Motorweek; 2613

Teacher. Pair. Of new full size pickups from GM the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. See how hard these new worker bees can also play. Start. Over With. Hi I'm Pat Goss top tear gas this time on Goss's garage. Why. Four wheel drive doesn't always give you a lock on gaining maximum traction and will hop down the road in BWC. You knew Raben to come drive with us. Till he. Is. Brought to you by cars dot. Let's say you are looking for a car. Cars dot com can help research locate even contact dealer cars dotcom find the right car for you and buy Dunlop tires.

The search for 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 dotcom and buy the tire rack. Ever notice how tyres are like shoes with average everyday comfort. 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 buy the Stanley Works. Makers of max length 3 6 9 tripod illumination tools. Stanley was proud to support public television. Standley make something great information available led w w w dot Stanley Works dot com. Your host for a motor week. JOHN DAVIS Well hello and welcome again to motorway work. Glad to have you with us. A lot has changed since 1918 when Chevrolet produced their first pickup truck in the nine decades since Chevrolet and SR division

GMC have built many millions of hard working pickups with an almost equal number of fan but today's realities have cast a shadow over the practicality of their mainstay full size pickups. Ones that GM is now ready to take on with an all new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Chevrolet and GMC have long link their trucks to the needs of traditional America. But America's needs are changing and the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra a full size pickups are changing with them. The biggest need to change is to rein in operating costs by lowering gasoline consumption. For that GM designers worked hard to provide the GMT 900 pickups with the most efficient engine lineup in its class. And with a V-6 and three V8 displacements. What a lineup it is. The V-6 is a carry over one hundred ninety five horsepower 4.3 leader that

becomes available next spring. Available now is a two hundred ninety five horsepower 4.8 liter V8 for iron and aluminum block 315 horsepower 5.3 leader V8 and three hundred sixty seven horsepower aluminum block 6 leader V8. The 5.3 and 6 leader V8 include DMD's gas saving active fuel management cylinder cut off system. The 5.3 can be ordered with or without flex fuel E-85 capability. While the six leader has standard variable valve timing. The 5.3 liter V8 which will account for about 70 percent of sales most government fuel economy ratings of 16 city 22 Highway 4 by two automatic that highway number is 50 percent better than its nearest competitor. All seven engines are backed by four speed automatic transmissions that include strain we're leaving home. A good thing since maximum towing is a hefty ten thousand five hundred pounds. All drive trains move a fully boxed frame with front Hijrah a

form section that is tortuously 234 percent stiffer than before. It's also the safest GM truck Freyne yet with truck to car front compatibility rails. Silverado and Sierra ride on a new three inch wider track coil over shock front suspension no more torsion bars and a solid rear axle with leaf springs and Swades shocks were better lateral control for its increasingly diverse buyers. There are five suspension packages including a new Z 60 St performance set up. To maintain control four wheel ABS is a given. It's linked to electronic stability control that stated on crew cab models and optional on extended cab. While four wheel drive models sported auto track Hi-Lo active transfer case and an automatic mechanical locking rear differential is optional with two and four wheel drive. To meet the demands of the majority of buyers you use a big pick up for family use no less than three caps dials regular extended and crew cab and a trio

of box lengths five foot eight inches six foot six inches and eight foot are available. Payloads range from one thousand five hundred seventy four pounds to two thousand one hundred sixty pounds. Beds can be factory equipped with a sturdy cargo management system that handles utility racks tool boxes bed dividers and even bicycle mounts. All Boxes are deeper and available with easy closed tailgate assist. We've spent a lot of time in a 5.3 leader a crew cab Silverado and found GM's newest full size pick up the full size performance. The ride is more refined and very quiet all the time. Hambling benefits from the use of crossmember mounted rock and pinion steering. But wait there's much much more both inside and out and that outside is more aerodynamic and merely seamless. Giving the GM 89 hundreds up to date style. Uptodate versatility is also in demand. The extended cab clamshell rear door is now open 170 degrees

on most models those doors have power windows. Then raise the rear seats without releasing a lever for a lower floor. That is the fly list among pickup's curtain airbags are available that even deploy in a rear collision and industry first. Too bad they're not standard utility models Donna refired work truck dash complete with twin glove boxes top level models borrow the luxurious wood tone dash of the Tahoe and Yukon. And that's just the tip of full size pickup iceberg that threatens to send competitors back to the drawing board. And soon buyers to Chevrolet and GMC dealers with their checkbooks open. Prices naturally cover a broad range Silverado and Sierra extended cab started twenty three thousand six hundred five dollars Khrushchev's get it twenty seven thousand dollars. But growing a sticker to $40000 is easy. From fuel saving engines with a generous 100 thousand mile warranty to a beefy

