Motorweek; 1406

This time on motorways. What's new from the general. I jam a budgie wagon and a monster of a motorcycle. So come drive with us. Next. TVs automotives magazine. Your host for Motor Week. John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. It's fall and as sure as the leaves are turning it's time for our review of all that's new from Detroit's big three automakers for 1995. Well start with the beleaguered giant General Motors. By all accounts 1994 was the turnaround year for GM with sales and profits both rebounding. But

1995 is the year that you had royally Sheff General Motors end to high gear. General Motors seven passenger car and light truck divisions deliver a wide diversity of highlights for the 1995 model year. First and foremost is the continuing resurgence at volume leader Chevrolet bolstered by genuine early sales success for its new luminous sedan and money Carlo coupe Chevrolet is ready with a one two punch in the small car market. The good shake up segment pricing for years to come at only 10000 $60 to start the all new Cavalier is the lowest priced car yet to offer both cool air bags and anti-lock brakes standard. The compact Cavalier also boasts a longer wheelbase and more rigid body that makes the Jaycar feel like a far more expensive car based powers by way of a retune two point two liter for their uses platinum tip spark plugs good probe 100000 miles. And spring at two point three lead or quad core engine. Now

with balance chaps and a four speed automatic will be available on the Cavalier for the first time. The 95 edition cavalier could be the SLI. For a small part of the year although I will have competition from an sub compact show room companion they also all new Geo Metro. Once again based on the Suzuki Swift the smart looking Metro is also larger than before. Both hatchback coupe and Newport or sedan include the safety of dual airbags while a 1 liter three cylinder gas Mizer engine is standard. The Metro gains the Swifts one point three leader for as an option. Since metros are assembled in Ontario it's fitting that they will be among the first cars sold in the US with Canadian style daytime running lights. Speaking of Northern Lights holes will bill as been delivering its 95 a rara luxury sedan for several months now and word is that supply is well behind demand. No wonder the $32000 Aurora with its thirty two leader north star B a robust chassis finely tuned touring suspension of driver

oriented leather and burled wood lined interior compares well to imports costing twenty grand more. Oldsmobile more traditional cars received welcome tweaks. Atlas coupe sedan in convertible again a new interior with dual airbag while both big sedans 88 and 98 see power boost from a new version of GM is three point eight leader V-6 95 new series two three point eight jumps horsepower from 170 to 200 pon. The terrific El SS gets the 225 or supercharged B6 Oldsmobile Buicks biggest news of the year is already in drive boy. The Long Good Riviera coupe is proving to be a great Buick image booster. While currently also powered by GM super charge V-6 the series two three point eight becomes the rig standard engine. After the first of the year. Speaking of image you get a load of what a few exterior tweaks did to the more traditional regal. There's so little groan now that it almost looks like an import. Ditto the new interior and dual airbags are now

standard too. After its big homecoming this summer things are quieter at Saturn for 95 at least on the outside but open the door and a whole new Saturn awaits inside. Restyled interior is adventuresome and well cool. The Dash has dual airbags gauges and radio controls for fat fingers to open the hood in the anemic base engine gains 15 badly needed horsepower for around 100. Its operation is now also quieter. GM self-proclaimed performance powerhouse Pontiac also boasts a reworked Jaycar. But while the old Sunbird was mostly a badge engineered Cavalier the new Sunfire se a GTI trim is in many ways a different car. Well at least it feels that way when you drive them back to back. This Sunfire definitely has a more boy racer look to it. Call it a baby Firebird especially when quad core equipped the interior is driver oriented with a grippy seat fabric and dual airbags nicely integrated into a

sporty panel prices started just over $11000 and includes ABS brake. The rail Firebird along with the Camaro. It's a break and throttle all speed traction control system available with the 5.7 liter V8 on both manual and automatic cars. With such dramatic changes at Cadillac in recent years we'd understand if they took 95 easy. But there are some changes most notably for the Eldorado new front and rear panels have been largely de Chrome for far more serious appearance especially on the touring coupe where the brightwork is moved to the wheels. The TC is highly regarded 4.6 leader North Star B.A. also gets more serious. A new intake manifold pumps horsepower up by up to 300. GM has its truck plants working at full capacity so the arrival of two new sport utilities for 95 is giant sized news already forging new trails as the F-series go anywhere wagons.

