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This time on a motorway unleashing the Elise a topless cruiser and truly renewable fuel. So come drive with us next. The little TV's original automotive magazines your post for Motor Week. John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. Say the name Lotus and automotive purists think of simple lightweight sports cars cars that over the years have evolved into a true exotic Slike this is spary S4 complicated in style and substance. That is until 1996 when Lotus introduced the Elise a sports car that harkened back to founder Collin Chapman seminal ideas of simplicity and lightweight. And now that the Elise is finally available in America it's time to find out if those values still hold true. We spend our time doing the limit Mary testing on the 2005 Lotus he leased

at Birmingham Alabama as a barber. Vintage Motorsports Park and while it has taken lotus over the years to bring in Elise to our shores the way it appears to be well worth it. The basic shape of a lease hasn't changed since motor we drove a European spec car back in 1997 with its short ninety point five it will base the distinctively styled Elise is an extremely compact clean and sexy package. Outback the US specky lease is discernable by its closely grouped when exhaust pipes are centered between aero diffusers and those pipes expel gas from what proved to be the biggest change since we tested the first dillies. Gone is the weak kneed Rover a power plant replaced by the strong and reliable Yamaha engineered one point eight leader Toyota four cylinder derived from the Celica with its twin cams a variable valve and lip control. It delivers 190 horsepower at one hundred thirty eight pound feet of torque with a

Lotus design engine management system. The toilet is sore 6B transaxle has well-placed gearing perfectly matched to the torque curve. Our one complaint is that the shifter while improved over the first day at least is still big and not cheap. And since the feather weight at least tipped the scales at under 2000 pounds the high revving power train makes for one rapid takeoff. One reason for the light weight of the Elise is it's extruded unbonded chassis too which weighs in at only 150 pounds combined with a body constructed with a closed molded composite material. If you add more real weight savings than a roomful of Jenny Craig clients interior ergonomics are. Well what can we say it's a pretty tiny sports car. The Elise sits low very low. A Miata feels like a four by four compared to the Elise with the top off. One doesn't so much get in as insert oneself into the seat. Once in the seat is surprisingly comfortable even with minimal

adjustments. And while this is a purist sports car it is a pleasant environment as well. Standard air conditioning makes for very modern driving experience. The extruded aluminum clutch brake and gas pedals are not designed for big feet but the standard bore will dispraise with ABS will help keep even the most clod footed driver out of trouble. Our test vehicle came with the optional touring pack which includes a Blaupunkt CD MP 3 player with the equalizer but true enthusiasm will simply enjoy the sound of the internal combustion Symphony playing only inches behind their head. Of course as expected out on the track the lease returns us to our performance. Barber Motorsports Park has many tight low speed turn releases broad power band mated with a well spaced 6 speed transaxle makes this an enthusiastic playground. Lotus claims this power propels release from zero to sixty four point

eight seconds with a top speed of almost 150 mph. The lease with 16 inch rims in the front 17 inches in the back is also very stable at high speeds. The non power steering is light and delicate now with high speed stability is excellent. Then low speed agility must suffer. Right. Well now the precise low speed steering response and low poll are. None of this low weight min engine design make heelys razor sharp even on a tight auto cross. We've found at least a blasted drive simply point the Elise grab a gear and pull the trigger. It's very forgiving. A lease is a ship or cart on steroids. But with all this on track prowess How does the elites work on Real World Road. The answer is surprisingly well even with a short wheelbase the ride quality is as comfortable as most small commuter cars with the top off and the hypnotic sound of the mid engine at full how the Elise is a true reminder of the

sheer joy of owning a sports car. Base price for all this joy however is not cheap. Thirty nine thousand nine hundred eighty five dollars with the optional touring pack which includes power windows and an upgraded stereo had thirteen hundred fifty dollars more enthusiasts will likely spend another twenty four hundred eighty dollars to get the sport pack which includes a track tuned suspension lightweight wheels and stick your Yokohama tires. So has Lotus managed to take a lightweight British sports car and successfully Americanize it with a dose of Japanese power. You. Bet. Despite federalize a ship it retains the nimbleness in response that one expects from a car that has its heritage routed to the racetrack. The simple lightweight 2005 at least is a car that begs to be driven there but does not demand speed to show up its best value. In short with this Lotus its mission accomplished.