new chassis sleek styling to more efficient interiors. The 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra represent a lot of change but it only takes one drive to see that it's all a change for the better. Coming up. Do you really need a wheel drive. Time once again for Goss's garage. Let's see what Pat fuel's up on this week. John lots has changed since this car and this gas pump were current including the gas that the pump used to dispense. And here to tell us about modern Dessalines is Barbara Terry. Dr Feelgood from Shell Oil. Barbara Wulkan bogosity garage. Thanks for having me today how are you. I'm doing great. Hey what can you tell us about modern gasolines. Well 70 percent of Americans are all under the assumption that all Gasolines are alike and they're really not. You should be running a top tier gas in your car and when I say top tier

I mean that four manufacturers got together and came up with a standard at the gas it should be run in their vehicles. They'll for manufacturers for BMW Honda Toyota and General Motors. What's the difference between top tier and non top tier gas. Good thing that you ask. I brought with me today a little test that was done on a six cylinder engine it was a brand new car and six of the intake balls were divided up into two sets of three. And as you can see that with only 5000 miles on the vehicle that carbon deposit build up had already begun on the intake valves and the other three that you see were run on a top tier gas. It's impressive now in only 5000 miles. I mean that's a lot of carbon buildup. It is and I wouldn't want that in my car and it's going to affect fuel economy performance and lots of other things. Top tier does away with it. Yes it does. And top tier gasoline when you go to the service station it's available in all three grades.

Yes that is the low the med and of course the the power grade at Shall that just replace their premium gasoline. OK so we want to use top tier gasoline. What other fuel saving tips do you have for consumers. Well if you log on to the shell Web site there's actually twelth fuel stretched tips but we can go over let's say for those today. OK. You should always run the proper air pressure in your tires to make sure that the proper air pressure is in all off. Number two you should always switch out your air filter let's say approximately every 15000 miles. Or if you live in a dusty climate change it every ten thousand miles and it can take really about five minutes. And number three when I pulled up today I saw those bowling balls in your car if you remove the excessive way out of your car whether it be bowling balls or golf clubs baby formula extra water whatever. You'll actually achieve better gas mileage and also keep your car tuned up on a regular basis. Well it's simple enough. All right. So we want to do all of those things we want to go to the

show Web site and see the other tips. And we want to use top tier gas. Yes you do. Barbara thank you so much. Thanks for having me today. OK. Hey folks if you have a question or comment right to me the address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Many truck owners believe that four wheel drive will get them out of any kind of trouble at any electronic driving age like traction and stability control and you're practically unstoppable. Right. Well not quite. Even with all that hardware if you get one fraud and one rear wheel spinning you're probably still stuck. Making sure they all get stuck is why more and more pickup buyers are opting for some form of locking rear differential. The most familiar is the limited slip differential if one rear wheel loses traction and LSD transfers torque from the wheel that slips to the

wheel with grip but by its very name the amount of torque transferred is limited. Plus if one rear wheel has near zero traction like on ice or slick mud power stays at the helplessly spinning wheel. One alternative to an LSD is an automatic mechanical locking differential. Now during our test of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra we discovered that they are the only full sized pickups available with a mechanical locking rear differential known as the G 80. It's made by Eaton Corporation one of the oldest names in traction when one wheel begins to slip and micro-seconds that GEAE mechanically locks the two rear wheels together. The locking differential provides performance's quite a bit different than a limited slip differential the the locker when engaged full lock both axles solid resulting in both tires to turning at the same speeds the limits slip differentials try to transfer

power from a spinning wheel over to the wheel with good traction. But they're really limited in terms of what they're able to do. But the real plus to the G8 is that when added to a two wheel drive truck it provides much of the traction of four wheel drive at a fraction of the cost. To test that theory we took a pair of new GMT 900 pickups to Eatons Marshall Michigan proving grounds. This dark blue Silverado is a four by two rear wheel drive pickup. While this gray GMC Sierra has four wheel drive. Both also are equipped with a GEAE locker water test we're first simulating the most common Slik condition level wet pavement. This is where limited slip works best. But a truck either fall by two or four by four with the locker still slips last. Now what if that slick pavement is on an incline like a boat ramp where one side is wet and the other side is dry as a bone. That's what this concrete

