Motorweek; 2002

Do. I. Do this time on motorways a Corvette for speed lovers. A Toyota for sun lovers and a car show for the rich and famous. So come drive with us next. TV's original automotive magazine brought to you by Priceline dot

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 as equal reduces tire vibrations so your tires can meet the road more evenly equals for added safety stability and handling for the life of your tires. And by Pep Boys. No matter what you drive Pep Boys Over 27000 items in stock virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service based staff with 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. For nearly 50 years it's been this country's favorite and sometimes only homegrown sports car and a car that showed the world what America was all about. And now as we enter the

21st century the Chevrolet Corvette still stands tall as the apex of America's big bold and brash high performance design. And the king of the Corvette Hill for 2001 is the return of the 0 0 6. But after all these years and a slew of smaller high tech imported competitors some critics question whether the Corvette formula is still valid. Well if you want our opinion you had better hang on. Thank you. And we mean hang on tight. 2001 Chevrolet Corvette 0 6 is the most all out in your face Corvette since the legendary Z-R one starting with a 385 horsepower pushrod V8 and neck snapping zero to 60 acceleration of a mere four point five seconds. Now that we have your attention this iOS 6 is distinguished from other 2001 Corvette hatchback hoops and convertibles by its hard top with a trunk body style new lower facial with functional air intakes and working air scoops on the rear

rocker panels for improved brake cooling. Plus the obligatory 0 6 badges on the front fenders for claiming this is the Corvette line's new performance leader performance taking its lead from the new LS six five point seven leader be eight. Add to that stumbling 385 horsepower 385 pound feet of torque. That's an easy 10 percent gain over last year. Chevy Engineers built the LS 6 on a heavily modified LS 1 block. They then added freer flowing heads and manifolds a high profile cam new pistons high flow fuel injectors and much more including the auto industry's first mass produced titanium Muckler assembly. All those ponies and gallop through a standard 60 manual transmission but a new. High Street. What the clutch delivers noticeably smoother feel than before with the last pedal effort and no automatic is available. Beyond the gearbox the thicker aluminum alloys drive shaft spins the Zio six exclusive wheels and tires up front

17 by nine and a half inch alloys wearing special 265 40 Goodyear Eagle F1 SC tires. All the. Rear foot print is courtesy of 18 by 10 and a half inch ramps with 295 35 seats and all RCR speed rated and one spinning rock at the six through the quarter mile in 13 seconds flat with a trap speed of 130 mph top speed is a blistering 168. Vizio six thunders off the line like a jet but it really kicks in the afterburner at around 5000 rpm and all with just the right combination of smooth deliberate and rowdy exhaust rumble on in June. The original 63 0 6 denoted. Race ready suspension package. No one's new FP for suspension is at home on all pavement it's sports a larger front stabiliser box stiffer rear leaf spring and increased negative camber to keep the tire tread flatter during cornering which when coupled with the Corvettes active

handling system makes those iOS 6 deployed superbly. Even on the challenging curves of West Virginia's summoned wing Raceway. That traction increase is especially evident in the rear where oversteer has been drastically reduced. That tremendous traction and the lightning quick magnetic variable outward steering that one tends to recall those iOS 6. The biggest go cart that I've ever driven. And when you need to stop a quartet of twelve point six inch brake disc and standard abs haul it down from 60 in an average of only 140 feet. Our testers love the rock solid feel and plentiful feedback but thought the pedal feel to be a bit on the soft song. Through its pace. It's on public roads. This iOS 6 delivers upon yet compliant bride. And while not a silo The ride is a Lexus floozy 0 6 at speed is surprisingly quiet for an ultra high performance sleds and with nary a squeak or rattle to be heard. An addition to improve noise and vibration control.

This iOS 6 adds new seats with increased lateral support and a new snap to read analog gauge cluster plus that quite generous thirteen point three cubic foot trunk. Those iOS 6 is a knockout package one that is exciting and usable. And one that will set you back only $7500 to start at the only 0 6 option 12. This CD changer and pay forty eight thousand one hundred dollars. Not cheap but way less than the Porsche 911. Or is our friends at Automobile magazine set up to driving the 0 6. It's deeply pleasing to see American automakers doing their job as well as their rivals but doing it more affordably. So after 50 years is America's favorite ho. ROSE. Bar. The 2001 Chevrolet Corvette remains the. Text of American high performance design and with the rebirth of the Zio 6 a machine capable of challenging. And beating the best the world has to offer.