The Chevrolet Blazer and GMC truck Jimmy taking the styling of last year's pick ups and extending at these compact models are sleek outside and surprisingly roomy inside the driver's airbag a standard as our anti-lock brakes. Power comes from a 195 horse 4.3 liter V-6 and both two and four wheel drive trim Oldsmobile similar bravado takes a year off or returns next fall as a 96 model. What about. Six months before that comes the new Ford or Chevrolet combo and GMC truck. You honk if you think it looks like a short suburban. Your loads this full sized sport ute is 21 inches shorter than a bird but it's mostly new after the front door. Easier to drive than a Suburban. It can still carry six passengers and yards of cargo. And like all S.K. pickup base model gets a new more far like instrument panel where the driver side airbag and we're out of air time for this review of what's new at General Motors for 1990 plug. Along the.

Motorway master technician pack certainly knows cars and he also knows trucks and he knows what you should look out for when the two come together. John when your car breaks down there couldn't be a more welcome sight in the world than that tow truck pulling up. But you have to be real careful about tow trucks. If you let one of these old tow trucks like this one you let it tow your car. Well it could result in hundreds of dollars worth of damage. You see this is a sling type arrangement that was used in years gone by was designed for cars that actually had metal bumpers while bumpers have changed in cars have changed and so have totes rocks. These are not usable for most cars these days. Let's take a look at what you should be looking for in a modern tow truck. In the past we used to think of tow trucks like this this flatbed rollback is only being necessary for exotic cars things like this Corvette or maybe a Porsche for

instance. But believe me that is no longer the case. See there are many automobiles out there today that cannot be towed with any of their wheels on the ground. Things like four wheel drive full time four wheel drive especially are all wheel drive. Some of these things could be damaged severely if you were to tow them with the wheels on the ground. Therefore you look for something like this on those types of vehicles. But how do you know if your vehicle is one of them that needs a rollback. Well the best thing to do is to go out get in the glove box of your car pull out your owner's manual go to the section of the owner's manual that talks about towing and virtually all of these owner's manuals will be quite explicit as far as what can be towed how it can be towed and for what distances it can be towed. So many times there are even restrictions on how far you can tow the particular car and you have to do this before you break down. So that when that tow truck arrives you know whether or not the operator has the right equipment and is going to do it in the proper way. Now another type of truck that you're going to come in

contact with this is the most popular one out there these days. This is what's called a wheel lift. Now imagine that we have an entire car here instead of just this wheel. What we're looking at is a situation where this fits under the wheels of the car. It then raises the car up doesn't touch any part of the sheet metal or any part of the body of the car and is a very safe way to tow most vehicles today. So if you do it right you can prevent damaging your car and it won't be quite as disastrous as it could be if you have a question or a comment. Write to me if I use your letter I'll send you a motorway T-shirt. The address is Motor Week always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Car of the week isn't a car at all it's a classic motorcycle a 1964 Hondas 3 0 5 dream that belongs to Jeffrey way Harn of Bethesda Maryland. If you have a classic machine you'd like to show off. Submit good color

photos to motorway Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. You know every automotive enthusiast has a favorite car one they admire or study and may even own. But sometimes that enthusiasm goes beyond simple admiration. That particular vehicle becomes an important part of their life. Lisa Barrow recently encountered just such a fan and the combination of off road and upper crust that's become more than just a hobby. This is south of New Mexico an ideal place to push forward to its limits and that's exactly what we're going to do with this vehicle the Mercedes Benz fill in the log and more calmly known as the G Wagon.

Dave Holland fell in love with the G Wagon 12 years ago and turned his love affair into a full time business. Today he owns and operates Europa International which is the sole importer and distributor of the road or the G Wagon overbuilt for most people's application all the way from the rear springs rear axle drive shaft trailing arms are just immense. The all the major components are with tucked up within the frame to protect the vehicle largely hand assembled G Wagon quality lives up to the reputation of the star but with a price tag of one hundred sixteen thousand five hundred dollars we would expect nothing less. This border long wheelbase with four speed automatic transmission is powered by a three point two liter 24 balustrades sits producing 210 horsepower. All right have it your way. Very similar. To. Last right as Casper said. That's for sure.

