Motorweek; 1801

Adn. This time on motorways the bad boys of sport you see driving Chryslers concept cars and more power from SL P to come drive with us. TV's original automotive magazine brought to you by Castro's super clean cleaner the cleaner that has brick dust and grime from

all types of wheels on contact no matter what age your car Castrol super clean all wheel cleaner. And by Michelin. Makers of the pressure Michelin. Designed to let you drive up to 50 miles at 55 miles per hour with out air pressure. Just what you expect from Michelin. Your host for Motor Week. John Davis. Well and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. And the late 90s four wheel drive sport utility vehicles are the machines to have especially big sports like the Chevrolet Suburban or Lincoln Navigator. But what if you've already gone to full size sport. And you're looking for something really extreme. Well then you might turn to this one the AM General Hummer. It's big it's bad and it's battle proven. It's also the number one pick for celebrities who wish to make a serious and seriously expensive automotive statement. But can a

vehicle built for combat in Kuwait really be at home on country Calabro or has the whole sport you craze just finally gone a bit too far. Well enough Hummers case the fact that it's the biggest most outrageous four wheel drive vehicle on the block is exactly why most people buy it and it is big at over 15 feet in length only Chevy is perennial mega wagon the Suburban is longer. Even the super wide fur comes up well short of the hummers huge eighty six point five inch whip and you want big tires. Well how about thirty seven inch tall rubber on sixteen point five inch wheels that are over a foot wide which help to give the Hummer an equal and 16 inch is a brown clearance. And to add to that off road monster image you can have the usual assortment of brush guards wenches and driving light. Even unavailable. He did windshield the whole structure with its lightweight aluminum body is supported

by a stout GM derived fully independent Double-A arm suspension and propelled by GM 6.5 leader diesel B.A. makes 170 horsepower and £290 feet of torque. The normally aspirated form our test vehicle is newly optional turbo charged version of the same engine. It's 195 horsepower and a gut busting 430 pound feet of torque. Both power to the wheels through a four speed automatic transmission and then to a full time four wheel drive system with a lockable torque biasing differential and serious off road of equipment give the Hummer parallel the ability when the pavement disappears with its generous ground clearance and the engine's massive torque. They can climb over or plow through obstacles that would stop other support huge in their tracks. And to handle the soft surfaces that would bury most vehicles up to their axles. Test machine even had an optional central tire inflation system. This allows the driver to change the tire pressures without getting out of the vehicle or even stopping

optional run flat tires allow you to drive 20 miles at 30 miles per hour after complete pressure loss. Put the hammer back on paved roads however and you'll quickly find what it's like to be famous. The big box like commerce stands out where ever it goes and turns a lot of heads and takes up a lot of room. Care is required when parking the huge Hummer and regular sized spaces even the widest roads feel narrow in the Hummer but right in handling on road while hardly car like are surprisingly smooth and agile. For a machine that was designed to change tanks over sand dunes though the loud clacking diesel engine can be tiring over a long time and long drives are possible due to our Hummer standard 25 gallon and optional 17 gallon reserve fuel tanks. The high rolling resistance of those huge off road tires meant that 14 miles to the gallon was our best result. But a Ford Expedition may not do much better. And the Hummer can still transfer 600 miles on a pillow. Will this break provide adequate but not

exceptional stopping power and make a lot of noise when engaged and side it's certainly no BMW though am general is doing their best to offer a full list of luxury car amenities. These include comfortable leather covered seats air conditioning and a power accessory. A little more room would certainly be welcome since the huge central tunnel makes the cramped cockpit feel more like that of a Mazda Miata. The analog gauges are large but scattered around the dash and sometimes hard to read. But heating ventilation controls are straightforward and easy to use. The optional monsoon audio system features both radio and can set as well as a CD changer mounted high in the center and enough speakers to blow away Baghdad where seating is as tight as the front again thanks to the wide chassis tunnel which can be covered with this optional bench seat with only enough headroom for very small children. Luggage space is plentiful enough though the high floor means more lifting than we'd like when loading and expect to catch plenty of clothes and heavy luggage on these

exposed lockin. No no suitcase could ever be as heavy as the Hummer's price base price for the two passenger hard top model is fifty six thousand five hundred sixty three dollars. Our four passenger hard top wagon starts at a hefty seventy two thousand three hundred nine dollars at options like a turbo diesel tire inflation system and more and the price climbs to an eye popping ninety one thousand two hundred eighteen dollars. It's no wonder that the AM general press kit includes a list of celebrity buyers at this level the Hummer is truly a rich man's toy. Or for the few ranchers and commercial operators who must stop at nothing. The Hummer stretches the outer limits of the sport below becoming almost a caricature of the whole sport youth movement a bit too much for most folks. Sure but quite a few super well-heeled buyers are willing to put up with this rough and ready character and tight interior in exchange for the right to say they own the biggest baddest off roader going. So for them the AM General Hummer is the hands down winner of a

