Motorweek; 2024

This time on Motor Week Aston Martin is dynamite TV segment. Yet another new Toyota sport hewed and motor weeks best picks for 2001 to come drive with us next. Television is a visual automotive magazine brought to you by Priceline with Priceline price for new cars cars trucks sport utility and more. When you log on to Priceline in your own price. And buy pep boys no matter what you drive has over twenty seven thousand items and virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know service staff with certified technicians 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. Whenever a car

maker delivers a special edition or performance version of an existing model that specialness is often indicated by adding to the vehicle name an extra letter designation like or the word sport or even a limited. Now sometimes the extra letters have a real meaning and sometimes not. But since 1950 Aston Martin has used the word advantage to designate its highest performance models and our DV 7 tester carries that postscript. But the skeptics among us wonder Aston Martin's definition of that little Lord really give the DV 7 an advantage. The answer to that question lies behind this little red button just give it a bush and you'll know the not so secret an advantage held by this VB 7 vantage over other Aston Martin and just about every other car on the road. And that advantage is this.

Cars were designed 6 layer 1 over it can be 12 the rumble you hear is the tube produced by the water 20 or so hours and 400 pound feet of torque. It sounds ferocious even at idle. Rev it up and letting go and you'll soon find yourself we're going to 60 mph in just more warnings for you. The 7000 RPM redline and there will be flashing through the quarter mile in twelve point nine seconds at 113 miles per hour that will make many a Corvette. John. Mark Karr shifted by way of a six speed manual gearbox throws her on the long side but very precise and accurate with a nice way to feel. It seems fitting that this most special edition would be the first ever Aston Martin tested by motor week. So to give it a proper workout we took it to our most secret test site. Well not really. They're twisting two miles a Roebling road Raceway near Savannah Georgia keeping in mind that the VB 7 is meant to be a luxurious Grand Touring coupe and not a track star.

We were flat. For much of this brawny Brit well-balanced chassis makes for a mostly neutral handling giving way progress and we don't understand the front tires were understandable after two days of rapid lapping throttle response from the Big 12 got rave reviews from our pilots induce oversteer is just a right foot away and the massive torque simply kind of holds the Aston out of the mourners and that four hundred twenty horsepower propelled all the way to 140 miles per hour at the end of the front straight that's not why I did redline in fourth gear. We mentioned this is a luxury bringing all of the vantages thirty nine hundred pounds down from Speed is no problem for the ABS equipped for will display four piston calipers a slight brake shutter came with our tester but it had no effect on performance. Inside the roomy two plus two cockpit the driver faces a handsome gauge cluster dominated by Reach for the sky you're looking switchgear from parent company. But overall the interior design looks

feels and smells exclusive. The Connelly hide bucket seats are cozy and supportive and feature power lumbar bolster. We do wish there was some way to adjust the seat bottom for tilt generous leg room. However it was a pleasant surprise. Renowned designer Ian Cullum is duly proud of the TV seven sleek muscular lines. This is undoubtedly one of the most striking yet understated designs we've ever seen. No one element of the styling jumps out as being overly aggressive but taken as a whole the DV 7 vantage carries itself like a linebacker in an Armani suit. Don't let the fine clothes fool you. This car is ready for action. If we had a secret bank account we gladly write out a check for the bandages lofty one hundred forty three thousand dollar base price. But we'd certainly pass on a few of the overpriced options like a $400 fire extinguisher or $250 golf umbrella taken together they balloon the as tested price up to one hundred fifty three thousand four hundred sixty five dollars. The Aston Martin

DV 7 vantage is an awesome combination of stunning looks super car performance and top drawer luxury. And for the few who can drive one that adds up to a serious and man hit. The best kind of car accident is the one you will avoid active handling and stability programs are often called DSP or electronic stability programs are designed to help you do just that. DSP works by monitoring a car speed and direction as well as the drivers actions and it automatically applies the brake to one or more wheels to correct unstable conditions. It's high tech. Hands off. Keep it on the road peace of mind and it's as easy as SB. Coming up we feature the finest. Time now to check in with our top tech Pat Goss. This week Pat has tips and technology for maintaining a well-balanced. John there's a big new problem out there that affects a lot of drivers and that's where the car doesn't

