Motorweek; 1325

Next on motor week we pick the big winners of our annual drivers toys awards and pass forward small a spider plus a whole lot more to come drive with up next. TV's Automobile magazine. Your host for moto. John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week we're glad to have you with us. Some compact cars may be small but they represent a big part of the American car market so big that Ford America's top automotive brand name has two of them. One's the well-known escort but the new a small Ford is so new

that so far it only has aspirations of success. And it's these ambitious hopes that give the Ford Aspire its name longer and wider than its predecessor the Aspire abandons that car shoe box look in favor of smoother more European line also offers those brilliant new fibro bodies a top longer wheel bases. Oh aspires wide on 13 in steel we'll start with all season radials optional alloy wheels are available for those who want a sportier look. Those buyers can also opt for the full se trim grade which adds fog lamps a rear spoiler and upgraded seat fabrics to the base car inside the Aspire replaces the Festiva as angular interior with the smooth lines of a modern Ford. And a surprising amount of room safety features are also abundant. Both driver and passenger side airbags are standard impressive for an entry level import car Front Seating is firm but could use more thigh support yet is otherwise quite comfortable. All

you have to buy the SE model to get a tack ometer and an Aspire But our base car standard analog gauges were easy to read. Heat and ventilation controls are also straightforward optional air conditioning as CFC free rear seat room is respectable for a subcompact especially in the 5 door. A solid folding rear seat back is standard split backs come with the SE and are part of a package for the base car and all of spires have improved cargo space over the Festiva output of the Spiers one point 3 liter engine is also up but only by one horsepower. It beats 64 horsepower and 74 pound feet of torque to the aspires front wheel with the three speed automatic acceleration. This leisurely zero to sixty in thirteen point eight sec. Chip you are a bit on the rough side but hearing was well suited to the car's modest output. Nineteen point seven seconds at 71 mph was required to pull the aspire for the quarter mile. All right Vice. Order the five speed manual with Nick

Pearson starts up front porch and beam in the rear handling prowess was predictably modest with moderate one and soft springs made for plenty of body roll on the track but also provided our three door test card with a better ride than we expected from that short ninety point seven inch thing. We did expect good mileage from a car that's EPA rated at 29 city and 34 highway. Our average was 31 mpg. But what we didn't expect on a basic sub compact were optional anti-lock brakes which allowed the Aspire a good 125 but average per stop I'm 60. We're discussing numbers let's get to the very important ones that make up the price. A base three door spire like our test car starts at eight thousand five hundred thirty five dollars. The base price climbs to nine thousand one hundred fifty dollars if you add two more doors. Ford named its newest small car the aspire for a number of reasons. Chief among these was the desire to more than double the Festiva sales figures of thirty three thousand units per year. Considering what the Ford Aspire offers the

subcompact buyer better than average safety teacher for an entry level subcompact a solid power train and very competitive pricing. That's one aspiration it has a good chance of reaching. It. Lisa Barrow normally brings us f y i reports on such heavy topics as automotive safety or the environment. Sometimes Lisa likes to break away from those serious subjects and report on something that's a bit more fun than motorway fun usually means racing. Hey everyone you were the high class of racing but there is an affordable alternative learning a sport driving carts may be the answer. Karting is a great introduction to the thrill of racing has the speed and require similar skills demanded in auto racing without all the expenses and crowding is really a training ground for many of the world's top drivers that a polly and many

others start of their driving careers in carts and even if you're already experienced in racing it's a great way to work on your reflexes in the offseason. It's nonstop. It's always staying alert and always staying on top of what you're doing. Never stop carding is the simplest purest form of motor racing that there is. It is the essence of driving with your leg. When there's a reason the world champion start up and go. And the best way to get started in karting is to take an introductory class at a kart racing school. Jim Hall racing school in California for example offers classes in all levels of experience such as this beginners class. If I see you get into tents with the wheel sometimes I will see it the way you're standing and I can just see it the way you're hanging out of the wheel hard to give you a signal like this saying relax your grip on the stairwell. That was amazing to me once you started to do it the right way. How much easier and faster you can go.

You can really really hone your skills and fine tune your skills in a cart before you go jump into something that's going to cost a lot more money. You might want to just try and sacrifice some of your speed to try and get a little smoother a little more comfortable. OK there we go. But they don't have a suspension and transmissions and things like that. I would hear mistakes are right there. Here they're going to be seen and they're going to be. Heart racing you can spend anywhere from $2000 here all the way up through $15000 here. Professional racing starts off at about $10000 and can get in the millions. A lot of shit that the big boys now playing at the. Time really. To come out here. Based on. The book. Anybody's got the dough they better do this.