sport you bore. Coming up show cars on the street. You hop in your car turn on the air conditioner or maybe the defroster and you're nearly overcome by that delightful fragrance of Old Sweats socks. Want to clean the air once and for all. Well here's motor week's top technician Pat Goss on how to do it John this time we're going to talk about something that affects just about everyone sooner or later and that stinking air conditioning. No I don't mean air conditioning that doesn't work right. I'm talking about air conditioning that literally stinks. It smells like last year's sweat socks. Now that problem is caused by mold the mildew and bacteria that collect in the air conditioning ductwork. Now to give you an example here we have an air conditioning evaporator. You know you see all of this stuff that has built up on the surface of it. When that gets damp and this is always damp when the air conditioner is working

well when that gets up it causes mold and mildew to grow around it and that's what causes the odor. All right. Now what can you do to get rid of it. First if you want to try to do it yourself look in your auto parts store for a chemical that is designed specifically for that. Like this b g fridge or fresh when you follow the directions on the label apply it the way it tells you to do it. Or if you can't find it rely on Lysol Lysol works reasonably well as a temporary fix for this you may have to do it every couple of months but it will work. Now what you do with the Lysol is you roll the windows of the car down turn the air conditioning on maximum band maximum cold and you actually spray this right down into the duct work ahead of the windshield and it's going to get it all through the car and it does a pretty good job. Now if you have a real bad case you might want to look for something like this. This is d w

d too. This is a professional product. It's professional because you have to drill a hole in the housing of the air conditioning and if you do it wrong you've done some serious damage. But check with your repair shop to see if they have it. The way this product works is very simple you drill the hole into the air conditioning ductwork and you hook it up and it's going to distribute this through the air conditioning system. Let's see what happens here. Well there you have it. The foam goes through all of the duct work in the air conditioning. It cleans all of that duct work and disinfect it and that does away with the odor. It's a very effective way to treat the air conditioning. And it should

last for quite a period of time. Check into it if you have a stinky air conditioner. And if you have a question well write to me. If I use your letter I'll send you a motor week T-shirt. The address is Motor Week always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. The week is aware imputable 1955 Ford Victoria Hart who still driven frequently and looking better at 79 thousand miles the many new cars it's owned by Dennis and Barbara Mount Laurel New Jersey. Now if you have a classic cruiser that you lovingly care for and would like to show it off to meet at least two good color photos to Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Without a doubt the best part of any car show is the concept cars. These futuristic machines are built to gauge public reaction to new ideas and technologies

but until recently no one outside of a small group of car company engineers ever got to drive them. When Lisa Barrow recently had a chance to live are car junkies dream and compare the auto show Fantasy to the reality of the open road. Creating car designs that are cutting edge and much of the styling and innovation that we see on current Chrysler production cars has its roots in concept vehicles like this 1998 or ask a Chrysler designer about the concept behind the likely hear the Autobahn needs Rubicon. Turns out the blends the handling of a sports car with the capabilities of a sport utility vehicle capitalizes on the jeep and specifically the Wrangler we can see the Wrangler front grill

that is very prominent for the brand and the red side. They remember that styling cue from your first Hot Wheels model. In addition to a potent work point seventy two 275 horsepower V-8 one of the more intriguing offerings is an adjustable suspension that raises and lowers the vehicle four inches depending upon driving me. This is the Dodge Intrepid. It is what we call a my bridge. What that is is a mild hybrid system. In here we have a direct injection engine coupled to manual transmission and we're actually controlling electronically to mimic an automatic. Up here is a 15 kilowatt electric motor that we're using to synchronize up transmission and also for reverse gear. The key to this concept is affordability. We have the hybrid power train in this car is more expensive than a normal power train because we have to add an electric motor and

battery pack. Therefore we've developed low cost light weight body structure. This is a plastic body that's more than six pieces as opposed to. Normal body structure which is it into a hundred pieces of steel that are stacked well that this low cost alternative helps to offset the cost of the power for the next two to get 70 mpg and a zero to 60 times. And drivers on the go can hook up their own portable handheld computer to access traffic updates and instructions on changing a flat tire. They're designed to Brando's minor. They obviously had fun but in portability was a key consideration. Like the Intrepid ESX two they replaced expensive sheet metal with recyclable plastic. What's really neat about this material is that it's molded in color This lowers the cost and that money can be turned around and other things like drive or or tire packages or more performance oriented characteristics.