Coming up. Gas from trash. Now its time to stop by Goss's garage lets see what Karkare advice Pat has for us this week. John if you want a great finish on some of your automotive parts consider powder coating them. That's what we did with the wheels on this motorcycle and they look great and they're going to continue to look great for a long time to come. That's one of the advantages of powder coating. It lasts a long time now. Up until recently you had to have it done professionally but now through the good folks at Eastwood tools company you can buy your own powder coating kid comes with an application gun. You can actually get a larger hopper than the standard one so you don't have to refill it if you're doing large pieces. It also has a transformer that electrically charges whatever you're going to apply the powder to. This makes the powder

be attracted to the part and it stays in place and actually this is a powder. You have to remember that because what you're going to do with it after the powder has been applied is you're going to put it in an oven and you're going to bake it so that means you need an old of and no you can't use your household oven because it will stink for a long time to come. Now it's available in a lot of different colors. You can buy colors for just about anything that you might want to do comes in small containers large containers whatever you need. It's available. But remember that powder coating doesn't cover up your mistakes so you have to follow all of the rules in preparation. Here we did a valve cover started like this. We blasted it with media to get it to this stage. Then we powder coated it. Well looks good to get up close and you see that the pockmarks that were in the original metal they're still there. The powder coating did

not cover them up so it's no better than your preparation and it works best on bare metal. Here we put some on a spring that was painted and when the product was the spring went into the oven. Well the heat from the oven cause the old paint to blister and now we have rough blistered powder coating. It's a great product but follow all of the regulations that they give you on using it and you'll get a great job. Write to me the address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Turning garbage in the gas was just a silly gag when the Back To The Future movies presented the idea in the 1980s the Mr Fusion home energy converter may still be science fiction but the idea of turning landfill gas into clean motor fuel is closer to reality than you might think. A modern resource recovery facility like this one in Maryland has

recycling down to a science fair everything from cardboard to concrete is reclaimed and turned into cost effective raw materials for road beds mulch and new consumer products. About the only thing that is being effectively recycled yet is all of the methane gas produced by the decomposition of waste materials in its pure form methane the main ingredient. Natural gas can be used to generate electricity or as a clean fuel for engines. Most efforts at reclaiming draw landfill gas have focused on producing steam or electricity and there are about 350 such landfill energy projects in operation. But the EPA estimates that there are about 600 more sites out there they could be reclaiming significant amounts of methane. When our oil supply completes and I'm using the word when and not if you know we need alternatives. Ways to energy makes a lot of sense. However low cost energy makes even more sense. And so on paper

one can lease calculate a legitimate business case for converting landfill gas to to liquid fuels as it occurs in landfills. Methane is mixed with hydrogen sulfide carbon dioxide the air and other chemicals which make it unsuitable for use as a high grade motor fuel but due to a lack of technology or funding many landfill operators have had no choice but to simply burn their excess gas. We're burning about four. Thousand. A cubic feet a minute. And just to give you an idea. Every cubic foot has about 500 BT use of energy value to it. So 24 hours a day. 365 days a year. All this gas is being generated. And there is a lot of useful uses for this material for this for the gas. One of those uses is being tested at the New Jersey eco complex. Researchers here are attempting to capture landfill gas. Clean it out and

process it into a purified liquid natural gas which then can be used to fuel the local fleet of refuse trucks. The technology that makes this possible called a CO2 washer was developed by act freon technology under pressure in extreme cold temperatures the different gases are separated and the contaminants are washed away unfortunately and landfill gas has a has an odor associated with it. Our job is to take that order out to take the contaminants out for the methane CO2 are available for a. Number of in use and at those conditions of temperature and pressure £400 on the gas minus 50 degrees. The CO2 contained in the landfill gas will actually condense to a liquid face. And at the top of our CO2 wash column since those contaminants have been washed out by the downward flowing liquid CO2 when the gas arrives at the top of the column. It's clean. We're still a long way from having an LNG pump at every truckstop So for

now a captive fleet works best. For all of the trucks can refuel the central depot in the US seven out of every ten refuse trucks where the Mac bulldog and one of Mac's largest customers is waste management. A leader in the refuge and recycling industry. Waste management operates nearly 300 landfills and twenty six thousand vehicles in the US. They have more than 360 natural gas powered trucks and a dozen natural gas refueling stations. It's no surprise then that these two companies have been involved in this project from the beginning. If this works out there's no reason that over a seven year period of time this could be done in a couple of hundred landfills to rob the United States. If this does work not only will it be a success in an economic success but will be a tremendous boost to the environment.

