Motorweek; 1605

Time on motor we were 97. A new look with a Honda Prelude and a new century begins in the Motor City with. TV's original automotive magazine. Motor Week. We're glad to have you with us. This week we bring you part two of our annual look at what's new. Detroit's big three automakers 97 spotlight this time is on Ford. No automaker owns bragging rights to more market segment leaders than Ford and they're not finished yet. Ford Motor Company markets a bestselling car for a best selling sport utility vehicle

Explorer best selling compact truck right here and best selling books I picked up at theory and all the land. So what are they going to do for us in 1997. Well their goal is to capture the top spot in a whole new category with the expedition or divert bored or full sized SUV. But more than a Bronco this is a new vehicle based on the latest Test series. But if you think this or its mission with impressive engineering like a fully boxed brain oiler Erik bring rear suspension a sophisticated war by hordes of them with both part time and automatic mode and a pair of high tech overhead engines face motorable we wondered if the word powerful point this leader from the F-150. Will the pipe point poorly to her going from the same ocular quaking V8 maybe that 234 power. Shortage that many on the see use expedition for towing to maximum rating in the school £8000 inside cargo capacity is all those dudes one

hundred eighteen cubic feet accessible through and or styles. As for people if you can carry up to nine when ordered with the optional third seat accepted thank you what good boating. Second seat up front cabin is your EP theory deficiency. Although the letter gram of the Eddie Bauer model can bait country club one theory after all lots of people will be buying the expedition instead of a traditional route. KP will be on their minds his expedition come standard with the airbag or be an antilock brake. Meanwhile Ford F-series pickup production is expected to stir again as a heavy duty. Now while the round of styling is the same as the 150 the badging and seven lug wheels are clear give away. Mechanically the 250 gets considerably. People with bigger break wronger frames and the extra Can we just have to see it come to the five points. Leader Ph.

And load leveling rear suspension is optional but first there is a new optional engine for the Ford Explorer. The federal walk alone Vidic sport new head with one can easily stand a 45 horsepower boot the 200 bonds. Both engines are connected to a new five feet automatic transmission designed for Jet and improve fuel economy. The sixth floor by floor model over it with a revised baneful frac paint for a case to now provide smoother engagement. Unlike its addiction a choice between times and four times four wheel drive. There is also new engine news or big band 1970 not aligning what wagon will get more crack at this muscular overhead Bamby can displace in six point eight leaders and 265 with 105 sounds the support going to have to be hopeful. ALAN CASTLE a left villager had to make the flu the weekend we've ever try such but also called for a new interior. The band's dual airbags Jack is more car likely easier to reach control

with Ford's 92000 story it's far from being just about trucks in fact ordered out that show that parts are still the best bargains on the market. A late spring arrival of the Ford Escort Mercury Tracer spruce the little money can still buy a lot of far superior to last year as Ford racer the nooses and in wagons have a larger suit leader engines with 25 percent. Different chassis. Smoother ride and better handling. How large your inferior and horrid like Jack would do airbags and for the first time. No abs right for more than a tad more money but no less than last year. You can step into the revised Lincoln Mark 8. Visually everything coming and going its prey the bolting aluminum. Gracefully with a more aggressive drilling clearly high intensity headlights around back under the signature tire hump is the end of her use of a neon tail like neon light faster than a conventional ball so that you're tailgating you will have a bit more warning to back off. As for the other three drive in your blind spot the

market will share these turn signal mirrors with the Ford Expedition minor reckoning to the market interior succeeds in delivering to steal of of premium luxury coupe leather and walnut trim on this prototype birthrates just the power kill telescoping steering will include position memory the new gauges are large and clear and the revised climate control system delivers more air with less of a rock under a hood powerboat fate than LFC seem. To come from Ford. When camp 30 kyu Bell 4.3 Cleaver modular V8 output remained at 290 horsepower a new intake manifold delivered quieter operates in its most idle and cool subtle break with six a rotor and chassis roll control is just saying to the bass or variable as this hearing makes for a quicker turn and you know welcome to increase in driver's seat backs. Fire back is made for number one and an amazing number of market segment and that is quite an achievement. However holding on to those lofty positions will be just as