This rear wheel drive super charged 2.4 liter four cylinder has an interior that rivals the modern aggressive exteriors retro styling complements the overall design and the banjo spoke steering wheel is a nice touch. If Chrysler builds this one look for a price tag around $20000. What the inspiration behind the Chrysler Kronos is the 1953 concept car and some of the details that were made there is a French lamp so we can see right here on the front the rear and the large grill with a large color. The car has an enormous hundred thirty one inch wheel base and these large large wheels and tires there really are very Horowitz and scale. And what that provides is a real presence on the road and when you walk around it and park next to it it's a very almost royal presence without being overly intimidating. The rear wheel drive Kronos luxury sedan is built on the LH platform. Chrysler dropped an enormous 6 leader 20 they'll be 10 engine into it which produces more than 350 horsepower. Inside luxury abounds from a hand wrapped leather steering wheel to

elegant watch space gauges to a trendy humidor. So we've said that Chrysler has a reputation for building car designs that are cutting edge but it also has a reputation for turning on sounds like a vibrant Alor into actual production cars. So now we wait which one of Chrysler's 98 designs. Do you think you'll be driving soon. It's only been a year since the sixth generation Honda Accord Oribe from Ohio and forever changed what Americans expect in a mid-size family sedan. The new Accord was not only more car than before but safer and more refined and even with a V-6 engine for a good deal less money. No wonder it won our motor week drivers Choice Award for Best family sedan. But that was a year ago as our enthusiasm for the Accord weekend since we've been living with one day in and day out. If anything we've come to appreciate how difficult it will be for others to top the

Accord during our steamy summer the motor week staff made numerous seasonal notes. They found that even with the air conditioning on maximum our elex B6 never lacked propelling power. The exhilaration was strong off the line and her passing. Also for extended vacations the compact disc changer located in the arm rest is a big hit. Yes the accord is not the most exciting car in the world to drive but it's hard to knock such design confident. We're pleased with Honda's American made really V-6 uses fuel do although after 45 hundred miles we hope our average of 23 miles per gallon will still improve a bit. EPA estimates are 20 city and 28 highway. We wonder if part of the problem is that you can easily misjudge the gearshift and drive around all day and third gear. Still the Honda CT is a car that's in near perfect harmony with suburban life. Next week we check in on Toyota's American made minivan the Sienna on motor week long term road test update

following the fast changing automotive world is never easy. Fortunately we have Lisa barrow to keep us informed So here she is again this time with all the latest Motor News. With a keen ear tune toward current owners. Chrysler decided that when it came time to redress the new Jeep Grand Cherokee for 1999 evolutionary was better than revolutionary. The result is a slightly softer more distinguished looking vehicle that maintains its familiar kinship despite the fact that only one hundred twenty seven small parts are carried over from the current model. Riding on the same one hundred five point nine inch wheel base. The 99 Grand Cherokee has a wider track for more stability is about born a half inches longer overall and about two inches taller but with about the same ground clearance as last year. Step in height has been reduced by one inch to facilitate easy entry yet seat height has been increased by one inch to give drivers a more commanding view of the road. Ergonomics have been improved with all primary controls now stock mounted and the overall layout of the dash has taken on a more refined appearance. Back seat room is

still fairly tight and maximum cargo volume is down 7 cubic feet. But the spare tire is now hidden inside under the floor. The Grand Cherokees biggest changes however are under its skin replacing the current five point two and five point nine leader engines is an all new four point seven leader single overhead cam power tech V-8 it produces 235 horsepower and £295 fee to tour. The venerable and improved for later in Line 6 is retained but a trick or speed automatic transmission. Different second gear ratios were acceleration and downshift is new. The A can be coupled to an all new Quander drive full time four wheel drive system that features a limited front center and rear differential Revolutionary Road or hydraulic actuated clutches distribute power on demand to the wheels that have the most traction without the overheating and slippage problems a viscous coupling. With water drive you keep rolling as long as one wheel has traction. And while the Grand Cherokee still uses solid axles front and rear improvements the suspension and ball type steering

