rear drive we didn't expect the MPV to plow through the snow and slush like a front drive car or van. However even we were surprised at its poorly ness even on roads with a light cover of snow. It takes a lot of steering correction and judicious use of the brake and throttle to keep the

mpg on a straight course. Needless to say it is also easy to get stuck. Does that mean if you live where it snows a lot you should give up on the MPV. No you can as we did put a couple of 50 pound bags of sand over the rear tires for extra traction. Or tell your dealer you want the soon to be available for wheel drive MPV it's simple to operate all wheel drive system includes a locking differential for getting out of the really slick spots. Otherwise the outstanding utility of the Mazda MPV continues to impress us. We recently loaded to the gills for a long road trip to Georgia. It handled flawlessly and showed excellent stability on 65 mph. Highway. Our only complaint is that it takes a lot of pedal pressure before the brakes seem to take hold for quick stops. Fuel economy continues to rise after ten thousand five hundred miles a stanza 21 and our most recent driving the MPV match the EPA highway rating of 22. That combined with no maintenance besides oil

changes has lowered cost to 5.9 cents per mile between 5 and 6 cents is average for general duty passenger cars. The Mitsubishi Mirage turbo goes well and snow as long as it's not too deep. We continue to enjoy this is zippy little 16 valve commuter. It's comfortable very maneuverable and has a good heater and defroster to boot. Since last report fuel economy has dropped somewhat It now stands at twenty eight point eight for the test. However that is still higher than the government says it should be for urban driving. Cost of operation continues to be low stable at 4.7 cents per mile. Translation. After 11000 miles I'm Mirage turbo continues to be fun and cheap to drop. On the other hand the Ford Bronco is not cheap to drive but if you're going where you're likely to get stuck be it in snow or mud. This beast has the best chance of getting you through. On one recent snowy weekend when little else on the roads

was moving the Bronco ensured that a member of our staff arrived on time for his monthly U.S. Army Reserve duty. However it cost him over 10 cents per mile for the effort. Yes the big Broncos gas mileage is low but the current test total of twelve point eight has remained steady for three months. And after almost 25000 miles with us the only significant repairs have been a shattered rear window and replacement tires. This is our last report on this full sized Bronco in its year with us it has proved to be a tireless work horse with a healthy appetite with its departure. Our most urgent wish now is for an early spring. In. Our car of the week as a 1964 Studebaker Avanti. It belongs to George Graham of Iowa City Iowa. If you have a special car that you'd like us to consider for car of the week send a good color photo and a

self-addressed envelope to motor week. Always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Lisa Barrows addresses the save. And if you have any automotive photos or information you think are really newsworthy. So the tour she's here now with the latest Motor News. Lisa don't these runs in the news this week with a completely new 300 z x sun the sun fans feel the recency cars have been slow to keep up with rival designs. This latest 300 cx should put those complaints to rest. Early reports say the turbo charged version of the car will produce as much as 300 horsepower. Nissan will stick with a V-6 engine design but this one has four of those were cylinder and twin surrounding turbo chargers. The topline z x may also have four wheel steering. The Nissan Huygens system we've seen on a number of show cars fancy electronics aside in some ways the newsy X will turn back to the sports car roots of the original 240 Z. Notice the

gauges are straightforward analog not digital. The 300 cx should show up at dealers as early as this summer. We have news of another car you can have yet. Chrysler has a claim El eggs. According to the trade journal Automotive News the Highline version of the acclaim originally scheduled for a January launch is delayed until March. The problem is the cars for speed automatic transmission the newly introduced unit has proved to be troublesome. Chrysler has had to replace 5000 of the electronically controlled transmissions in other 89 models which include certain V-6 equipped caravans voyagers dynasties and New Yorkers. A defect causes the transmission to leak which leads to other internal damage. Chrysler is busy redesigning the transmission for the acclaim and will repair defective transmissions in other models. Finally Audi has announced a voluntary recall of 35000 cars. The company says 1984 and 88 5000 turbos and some early production 89 turbo models could be at

risk for engine compartment fires fuel injectors seals may have hardened in some cars due to alcohol fuels and high temperatures. A hardened seal could allow fuel to escape under turbo pressure. Dealers were placed the injector seals in these models and install other modified components. John. Thanks Lisa. America has just inaugurated its forty first president. It's an important historical event with serious political overtones. So leave it to Craig Singh haas to find something to do with cars and all that he's about to take us on a high road look at limousines of the presidents. One of the earliest presidential limousine still needs distance isn't really an automobile at all. Teddy Roosevelt used this horse drawn carriage as his first line parade vehicle. But even though Old Rough and Ready purchased the first presidential car a white steamer. He much preferred horse drawn carriages on the other hand.

TR successor William Howard Taft loved to drive that white steamer on Pennsylvania Avenue. It's reported that in one thousand nine Taft ran a Packard around a racetrack at that incredible 56 mph Warren G Harding wasn't exactly a great president. But he had great taste in inaugural cars as this Packard twin six can attest. Of course in one thousand twenty nine. Even to ride in this beautiful Pierce Arrow couldn't cheer up outgoing President Calvin Coolidge. Dearborn Michigan is Henry Ford Museum houses a number of famous presidential limousines including Franklin Roosevelt's 1939 Lincoln. Known as the sunshine special curator of transportation. Randy Mason told us about FDR as favorite car the sunshine special started out life as a custom bodied 939 the trials of Lincoln. The interesting thing about the sunshine special is that it is

really the first car that was ever designed and built to be a first line presidential parade limousine. And then in 1942 it underwent a partial rebuild and armor was added at that point. And then it remained in service through the Truman administration up to 1950. The bubble top the so-called bubble top the 950 a Lincoln was used by the Truman Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. And in fact it became a bubbletop during the Eisenhower administrations the bubble feature was added in 1950. Tragically the most famous of the presidential limousine is the x 100 the Kennedy Continental. X 100 1961 or started out life as a

1961 Lincoln and of course it is the car that was being used when Kennedy was assassinated in 63 it was a totally open. Car at that time after the assassination it was totally rebuilt from the ground up there's very little of the original car still there and at that time it was and it was fixed. I'm worried and close to home and it was this concept called armored sanctuary that is credited with helping to save President Ronald Reagan in the 1981 assassination attempt. And so when the presidential plates were transferred to President George Bush's new $600000 1999 Lincoln Towncar limousine it marked another chapter in presidential transportation. Twenty two feet long and powered by a 7.5 liter engine. President Bush's limousine is reported to be the most comfortable and secure

vehicle ever constructed for any resident. Sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue. Be sure to join us next week when we'll look at Twin sport coupes from diamond star Lisa Barrow will have an app while I report on auto financing impact Bhosle answer to more of your letters. I'm John Davis. We'll see then. If you'd like a transcript of this program. Send $4 to Motor Week transcripts Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Residents of Maryland add 20 cents sales tax. Ask for show number 20. Motor Week is a production of Maryland Public Television.