challenging. Board progressive lineup were 1997 chose the boat from Dearborn are still losing sleep. There was a time when all a good mechanic needed to fix a car was common sense and a good set of tools. Boy is that change. As our own Pat Doss explained John what you're seeing here is part of the changing face of the auto repair industry. There used to be that we used these wrenches all the time to repair things. But more and more we're going into the high tech end of automobiles because automobiles are high tech. We're looking at machines like what we see here this is a combination tester that has a number of different functions. It can check the ABS system on the car or the computer system. It can check all sorts of different things and it does it very effectively. But in addition to this because this has some limitations it can't go with the vehicle and sometimes

we have to be able to do the testing with a moving vehicle. That's where a lot of the pieces that we have set up here where they come into play. One of the first things that happens after the basic testing is done is that a technician would hook up a scan tool. This interfaces with the various computer systems on the vehicle. Print out code numbers and data that are relative to the different functions. Well we have a basic one here. Here's one that is more sophisticated it gives the technician a little bit more help and it kind of guides them through the different tests. But one thing to remember is that codes do not tell what's wrong with the car. The only thing that a code does is tells the technician what to look for and what tests to perform. Now to perform those tests. That means we need more equipment we need things like this digital volto meter. It's going to be used to measure voltages and resistances in the various sensors and circuits. Well

along with that then we're going to need something like these two handheld Cilla scopes so that we can actually look at the electrical patterns in a picture form to see what's happening. Now over here is something that's very very interesting. This particular unit has many of the functions of the digital volt o meter and the a Scylla scope combined into one convenient unit plus. It has the ability to do what we call a movie where you hook it up to the vehicle and it monitors the vehicle for an extended period of time. Then the technician comes back plays it back and sees where the defect was. Very very ingenious piece of equipment and of course what we started with the Scylla scope that used to check the basic engine function and the exhaust emissions. These are all things that you should be looking for when you take your car in for repairs especially if you have any of the orange or amber check engine or ABS

lights or anything like that glowing on the dash. These things are mandatory if you have a question or a comment write to me. If I use your letter I'll send you a motor week teacher. The address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 0 1 7. Is a family classic 1968 station wagon. It's owned by Alan Landis Eisman of Victoria Texas. If you get your family classic in Owings Mills Maryland 1 1 7. You know everyone loves a party especially a birthday party for two weeks Greg SING US is no exception. And when that birthday party is for the first 100 years of the American car you know it's going to be a vintage event out on the high road. There's an old saying that you really can't tell where you're going until you're quite sure of where

you've been. Let seems to be the prevailing theme this year is a metal brook. We're delicate as we celebrate the 110 of bursary our American auto industry. This Congress held each year in Michigan at Oakland University's meadow home the former state of the late Matilda Wilson the Concord benefits the preservation of this historic landmark and the preservation of so much more. What is it. Because America has gone through some outstanding period it's gone through so that we're less proud. Now we're back on a roll and we brought one of the reasons that we got off track for a while was that we forgot to look at our age of excellence in design and engineering think all the great design ideas are new.

Well think again. Such highly touted designs as aircraft styled words can be found on early trendsetters like this 1948 Tucker Torpedo and the influence of aerodynamics has been felt in the design studio wrong before the first Ford parts roll down the line. Witness the Chrysler air flow certainly a front runner in air management if not in sales during the 1930s. And speaking of Chrysler we bet you thought they invented the minivan. Well maybe the name but the concept can be traced to this 1936 stout scare. Surely the spiritual forebear of the caravan and Voyager these automobile shows are a lot of fun but more important than one reservation card really their movie works of art and it's very important I think. Remember we didn't have computer models to work with. They couldn't design it on a screen. They work from first principles of engineering and they turned out some of the most beautiful and sophisticated automobiles are going to have and it's a very I think in the 30s. In the 20s when men were men and drank bourbon and if you

look at him cross-eyed it was they designed some of the most elegant and rich looking that were frankly feminine and their beauty and yet it seems that every decade represented a lesson to teach about style and function. Surely this celebrates the times whether it was an engineering design to be made aware that of having to learn his role as a citizen of the world. Now for a look at one of the vehicles that will shape the second automotive century Here's Lisa barrow with all the latest boater and this week we take our first drive into it is benchmarked family sedan the all new 97 Camry.