Now the amount of raw gas produced by any landfill depends on the size and the composition of the waste material and the production of gas will diminish as the landfill matures. Even so recycling landfill gas is a promising environmental opportunity and represents a renewable fuel that we can no longer afford to just throw away. Next up Jessica trucks with all the latest motor news typically auto industry executives and dealers are so caught up with their own products they seldom get a chance to try their competition so they may never know firsthand just how their efforts measure up against rivals. One tire company Bridgestone Firestone tries to avoid that television with an event known as drive and learn once a year they invite their dealers to test their tires back to back with the best competitors. This year they also invited motor week to drive and learn. What we found was a well realized day of driving some of the world's best tires under very demanding conditions on the challenging courses of Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix Arizona.

Along with hundreds of dealer personnel. We tested bridge Jones latest passenger car tires the insignia a C 200 program was typical this all weather tire is designed as original equipment for franchised family sedans and thus must provide long wear and secure traction regardless of road conditions. The task or simulated high speed commuting on a wet day with little emergency accident avoidance thrown in for good measure. The tire perform well but so did its competitors which made the point that often the difference between one tire and another is only obvious when peak capabilities are needed. This was the first time we drove Bridgestone new Peugeot. Ramsey R1 a tire aimed at the mushrooming sports compact into her market. Here is a tire that combines high fashion with low price and good all around traction. That's a tall order. The latest Bridgestone high performance tire is the put tens of g 0 0 9. The tire BMW selected for its new 5 series sedan when driven against

rivals we could see why. Not only is it tenacious in the dry but also in the way. Yet it still provides an excellent ride. Most rival tires failed to measure up in at least one area although again the differences were less than you might expect. Tires are such an important component of a modern car design that often the best performance of the car. Can only be maintained by replacing the original tires with the same tire or its successor. A message not lost on those who attended drive and learn. And that's it for this week's Motor News. It's a very special car that becomes a symbol of American pop culture a national icon as familiar as the stars and stripes and apple pie. And now four decades since the original pony car debuted it's only fitting that we send diehard Ford Mustang fanatic Craig S. haas to celebrate its 40th anniversary. 2004 marks Mustang's 40th anniversary in

celebration. Mustang lovers from all over the world gather this spring at Tennessee's Nashville Superspeedway to pay homage to their favorite four wheeled horse sponsored by the Mustang Club of America. This birthday party was a four day love fest. And why not. In 40 years Mustang has redefined how America looks at motoring and launched a whole new automotive market. The pony car. This is where it all began. This is the very first production Mustang and what a legacy it has created. It all started in the spring of 1064 April 17th to be exact. That's when Ford Motor Company launched what was to be the defining car of the 1960s at the New York World's Fair article. Ford given there's a daydream corner called. Mustang. This is the car that dreams are made of. Now one of the guys who helped dream the Mustang up in the first place is Donald Frye.

He was the first generation Mustangs senior product planning manager and Mustang was his baby. Company was again some of the bulk of the senior officer that was coming at them I think they just written off a lot of the ads and they don't want the risk of another new car. Well you if you lose a risk you take. That doesn't rule out risk f take risks again and again and get it right. And we've had. This thing made in one year more money in the hole it's a lot in this lifetime Mustang with a huge hit from the day it went on sale. Twenty two thousand were sold the very first day alone. In fact in its first two years of production Mustang sold an astounding 1 million units aimed at the baby boomer market. And young adults the first generation Mustang was a horse of many colors. They could be an economic. Commuter car with its low sticker price and gas sipping six cylinder engine Mustang could also be a sensible coupe for a family of four. And for the most adventurous Mustang could also be ordered with a stout two hundred seventy one horsepower V8 for on the

floor heavy duty suspension and even a convertible top. All these choices made the first generation Mustang a huge sales success. Now over the years Mustang changed with the times during the horse power wars Mustang grew in size and power as well under the influence of racer turned manufacturer Carroll Shelby Mustang became a serious sports car and was Corvet's chief rival on the track with larger engines and more amenities. Mustang became quite different than the simple fun car of the 60s. But no matter what the details of design were somehow the spirit of the first generation Mustang lives on in the car's DNA. This event itself is proof that the Mustang is bigger than just a product or bigger than demographics or sales figures or any of that any of that sort of thing. Mustang is actually it's an icon it's an American icon. That mustang used to sports cars. What Levis is to jeans and what Coca-Cola is to soda

