Motorweek; 2031

This time on Motor Week performance legends for the training a new Acura RL for the road and the eternal lure of Ferrari to come drive with us next. Mogul. With the original automotive magazine brought to you by Priceline dotcom with Priceline dot.com you name your own price for new cars. All makes and models of cars trucks sport utility vehicles minivans and more. When you log onto Priceline dot com you name your own price. And buy pep boys no matter what you drive tippling says over 27000 items in stock. Virtually any part for any car with all the name brands you know plus service being staffed with ACS certified technicians Pep Boys parts tires accessories service. Your host for Motor Week. JOHN DAVIS Well hello and welcome again to week. We're glad to have you with us

and the world of high performance cars named like Mustang Corvette and viper our true legends timeless legends that continue to have all increasing their performance capabilities as buyers demand more and more power and grip. All the latest and most potent versions of these icons are all right here. The Ford Mustang Cobra are the Chevrolet Corvette 0 6 and that Dodge Viper a r each easily does justice to its famous name bod when they go head to head on the racetrack which legend will cross the finish line first. To answer that question subject to this trio the three days of high speed torture testing at Savannah Georgia is flat and fast. Roebling road race. And despite our best efforts at making the tires squeal engine scream and brakes cry. Not one of these proud warriors was willing to admit defeat of the three

Ford SVT Mustang Cobra are the most purpose built for Sirius trackwork and it certainly looks the part. The deep red face and power Dome would inside exhausted airplane sized rear wing are not so subtle reminders of this cobra's bite in sideboards special vehicle team has installed for hugging work Karros board buckets and not much else. No radio no rear seat no air conditioning no sissy stuff here. What lies under the hood is not for softies either SBT heavily modified boards all aluminum modular 5.4 liter V8 tweaking it up in volume to the tune of three hundred eighty five horsepower and 385 pound feet of torque. It beats the rear wheels through a sturdy Primack six speed manual gearbox by way of a PNM Ripper shifter on a 45 degree day. Our best rips at the dragstrip produced 0 to 60 runs of 5.4 seconds. Further down the track the quarter mile past thirteen point four seconds and 116 miles per

hour. Out on the road course though the coverture are nothing but super low lap times handling is neutral with motard body roll and Supercross steering turn in the now fully independent rear suspension. Keeps the tail planted no matter what. Finally a Mustang that doesn't skip from bumper to bumper throttle response is quick and the power curve matched up nicely to this track. We always had plenty of rabs to work with and no car we've tested has been easier to steer with the throttle steering one in your garage won't be as easy though despite its $55000 price. All 300 available this year are spoken for our advice. Get in line now for the next car. From previous experience with the Dodge Viper ACR we're all familiar with the engine specs and earth shaking £500 bit of torque and 460 horsepower from its eight liter pretend one is not familiar. Oh is this vipers new for 2001. If you lock brakes and may we just say it's about time the brakes performed flawlessly throughout our test something we've never been

able to say about a viper before. At the dragstrip are the yellow tester blue through an impressive zero to 60 run of four point three seconds. Quarter mile time was the fastest of our bunch. Also a twelve point four seconds and 120 miles per hour blowing clanking and howling all the way on a road course though the Viper slipped behind the others. Handling was quite unpredictable at the limits of it. Also steering became very light and vague. Those are traits we didn't notice in our previous test and it makes a car with this kind of power a real cool. But we can't say enough about steep curve and phenomenal overall performance. It may be rough around the edges and in corners but being on the edge can be quite a thrill. And there is nothing dull about the yard $86000 based price. You want those slick black stripes on the hood and tail. That's another three grand. We didn't say this test was about affordability. But all most affordable is what

makes a Chevrolet Corvette 0 0 6 so impressive 06 quickly garnered the most praise from our crew too starting with the all new classics engine. It matches the cobra are output delivering 385 horsepower and 385 pound feet of torque but it does so enough for your revving instantly responsive fashion and pure speed. 06 came in second in our acceleration test. A four point eight seconds. Zero to 60 day quarter mile in 13 seconds flat at 160 mph. But in the twisties the bet proved to be first in athletics hosting lap times a second quicker than the Mustang and a full two seconds ahead of the viper steering response is instantaneous side to side transitions are quick and precise and power on demand is always just a click of the right foot away. Thanks to its active handling stability system a feature not offered on the others. Anybody can safely drive this car fast and a good driver can take it to the limit and beyond with complete confidence.