have reduced bum steer and body roll while boosting road below as expected. Base prices for the 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee are little changed. Twenty six thousand two hundred twenty dollars for two will drive the radio to thirty four thousand four hundred fifteen dollars for a Top Line Limited four by four will have a full road test of Jeeves new flagship soon. And that's it for this week's Motor News. This week our latest eye spy photos show a near production ready prototype of BMW 0 7 show car most likely ready for production in the year 2000. Reportedly riding on an M5 platform with the leader of the eight and a six speed which will gearbox providing to thrust the aluminum body seven will also be available as a hard top tube. Both models will be produced in limited numbers and carry a price tag of around $100000. Here at Motor Week speed is frequently spelled s al P.. That's because

over the years Super Tuner s LP Automotive Group has produced some of the most exciting cars dollar for dollar that we've ever driven. The only fly in the ointment is they are usually based on Pontiac Firebird and Chevy Camaro coops. Now we love pony cars but we've often times wished that s LP would wave their magic speed wand over something at least a little more practical. Well now they have and we get to find out if powerful and practical can go hand in hand. And it didn't take us long to discover that with the 1998 GTX ram air SLB proves that not only can powerful and practical go hand in hand they can even be fun when you throw in a little foot in the floor. And that's something that's hard to resist when you're behind the wheel of a car that looks like it's sucking up pavement even when it's parked. The mid-sized Pontiac Grand Prix is already aggressive wide track stance takes on an even meaner posture with the addition of SL PS GTX ram air packet.

It includes a fully functional twin scoop ram air composite Hood a set of optional 17 inch by 7 inch chrome plated our boys wearing super sticky high performance rubber and a free float cap back dual stainless steel exhaust system that terminates into a chrome tip speaking discretely from beneath the lower rear facia. Topping off exterior additions isn't available outward opening power sunroof with a retractable sunshade. But make no mistake there is a lot more to this front drive Grand Prix than just good and a racy name and one need look no further than underneath to find it. For there lies the GTX is heart and soul. Super charged three point leader pushrod B6 the thirty eight hundred series two engine gains 20 hour when dressed up with forced air induction system with a K and N filter and the freer flowing exhaust system bringing the total output from 240 up to 260. Torque remains at two hundred eighty pound feet at thirty two hundred

RPM. 60 and just seven point one second and on through. A mile and fifteen point three seconds at 91 mph the slalom was attacked with equal gusto and although our drivers mention the overall size and heaviness of the car based tester with its MacPherson struck oil strong support to suspension with the roll bars and the available variable Eckert magnet steer steering was surprisingly agile turn ins were quick and side to side transitions were predictable even without engaging the full featured traction control system now standard on old Grand Prix. Also standard other 4 wheel disc ABS equipped brakes that brought us down from 60 and an excellent average distance of 115 feet. Stability was confidence inspiring while pedal feedback and noise were minimal. Out on the highway that smooth uncomfortable ride and a 46 to 5 easy high torque transmission is now standard with both normally aspirated and super charged complimenting the looks and sporting right. It's a

spacious and well appointed boy racer interior. The bucket seats available leather are comfortable and supportive and six way power is available to the driver. The leather wrap tilt steering will include enter grated stereo controls and faces a comprehensive analog gauge cluster augmented by the optional IQ head up digital display also available are dual climate controls and a high performance AM FM CD player equipped sound system with a graphic equalizer. But it was the large back seat of our test today and it put the biggest grins on the faces of the family oriented performance minded drivers among us as this is the first US LP product with a really usable rear passenger compartment. There is no split voting seat but there is a small passthrough that allows access to the 16 cubic feet of trunk space. So what does this combination of powerful and practical cost GTP sedan based tester loaded with LP options rang up at thirty one thousand eight hundred sixty six dollars. But you don't need to start with the top of the line card to purchase the standard

GTX ram air package which looks for a modest two thousand four hundred ninety nine dollars. Any new Grand Prix coupe or sedan can receive the LP treatment. And that's great news for family oriented pilots forced to balance high power with high practicality. NSL GTX ram air they go hand in hand. But we do have one note of caution. Most schools still discourage burnout in the drop off zone. I hope you will join us next week for more motor week. Well Tess GM is new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full size pickups and BMW has revamped 328 I think hits the high road with a massive Miata as well Pat Goss moves out some rough brakes. 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 at PBS online at the Internet address on your screen

motor week has been brought to you by Castro super clean all wheel cleaner. The cleaner that releases brake dust and road grime from all types of wheels on contact no matter what age your car Castro super clean all wheel cleaner. And by Michelin the makers of the zero pressure Michelin. Designed to let you drive up to 50 miles at 55 miles per hour without air pressure. Just what you expect from Michelin. To order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4 4 send 1095 plus 495 shipping and handling to this address. And. This is PBS.