and what Hershey's is to chocolate it's instantly recognizable as the ultimate in its category and it just makes people smile and makes people feel good about being American. While names like javelin Barracuda even Firebird and Camaro have become at least for the time being part of automotive history. Mustang gallops on crowds gathered around the new 2005 Mustang seemed to recapture the excitement of the first generation cars. It's the best of both worlds according to many of the Mustang faithful. A new Mustang harkens back to the best of the stallions in the corrals. And if the past is any indication of the future in the automotive public is ready for another Mustang stampede. When it comes to enervated style the Chrysler Group really knows how to compete. From the Plymouth prowler to the Dodge Viper to the sexy CROSSFIRE. The folks at Chrysler have been anything but sha about their design

efforts. So when they decided to drop the top on their number one retro style or the P.T. cruiser we just couldn't wait to go along for our breezy Ron. Hit the street in the 2005 Chrysler P.T. cruiser convertible and you'll quickly discover the meaning of mass appeal. Everywhere you go someone wants to talk about it. But then retro or not we think this is the most adorable drop top to hit the market since the original Mazda Miata back in 1990. But unlike that purist machine the P.T. cruiser gets a three layer power folding top with a glass rear window right out of the box and a roof line that's almost two and a half inches lower than that of the hard top giving it a more aggressive chop profile. The top drop through the turn of a center handle latch and the touch of a button and then it's covered with a flexible lightweight tonneau

cover hidden under the top is this body color sports bar which reduces wind buffeting in the rear seat and adds considerable strength to the body structure a structure that impressed us with its solid feel. Displaying little of the dreaded convertible body flex. Propelling the PTSA trio up to point for leader duel overhead cam four cylinder engines the base unit is normally aspirated making 150 horsepower and one hundred sixty five pound feet of torque. Having the touring grade cars optional turbocharger boost output to one hundred eighty horsepower and 210 pound feet of torque the GTI models high output turbo engine with 220 horsepower and two hundred forty five pound feet of torque rounds out the group transmission choices or high speed manual or a four speed automatic. Great cars get a heavy duty get track 5 speed manual with the auto engine turbo charged touring grey car hit 60 in a pretty quick seven point eight

seconds the quarter mile ended in sixteen point two seconds at 86 mph. The 2.4 Turbo is strong off the line making good power through the riband but it's rather buzzy at full throttle. The gearbox feels firm and positive ratios well matched to the engine's power band. Like the original P.T. cruiser handling is by way of Nick Pearson struts up front and a twist beam axle on trailing arms in the rear. It's combined with stealth two of 555 tires on 16 inch rims to give this convertible a light nimble possible feel. Turn in his quick with mild push at mid-corner the power rack and pinion steering reacts fast if not as smooth as we would like. There's plenty of body roll but side to side weight transfer is fairly smooth brakes or front disc and rear drums that stop from 60 and a longish 146 feet without the optional abs the touchy pedal produced frequent front lock up side to side stability however was very good

as was ride quality. The solid chassis and well insulated roof keep noise and vibration levels low. But it's top down driving that matters most and here again the P.T. delivers air flow is smooth with minimal buffeting in the front seat area. The sports bar does reduce when blasts over the rear seat but you'll still get your fair share of grief. You'll also get a roomy well equipped interior the cockpit boasts a long list of standard features plus comfort in style and now classic fashion. The Dash has bowler inserts set analog gauges and a we'll organized sitter stack the front bucket seats are wrapped in tough fabric that should stand up well the sun and wind. A combination of leather and vinyl is standard on the rear seat entry is tight. Thanks to the sports bar. Once in however there's plenty of leg room and with the top up enough head room for folks up to 5 foot 10 the seat back splits 50/50 to allow you to carry

longer items that would normally fit in the small 7.4 cubic foot trunk but the P.T. cruiser convertible isn't a cargo hauler it's a fun machine one that starts at only nineteen thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars for the standard model. Step up to the touring grade and the base price is twenty two thousand nine hundred dollars while the GTI model starts at twenty seven thousand five hundred sixty five dollars. The 2005 Chrysler P.T. cruiser convertible delivers that striking style that the Chrysler group is known for but it's also a solid and practical as any rag top on the market. That's a hard combination to be and it gives this retro rag top a mass appeal that's much more than skin deep. Oh I hope you'll join us next week for more motorway. We will get behind the wheel of the soon to be legendary born GTI. And check out Saturn's new ion redline. I'm John Davis.

Well CNN. To learn more about Motor Week TV's original automotive magazine visit PBS online at PBS dot org. Order a video cassette of this program call 1 800 807 3 6 1 5 4. This program was produced by American Public Television which is solely responsible for its content. We have PBS.