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Spicher. It's a 500 horsepower shootout cheerfully. To go six. Piper a sortie 10 and 4 shell BGT 500 will drop the checkered flag salute next on the motorway. Hi I'm Pat Goss low profile tire tips this time I'm Goss's garage which I knew a lot about. Yes I guess we were in sunny South Beach where the guys are marketing setting new standards for Marjorie. And tour European blacktop with the new Mini Cooper. So come prof with us. Now. Will. You tell it. Brought to you by. Let's say your looking for a car. Cars dot com can help research locate even contact a dealer. Cars dot com find the right car for you and buy the tire rack.

Ever notice how tires are like shoes whether it's everyday call for it seasonally correct for real performance. The Tire Rack knows how to help you dress appropriately. You can learn more at Tire Rack dot com. And by Valvoline the motor oil for guys who love working on their cars for more than a century. Evelyn has shared his passion and he put it by testing our product on the track in pursuit of the best possible engine protection Valvoline 100 years under the hood and by Dunlop tires. The search for a true performance is part of our heritage. Dunlop is proud to present the Dunlop drivers Cup where amateurs from around the world compete head to head in the on and off road competitions. Information at Dunlop tires dot com. Your host for Motor Week John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. What do you get when you put a Chevrolet Corvette a Dodge Viper SRT 10 0 0 0 Ford shell BGT 500 all on the same race track a heart pounding fifteen hundred horsepower thrill ride with a raucous

sights and sounds of speed and you get out of the way. The Chevrolet Corvette 0 6 is the latest ultimate edition of America's premier sports car and dodges fiber SRT 10 has been called the modern day cars for a. While the Ford chill BGT 500 recalls the glory days of Mustang muscle all represent the epitome of street performance for their respective makers and each generates debate and daydreams in equal measure among their faithful followers. The 0 6 weighs in at thirty one hundred thirty two pounds and packs a whopping five hundred five horsepower. And 470 pound feet of torque. Thanks to its seven leaders normally aspirated V8 with numbers like that it's no surprise that this atomic orange cruise missile has passed out of the starting gate even on a bone chilling morning hitting its stride to 60 in just four seconds eight seconds

later it crosses the quarter mile stripe showing one hundred twenty one miles per hour on the speedo. It's just a few ticks behind to see 0 6. The DOT fibers massive 340 530 Z are rated 19 its rear tires provide just enough grip to launch a 0 to 60 run in 4.3 seconds. It blows through the quarter mile in twelve point four seconds at 120 mph. The Viper tips the scales at 30 450 pounds and draws its power from a monstrous 8.3 lieder aluminum feet in. It produces no less than 510 horsepower and a midi five hundred thirty five pound feet of tire smoking torque. The GTI 500 is the newcomer to this bunch but comes with full street racer credentials. It's 5.4 leader Twin Cam super charged me a post and even 500 ponies and four hundred eighty pound feet of torque. It's handicap. This group. By a rather hefty thirty nine hundred fifty pounds her boy but it is the only one equipped with a back seat. With our driver securely built into the front seat the show

B was only a hair behind the bit by birds needing 4.5 seconds to reach 60 and gallop through the quarter mile trap in twelve point seven seconds at a terminal velocity of 113. But you don't get invited to a test track like Savannah's two mile Roebling road Raceway. If you can't deliver the goods when the tarmac turns to. And these three all do. What makes them. Different is how composed they are and how well they held up over two days of hot laps. The Corbett CEO 6s finally balanced athletic and graceful in response to subtle inputs of gas brake and steering it moves fluidly from corner to corner with an active handling system to keep the driver in control it is also the step to bleed fast. This car makes good drivers into heroes. And fresh. While the gods own playground. The Viper on the other hand is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. It takes a double helping of adrenaline to drive this car at the limit cornering braking and exhilaration are accomplished by brute force.

And if he can hang on tight enough you'll get no apologies and no electronic helping hand from this car. The shell BGT 500 is a solid performer by every measure with traction control switched off. It was easily the most throttled happy of the bunch and very entertaining to drive. But with the street smoove suspension they can't quite run with this crowd in terms of an all out performance. But what about the price of admission for these thrill rides. One here the Shelby seems to take the checkered flag by a mile with a base price of forty one thousand six hundred seventy five dollars modestly optioned yet fully equipped our tester rang up for forty three thousand seven hundred sixty five dollars. The Dodge Viper has our Teton coupe has the highest m SRP of the group at eighty three thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars and our car rolled out the door for a happy ninety thousand eight hundred ninety dollars. Less of a premium is being demanded of the Corvette 0 6 good sticker star 10 and even $70000 and full up