Do antilock 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 which will anti-lock brakes than without. Shorter 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 automotive history made in Beverly Hills. It's now time to roll on over to say motor week's top tech Pat Goss. For more of his top of the line car care advice John tires are very expensive these days and that means if you happen to be plagued with something like this nail going through the tread of your tire well that could be costly if the tire can't be fixed. But first what are some of the things that you can

do in an emergency situation. Well there are products out there like this one that could be installed before hand and they temporarily sealed the tire or you might use one of these products that inflates the tire on the spot. It also seals the tire but some of these products are flammable and if they're flammable they'll be a label on the container and that label must be taken off of the container and placed on the rim of the wheel right next to the valve stem so that the technician will know that there is a flammable product in the tire. This is a very critical issue. Now when can the tire be repaired and when can it be repaired. Well if the nail or screw or whatever it is that went through the tread of the tire is between these two lines that we've drawn on this tire. It's probably repairable if it's outside of that it shouldn't be repaired. Now what are the proper ways for repairing a tire.

Well the ideal thing is to use one of these patch plugs patch plugs seal the inside and the outside of the tire so that air can't migrate around the plug into the plies of the tire and moisture can't come from the outside into the plies of the tire. OK but that means that the tire has to be dismounted. How things like regular patches for tires and so on they're no longer considered acceptable. One thing that is acceptable if you do it properly is to use one of these rope type plugs that's installed through the tread of the tire. But you have to take that a step further now that further step is to use a product like this. This seals the inside of that plug. Now here we've actually done that so that we can see what this does inside. It keeps air from migrating in between the plies of the tire.

That's the only proper way to do it but again it requires dismounting the tire. Well if you do it right you can repair most flat tires. If you don't you could wind up with a tire that is very seriously dangerous. If you have a question about tires or anything else on your automobile write to me. If I use your letter I'll send you a motor week T-shirt. The address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Thank you. Our car of the week is a pristine one thousand forty Buick Century. It belongs to Don Ryan of Baltimore Maryland. Don tells us that only 96 of this particular high performance model were ever built. They cost only a thousand fifty eight dollars when new and was the last Buick ever built with running boards. If you have a car with a great history share it with us to meet at least two clear color photos to Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1

1 1 7. You know unless you're one of those extremely rare individuals lucky enough to find an area in the back of someone's barn it's kind of given that only the wealthy folks will drive the rarest of cars. So it naturally follows that if you want to see those cars you go where the rich folks go. And that's exactly why Jennifer because novice is done so lights camera action. Let's see what she found. You might call it a I Drive in Beverly Hills the playground for the rich and famous. So what better place to showcase some of the most glamorous automobiles and to celebrate 100 years of the continent 2000. Encore on Earth Day. The event is the third annual congress of America. Which is probably

the. It's the end it's. Time for us. Anywhere in the country will have 50000 people here. And it's a break our show this year we have to be very unusual we have a hundred cars. Each car different consecutively displayed from 1981 to 2000. So no one's ever done that before. But there's much more to this conqueror than just the cars. There's also the style an atmosphere that you can find only in Beverly Hills. Turn around and you'll see top designer shops and the celebrities that patronize them along with the flashy cars. All the ingredients necessary to make any spectator feel like they're walking down the red carpet at the Oscars or in this case driving down and. This is a wonderful introductory event of a deal because it's foot traffic is no charge to come. It raises money all these all these events really raise money for charity. So we can feel good about indulging ourselves. It's a wonderful event for the family because you see people

dressed in different to race and clothes. Dogs are wonderful and the benefits from all this all the sales commercial aspect of it and the entry fees go to the Amy Karen Cancer Fund which is one of the nice things about Beverly Hills they never do anything without some charitable organization organization being involved. Oh it's fun it's a great event and the event is one in four miles of my house I enjoy going to that rolls and explodes and make noise in my life. But of course these carnet celebrities couldn't arrive without at least one of their toys. This is the 1959 Aston Martin DV two for my three is the last gasp for the TV to the great car that made David Brown's Aston Martin so competitive and so renowned The first year that wonderful scoop knows and the engine was designed by God he will Bentley in the 40s for the gondola and David Brown bought a gondola to get the engine. Sure these celebrities talk about their cars but they're also here to have fun with the crowd

