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Cheverly rules the road with their latest performance on the new more busy are one where ready to grab the wheel and go St. Louis. Hi I'm Pat Goss carbine this time on Goss's garage. A lot of office and this week we're in the nation's capital testing on the latest fuel cell technology with GM. Driveway. And we'll find out if three wheels are smarter than four. So come drive with us. Next week TV's original automotive magazine brought to you by cars dotcom. Let's say you are looking for a car. Cars dotcom can help research locate even contact a dealer. Cars Dodge car. My idea of a symphony.

A Pistons playing the tune my wife tells to Valvoline 100 percent. What you like best. I love seeing all the places people have to go. I love being part of the company that helps those people get innovative thinking of here so you can get there. Good Year. Your host for Motor Week. JOHN DAVIS Well hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. They are one two little letters plus the number one that will get the head spinning of any true Corvette fanatic. While the Z-R one performance branding first appeared in 1970 it was the 1990 king of the hill Z-R one they got bet fans panting but that's nothing like what's happening right now with the arrival of the latest Z-R one Corvette. Where the devil is clearly in the details. The Chevrolet Corvette has long offered street performance that rival

European exotics but at a fraction of their cost. But his overseas super cars ratchet up capabilities. It's getting harder for Corette to keep pace without some serious rethink that rethink now here as the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette 0 1 aka a Blue Devil and it's decked out with enough muscle making hardware and upgrades to make the rear drive plastic fantastic beast for all to be reckoned with. Of Beast we first got our hands on Achaeans Milford Michigan proving ground. It was time to see if the old new hand-built LS 9 supercharged 6.2 liter pushrod V8 is truly a world beater. This small block monster unleashes an image 638 horsepower at 6500 RPM and six hundred four pound feet of torque at thirty eight hundred RPM. The Ruge type supercharger has a new four low rotor design that's paired with an intergrated intercooler to keep output high even at peak rpm

and the peak speed at 205 miles per hour. The 3300 £24 Z-R one is the first production Corvette across the 200 mile per hour mark. GM claims a zero to 60 time of 3.4 seconds. That's about a half second faster than the Corvette 0 6 we tested last year and we know it's conservative. The quarter mile estimate is an equally blistering eleven point three seconds at 130 miles per hour. Managing one's output is a stronger close ratios six speed manual transmission with a Twin Disc clutch power channels down to the Z-R ones 20 spoke alloy wheels 19 inches up front and 20 inches in the back breaking details include Brembo brakes with blue fin a six piston calipers up front and four Pistons in the rear. The cross drilled carbon ceramic rotors 15 and a half inches in diameter up front and 15 inches in the rear are the largest of

their kind on any production car ride and handling that Z-R one shares the same aluminum intensive chassis as the 0 6 Corvette. But the short longarm front and rear suspension is completely retooling for the wider tires. The gauntlet of tight turns a blind corners on Jim's Test Track gave us a good sense of the Z-R won race ran agility. But a car like this one is also about exterior details that instantly turn heads the most eye catching is the Rays carbon fiber Hood with the polycarbonate window peeking down at the intercooler and LS nine Emblem's the wider carbon fiber front fenders and dual port specific to the Z-R once more carbon fiber is found on the roof front splitter and rocker moldings and the rear of the car incorporates a full width body color spoiler within the Z-R one boast the same Corvette cockpit layout that enthusiasts

know so we'll building on the 0 6 editions include Z-R Lobo's sill plates Z-R 1 logo headrest embroidery huzzy or one specific gauge cluster with a 220 mph limit and a special boost gauge also visible in the head up display lightweight seats are standard but an up level package adds power adjust and heat fully living up to its super car image that Corbat Z-R one has government fuel economy ratings of 14 city and 20 highway on premium gas the Corvette Z-R 1 stickers in one hundred three thousand three hundred dollars including a seventeen hundred dollar gas guzzler tax with options it can climb past one hundred eighteen thousand dollars. Well that's a big leap over the 0 6 is $73000 base sticker 0 1 is still a great exotic car performance value only the upstart Nissan JTR promises similar performance and features for a lower MSR. So

both Taipans can finally breathe easy. Chevy has delivered on his promise of building the most devilish back yet the 2009 0 1 is a mix similar reigning American sports car and a Corvette that is once again ready to take on the world. Now let's drop by Goss's garage and see what our top tech has for us this week. John sooner or later we all have to buy a car and here to give us some pointers is Kelsey Mays. Kelsey is an auto buying expert. Kelsey welcome to Goss's garage. Thanks for having me on. All right now we need to buy a car. What's the first thing we do. Well in the old days it used to be that you'd have to look at the newspaper classifieds but now you can go online and look at dozens of cars and all the specs and all the prices listed right there on the Internet from the comfort of your home. All right. So