sells for seventy eight thousand one hundred seventy five dollars. So which car would we buy. Well that depends. For an everyday car with an attitude to spare for the weekends we go with the Shelby. For all attitude in a car we don't only drive on the weekends. The fiber gets an enthusiastic nod but all around performance polished and presented as the CEO six just can't be beat. It delivers much of a sophisticated performance of a handmade exotic at less than half the price. And there you have it 500 horsepower times three and three ways to reach your driving Nirvana. Coming up on smart ways to drive your dream. Time now to drop by Goss's garage where a parent clears the air about proper tire melting. John tire technology changes at an amazing rate. One of the things that

engineers figured out is that if you make the sidewall of the tire shorter gives better traction goes around corners better because it's stiffer. Well 15 years ago this was a high performance tire. Today we can see that the sidewall on this one is very short works extremely well handling is amazing. And they wear better than older designs as well. But there are some problems when it comes time to have those tires mounted onto your wheels. You have to look for some special equipment. One of the first things to look for is a tire machine that has rubber bands like this one are you and it has these rubber bands actually extend into the wheel like that. They call amp the wheel from the inside and they don't damage the wheel. Now a lot of machines out there they have little metal points on them and they leave marks in your expensive wheels. Look for the rubber units. Now here's something that's relatively

new something you should be looking for. This is nitrogen and nitrogen in tires has a number of advantages but one of its biggest advantages is that it's dry whenever you fill a tire off of a regular air supply and there will be more secure in there. The moisture can corrode the wheels. It can damage the sensors if you happen to have a tire pressure monitoring system on your car. All of these things nitrogen is completely dry but a couple of things. Number one if you have nitrogen in the tires Well you should have valve stem camps or something that a dent or fire is it. Like these green markings on these caps so that anybody knows that there is nitrogen in the tires also. Make sure that they repair shop hands a nitrogen tester such as we see here. This will tell if the nitrogen they're putting into your tires is a proper

concentration. Without it you might get there. And finally no matter what you have in your tires the most important single thing that you can do is routinely monitor air pressure. Use a high quality gauge like this valve lock gauge and do it at least once a month. Makes all the difference in how long your tires wear and if you have a question or comment write to me the address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Every year as part of our drivers Choice Awards we still like water more cars as best dream machines. Now these are the scariest and exotic cars that we'd likely buy if we ever hit the lotto. When I was asked why i reporter Yolanda Vaska has discovered you need a little more than a credit card and a driver's license to momentarily live your dream. South Beach it's the hippest hot spot in Florida and the perfect place to

showcase an exotic car. If you aren't among the fortunate few who own one of these sporty rides. Dan capitally of carefree lifestyle will have you sitting in the lap of luxury. This is not in no time. This $300000 Rolls Royce Phantom is one of several high end cars parked outside is my new beach storefront. People come in and they drive by a mission wow what's this place all about. They come up realize they can rent it and then you know a couple hours later they'll come back for some cash and drive away and I was offered a Prices range from 600 bucks a day up to twenty five hundred depending on which car you rent. Rule of thumb is 1 percent of the total value of the car per day. Copper Ali says the Lamborghini gay out of though is by far the most requested vehicle that the Bentley GTC coming in second. Zero to 60 in four point six seconds. It's a rocket ship and it's a luxury and as with any car rental these beloved beauties get banged up from time to time.

Dolly recalls a memorable incident Most recently we had a Lamborghini mercy a law go racing down 395 another Lamborghini and. Speaker on the home front office dealing with damage to vehicles comes with the territory says no layman helped an old friend used to tell me it's just bent metal you know as long as as long as nobody is hurt. Cars can be fixed. Originally based in New York Gotham dream cars recently expanded to Florida and set up shop at this warehouse in Delray Beach. We deal with a lot of clients who are staying in Hollywood who are staying in West Palm Beach and we bring the cars right to them and they appreciate that. Since most people have never been this close to a Lamborghini Gallardo much less driven one of Gotham dream cars offers a full tutorial so that anyone who wins this. Sporty ride knows how to drive it. The most different thing that you're going to spear into these two paddles you see behind your steering wheel here on the left there on the right that is how you control your gear shift OK. After a quick review of the gauges and gears I was ready to hit the road. Nervous at first it's actually getting easier about 20 minutes you'll be driving like a pro.

Well not exactly a motorway grotesqueness spin in this Lamborghini gay out of the wet my appetite to check out the other cars in gc's fleet this Aston Martin bank wishes another guaranteed head turner. And it really inspired a lot of the other cars on the market. BMW got a lot of the styling hears from the six areas from this part in particular. This red and white stripe for GTD modified to seven hundred seventy horsepower is the ultimate muscle car and a true collector's item. Guys who have the greatest cars in the world. They have this part of the world it is stunning to drive it is a really impressive piece of machinery Getting been a real these cars as it is. It's not like taking out a verse but you know I mean these are these are monsters marketing director Shalyn Patel says nothing can compare to the styling heritage and horsepower of an exotic car. The sound they make the way they move the way they drive the way people look at you. It's all a part of the exotic car experience a Nationwide car rental company such as enterprise are taking notice.