roll as smoothly as it should be a little shake or vibration either in the steering wheel or through the car. You've done all of the normal things you've checked balance. Maybe a couple of times you've checked tire pressure you've had the suspension checked on it and an alignment but it still isn't as smooth as it should be. Well keep in mind that modern cars are very sophisticated suspensions or tighter steering is tighter tires are lower profile and wider. These cars handle better today even garden variety ones than high performance cars of 15 or 20 years ago. But that means that things have to be right. And that's especially true when it comes to the tire and wheel assembly. Now stop and think about it. If we were to take and mount this brick onto a balancing machine we'd be able to balance it so that it would spin very smoothly. But you certainly wouldn't want to ride down the road on it. And that's the same thing that happens with your tires. They may not be perfect. Now

this is where the hundred ninety seven hundred road force balance or comes in this is a very ingenious piece of equipment. How what it does is while it's going through its test. There's a roller that comes out against the tread of the tire and applies 700 pounds of force to the tread along with that there are micro sensors that sense variations in the rolling resistance of the tire or if it happens to be out of round or improperly balanced. It also checks balance at the same time. Now the thing that you wind up with here is that oh here we have one that the road force is excessive. Now what you do next when you have one of these balancers the balancer will tell you where to put a mark on the tire and a mark on the wheel. Now I've actually taken the tire right off of the wheel so we can see this better but the mark on the tire. You simply break the tire down rotate it until the

two marks line up. Now you re inflate it put it back on the machine. Recheck it. You'll probably be within spec.. You rebalance it and the problem is gone. It's an amazing piece of equipment. So if your car shakes or shimmies look for the 90 700. If you have a question or a comment write to me if I use your letter on the air. I'll send you a motor week T-shirt. The address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. It was the poet Robert Frost who in his poem The Road Not Taken wrote of choosing the road less traveled and how it made all the difference in his life. And it's in the spirit of that poem that we offer up a new segment that will appear from time to time here on Motor Week. We call it detours and this week's detour takes us to the outer limits of the world of automotive art where bright colors cool cars in an album Culture collide to create a form of expression that's like

no other. It's called low brow art and you can trace its inspirations back to the early days of California's Hot Rod and custom culture. After World War Two many home coming down the left coast gorgeous coastal climate to their liking. While its proximity to the salt plant deserts attracted increasing numbers of automotive and aerospace engineers interest in hot rodding exploded. Then in the mid 50s a young mechanical whiz named Kenny Howard reintroduced the art of pin striping on cars. He took on the name Von Dutch and his frenzied style of jagged lines and angles blew the doors off customizing. He was like the garage genius the guy that could take a car turn into a hot rod he couldn't bend a pin stripe you could bet any wild machine.

And I. Bond Dutch also popularized the painted plane reminiscent of the nose art of World War Two fighter planes. Danny introduced the practice of painting monsters on cars in T-shirts. It wasn't long before Ed Big Daddy Roth cashed in on the monster idea creating rap thing. Rock was the king of the Customize years crafting a wildly imaginative shapes with plastic. He took this big piece of plastic down to the pizza guy and he heated it up for his oven and then we just took a hose underneath it and blew up like a big bubble. And it was the first time it worked and it was amazing to me. Rock influenced a whole generation of kids with his crazy customs and his rat paraphernalia. He also hired the hallucinatory artist Robin Williams as artistic director at Rock studios. Williams tore apart the definition of art challenging the establishment with a thing called low brow and innovative art movement chopped and channeled by the car culture of California.

I don't think you know how fantastic it is out here growing and how much mental soup brewing is out here. It's remarkable really is hot rod started out here for Outlaw Motorcycle the psychedelic movement started. The underground comics started out here. All of these things blended into a new aesthetic that was pure California pop culture. There was nothing highbrow about it and although it was a rebellious form of expression it was clearly descended from post-war era thinking such as the West Coast fascination with automotive performance and customizing their resistance to McCarthyism the influence of the entertainment industry and the growing number of people drawn to California as the last bastion of freedom. A lot of this grew the unique culture of Los Angeles a sprawling urban environment designed around the mobility of the automobile and a love of entertainment. It's really all about parking expressionism some people call it cartoon