And we had no problem with the G Wagon. In fact we were ready to sell the house back home and buy one to roam the breathtaking countryside of New Mexico. Cruising down narrow twisty byways this king of sport utilities feels well planted. Body roll is minimal and it has solid directional stability thanks to long travel variable rate coil springs the ride is smooth and quiet. On an off road it has a full time bore wheel drive system that easily shifts into low range at speeds up to 50 mph. ABS is standard and comes with a nifty on off switch for deep sand and snow minimal front and rear overhangs allow for increased maneuverability in tight situations. But perhaps one of the most unique features are the three standard differential locks situations like this one might go as an off roader to flange just hit one or all three of the diff lock buttons on the dash and you're good to go on the top as terrain. International delivers to any location in the continental US and though not officially

endorsed by Mercedes-Benz North America Europe offers a four year 50000 mile warranty and has worked on customer service and deals with various Mercedes-Benz facilities around the country. So if you think you might like to join the ranks of G Wagon owners like Tina Turner and Hank Williams Jr. Dave Holland has paved the way. Very very extensive. Expensive program but it's worth it. It should be built. The rest of the world. With. An expensive limited production machine like the G Wagon certainly isn't for everyone. So now with something a little less extravagant Here's Lisa barrow and all the latest Motor News. Still smarting from losing the horsepower wars to GM is f body marrows and buyer birds. Ford is planning to come back swinging in this more muscular Mustang Cobra arrives for the

1996 model year sheetmetal differences appear to be limited to revised hood scoops. But it's undergo a slightly altered bonnet where Ford is up the performance ante with a 300 horsepower version of the Lincoln Mark 8 jewelled hand 32 Bell 4.6 leader modular b 8 regular Mustang will get a single Dem 250 horsepower edition of the same DA. We can't wait to try them both and that's it for this week's Motor News. This week's Roadside America finds us traveling to Dearborn Michigan. Hi I'm Craig Singh Hans and this is the Henry Ford Museum often called the Smithsonian of the Midwest and record museum exhibits millions of artifacts that help shape America as we know it from the cars we drove in the food we ate with ill fated presidential limousine Henry Ford Museum reflects the triumphs and tragedies of We The People.

This reference is frequently applied to cars with a simple excess of brute horsepower. But in the world of motorcycles the word monster can sometimes take on a more traditional meaning. It's technical designation is m 900. But to its Italian creators it is simply known as the monster. Unlike the fictions Frankenstein who copies nine thousand one hundred fifty dollar monster is a collection of parts from throughout the county line. The frame for instance is from the championship winning 88 superbike. It's chrome Molly tubing recalls a famous Italian four

wheel chassis that of the birdcage model Roddy's of the 1960s. The monster's oil an air cooled 904 CCV twin comes from the 900 S. S. sportbike. It's springless valvetrain desmo drawn a car simply desmo to the Dukan he faithful is unique to the cutty engine. And when combined with a racing style dry clutch and smooth six speed gearbox speeds it claimed 73 horsepower to the fact rear Michelin. The stiff non-adjustable 41 millimeter inverted forks comes from the 750 s s and are joined to the current 900 s s e Rs 300 20 millimeter disk and 4 piston Brembo calipers while the back end combines the 88 box section aluminum swing arm and a single shot that is adjustable for pre-load and rebound damping. It's all topped with styling that is considered groundbreaking even by Italian standards. The uniquely shaped four point eight gallon gas tank dominates the monster's lines but it's the carbon fiber side panels and exhaust guards that will impress the race replica prowl

the self retracting sides. A typically hard Italian solo saddle can shed its rear cow to reveal a rudimentary passenger space. It's then a short reach to the perfectly spaced flat track style bars in an instrument cluster that while very distinctive is badly in need of a tack ometer. The big desmo starts with a satisfying rumble and pulls away smoothly after only a minute of warm up of four hundred eight pound monsters. Excellent balance lets it slip easily through traffic but limited steering lock makes turning in tight spaces rather difficult so you get a way to deserted back roads where the monster can finally bare its teeth. Rack the throttle hard in low gear and between torque since the front wheel clawing for the scar. Once it's planted back on the pavement the very firm but superb feeling suspension stick the Michelin tires and absolutely astounding brakes. Place the monster firmly on hard core high performance territory. We like some front suspension adjustments but otherwise can find few faults. This is one standard quite.

Capable of riding rings around many so-called sport bikes but for all its performance it will probably be styling that sells the Ducati m 900 monster to most riders and that's OK because the same combination of gorgeous looks and stunning performance has been selling Ferrari's for decades. The new body M 900 monster may carry on the spirit of Dr. Frankenstein but this monster's creators didn't leave any scars. This week the subject of our road test by request is America's new small car sensation. The Dodge employed by neon. Now this is the small car with which Chrysler hopes to grab a serious chunk of the sub compact segment. We were very impressed after our first short test drive but we wanted to spend a little more time with the neon. Now that we have have our opinions changed. You bet they are. But only for the better because the more miles we rack up and

city's Highline and sport great neons the more we enjoy driving. Faced with corporations heavyweight contender in the small car market click. Here. It didn't impress us by accident. Chrysler small car planners asked the press and the public alike what they didn't like about small cars and then focused on making neon shine in those areas. First was safety. So all of the ONS have an air bag for the front seat passenger as well as the required one for the driver. Inside one of the smallest airbag housings yet neons also have a high level of impact protection and integrated child safety seat option and anti-lock brakes are available on all models. Me on the cab forward design and longest in class 104 inch wheelbase went a long way to negate customer second small car complaint lack of interior space neons every cabin is every bit as roomy as it looks with leg hip head and shoulder room that matches or exceeds anything in its class.