Hill with Fargo rollers is all about. Even with a running start this truck with limited slip came to a spinning hole the four by two Silverado with the GMAT hesitated only long enough for the unit to lock up. It does so as soon as there is a 100 rpm difference in speed between the two rear wheels. As for the four by four Sierra with the GED It also was no contest. But since this is a test it's best to have some numbers so to quantify the ability of a four by two truck with limited slip and one with the GMAT we performed a pull bar test with one rear wheel on rollers. Each truck is chained to a post where a strain gauge measures pulling power. The truck with limited slip generated between 300 and 400 lbs of pulling power four by two Silverado with the G8 he beat it handily peaking at nearly four times the pulling power of the limited slip. That's me.

But what about something really sloppy like a muddy campground or big ruts in a farmer's field. This dirty test is the infamous twist ditch where one wheel is usually airborne. Even with four wheel drive this is tough. So a rear drive truck with limited slip is in over its head. But we were impressed that our rear drive Silverado with the lady made it through pretty easily. Anybody that's driving a pickup truck that is demanding low speed traction using a pickup truck on road or off road needs to improve traction or wants an added sense of safety and security when driving through wet or slippery conditions should be using a locking differential. Some full size trucks do offer a driver controlled electronic locking rear differential while fine technology it usually is only available with four wheel drive and can be engaged only in low range for speeds close to a crawl. The GHB on the other hand provides for a lock up at speeds up to 20 miles per

hour. Yes we're convinced the GAAP locker puts the new Silverado and Sierra in a class by themselves where getting stuck should never again be an option. We're always borrowing new sets of car keys and some are really hard to return to let's see what's tempting us this week. Mercedes-Benz has a simple sounding goal for the all new 2007 SEO class to be the best group in the world introduced at the recent Paris Motor Show. The new CEO continues its predecessors tradition of high end technology mixed with luxury and exclusivity. Much of the tech advancement is centered in the chassis and the latest version of Mercedes active body control computer aided suspension but the drive train gets its share of upgrades to the C-L 550 getting a bigger 5.5 leader

V8 with a bigger 382 horsepower. While the SEALs six hundred twin turbo V12 now yields five hundred ten horsepower and even more powerful AMG versions are in the pipeline safety systems including the safe which activates partial braking before affronting accident and brake assist Plus which adjust brake pressure to prevent a rear end accident. The C-L boast all the opulence we expect but most controls have been redesigned to be more user friendly. It's a big luxury coupe that can even impress a jaded automotive journalist. I've always been a fan of the big Mercedes coupe but this new C-L really tops them all. The combination of first class luxury and real sports car performance is so hard to play at this level. It's earned my respect and deserves to be the flagship of the Mercedes today Orlova. Of course once you see the price which runs from ninety eight thousand to one hundred thirty thousand dollars you believe that the CFL is at the top of the

Mercedes-Benz lineup. Back down on earth. Nissan has upgraded its own flagship the 2007 Maxima sedan. The muscular wedge shape body gets a new front in including bumper grill and hood. Plus larger 17 and 18 inch wheels. While the interior has more upscale fabrics and trim a redesign dash with simplified controls and new high visibility gauges the drive train is still centred on Nissan's excellent two hundred fifty five horsepower three point five leader V-6. But the transmission is now a continuously variable Automattic borrowed from the Murano crossover spinning along with these improvements. The Maxima continues to offer Sadan buyers a fine ride that sportier than Ford or King's Camry in a court and its own Altima though it also has a more premium price point of $29000. The 2007 Maxima is at Nissan dealers now. BMW sports activity vehicle line up gets a new top dog for

2007 with the arrival of an all new ex-parte. Possibly the most technologically advanced crossover yet the longer wider and Towler X5 rides on almost five inches of added wheelbase which is led by a new multi linked front suspension maximizing its control as BMW is available dafter drive system which constantly adjusts the anti-roll bars and shocks an active steering which matches ratio's to speed the X5 is powered by potent new engines. The ZF-I 3.00 sci's 263 leader in line 6 comes from the three series while the X5 four point eight eyes three hundred fifty horse 4.8 leader V.A also resides in a five six and seven series sedan. The only transmission for 2007 is the latest six speed step tronics automatic interior space and accommodations are also improved front and rear seats have more leg room and there's now a third row available.