Add in a base price of forty eight thousand five hundred dollars the lowest of the bunch and the Chevrolet Corvette 0 6 quickly shaping up to be the performance car bargain of its class and of the world. And when the checkered flag fell on this motor we just had a Chevy Corvette. 0 6 was proclaimed the winner with both a Ford Mustang Cobra and a Dodge Viper ACR. Following closely in its tire tracks indeed all three of these treats are rare experience and a hoot to sling around a racetrack. They each do more than justice to their famous high performance. And. Proof to lap after lap why everyone is a true legend. The best kind of car accident is the one you will avoid active handling and stability programs often called DSP or electronic stability program are designed to help you do just that. DSP works by monitoring a car speed and direction as well as the drivers actions and then automatically applies the

brake to one or more wheels to correct unstable cornering conditions. It's high tech hands off. Keep it on the road. Peace of mind and it's as easy as e as. Coming up fun with the Ferrari faithful. You know to many people the way a car sounds is actually more important than the way a car looks. So are Pat Goss has some advice on how to make your car sound better when he's not talking about the sound of the engine. John there are some amazing things that you can retrofit into your automobile that deal with modern electronics and to explain that we have Peter Logan from Crutchfield. Now Peter you have a clarion auto PC. What in the world is an auto PC. The Clarion on the PC is basically a computer in the form of a radio. It sits in your dash and integrates things like information entertainment communication and also navigation as well.

OK now how does this work. It's all voice activated so you just say on a PC and you tell it if you listen to the radio or if you want directions or if you want some information from the address book. OK now you had mentioned there was something about interfacing with the vehicles onboard computer. Absolutely for most vehicles. It can interface with the ODP to port on newer vehicles and it can give you things like Miled travels the estimated speed that you travel and also can interface with vehicle diagnostic information. Oh so you can collect data if you have a driver or something like that. So OK. Next right here what do we have. This is the can with Xen 9:19. It's an indie CD player and in addition to playing regular CDs It will also play CD-R's and CD are encoded with three files which is really hot right now. You can store up to about ten hours of empathies on a single CD. That's impressive. OK what do we have here. This is a video traveled by steel horse in-car video is hot right now and this is one of the easiest ways to integrate video into your car. You just saw hanging from the head race between the car seats.

I'll plug into the cigarette lighter and you've got an LCD monitor and a VCR in there as well and you can take it out for security. Absolutely put it in the garage when you're done. All right. Keep it in your garage. All right now in the expedition behind us you've done some pretty interesting things. Right what we've done in the center of the vehicle is we remove the factory housing that holds the cup holders and we replace it with a clarion video. OEM housing This allows you to integrate a video monitor and also the original air conditioning controls and audio controls as well. And in the dash in the dash we've also changed it out with a Kenwood P. 97. It's an in-depth CD player that's all touchscreen activated and it also has a flip out monitor that you can also watch in-car video if the parking brake is engaged so you can't watch it going down the road and that takes care of various laws. Absolutely. Each state has their own individual laws pertain to video in the front of the car. OK. Price wise how is all this fall in line. Well for in-car video you're looking anywhere from about $900 for a portable system like this anywhere it's all up about to about $3000 and most people could do

this themselves right. With one of your master sheets with most installations will include a custom master sheet. It tells you all the tools that you're going to need for the installation and also gives you three dimensional cutaways of taking the components out and then putting them back in pictures. Yes even I can read. Absolutely. OK. Well there you have it. You can definitely do wonders with the electronics in your car and you can do it yourself if you have a question or comment right to me. If I use your letter I'll send you a motor T-shirt. The address is Motor Week. Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Car of the week is a 1969 Mercedes Benz to t s l this beautifully maintained German drop top belongs to chuck broom of Danville Calif. and it's accumulated an impressive one hundred ninety five thousand miles. Now if you have a special car with mileage high or low send at least three good color photos in a description to us in

motor week. Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. There are car fans and then there are car fanatics Ferrari owners are a great example of the latter. We have rarely encountered a group of people that are more intense in their devotion to their cars and when these Aristid get together their passion for the prancing horse is more than a little contagious. Is our high road reporter Craig Haas found out firsthand. For the past 25 years one Ferrari aficionado has celebrated his love of the mark with the annual gathering of friends and cars. Ron Spangler's spent thousands of hours and dollars to share Ferrari's with owners and the public alike at the Millennium Ferrari festival. This is the 25th around for this event. This is the final one. It's an event that has started in Maryland. A lot of different places over the years we've had as many as 275

cars at some of the events at the old farm in Maryland. And believe it or not it was there that motor we first attended a Ferrari fest at Ron's prancing horse farm over 20 years ago. Two decades later Ron Spangler is still bringing the faithful together putting Ferrari's on display for people to see and admire. Well it's a hobby and the. French and Italian word for for hobbies is the root word is passion and that's what this is for most people this is a passion. And they're willing to spend an inordinate amount of their available time working on their cars studying things about their cars and attending needs like the camaraderie that takes place between the guys you know you learn and you learn something from the other guy who has the same car you pick up pointers. It's it's like a club of course. That's a pretty exclusive club. Heaven knows how many millions of dollars of Ferrari's have graced these events in 25 years.