This is awful. Racing is all about going fast. But whether you drive fast or slow you want your car to be reliable and that's where the car care advice of motor week's master mechanic Pat Goss sure comes in handy. John in a year's time I literally received hundreds of inquiries about what is the proper oil to use in a car. Well the answer is really pretty simple. You go to your owner's manual and it tells you what is proper tells you the quality and the different things that are necessary in an oil to make your engine live for a long time. But to interpret what you see in the owner's manual Well you need to know a little more. And here we have what is called the API service donut in the outer ring of this we see some two letter symbols. These two letter symbols start out with their say and go up through s g s g for several years now has been the highest quality oil you could buy and it was recommended for all cars but

now there is a new quality out there it is. S H its a better quality oil and you're going to see it recommended by virtually all cars in the very near future. Now when you look at this we see that we have some other letters in this particular case. C D. Now one of these asses and Cs and all of that mean well anything with an S in it means that it's for a gasoline engine spark combustion anything with a C in it means it's for a diesel engine compression combustion. It was a basic rule with a gasoline engine. Use the highest rating possible in a diesel engine no use only the rating that your manufacturer recommends in the owner's manual. Better is not necessarily better for your engine. I don't get that confused though because in the center of this API service donut are some letters s a e 10 w 30 or 5 W 30 These are both very popular oils these days. This is telling us the viscosity

or thickness of the oil. Anything with a low number on it. Well that low number means that the oil is thin and can be pumped through the engine very rapidly when the car is first started when it's cold. That reduces wear significantly. Then as the engine warms up it gets thicker and assumes the characteristics of a 30 weight oil to protect the car out on the highway. Now in addition to all of this there's something else out there. You have to make sure that you look for the starburst. It's a brand new starburst tells you that this is the highest quality oil that you can buy. But back to the owner's manual Don't ever put a thick oil in your engine then what is recommended in your owners manual. Thicker is not necessarily better. Can in some cases actually be harmful. And if you have a question about your car 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 always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7.

Car of the week is an award winning 1937 Nash ambassador sedan. It belongs to Bob Stevens of Staten Island New York. So many good color photos of your rare car of the week candidate to Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Next up more on new cars from Lisa barrow and all the latest Motor News. The Dodge Daytona and Chrysler LeBaron have long been mainstays of the Chrysler car family but this summer both will bow out to make room for new models. The Daytona replacement will be the all new Dodge Avenger a machine that has already made an early public debut serving as the basis for the cars used in this year's International Race of Champions Series. It will share its chassis and drive train with the LE Baron's replacement. The new Chrysler Sebring both vehicles will be built by diamond star Motors using the same front drive platform as the new Eagle Talon and Mitsubishi Eclipse The Avenger in Sebring will be powered by a

trio of engines starting with a Chrysler build two leaders single overhead cam four cylinder optional will be a larger 2.4 later dual overhead cam four also from Chrysler and a Mitsubishi built 2.5 later V-6. The Avenger will make its public debut in July with cars arriving in showrooms by early fall. The Sebring will follow six months later and that's it for this week's Motor News. It doesn't take a lot of effort across an aluminum pair. So when people refer to cars with legs they build quality. We often compare them to just such a container. This may be amusing but it's hardly accurate. Aluminum is not a cut rate alternative to steel. It's actually a very promising material for the future of the automobile. Lisa Barrow is back again to explain aluminum in automobiles is really nothing new. The ford model T used in the transmission in hood and it was used in race cars by Jaguar and Mercedes Benz. Today the $70000 Acura NSX is the most

aluminum intensive car available. Using 1000 pounds of the alloy manufacturers most often use aluminum in parts like the engine cylinder head suspension and wheels. In 1994 Audi will be the first volume car builder to introduce a four door sedan featuring an aluminum space frame along with its cast aluminum V8 engine. Currently Ford is the largest producer of aluminum components using the alloy in hoods on its luxury models and the new market uses almost 500 pounds throughout. Ford is now experimenting with an all aluminum vehicle called synthesis 2010. It's a version of the current Taurus but is one third lighter and almost entirely recyclable Pro has a. As a major. Advance program. Designed to study the potential for. High volume of the cars. And the synthesis 2010 is part of that program. And it was really a demonstration of how far you could take away a family size today and. How far you