This fourth generation Camry is longer more powerful and smoother riding in the cart replaces it looks a lot different to the sharper more angular lines replacing the bulbous Lexus lug of the old Camry. There are still 3 trim level but only one body style. Because Toyota has discontinued the low volume coupe and Wang the standard you're going to need are twin camp where cylinder gets an eight horsepower boost to 133 while the ABS you know really are B6 now makes 190 forwards it up 6 from 96 ABS is standard. All the base were cylinder Camry's while traction control is available only on B6 equipped cars. Toyota fine tune the Macpherson strut brand and dueling rear suspension for increased road holding and ride comfort. We found ride quality to be fine overall but a little softer our taste the roomier Interior has a lot in common with Toyota's flagship Avalon using more lower cost US suppliers enabled Toyota to actually lower 97 Camry prices which started at sixteen thousand eight hundred eighteen dollars. Nissan also made news recently as the last 300 yards off the

assembly line was driven into the years in museum in Los Angeles by actor and racer Craig Nelson. His passenger was you talk a cutie Yama the father of the Z car who was responsible for bringing the original Jews to the U.S. in 1969. Well sure. Well the beginning about them I would like and then I'm about to be found with the 96 300 C-x joined at birth year to board easy jet travel and him said GTP championship winning race car and grabbed his driving suit on display at the Peterson Museum several hundred owners and their cars joined M.C. Dick Clark to celebrate the end of an era in American sports car history. And that's it for this week's Motor News. Five years ago sporty cars were selling like McDonald's hamburgers in the age of sport utility vehicles have become a hard sell. Some car

makers have even abandoned that segment. Not Honda 297 high tech prelude is designed to offer both driving fun and real world practicality. Will that be enough jumpstart sales. We travelled to the Pacific Northwest to find the answer where we spent time in both the prelude and the prelude. SH easily spotted by its rear wing with her stop lamp large form like your headlight nominate run in styling but overall this generation prelude appears much more conservative than its predecessor which means that Hondas book is great sporty flagship has gone back to engineering and it shows in the prelude new chassis which is tighter than ever with a 40 percent increase in partial rigidity. SH preludes get an innovative active torque transfer system for 80 TS added to a sprinkling version of Hondas Ruben double wishbone or will suspension provide more responsive handling when cornering by

increasing torque and revolutions of the outside wheel keeping. An additional steering input to the variable is just power rack and pinion unit. We've found ATF operation invisible and it kept the car on course even when we kept the throttle in mid turn. Handling a fist also come from the higher added on to alloy wheels and heard on all prelude. As the. Most powerful of all four cylinder engine. When Cam think about the point Q leader of the unit. It still delivers 190 horsepower and 150 thick County to port an automatic with Greenlee but 195 Borth has been made into the 5 speed manual which is the only transmission available with the tide. They expect us with the signal time of three point five seconds with the type of sh. We were also impressed with the prelude braking ability with a pedal and the lock system. It is a much improved interior with quality

fabric airbags and a completely new and more conventional instrument panel two tiered storage is provided within the center console. There's an electronic key code security system to make sure only your keys start this prelude. Also standard is a six speaker 130 watt acoustic sound system within the player. The redesigned air conditioning is more efficient and it responds quickly. There's also more head and leg room in the back and the entire locking. Now both completely important since the trunk has been 8.7 cubic feet of parking space and that's an increase over last year. Official prices will be announced a few weeks but expect the base to start around $23000 and the 25000. So while it may cost you a bit more to get into a prelude you will be. And the rich are selling more preludes may not be easier. Hopefully as Nancy engineering like him will cement the preludes driver oriented niche among the stylish civic

and families we hope that this generation prelude is a current We hate to do without. Nowadays any auto maker without a sport utility vehicle in the line can end up suffering from a serious inferiority complex not to mention dwindling sales. So those that lack the wherewithal to build their own frequently arrange to sell a rebadged version of someone else's. Now Lincoln Mercury the subject of this week's road test by request is in a better position than its parent company already builds one of the best sport utes going forward explore but is this offer across to explore the Mercury Mountaineer distinctive enough to justify its existence. Well the product planners at Lincoln Mercury did equip this 97 mountaineer with quite a distinctive features and more standard equipment to separate it from its close cousin the board explore Xcel TBA starting with the