2007 also sees the debut of BMW as I drive multi control system in the x 5 plus standard dual zone an optional four zone climate control and a new 12 speaker audio system. We could go on but we'd be here all day so we'll close by telling you that the 2007 BMW X5 is in showrooms now with prices of about forty seven thousand dollars for the 3.0 side and fifty six thousand dollars for the $4.30 and we'll turn the ignition keys to more of the latest and most advanced models from compact cars to a full size SUV and just a few weeks. The old cliche is work hard your whole life then retire and play some golf. But it seems like Volkswagen has got it backwards trying to score higher sales. VW America has retired their golf nameplate and brought back a classic to fill its shoes. The rabbit first introduced in 1974 rabbit hatchbacks turned VW from a bug builder into a benchmark small car

company. So let's see if this new bunny can hop down that trail again. Long before the days of farfel again Volkswagen had high hopes for its fuel sipping little rabbit but the hair stopped hopping in 1984 after being superseded by that goal. Now for 2007 the iconic rabbit returns to reclaim its young audience with an abundance of new zeal and appeal and its cute name too. Under its hide is a fifth generation golf and the German built rabbit is available as a two door or four door hatchback. It's a platform shared with a Volkswagen Jetta giving the rabbit a wheel base of one hundred one point five inches and a trim nose to tail length of 165 point eight inches. Its presence is detailed with classically quiet Volkswagen styling. Doing without the jet is predator drop jaw grille but the rabbit's stance is wide and substantial for a compact. A thick back

can rear spoiler and dual exhaust Bradt an air of Ziph and athleticism under a hood in their GI reels from the Jedi's 2.5 leader. When can 20 valve inline 5 engine it spits out one 150 horsepower. That's a jump of thirty five over the last call. And Pete pulling power up 170 pound feet of torque is on tap from seventeen hundred fifty RPM up their front wheel drive Rabah channels power through either a 5 speed manual or are Tester's 6 speed tiptronic automatic transmission with sport mode on the drag and rabbit was no scolded hair. Yet still. It From 0 to 60 in a respectable 8 seconds. The quarter mile clocked at sixteen point seven seconds at 84 mph. The engine has a nice low end punch but power delivery builds conservatively from there. With similar tuning as the jet handling is by MacPherson struts up front and multi blinks in the rear. The rabbit also enjoys standard electro mechanical steering

traction control and optional electronic stability program. All of this equals a well balanced and nimble field even with more body roll than expected. Braking is by 4 wheel disc with abs however stop from 60 to zero. So slightly long 130 feet and despite a gaping hole for the hatch the rabbit structure is tight and solid. Holding up to the original rabbets cost consciousness government fuel economy ratings are 22 city 30 highway for the automatic. Tester's combined test loop was a middling 25 mpg on regular gas. All Ravitz come equipped with air conditioning cruise control power windows and locks plus an impressive safety array of six airbags rear seat accommodations are comfortable for two but tight for three 60:40 split Boulder's joined by a sitter armrest and pass through the rear hatch opens to 15 cubic feet of luggage space. But true to VW form folding the rabbit's rear seats opens a huge

borough of 46 cubic feet the four doors folding front passenger seat provides SUV like cargo capability. Sweet deal for the young and hip. This Hussen Feffer starts at a very competitive fifteen thousand six hundred twenty dollars for the two door hatchback. The four door pops up to seventeen thousand six hundred twenty dollars are virtually loaded tester stickered at twenty thousand nine hundred twenty dollars. So after more than two decades of West Philly it has returned to a whole new generation of Volkswagen ear. Affordable fun and with a way cool name. The new 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit may very well prove to be a hair beyond compare. Well I hope you'll join us next week for more motorway. Will test Lincoln's first crossover utility now curious M.K. act and make up to that dodge charger police cruiser. I'm John Davis. We'll see you

then. To learn more about Motor Week TV's original automotive magazine Mizzy PBS dot org. To order a DVD or VHS copy of this program call 1 800 8 7 3 6 1 5 4. Motorway has been brought to you by cars dotcom. Let's say you are looking for a car. Cars dotcom can help research locate even contact dealing cars dotcom find the right car for you and buy Dunlop tires. The search for true performance is part of our heritage. Dunlop is proud to present the Dunlop drivers Cup where amateurs from around the world to compete head to head and on and off road competitions information at Dunlop tires dot com and buy the tire rack offering a wide selection of tyres wheels and a board with professional advice and online shopping tools plus a national network of Tire Rack recommended

installers and by works makers of max length 3 6 9 tripod illumination tools. Stanley was proud to support public television Standley make something great information available at w w w dot Stanley Works dot com. This program was produced by American Public Television which is solely responsible for its content. We are PBS