could take it down in weight by using aluminum and then downsizing all the components to match the lighter vehicle weight that you get. Since 1971 auto manufacturers have more than doubled their use of aluminum from an average of 77 pounds per car to one hundred ninety one. So why are manufacturers turning so much attention to aluminum. The major advantage is the weight reduction in the better fuel economy that comes with it. And that's why we've been using that as long as we haven't is as much as we've got it so a lightweight car made of aluminum or other lightweight materials can have improved acceleration better handling in the corners be fully recyclable in the recycling value of the car because it is lighter weight actually reduces the emissions of the vehicle itself. It's other advantages include high strength for example in a crash a 25 pound aluminum structure will perform as well as a 50 pound steel structure. It's also easy to cast and fabricate is virtually non corrosive and out of the aluminum used in cars

today more than 85 percent is reclaimed and recycled. However then a major study of a balloon of application. You do look at recycling. You look at it in detail and the intent would be that you could you could totally at the end of its useful life recycle the vehicle structure but there are some downsides to using aluminum. One is cost aluminum is generally half the weight but twice the cost of steel. We have 80 years experience building or 90 years experience of building steel cutters. That was certainly one of the disadvantages of building a kind of aluminum is our knowledge base is much less manufacturing challenges that no one presents or the in the welding. Someone said that it takes the instantaneous energy to weld a moment it was about two or three times that of steel. And someone said in fact that while the loan of a high volume you're going to dim the lights in Detroit but experts think aluminums promises outweigh its problems. I think it probably is the way to go in all of the car. At least it's the way to go

to try to answer the pressures from the environment from the fuel from the major changes that are facing the car and in the longer term future. And now it's time for the most anxiously awaited event of our motorway calendar and I'm not talking about vacation. It's our annual Motor Week drivers choice awards every year our staff assembles to debate what's new cars and trucks offer the best combination of performance utility and value. The winners range from basic econoboxes to exotic sports cars. They're all different but everyone's a winner. The first category in Motor Week 1994 drivers Choice Awards is best small cars are winners. The Dodge emblem of neon. Only three years ago it appeared doubtful that any manufacturer would ever again start the costly process of designing an American made small car. Chrysler corporation's neon shows

just how quickly the global automotive business can change and how agile companies can capitalize from it. Neon simply offers more space performance safety and finance for the dollar than any other car being sold in America today. The story of our best station wagon the Volvo 850 sports wagon is also one of change and resurgence while American companies were never supposed to be able to build small cars again. The Europeans were being counted out in all but the highest price category. Now they're back with sedans and involve those case a station wagon priced well within the reach of many American families and Volvo delivered the kind of wagon that consumers are demanding. That will drive dual airbags and even a third seat. But the really remarkable thing about the 850 sports wagon is that if you don't look in the rearview mirror you could get yourself to this family hauler was really a sport. Station wagons are making a resurgence in 1903. Over 1 million of the new vehicles sold in America were minivans. We found it was fitting that on the 10th

anniversary of the design that started it all our best minivan nod goes to Chrysler for their Dodge Caravan Plymouth Voyager and Chrysler Town and Country. Despite new competition from home and abroad the Chrysler design has consistently reinvented itself to remain the benchmark for its class improvements for 94 include more B6 power and being the first minivan with dual airbag. So far we've been very practical in our wards. However we must confess the better the performance the better we enjoy our work. That's why selecting the best sport coupe of the Year award pro DTT was one of our. Biggest pleasure. Even with new competition. The voting was lopsided in favor of our old favorite. We continue to be impressed by its sleek silhouette international engineering superb build quality driver friendly interior and most of all outstanding front drive performance on the track and on the street. Family sedans are still the core of the automotive industry but thankfully they no longer have to be boring. There was no real competition

for our best domestic brand sedan winner last year or this year Chrysler LH threesome Dodge Intrepid Eagle Vision and Chrysler Concorde. We continue to praise LH for innovative styling value safety best in class interior room and comfort and a style of street performance that transcends national borders. Our pick for best import brand sedan is a new design but with a name familiar to millions of households. The Honda Accord through five generations of court has pushed the envelope of family transportation to new heights of practicality reliability and owner loyalty. New record at sophistication and driving requirement to its long list the back of you. Honda also kept this well-rounded sedan affordable by importing most of production not from Japan but from Ohio. We have to confess real affection for the winner of motorways best convertible for 1994. The Ford Mustang convertible 30 years ago the first Mustang galloped on to the American car scene in June with a new youthful