upscale mountaineers unique headlamp and Bosie chrome grill with its vertical bar and really prominent Mercury logo. Fog lamps are standard so are the 39 alloy wheel good margins for accent they match the lower body treatment that had running boards included on virtually all mountaineers and standard two tone paint minute features that resulted in clinics where no buyers like the claim to the appearance of GTS Grand Cherokee Laredo mountaineers main competitors. Now the New Year also gains a luggage rack borrowed from Lourdes Windstar minivan and a rear bumper export model explores featuring euro spec reflector a mountaineer exclusive bodies embroidered front bucket seats longer and wider than explore XSLT on our test truck they were covered with perforated leather $955 option we recommend standard on all mountaineers. It's ports pride and crew 5 leader pushrod be eight this high output virgin the same

found on the Explorer B.A. but it says 210 worth power at 275 pound beat aboard and it is really shoehorn into the space under the hood but it made us not to go on the rack and things were anathema. Powering our home right now to New York from zero to sixty nine point three seconds. An excellent time the quarter mile bike a more leisurely 17 seconds ending and maybe one mile for our exclusive transmission as an electronic board speed automatic with fuel economy ratings up working city and 18 highway. This break with an empty locker also stander. They hold our normal average stopping distance of 130 to beat. Now the Mountaineers active all wheel drive system is a $2000 option. The Borg Warner design is similar to the Oldsmobile bonnet. Under normal driving conditions a business is coupling to 35 percent of the front axle and 65 percent of the rear.

Under such conditions the ratio can reverse with more power going to the axles with the best reaction. While there is no low range for the standard limited slip rear differential has an added insurance that many competitors for our next report. Our Mountain View was flawless and off road excursion However with only six point seven inches of ground clearance you don't recommend climbing any boulder that's 95 percent of the New Year owners will most likely never venture into the dirt at all. This Mercury compliant way ride will be a more important as we'll hoeing ability. The main attraction of the mountaineer towing Tackett is included with a maximum limit of 60 700 down to the floor by crew members were to go door to £500 right out of the kill room. We also applaud the comforting quality of the mountaineers interior and it will complement of analogue. Boat front bucket seats on our truck and a multitude of power adjustments whilst lumbar support. Standard AM FM stereo with the Jets sounds great and

the switch here is large and user friendly you know that super simple really not been for old bourbon elation when we wander at Bourke three owners might not expect an automatic system. And unlike some auxiliary power points the mountaineers is well like the rear benches very birth of all being split and easily portable with head rests that the seat back even reclined when you order leather trim. Ordering the Highline console and rear stereo and climate control you. Mountaineer shares the Explorer's dual mode lip. It allows the glass orchard to be opened separately or as part of the entire unit giving easy access to a spacious eighty one point six cubic but cargo area with all the seats folded flat. I'm limited access to a Mercury Mountaineer will set you back at least twenty seven thousand seven hundred sixty five dollars and that's for rear drive model are all wheel drive. Yes unit begins at twenty nine thousand seven hundred sixty five dollars but add leather a moon roof and premium sound system and you

can close $35000. For the record that's about $750 more than a comparable Ford explore with the mountaineer. Get a vehicle that's more distinctive than most bad engineer still has an average of late. Has the Mercury Mountaineer is in Explore with Rome teat a clean sheet design would not have been ready until the year 2000. But then what's wrong with claiming the best selling sport you blowing as a close hand. Nothing we think we bet mountaineer owners will agree. But it is a muscle car. I 64 Pontiac GTO. I think the 9 board to Reno Talladega are a 900 new Dodge Viper r t tan or editor Ron Paul. Those three and dozens more in the standard guide to American muscle cars. He covers the years 1968 in 1900. Well documenting the glory days of the generation of super cars victims of high insurance rates and environmental concern. But the 90s high tech performance

revival isn't neglected either. Whether you come in an alleyway Corvette a GMC cycle own our Studebaker are too Avante. It's in here. We hope you'll join us next week for more motorways. Well say what's new from General Motors for 1997. I'm John Davis. We'll see you then. To order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4. Or send twenty nine ninety five plus 495 shipping and handling to motor week. Post Office Box 5 5 7 4 2 Indianapolis Indiana 4 6 2 0 5. Two motors from the Motor Week home video collection or current and past episodes of the motor week

television series. Call 1 800 4 2 2 0 6 4 0 to order a catalog send a self-addressed stamped envelope to this address. A. Hello I'm John Davis. On the next edition of motor week we'll show you what General Motors has in store for 1997. And check out the aftermarket goodies of top BMW sooner. A cease to serve bad coffee the highs and lows of selecting a car audio system. Lisa Barrow heads off road in the outback. Plus we'll have all the

latest Voter News. So don't you miss the next motorways.