you do this search you find something that interests you. Yeah once you find the four or five cards you can you know track down the VIN numbers for all of these really sort of get an idea of their history OK. Now how would we get that history though. Well you can run vehicle history reports online. That's not always going to tell you the whole truth about the car. But you know it's important to do your homework and at least take that step. All right. Well the way I express that is that if it comes up bad it is bad if it comes up good. Still beware. Absolutely. From there you're going to be able to call the seller and you really want to test drive the seller here you want to find out what condition the car is in. And most importantly you want to find out why they're selling it. If they don't have the good sense not to tell you that it's a piece of junk they may not have had the good sense to keep the oil cap on while they're driving it. All right. So we've qualified the car we've qualified the seller. Now we need to go look at it. What are some of the things we should be looking for when we actually see the car. Like in a shop during the day and you're going to do your walk around you're going to make sure all the panel sort of fit in the paints uniform and you're going to want to make sure the tires have even where that means they've been rotated properly.

You're also going to want to pop the hood and take a mental snapshot of what you see. Make sure that everything's in place everything kind of looks kosher there then you're going to want to go on your test drive. OK. And on the test drive we're going to do what. Well you're going to find out if the car really fits you. Does it have enough acceleration that you need or the sightlines good out the blindspots and mirrors and you're also going to look for general wear on certain things like alignment as you're braking that sort of thing. Once you come back you're going to want to pop the hood again and make sure everything looks exactly like it looked before you went. If there's stuff that's been sprayed around you'll notice that real easy. OK. Now it passes that test. Now comes the real acid test and that's taking it to a qualified technician. A bumper to bumper examination because there's all kinds of things when a car is in the air that shows up that doesn't show up when it's sitting on the ground. Absolutely one of those inspections will probably cost you about 100 bucks is worth every single penny that you're going to want to make sure that that guy is some guy you trust not someone you looked out of the phone book two hours ago.

All right now we've passed everything. Now we've got to do the paperwork. Any tips there. Well you're going to look at book values online as well. You're going to find out what other people are paying for a car in similar condition. From there you can go back to the seller and negotiate. Yes everything's negotiable. Absolutely. Kelsey thank you. And if you have a question or comment write to me or send me a DVD-Video of your question and you might see yourself on TV. The address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. A lot of work is underway to develop vehicles powered by eco friendly hydrogen fuel cells. But before a fuel cell vehicles can go on sale. Automakers have to make sure that they're practical and that's just what General Motors is doing with Project driveway. The ideal place a fleet of 100 fuel cell electric vehicles in the hands of the public to see how they'll perform as daily drivers and who better to get behind the wheel than our own f y reporter Yolanda Vaska. Nick Williams has become somewhat of a celebrity these days thanks in part to the

Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicle parked outside his home. I've had people come by my house knock on the door and ask me what the heck is in my driveway. So Washington D.C. resident likes to take his new car out for a spin but he can barely make it home without being stopped by passers by. Now I don't know if they are just testing us that's all. Williams is one of nearly 3000 people chosen to participate in GM project drive way. A two and a half year long market test that puts an equinox fuel cell prototype in the hands of everyday drivers. And we're launching more than 100 of these vehicles on the streets of Washington D.C. right where we are now and Los Angeles and New York manager Monica Murphy says GM is looking for feedback on a number of things to people like the way it starts. You have a few pauses. What about the functionality of it in a small crossover. Do we like that. What about the noises and the sounds that you hear because they're slightly different than what you hear in your gas engine vehicle today.

Murphy shows me some of those differences. For starters there's a larger grill with wide front air vents. This allows GM's fourth generation fuel cell stack to operate more efficiently instead of your typical gas tank. There's a hydrogen line that's used to fill three hydrogen tanks on board and the whole fueling process takes five or six minutes. It's not that much different than your normal vehicle since. Zero emissions is the name of the game. The tailpipe has been replaced by these four open ports. So what we have is the byproduct of the fuel cell is heat and water and that comes out here as a warm water vapor mist this power flow diagram with colorful moving dots shows how the fuel cell on board creates electricity through a chemical process and they're flowing out of the fuel stack down to the drive motor and that's propelling the vehicle. Keith coal GM's director of legislative and regulatory affairs says the science behind fuel cell technology is nothing new. It's the practical everyday application that has yet to be perfected. Making that a reality is very complex and hundreds of millions of dollars and