The days of just simply running away. Basic vehicle is shorter gone by the wayside. At the south Miami location you'll find a Jag a Benz and a sporty White Lotus Elise to realize that it gets everybody's attention. You know we put a front here and we get calls on it every day. The cost for these high line vehicles is a bit more expensive than their standard fleet but if customer demand hold steady enterprise may add additional locations. So whether you have twenty five hundred dollars to splurge 1 0. 0 0 free or just 250 Orion like this you can still be king. And Queen of the road for a day. We've been zipping around our Maryland roads in this 2006 Audi A3 for going on nine months now and all in all this compact 5 doors proving to be a real charmer. The combination of a VW Golf based performance tune chassis car ass lines 250 or Aspire three point two liter twin can be six and

Quatro all wheel drive to make even the most Monday driving a treat. With that much performance it's no wonder fuel economy is low for a car this size. Twenty two point three mpg on premium fuel after a solid fifteen thousand miles we think the standard 200 horsepower two liter Turbo for would be a smarter choice that doesn't give up too much driving spirit. While we've had zero mechanical faults the recent frigid weather it brought out a few wards cold storage acceleration is jerky and the tires get so hard overnight that they come loudly for miles. But make no mistake the Audi A3 three point two s line Quatro is one very hot hatch back lighting our fire with every mile. Sometimes there is just no substitute for size and power. That's where you need a truck like our 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab twenty five hundred four by four with its oversized six passenger cabin and six foot four inch cargo bed. There isn't much we can haul or tow.

Our four by fours three hundred twenty five horsepower five point nine leader Cummins turbo diesel inline 6 and automatic combo is rated for twelve thousand four hundred pounds of trailer but you do pay for that pull over five grand in price for the diesel. Sometimes buckboard right and still modest fifteen point three mpg economy and this is a diesel so on cold mornings the glow plug light stays on a long time before you can start. When the 2008 diesel RAM goes on sale this spring it's 6.7 liter Cummins will be the cleanest diesel engine and any pickup truck meeting the most stringent emissions limits three years early. That puts the Dodge Ram turbo diesel years ahead of both the regulations and its rivals. We'll check the beat Honda says Zuki Grand Vitara have the Honda Civic on the next motorway. Long term road test update. Sure knows a good car story when she sees it and here she is with all the latest Motor News

heralding its 1990 edition the 2007 Chicago Auto Show made plenty of banner headlines the second generation 2008 while the Highlander is longer and wider with many of the sculpted lines of the Rav 4. Based on the latest Camry and due in July the seven passenger Highlander feels a more powerful 270 horsepower 3.5 liter V-6 with standard all wheel drive. That's the same output as the also new Highlander hybrid which goes on sale. September Chicago also saw a bigger box and a smaller box added to the science brand. Bigger is the second generation XP on sale in April than 2008 XP also supports a higher belt line for a shopping channel look. And a larger two point clearly their engine from the Scion TC coupe the smaller boxes this 2008 sign on x d replacing the x ray this $5 based on the RS chassis but with a larger 1.8 liter engine and gobs of standard equipment due in August like all science it can be custom built to the hilt. GM is not to be

outdone in the small car arena this is the 2008 Saturn Astra except for the grill the Astra is little changed from the old blue original. Replacing the eye on both 3 and 5 door post modern 1.8 leader power as well as standard and I like brakes and curtain airbags. The imported ashtray goes on sale only for. Pontiac signaled a return for a real drive for its largest city and the 2008 G8. Based on the extra income and or this Grand Prix Bonneville replacement has all Pontiacs boy racer styling in a refined package complete with a 261 horsepower V-6 and three hundred sixty two worse power V-8. Look for the G8 early next year. Ford announced the return of the million nameplates starting this summer. The 4 500 will become the Taurus and the freestyle crossover. Comes the Taurus X and the Mercury mine to go becomes the savior for hope by bringing back these well regarded names. They will also revive sales docs reveal this fresh and decode a midsize

pickup with bettering brands styling borrowed from the Dodge Knight who issued the Dakota gets a 25 percent boost in power with a new 290 horsepower V-8 and votes wagon made it official. The all wheel drive 250 horsepower or 32 will arrive stateside during the second half of this year and that's the highlights from the Windy City and this week's Motor News. When BMW took the wraps off the second generation Mini Cooper the press and the public alike sounded a sigh of relief though slightly larger designers concentrated on improving rather than changing this modern icon the old world many look remains pleasantly intact and fact it's about as close to natural evolution as a car can get. Yes. The Mini Cooper is every bit a coming of age cultural phenomena say boats wagons betul. A British born classic of the 60s the sporty Cooper and COOPER A