People also said that small cars weren't fun to drive. Chrysler found that they made a lack of control to mostly the unresponsive handling and sluggish to acceleration. Customers had very clear expectations for steering acceleration braking. To meet them all neons get four wheel independent suspension. Struts in front. Multiple leaks out back cars equipped with quarter touring suspensions also get a front sway bar. We found our sport great neon very toss a ball through the slalom. Although its power rack and pinion steering required lots of input and had excellent feel and perception. Overall our team rated it the best handling of all small family cars we tested and lots of fun. A responsive power train is also part of the fun to drive equation. To all current neons receive Chryslers all new to leader. Single overhead cam 16 valves for cylinder engine without much fuss it produces a best in class 132 horsepower and 129 pound feet of torque. A dual cam version is due in November.

Good low end torque helps good car manual transmission neon from 0 to 60 in an small car like 8.1 seconds with a little front drive trucks here are two thousand four hundred forty eight pound neon also sped through the quarter mile and just sixteen point two seconds ending in 87 mph. Was accurate short throw 5 speed shifter is standard on all the optional automatic has only 3 speed with 65 series 14 inch Eagle GA base and High Line cars get less aggressive tires. I'm puny 13 inch rims all neon stop with power assisted vented disc brakes and front. Drums at the. Here. Are sport great neon good standard abs stop from 60 and a good average distance of 120 feet made was minimal but with harder pedal other neons we'd driven felt better. We feel very good about neon styling. Chrysler was determined to give me on an oval personality through its friendly smiling face. We think neons designers succeeded in creating a smart looking small four door that stands out from the crowd.

A two door coupe arrives in May and the ONS aerodynamic shape helps it achieve EPA mileage ratings of 29 city and 38 highway. We got an even 30 mpg in real world driving. Neons interior sound level of only 65 decibels is excellent for a small car. The large doors open wide for easy access to that interior with support of bucket seats or fur. A tilt will is standard on sport model gauges or large very legible analog units. But like Bolton oil pressure readouts for ease of use and operate rotary knobs control the efficient air conditioning system our cars up level stereo sounded fine and was equally easy to use me on to have a variety of interior storage areas including a real glove box. Two large cup holders a front storage bin with coin tray and this available covered console complete with tissue holder. Me on it's rear seat is also spacious fixed on the base car. It folds 60:40 on sportin High Line cars which combine with a wide flat trunk you have lots of cargo space.

Our only two interior disappointments are the sometimes thin plastic trim panels and the rear windows only go down about a third and disappointments are few among other auto media as well. Auto Week said Neon has a solid design a good chassis an outstanding engine and room to beat the best while Automobile magazine proclaimed neon its automobile of the year saying if Saturn dealers had gotten this car to go with their business methods and humane treatment of customers they'd rule the world. So what does it cost for neon safety performance cuteness and convenience. Pace cars begin at a rock bottom eight thousand nine hundred seventy five dollars high line at ten thousand six hundred ninety dollars and sport at twelve thousand two hundred fifteen dollars. Most buyers should be able to equip their neon the way they want for between eleven and twelve thousand dollars. Chrysler is targeting the neon at a state of mind rather than one specific age group because they believe it's a car that's both practical and appealing.

We think the folks at Chrysler go into their home run trot again. Be sure to join us next week for more motorway when we'll reveal what's new from Chrysler for 1995. I'm John David. Well CNN 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 $4 shipping and handling to this address. An expanded version of motor weeks in Jaguar the roar of the cat is available

on video cassette. It examines past present and future Jaguar models. To use your credit card call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4. Or send one thousand ninety five plus $4 shipping to Motor Week home video post office box 6 8 6 1 8 Indianapolis Indiana 4 6 2 6 8. Hello I'm John Day. On the next edition of motor week we'll reveal what's new from

Chrysler for 1995. And take an early look at the latest Mazda Protege fast also cover the fine points of winterizing your car was gracing our stakes to the highroad to discover how a collector forest changed hands in the 1990s. Plus Lisa Farrow brings us all the latest motor news to those you missed the next motorway.