years and years of development. I'm an engineer and it's it's kind of fun to play with new technology and this is some of the newest technology you can have in a car. Thomas Albert signed up for the project to get a firsthand look at a vehicle that may one day revolutionize our transportation needs. I think is very important with the price of gasoline now that we try to find alternative ways to fuel our cars transport goods around the country. The longtime automotive enthusiast spent the first few days getting used to the subtle differences of a fuel cell. For example the jet engine lights down the car makes when you first turn it on. Instead of attack there's a kilowatt gauge the letter H replaces E and F on the fuel gauge. And speaking of fuel Albert says the data hookup and hydrogen pump line at the only filling station in DC requires little effort and the pump and the car talk back and forth and tell you what needs to happen next. And like Williams he too has been bombarded with questions. Let me get your fly by inquisitive consumers. How does it run.

Is it quiet. What am I. How do I like it. Isaac it the filling needs that I have as a average user. And so far it has. There's no doubt that hydrogen fuel cell power is here and here to stay but issues involving cost durability and infrastructure make this emerging technology a bit more difficult to implement on a broader scale. GM is fully aware of these challenges and they're working hard to find the right solutions. We don't underestimate the challenges. But as I say we've we've been working at this for a lot of years and we see a line of sight to progress to that generation of fuel cells that that will be commercially viable to help make that dream a reality. Williams writes about his fuel cell experience on his own personal blog The information is reviewed by GM as part of their ongoing research and development. We really do have to investigate these new technologies. So being part of that effort is a lot of fun to me. I think it's very important and like anyone with his superstar status Williams continues to spread the word. This

produces water vapor about a real world vehicle that to diversify our energy needs and reduce our dependence on imported oil. And the sooner we get into the new technology driving around kick the tires the better for the nation the better for the world. And I'm not raising the flag. I'm not overly patriotic or anything like that but I just think this is the right thing to do. Where there are new kids there are new cars and our hearing is fall. So let's check out some of the latest many fans who want more performance or are about to get their wish as many debuts the new John Cooper works and John Cooper works clubmen models just as the original Mini was given a performance boost by the legendary British racecar builder John Cooper. These latest minis also benefit from his company's tuning expertise. First on every performance fans list has more power and that Cooper works boast an upgraded turbocharge version of the minis 1.6 leader for now

with 211 horsepower. That's a 22 percent boost over the already entertaining Cooper S. The engine is also equipped with a sport mode. Just push a button for even more aggressive engine mapping. Plus the electric assist steering stability and traction control are all specially tuned to the john Gloup towards unique handling characteristics. Completing a more aggressive drive train is a choice of three sport suspensions including a race track where they package the rack from the John Cooper works factoring larger more powerful brakes and 17 inch wide alloy wheels with flat tires and tire pressure monitoring. Complete the performance package glossy piano black sets off the interior while Ricardos board seats are available along with a wide range of John Cooper works accessories. The John Cooper works takes me to a whole new level. It's the fastest sharpest mini ever. It really does live up to the John Cooper name. The mini John Cooper works is

priced at just under $30000 with a John Cooper works clubland running about $32000. And both are available now. Clearly the Cadillac Escalade sits at the other end of the premium automotive spectrum from the mini but this escalate hybrid is designed to slow the excesses of big SUV buyers who have begun embracing smaller vehicles. The last but hardly least of GM body on frame hybrid SUV the hybrid brings Cadillac's high end luxury to the big hybrid party like its Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrid siblings the escalate hybrid is propelled by GM to mode hybrid system. It uses an Atkinsons cycle 6 leader engine but active fuel management which uses only four cylinders at Highway crews. The V8 is joined by an electrically variable transmission with 260 kilowatt electric motors which can provide continuous variable assistance at both city and highway speed.

The big V8 also shuts down when stopped to save fuel wasted by idling and regenerative braking is used to recharge the 300 volt battery pack. With every stop the result is government fuel economy ratings of 20 city huge 8 mile per gallon improvement over that of a gasoline powered escalate and 21 mpg highway. Of course the escalate hybrids also offers plenty of traditional Cadillac luxury to go along with its improve gas mileage to escalate buyers can be greener. But just as comfortable as before. They better have plenty of green in their bank account. However since the escalate hybrid goes for a hefty $72000 about thirty six hundred dollars over the price of a standard escalator. So go check out that new escalate hybrid at your Cadillac dealer today and join us for our first looks at more new cars trucks and SUV. And just a few weeks.