especially the kids. Hey buddy what's going on. Let me show you. Look here UNTV you do. OK. For many it's the ultimate family outing especially since it's held every year on Father's Day. You're getting people that are hard to resist you're getting people that are coming here for Father's Day because Dad likes cards as I did on Father's Day every year and dads out there have dialer Chrysler to thank they made it possible for this to be open to the public. Well cursors always had a history of trying to be involved in those yes events in places where we find people that are truly passionate about. What better place than and about like this. So that's why we did. Chrysler even had its own mini showroom right on Rodeo Drive. An interesting edition of the Bruiser souped up version of the P.T. cruiser. This year's hot seller for Chrysler.

And don't forget there's the thrill of victory to consider as well. That's been 5 best in decades even best paint job awards were handed out for the exquisite but the top award Best in Show went to the 1927 with a bang. So if you want to get a glimpse of glamour rub elbows with the stars you see some of the greatest cars in automotive history take a stroll down the audio drive next Father's Day. And experience the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Look. Despite the recent rise in fuel prices the real price of gasoline in the US compared to the rest of the world is still a bargain thirsty SUV these are more popular than frugal cars. Still smart automakers are preparing for the future with fuel stingy experiments like the Honda Insight the Insight hybrid power train a combination of gasoline and electric motors is said to obtain upwards of 70 mpg under perfect conditions. Well for the last two months we've been subjecting this insight to the less than perfect real world and are still averaging forty six

point seven miles per gallon. What makes that even more impressive is this insight sees far more miles in stop and go commuting than highway cruising. Also since the two seat lightweight inside looks like a sporty low drag coupe and feels more spirited than it is it's driven far harder than the traditional fuel super during full throttle starts both the three cylinder gas engine and the electric motor chime in with a total of 73 words power and ninety one pound feet of torque. The manual shifter is too rubbery for quick action and you can overdrive the smallish 14 inch tire and summer heat good and slow down our enjoyment of the inside. Either everything works just like any other Honda that is effectively including the air conditioning. So much so that Honda says a 4 passenger Honda Civic with a hybrid power train will ride here in 2002. But for now we're very pleased with the Honda Insight. It's a lot of fun to drive if for no other reason than it's among the most unusual and

promising cars on the road. But while practicality is the main reason for buying the sporty little insight this sporty little Porsche Boxster ass makes no such demands on rationality. Rather the 250 or so our Porsche Boxster S is simply pure entertainment. We had a night on the town or a week at the beach just arriving in the box to make you feel good while we expect lots of fun over the next year with this Porsche. We already know it has a secret. It really is quite practical. There is more luggage space up front and in the rear. I think comparable sports cars plus the power top goes up and down so effortlessly they getting caught in the rain will be all your fault. Even mileage is commendable for such a ticket getter at twenty three point eight mpg after twenty two hundred miles. So far the gas and the Boxster ass dance for sensational. We'll see if our senses are peaking for this Lincoln LS. And this Volvo be 40 on our next motor with long term road test update.

Now let's check back in with Jennifer because not for all the latest motor news when Ford discontinued the production of the Thunderbird in 1907 the car was a mere shell of its former self in a bloated one at that. But there's a new Thunderbird poised for flight ready to carry the mark back to the glory days. And to get a crack at the 2002 Ford Thunderbird you'll need to jumpstart that Christmas shopping list and perhaps arrange a transfusion of cash for your bank account. That's because the first Thunderbirds to roll off the line will be sold exclusively through Neiman Marcus mail order Christmas catalogue. And there's only 200 of them to go around. The name of Marcus Thunderbird is dressed in the store's classic black and silver colors and rides on the same thoroughly modern rear wheel drive platform that supports the Lincoln LS and the Jaguar S-type sedans. It also shares the Lincolns 210 horsepower three point nine leader 32 valve the 8 and 5 speed automatic transmission. But in a nod to its early roots the new T-Bird roadster features a one piece removable top with