surrealism. Dutch the grandfather of this art movement and then a rock. Maybe the father Robert Williams can basically access school effects primarily happening out of Southern California heavily influenced by the automobile culture. Hot Rods low riders as well as other things that California has the surfing graffiti skateboarding tattoo art. There were two guys type of guys in the Air Force it was a guy from California and the guys from that from California the guys from California we always get in the corner and we'd start rapping about the engines and carburetor the stuff that was really interesting because you got someplace to do in their. Cars and California. The two are nearly inseparable and lowbrow art is a testament to the cars and the culture of southern California. You were always curious as to what goes on behind the scenes here at motorways. What are some of our staff going to test as their writing cue cards. It's not always as exciting as it

looks except when it comes time to take our annual drivers Choice Awards. Then the motor week offices take on the atmosphere of the British House of Commons. So after much spirited debate it's time again to present to you our best motor week 2001 drivers Choice Awards. We start our motor week 2001 drivers Choice Awards with efficiency in our selection of best small cars. The honor goes to the Nissan Sentra with the rigidity and refinement of its larger Maxima sibling. This intro makes most small cars feel cheap and in available 145 horsepower and a very competitive price and you've got a top notch small car deal. If needs are for something larger There is our best family sedan twins. The Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring for 2001. Chrysler's cab forward mid-size are roomier more civilized and more exciting to drive. These are the Chrysler group's best sedan

to ever. The Chrysler Group also takes best minivan. The first front drive minis on the market in 1903. The Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Voyager along with the Chrysler Town and Country continue to lead the way with features like a clever power tailgate and power doors that stop if someone is in the way. For 2001 they reclaimed the benchmark people mover status they invented. The move a couple of people with pure fun. Try our best convertible the Audi roadster. It's captivating open air design is matched by the nimble handling and available through a drive train that allergies are famous for luxury you desire. We suggest our best luxury car the Lincoln LS. A rare repeat winner elegantly understated styling upper class world class sedan performance and real world pricing simply puts the LS at the head of its class. If you prefer a sedan with maximum zing However take a spin

in our best sports sedan the Mercedes-Benz sport a healthy dose of driving fun to the already excellent C-Class sedan. Stuttgart has produced a car that offers drivers an almost perfect combination of comfort and confidence. But if it's 100 percent pure adrenaline that you want then nothing tops our best performance car. The BMW M3 now packing 333 horsepower and probably the best chassis in the history of the automobile. This truly is the ultimate driving machine. But while one may lust for sports fans more likely a buyer will choose a sports are best small sport utility vehicle designed for 2001 as the Ford Escape and the Mazda Tribute a solid Mazda platform. Top with an available 46 and surrounded by a handsome space efficient body. These two are several giant steps ahead of other many use. The bar has also been raised by best family sport utility vehicle the Acura

MDX displaying a level of technical and fashion sophistication normally found only in premium sedans. The MDX makes most sport look and feel like the trucks that they are. Not that there's anything wrong with trucks especially hard to time. Best pickup truck choice. The Toyota Tundra. The first import brand full size pickup to take on domestic callers. The Tundra impresses with its quiet smooth functionality and impeccable quality. Back to follow. God will do that with our best crossover vehicle the only in America Chrysler P.T. cruiser. This innovative little all around her is party economy car part minivan part retro runabout and all about having a passion for driving. No wonder it's a runaway sales success. Finally cars of passion that are more likely to be only in our dreams our picks for best dream machines for 2001 are two very different sports cars. The Porsche 911

Turbo and the BMW 0 8. Both of these German speed demons offer an exclusive group of buyers. The pinnacle of power handling styling and bragging rights. That's why we dream about them every chance we get. What a list. But is there one winner that stands above the rest. Actually there are two part choice for best of the year. Are the small SUV twins. The Ford Escape and the Mazda Tribute. Smart in design and execution no effort provides more versatility of sufficiency and affordability while still being enjoyable after hours behind the wheel. So there you have it from the Podunk to the practical from the affordable to the outrageous motor week's 2001 drivers choice award. We've seen a lot of automotive books in voter weeks 20 years on the air but prototypes the history of the MC series is a truly special one. It was originally conceived by the late automotive author Ken Wells as a history of Jaguar

prototype racing after Wells's unfortunate demise. His partner Jim Martin spent the next 13 years expanding it into the most comprehensive history of America's premier sports prototype series that we will likely ever see featuring tons of inside information from everyone who was anyone in ems a GTP Plus a superb collection of photos. Many never before seen. This is a fascinating read and essential reference work for any serious sports car racing fan. Increasingly buyers are asking for Sport Utility attributes versatility all weather security and a commanding view without giving up the comforts and handling of a car. Now Toyota first tried to answer those buyers with the Rav for many years and then with the luxury Lexus our x 300 to SUV is not based on their traditional full frame truck chassis but on a unit time car chassis. And guess what. Both are big hits. But what about the