The rapid rise in gas prices is producing big changes in the way we travel. While some turned into Walen with motorcycles and scooters there's a lot of chatter on the internet about a new three wheeled vehicles being an economical and even fun commuter car alternative. So we decided to try out a couple of the latest three wheelers to see if an odd number makes even better sense. Our three will adventure starts with BRP Can-Am Spyder its manufacturer Canada's recreational products is long an innovator and recreational vehicles and the spiders certainly fits the bill with its unique combination of motorcycle ATV and snowmobile elements. The steel snowmobile type chassis wraps around a punchy 106 horsepower

998 CC V-twin motor built by Austrian engine company Rotax a motorcycle Saab clutch and five speed manual or five speed electronic sequential gearbox controls power delivery to the rear wheel by way of a Harley Davidson style belt drive but no motorcycle ever had the spider's twin front wheels and an automotive style double re-armed suspension similarities to cars continue with electronic stability control traction control speed sensitive power steering and abs for the three wheel disc brakes which are linked to a single foot pedal. Plus a transmission base reverse mechanism which allows for easy in and out of parking spaces. This interesting combination of elements makes for an equally interesting writing experience. The spider doesn't lean like a bike but the rider still has to compensate for centrifugal force car like tires up front mean car like front and push.

So plenty of muscle is needed for tighter turns especially over choppy pavement smoother pavement and wide open highway requires much less effort and yields a super stable ride. One with big engine torque for fast launch using quick passes and a quiet comfortable riding position. Thanks to a well thought out aerodynamics in a wide well padded seat plus a healthy one and a half cubic feet of storage for weekend and workaday gear. But if you were expecting gas savings it may not compute. We average 31 miles per gallon or about the same as a compact car and it carries a compact car price as well with the base model going for fifteen thousand four hundred ninety nine dollars. Not cheap but neither are most Taupin two wheelers these days now are more affordable and even more interesting three wheeler is the Piaggio MP three designated a maxi scooter by its Italian builder.

The v3 is also presented as a revolution in personal transportation. It's quirky Batman like styling is led by a pair of 12 inch alloy wheels that pivot on what Piaggio calls its parallelograms suspension. This clever combo of hinges and saloon arms allows the front wheels to tilt with the scooter as you lean into a corner. Two front wheels give the MP 3 above average stability but since they tilt the three retains the nimble character the make scooters so popular with urban commuters finding their way through tight unpredictable traffic. It also makes the MP 3 very user friendly for beginners since low speed stability is greatly improved this specially over rough pavement and having three wheels and therefore three disc brakes means stopping power that puts most cars to shave off big MP P3 feature and one that does take a little time to master is the ability to lock the wheels in their upright

position so you don't have to put your feet down when you come to a stop. A warning light signals when you're going slow enough for locking and then just flick a switch a beep confirms the wheels are locked. But be sure that the wheels are straight and you're on level ground or they will lock in a tipsy position. Even if you do put your feet down. The MP 3 is still a very clever little beast behind their front wheels the MP 3 is the kind of scooter that's made Biagio a world leader. Engines are all four stroke single cylinders 2:44 three ninety 399 or four hundred ninety three CC with no chips CVT transmission was certainly not as powerful as the Can-Am RMV 3:5 uttered tester will easily hold 70 miles per hour on the highway yet still delivers a very earth friendly 56 miles per gallon and goes for prices that range from seven thousand one hundred ninety nine dollars for the MP three to fifty to eight thousand eight hundred ninety nine dollars. MP three five

hundred clearly three wheelers are not the answer to all of our commuter and sports needs. After all you're still going to get plenty of rain. But innovative and super stable designs like the Can-Am Spyder and Piaggio in P3 are giving car drivers tired of $4 for gallon gas. It's a very interesting fair weather alternative and showing that sometimes an odd number really does make even better sense. I hope you'll join us here next week for more motorway. Well we'll take a drive in on this new gas dingy compact and push the starter button on Nissan's new generation Maxima sedan. I'm John Day. We'll see you then. To learn more about motor TV's original automotive magazine visit PBS dot org. To order a DVD or VHS copy of this program call 1 800 8 7 3

6 1 5 4. Motorway has been brought to you by cars dotcom. Let's say you are looking for a car. Cars dotcom can help research locate even contact a dealer. Dotcom. Some guys like to relax in a leather recliner but to others. There's nothing better than cardboard on concrete down fully 100 years under the hood. You like this thing. I love seeing all the places people have to go. I love being part of the company that helps those people get innovative thinking of here so you can get there. Good Year. This program was produced by American Public Television which is solely responsible for its content.

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