You know an event like this really isn't all about automobiles or even a fabulous driving experience. You know an event like this is really all about romance. What a Ferrari instills is passion as you know. I mean that's the difference it's not really a car. It's a love affair. And what a Ferrari does is it actually you know for us mere mortals you know it provides some meaning in life it provides a a a sense of encounter with the sublime. Well the Ferrari gives you a combination of both mechanical. And artistry in the design and the driving of a true automobile as I understand the history of Ferrari. People. Only race cars. After racing Alfas himself. And so his view was to build mechanically a race car. And had been Frina put a body on top of. The car is generally built as a race car and then modified down to be a street car. And in fact many of these cars are altered to go on the racetrack.

And. As I indicated it may be expensive but. It. Takes a very short period of time to do modifications is a true race card fraud has always been synonymous with racing. And so he's very intelligent but it's so race cars and he built street cars for wealthy clients in the beginning simply because of his reputation for racing. And that's really what a lot of these are these are race bred car truly race cars. I mean I know a lot of marks say get their bread on the track. But they really are not like this. And that is a mistake. In the case of Ferrari. You not only have the fact that they are winning cars and are fast cars but Ferrari has a really beautiful coach work. And much of that is attributable to my friend and I'm not name dropping but my friend Sergio Pender friend who's done probably 75 percent of all the bodies and all before he's ever made. And they just do gorgeous work in Northern Italian style is just great.

And it's this admiration that has led. Ron Spangler to devote over a quarter century to sharing his love of Ferrari's with the world. It's been a lifelong experience. I've done this and I've also done some racing for Ferrari and it's been an exciting life with Ferrari. It's a thing of beauty. We'll start off this motor week long term road test update with a new member of our stable. This was Sadie's band C 320 as we noted in our recent road test. This all new small Mercedes sedan is in use with many of the attributes of its big S-Class rather a and a C 320 drives like a big Mercedes. Our staff finds the steering a bit heavy for slow urban sprawl but near-perfect cruising speed after only 2000 miles it only arrived a month ago. We're still in the honeymoon period. We rate 24 mpg for a 250 horsepower V-6 sedan. It's very good. The Mercedes Benz C 320 is off to a good start with

us and our relationship still has a long way to go. We're only a little further along with this Subaru Outback 3.0 8:06 VTC. It arrived a few days before Christmas so now it's just past three months in its year long test. And while there are no mechanical faults our log books are filled with comments and they're mostly praises on the negative side prices. First our sticker totals thirty two thousand three hundred ninety dollars. Ouch. And for our compact wagon the turning diameter of thirty six point seven feet is quite wide. While we love the 212 horses from the three liter flat six cylinder you pay for it in economy 20 miles per gallon is on average after 3000 miles of mostly around town pursuits. On the other hand we applaud the 8 6 VDC for including Subaru's latest fully automatic all wheel drive system and it is the Brandt's first vehicle with electronic stability control so 8 6 VTC is even safer and more secure than any outback before it.

Security is behind the popularity of vehicles like the outback as well as this monster tribute and Suzuki Zill service to compact SUV. Up next on motor weeks long term road test update. Now let's turn to Jennifer because novice with cars they may spark someone's future fancy. And all the rest of the motor news. Take a look around and it's clear that pickup trucks aren't just for work anymore. And with that in mind GM has put together a truck that sets a string of new precedents in the segment and that truck is the new 2001 GMC Sierra C-3 and its impressive list of features start at ground level and work their way up. For starters the C-3 is the first full size half ton pickup to utilize a viscous coupled pool time all wheel drive transportation. This system gives the C-3 a continuous 38 percent front to 62 percent rear torque split with 100 percent of the power transferable to either run when needed and is the foundation of a package.

GMC calls the performance bias drive line the heart of this system is GM's beefy six leader vortex V8 usually found in GM's heavy duty pickups made it a strong force beat electronically controlled automatic transmission. This muscular motor produces a class leading 325 horsepower and 370 pound feet of torque and C-3 also gets the heavy duty pickups high capacity twin piston Calibra four wheel this gay vs brakes. Citrusy 3 gets a few special styling cues to set it apart from its stablemate like a black machine textured grille and a monochromatic theme that is carried from front to rear. The Ford or extended cab is the only configuration available for the C-3 and the soft vinyl Tano covers standard. In fact everything you see is standard on the Sierra C-3 including a host of interior amenities that put some luxury cars to shame. These include leather power adjustable front seats with heated bottom and back cushions a leather wrap steering wheel with redundant audio controls a GMC first a programmable driver information center and 6