portable windows in addition to the convertible soft top inside the black and silver theme is again predominant and so is the LS influence but the controls still look unique and right at home in the new Thunderbird. The 2002 Ford Neiman-Marcus Thunderbird can be ordered from the Neiman Marcus Christmas book starting September 25th for forty one thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars. And although Ford has not set a definite date the rest of us can see the Thunderbird at 4 dealers as early as next summer. And that's it for this week's Motor News. While you were relaxing by the pool or at the beach on vacation our spy photographers were sweating it out in the desert southwest where they caught Mercedes-Benz engineers putting this next generation C O K through its paces. The body is wider and lower than the current model and the exterior styling changes are said to favor the CEL coupe based on the new C-Class sedan platform. OK will have a longer wilderness and a wider track

power will come from a variety of engines than either a six speed manual or newly developed six speed automatic transmission will be offered. It may well even offer the company's new all wheel drive system. After testing last year's Toyota Camry Solara coupe we describe it as a welcome addition to the Sadly depleted two door ranks and praise Toyota for turning an already good every day sedan into a genuinely desirable coupe. But now Toyota has turned the solar coupe into a Solara convertible. But as we all know cutting the roof off a good hard top sometimes results in a bad soft top. So is the sunny Selar a good or bad or something in between. Well we won't waffle on styling. This looks good. The 2000 Toyota Camry Solara convertible were almost the same sleek yet conservative lines as the hard tops allow a coupe but adds a certain rakish dash with its

clean top down profile and this rear deck lid spoiler as well as our mid-level SCV 6 test car standard 16 its alloy wheels when fold is the fully line powered top hides under and easy to fit tonneau cover and when needed rises smoothly and quickly to present an equally handsome face even in less inviting weather. The SC interior follows the same lines as the exteriors very clean and very functional yet also attractive with standard wood grain trim and optional leather upholstery. The front bucket seats offer a good back but only moderate lateral support but they can be equipped with available side impact the airbags. The gauges that those seats face are large and clear at somewhat sparse with big vents inefficient climate controls and standard stereo with both cassette and CD are straightforward and easy to use. Rear seat room is adequate for two adults despite the top mechanism though the vent seat is on the hard song. The trunk loses the most space of 8.8 cubic feet it's over a third

smaller than the coupe yet it's still quite functional. Speaking of function Solara offers a choice of Twin Cam engines a 135 horsepower four cylinder or R SES 3 liter 24 valve the six output is 200 horsepower and 214 pound feet of torque and it sends it to the front wheels through a Toyota smooth four speed automatic transmission. At the track this combo delivers a respectable zero to 60 time of eight point two seconds and runs the quarter mile and 16 seconds at 87 mph. But while the drive train is quite refined a substantial body flex manifest itself as soon as you hit the gas pedal and got worse as we turn through our low speed slow like the coupe there is lots of front drive quartering push only letting up as the tail loosens. Having a serious lack of feel from the power rack and pinion steering and you have one of Toyota's less successful efforts at a sporty 2 door. On the plus side the anti-lock equip will this brakes deliver a

decent average stopping distance of one hundred twenty four feet from 60 stop tour story and stable and the pedal feels firm with good feedback out on the open road as long as things are smooth. So is the Solara convertible is right but when the going gets rough the Solara body flex again rears its ugly self cushioning over every lump and we hear far more squeaks and rattles than we expect in a Toyota. Fuel mileage was more satisfying EPA estimates for RV 6 a large convertible. Our 9000 city and 26 highway we averaged a very healthy 25 mpg in mixed driving. As for the money matter the four cylinder Solara convertible carries a base price of twenty five thousand five hundred twenty three dollars to go for the V-6 engine assy and the price jumps to twenty eight thousand four hundred sixty three dollars with options our test car carries a final price of thirty thousand three hundred eighty eight dollars which for a true horsey convertible is very affordable. So good fare or something in between. The latter we think after our positive experience with the Camry

Solara coupe we must admit to being a bit disappointed with the convertible. It is an affordable buy and still better constructed than some competitors. But it's also partly Toyotas best work and prove that not every good coupe makes a good convertible. I hope you'll join us next time for more motorways. Well tested tweaked and tuned to Mustang from the Roush Racing stable and Hondas all new 2001 civic compact. Greg shows us what it's really like to drive an auto show concept car while Pat balances in with what's new and shock absorbers. Plus we'll have another long term road test update and all the latest Motor News. 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 dot com with Priceline dot com you name your own

price for new cars all makes and models of cars trucks sport utility vehicles many vans 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 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 at voices over 27000 items in stock virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service space staffed with certified technicians that boys parts tires accessories and service to order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4.