heart of the SUV market the mid-size family and she if we had a car based SUV succeed there too. Well this is the 2001 Toyota Highlander and we're about to find out. The 2001 Highlander is the latest member of a Toyota vehicle plant that now blankets the increasingly diverse SUV market based on the Lexus r x 3 hundred which is in turn based on the Camry the Highlander pushes ahead of the forerunner as a more civil challenger to segments like the Ford Explorer Jeep Grand Cherokee. A few inches longer than the Grand Cherokee or its Lexus cousin the Highlander rides on a short for its class one hundred six point nine inch wheel base. The unibody structure is clad in boxy or more utilitarian panels than the Lexus giving the Highlander a look of significant mass but with a base curb weight of three thousand seven hundred fifteen pounds it's actually a light weight for a midsize SUV that weight is

motivated by a pair of engines bases a new 2.4 liter dual overhead cam four cylinder rated 155 horsepower and 163 pound feet of torque. But most buyers will choose the R X 303 leader dual overhead cam 24 6 with variable valve timing. It puts out a healthy 220 horsepower and two hundred twenty two pound feet of torque. Power flows to a seamless shifting four speed automatic transmission and then on to either the front wheels or to a full time four wheel drive system similar to the one in the Rav. It's geared primarily for on road use. But while Highlander has no all terrain low range it does have about 7 inches of ground clearance. But you can also enhance the traction of two wheel drive Highlanders with optional traction control and DSC electronic stability control DSC is also available on Hylander four by fours all Highlanders feature all disc ABS brakes with brake assist.

We spent most of our early time in V-6 Highlanders on the rolling roads outside Santa Fe New Mexico both by 2 and 4 by 4 models built strong albeit with light loads throttle response was quick. Even at high altitude flat land 0 to 60 is nine point six seconds or about the same as truck based SUV with a V-8. But don't buy a Highlander for serious towing it's limit is 30 £500. Handling his car like a positive for many thanks to MacPherson struts front and rear independent suspension corners with only moderate role. The power rack and pinion steering returns reasonable feedback as the Highlander understeer safely at high speeds. The ride is fairly firm with the occasional bump feeling shared by Am I on a World Weekly who rode over rode imperfections. There is impact harshness that the 300 filters out of the Highlander is roomier overall in the Grand Cherokee and in typical Toyota fashion pertly put

together the Highlander shares the basic instrument panel 300 with short center console equipped Highlander limited keeps it in its place the front bucket seats or arm chair comfortable and include side impact airbags and an optional with leather trim but not seat memory. Hylander start with a dual media cassette CD stereo on the LTD an end changer is optional AC is another given with limited upgrading to an automatic climate control system. There are plenty of headroom but leg room is still a little tight for the tall. As a consolation it splits and recline. There is no third seat option but maximum cargo room of 81 cubic feet. Rivals the longer Ford Explorer. And prices are pretty much in line with other midsize SUV to twenty three thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars buys a front drive four cylinder Highlander drive pushes it to twenty five thousand three hundred ninety five dollars. Highlander begins at

twenty five thousand five hundred seventy five dollars twenty six thousand nine hundred seventy five dollars and four wheel drive limited trim thirty five hundred dollars more. We'd rather pay eight hundred fifty dollars for the stability and traction control systems. With the Highlander Toyota has indeed produced a genuine unibody contender for the huge mid-size family SUV market. It may not be able to tackle the Rubicon trail with success but we do think it will appeal to urban buyers more concerned with conquering slippery roads to work school and the mall so with a roomy interior and available stability system and quality. The 2001 Highlander looks like another smart turd for Toyota. I hope you'll join us next week for more motor week when we'll be testing the hard charging see OK 55 AMG from Mercedes Benz and GM is all new 2000 to midsize SUV. I'm John Davis.

Well 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. The 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 minivans and more. When you log on to Priceline dot com you name your own price. And buy Pep Boys. No matter what you drive at Boyce's 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 Pep Boys parts tires accessories service. To order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4. And. This.