disc CD changer are found in the dash and the latest generation of GMC OnStar communications system that now includes virtual advisor and personal calling are also on board the fully equipped 2001 GMC Cirrus the three is on sale now and can be yours for thirty eight thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars including destination charge and that's it for this week's Motor News. Waldo's sport utility war has garnered more headlines than Operation Desert Storm or more low intensity conflict is being fought in the luxury car segment here premium brands like Accura have rejected the brawn his best approach in favor of technology sophistication and refinement. But make no mistake it's still a tough fight and the latest soldier to enter this fray is the 2002 Acura 3.5 Arel But does this upgraded Acura have the firepower to win on the well-defended luxury battleground. There's no doubt in 2002 Acura 3.5 Arel is

in a luxury class with heavy hitters but Acura didn't earn its reputation for quality and excellence by being a shrinking violet and a new 3.5 Arel comes with plenty of upgrades to give it a fighting chance. Although the 3.5 R-AL is one of the few in its class the lack of V8 it does compare well to six cylinder rivals the 3.5 leader all aluminum single overhead cam 24 Val V-6 has been tweaked for more horsepower up to 225 from 210 and more torque. Now 231 pound feet up from 224 and it generates respectable acceleration with zero to 60 dispatched him seven point nine seconds and a quarter mile past in sixteen point one seconds. Eighty nine miles per hour. Our drivers wished for more low end grunt but noted their power bills nicely in the mid range of the powerband and continues to pull strongly to the red line. Better than good is the Strood automatic while it has only four gears it does include grade logic control that virtually eliminates unnecessary gear hunting on steep

grades. Acura engineers have also massaged the 3.5 Arel suspension to take full advantage of the engines newfound power as the four wheel independent double wishbone setup has been given a firmer spring and damping rates larger stabilizer bars and stiffer front end bushings. These new suspension calibrations give the revamped Arel added stability and our low speed slalom exercise despite some still fairly evident body roll. Understeer progresses gradually to oversteer when pushed and in a class word numbness is the norm in the steering department. Feedback from the Oreilles retune speed sensitive rack and pinion unit is better than most. While the highway ride is taller than the previous r l you still know it's a luxury sedan. However on uneven roads the ride turned unexpectedly bouncy and there's less isolation than others in its class. But thanks to improved insulation in the engine compartment and dash area engine noise coming into the cockpit is almost non-existent when noise has also been reduced by the use of

Neudorf sealed but a conspicuous amount of road noise does find its way into the cabin from rear quarter. But you may be so comfortable that you won't notice as all occupants are treated to a plush yet supportive seats covered with ultra soft leather with driver and front seat passenger enjoying power adjustments and heat the power tilt telescoping steering wheel features and ongoing cruise control. It is also wrapped with leather and fronts a set of large and easily read analog gauges. The screen for the available DVD navigation unit sits atop the center stack along with the audio controls that are placed underneath somewhat awkwardly away from the driver but this sweet sounding Bose system features a cassette player and CD changer and speakers driven by a collection of amplifiers that deliver a total of 225 watts of power and the automatic single zone climate control system is also equipped with a 2 layer Micron dust and pollen filter. There are also air vents with a spacious

rear seat with nearly 36 inches of leg room. There are no folding seatbacks both behind the center arm rest is a ski size passed through to the trunk where you'll find 14 cubic feet of cargo capacity. The 6 CD changer and DVD drive for the nav system the 3.5 R-AL is not only Glenny comfortable it's plenty safe to do with updated abs 4 wheel disc brakes bringing us down from 60 in just 118 feet. Pretty impressive for a 39 hundred pound sedan. There's all speed traction control for slip Lisse acceleration and the VSC stability system to help you properly around corner. However the 3.5 Ariail scores its biggest hit against the competition in pricing base price is forty three thousand six hundred thirty dollars. That's up $1000 from last year with navigation system it jumps to grand more to forty five thousand six hundred $30. That's still about three grand. Less than an A320 as the aggressively defended luxury sedan struggle

continues the rework 2002 Acura 3.5 Arel remains capable of holding onto accurst piece of the turf a little while longer at least until a V8 arrives and we just hope that soon then the highly refined utterly dependable and technologically advanced Darelle should have the raw power it needs to finally gain ground. I hope you'll join us next week for more. Motor week when we'll be celebrating our 20th anniversary. We'll highlight two decades of incredible cars and amazing people. I am John Davis. We'll see you then. Motor Week has been brought to you by Priceline.com with Priceline.com you name your own price for new cars. All makes and models of cars trucks sport utility vehicles minivans and more. When you log on to Priceline.com and you name your own price. And buy pep boys no matter what you drive. Pep Boys has over 27000 items in stock. Virtually any park for any car with all the name brands you know plus service space staff with A.S.C. certified technicians pep

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