attitude. The newest member of this bloodline is in many ways that same sunshine filled car with similar enthusiasm and excitement but understanding that some of its fans may be a lot younger in heart than of mind and body. Still with a well-seasoned V8 under the Mustang saddle and the kind of chassis entire engineering that was unknown even on racing cars three decades ago it is clear that this Steed is a winner. While the classic image of the American pony car is one to be proud of domestic luxury cars traditionally conjure up a less flattering bloated image. However the manufacture of our best domestic brand luxury car has been toiling around the clock for much of the last decade to change that. Cadillacs latest effort the North Star V-8 powered to build Concorde is truly amazing. A big luxurious car with the emphasis on big but one that is as enjoyable to drive as many of the small hot sports sedan that just might fit into its trunk. At the start of the 90s and look like the once prestigious European makers have lost their luxury

car magic. But the history of being slow to respond to the U.S. market the speed at which Mercedes-Benz did a U-turn alone deserves accolades. However their winning C-Class the car that is the end result of their efforts happens to be a knock out to see class of Rumi. Very safe and you'll never want to let anyone else drive it. Best of all you can own one without paying Uncle Sam a cent and luxury tax. Luxury is not a good thing. Women are our best performance cardboard. Although we will admit to not being stressed out after dozens of laps and thousands of miles an hour repeat winners. Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird these very close relatives are also among the safest cars available featuring dual airbags and anti-lock brakes standard on all models. You do have choices to make however between a low rise hard top and an equally dramatic convertible and between a gutsy V-6 or a Corvette V8. Are ef body winners prove that own a lot of hot car you don't need a lot of cold patch. Now I own a

pickup truck but I must confess it is very much unlike the winner of our best pick up truck category. The all new Dodge Ram my truck doesn't have the ramps airbag or cup holder or roomy as in class cabin for a quiet ride that is better than many cars. My pickup also doesn't have ramps choice of 5 engines including an 8 leader be 10. I think up doesn't look as aggressive as RAM and it can't come close to hauling or towing the loads the RAM can in fact not only does my pickup truck not measure up to the RAM. No one elses does either. Sometimes it's too easy to hang on to old favorites or drivers choice rules discourage selecting the same winner in a category with three years in a row. However we do get. By ourselves and how we can take a three time winner if it's unanimous. That's the case for this year's best sport utility vehicle. The Jeep Grand Cherokee for 30 years we have been enamored with Grand Cherokees handsome styling choice of rugged six and eight cylinder engines and user friendly four wheel drive systems that can tackle

every chore from high mountain trails to just getting the family home safely in rough weather. Then there are our best dream machines cars that we can hardly say our values except that they provide us with the extra kick that makes our job so enjoyable. Our first winner the incomparable Porsche 911 is one of the few cars to survive for three decades. But in this case it really is the same but better back or it's latest and it is said last reincarnation. All of us should wear our age this well. Our second dream machine is also European although from a bit further south. Congratulations to the Ferrari 348 spider. While this is Ferrari first to see convertible in two decades they certainly didn't miss a beat. We can't think of any driving experience that makes us smile broader. Our third winner is a dream machine for Nightmare roads. The AM General Hummer the Hummer is one vehicle that has proven it can be depended upon once drivable only by enlisted personnel. It is now available to any civilian with

good credit and a very wide garage. Now for a very special drivers choice award every year we try to single out one manufacturer who spends the time money and talent to look beyond today's sales charts and plan for the future. We are pleased to award our best auto show concept prize to the Mercedes-Benz vision and the vision A is not some outrageous vehicle with little practicality. Rather this small multi-fuel concept is a clear vision of how one of the grandest car companies plans to cope with the rapidly changing times without losing sight of what made its product so desirable. And that's our desirable list of winners of motor week's 1994 driver's choice award. Be sure to join us for the next motorway. We test the Mercedes-Benz that rewrites the rules about the zone. I'm John Davis. We'll see that. 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 week's How to buy a car is now available on video

cassette. The tape includes information about selecting a new or used car and negotiating and financing your purchase. It also highlights the newest domestic and imported cars for 1994 to use your credit card call 1 800 4 2 2 0 0 6 4. Or send twenty to ninety five plus $4 shipping to this address. Hello I'm John date. The next edition of motorways will encounter a new era of

diesels from this 80s bands and meet the insurance industry safety was a backdrop so show us something really new tools for mechanics that will help the test track in the exciting SLB fire of art and take in what's new with the Frankfurt Motor Show. Plus we'll have all the latest Motor News. So if you missed the next motorways.