started out as a successful rally car racers and grew to become world wide motoring icon with Germans now at the helm the BMW design but still British built new Mini Cooper. Was reborn in 2001 to our fresh youthful following so mindful of its loyalists its now evolved to a second generation 2007 model with subtlety and tact that subtlety is most evident in the ultra compact Coopers barely changed exterior design with the same Putin vintage body styling. They grabbed our attention in the first place. Differences are in the details. The familiar round headlamps Now how's the turn signals and are no longer a part of the clamshell good. The mouth shaped grill is larger and features a black mesh treatment on the sportier Cooper s an elevated window beltline makes for a more taut and powerful side profile and out back and tail lamps and bumpers are restyled a more distinctive. The cooper S we k.

Did school sitter mounted exhaust and side change is far more noticeable but the essence of the cabin is still the quirky blend of old world a statics and New Age technology. The many signature central squid ometer has grown larger now too large we think. Making way for navigation screen and audio controllers just about every other interior aspect is larger to the brighter reshape dash allows more front leg room but the driver's footwell is still tight. The seats have more support and the steering will now tilt and telescopes climb in auxiliary controls get a stylish if garish tweak and minis other interior trademark toggle like switches also thankfully remain like the 2001 car standard sapient glued 6 airbag. There is a bit more comfort in the 50/50 split folding rear seats too with the added me room with both sides down you have 24 cubic feet of stuff space. The front will drive many slightly upgrades output but

to new all aluminum engines and the COOPER It's a 1.6 leader double overhead cam in line 4 with BMW is valid tronics variable valve timing and lift control. It produces 118 horsepower and 114 count feet of torque. The coupe around does not turn. Vote chart instead of super charged for better efficiency. This 1.6 leader with common rail direct injection yields 172 horsepower to work with 177 LB Peter Tork a nice gain of 20 to the turbo is not as responsive off the line is the super charged engine but mid range passing power is smoother and more eager. Still the factory 0 to 60 time is little changed at 6.7 seconds. Both engines are tied to either a six speed manual or automatic gearbox. The cooper S automatic includes a manual sport mode and steering wheel paddle shifter. Most of our time was spent behind the wheel of a cooper S touring the Spanish countryside. The revised combo of front MacPherson struts multi link rear and run flat tires

results in a less harsh ride although with the sport package it's still quite stiff for best ride comfort. The almost too soft Hooper will appeal more. To Cooper and showed lots of agility and nimbleness on the roadway. Traction Control optional stability control and new electric power steering fortified mini superb handling. Before Will dispraise your back my abs electronic brake force distribution and cornering brake control. And as to fuel economy the mini lives up to being super small. Government fuel economy ratings for the Kuiper automatic car 32 City 40 highway while the Cooper asked manual rates 29 city 36 highway. They're fine. Energy impacts scores are ten point four and ten point seven barrels of oil respectively. Pricing for the Mini Cooper starts at a very reasonable eighteen thousand seven hundred dollars. The sportier Cooper S has a base sticker of twenty one thousand eight hundred fifty dollars. BMW has handled the new generation of the Mini Cooper with a gentle hand

massaging it mildly with thoughtful improvements and making it an even better driver's car without any jarring changes. Many fans can relax now. Their cute little cool car may have been upgraded but it's still totally mini. But I hope you'll join us next week for more a motorway. Test Pontiacs hot little roadster of us office as well as the revamped infinity 235 sports sedan. I'm John de. We'll see you then. To learn more about Motor Week television's original automotive magazine visit PBS org. To order a DVD or VHS copy of this program call 1 800 873 6 1 5 4. Motorway has been brought to you by cars dot com. Let's say your looking for a car. Cars dot com can help research locate even contact a dealer.

Cars dot com find the right car for you by the tire rack top bring a wide selection of tires wheels and more with professional advice and online shopping tools plus a national network of Tire Rack recommended installers. And by Valvoline the motor oil for guys who love working on their cars for more than a century Valvoline has shared this passion and he proved it by testing our product on the track in pursuit of the best possible engine protection Valvoline 100 years under the hood and by Dunlop tires. The search for a true performance is part of our heritage. Dunlop is proud to present the Dunlop drivers Cup where amateurs from around the world compete head to head in the on and off road competitions. Information on Dunlop tires dot com. This program was produced by American Public Television which is soley responsible for its

content. On. PBS.