Nissan Murano adds futuristic look to SUV form and function
When the U.S. automotive tendency turned toward sport-utility vehicles, the one standard that both fans and critics could agree upon was that SUVs would follow the pragmatic form-follows-function guidelines, because these were working trucks that were being summoned to do the job of cars, station wagons and minivans.
As the SUV idea flew past the trend stage to become a genuine craze, the marketplace has been overrun with all sizes, shapes and configurations, with the whole scenario shifting from the passenger-truck scheme to the latest crossover method of bolting various shaped SUV bodies onto car platforms.
Early successful attempts include the Lexus RX300 and the Acura MDX. Perhaps the most far-out idea for an SUV is the 2003 Nissan Murano, which appeared for a test-drive looking more like an auto-show concept vehicle that had somehow sprung to life as a prototype. The future is now for the Murano, which burst onto the scene as a finalist for the International Truck of the Year award.
It is only the latest in a furious flurry of Nissan vehicles that have filled both Nissan and upscale Infiniti showrooms with an amazing array. Nissan dealerships alone havenÂ’t finished celebrating the new look of the year-old Altima, and here comes the 350Z sports car, and next to follow will be the Maxima. NissanÂ’s upscale Infiniti dealerships, meanwhile, have already showed off new 2003 G35 sedan and coupe models, plus an M45 sedan.
All of that glitter allowed the Murano to sneak up on an unsuspecting public, which may have considered that the Pathfinder and more youthful Xterra were sufficient, especially when augmented by the upscale Infiniti QX4. Because the Murano, and its soon-to-follow FX45 Infiniti version, have such a futuristic look, it is surprising to see it suddenly appear for 2003.
The Murano is a crossover SUV, with a shapely body attached to the Altima platform, creating interior room for – as Nissan claims – “two couples†even though it has room for five. It also creates a genuine eye-catching shape with a flowing style that combines luxury and sportiness, both inside and out.
From the outside, the grinning grille sweeps up sharply and aerodynamically to the windshield, while the lines flow artfully to carve a silhouette that abruptly tilts up as it finds the rear pillar. The whole architecture is stretched by giant, 18-inch alloy wheels located at the extremities. Tiny beam headlights are encased behind stylish glass lenses, and the taillights are a thin, vertical slash in the steeply sloped rear. The hatch opens to reveal a surprisingly large luggage and stowage area, but thatÂ’s just the start of whatÂ’s inside.
The “polished pewter†exterior of the test vehicle is complemented by what is called a “cabernet†interior, with rich leather seats and trim complemented by aluminum braces.
The name Murano is derived from the glass art sculptures that come from the islands near Venice, Nissan informs us, which is good, because otherwise we might have thought it was another in a long line of Japanese computerized gatherings of syllables that some executive deems worthy of the American publicÂ’s taste. The name befits a vehicle that was conceived to a sculpture-in-motion notion, to get away from the numerous, and ordinary, mainstream SUV shapes. While everybody from Honda and Toyota to BMW and Mercedes have a head start on the crossover SUV segment, the Murano takes it to the cutting edge.
While the rear seat will house three adults, two rear-seat passengers will find the sort of reclining-seat pampering normally reserved for front bucket inhabitants. That feeling is further secured by such things as their own heat-air ducts located in the side pillars.
Up front, the wide and comfortable seats are about as good as they get, with infinite adjustability, and optional pedals that adjust, along with the steering wheel. The interior controls are constant reminders of the newness of the Murano. Instruments have a golden background hue, with easily read gauges and aluminum trim.
The center dash starts out with a screen at the top for the navigation system, a quite-easily used device with a ready map to trace where you are and where you are going. Below that there is the Bose audio system, with a CD changer on top and a cassette player below the ergonomically set controls to direct sound to seven speakers. Farther below, the heat-air switches are simple, with three round knobs to turn for fan, direction and temperature – refreshingly simple for a device that often becomes ridiculously complex in the name of change.
There is also a storage space for small stuff at the bottom of that center stack, and a two-level console that can hold a laptop computer, or a purse, or whatever. Just ahead of that is the shift lever, which runs a serpentine course to allow you to select shift points, but that leads us directly to the technology of the Murano.
The transmission is the first application of NissanÂ’s continuously-variable transmission, called Xtronic CVT. It gives you smooth and steady acceleration.
Of course, the reason for the smoothness and swiftness is the presence under that steeply-sloped hood of NissanÂ’s fantastic 3.5-liter V6, a dual-overhead-camshaft gem that can also be found in the Altima, the 350Z, the Pathfinder, the soon-to-come Maxima, and the Infiniti G35 sedan and coupe, I35, among others.
It is a credit to Nissan that when it has an outstanding engine, it puts it to use wherever possible. The Murano version of the 3.5-liter V6 has 240 horsepower, same as in the Pathfinder. In the 350Z, it has 287 horsepower; in the Altima, it has 245 horses; in the Maxima, it will get 255 horses.
While Nissan is making all of its Infiniti sedans and sports coupes front-engine/rear-drive, it is keeping some front-wheel-drive vehicles in the Nissan camp, which will be a relief to those who drive in icy and snowy winter conditions. The Altima, of course, is a front-wheel-drive sedan, and the Murano takes the FWD to its extreme. While the basic Murano has front-wheel drive, you can go to the option bank for all-wheel drive. In that configuration, the power to the front wheels regulates itself, sending as much as 50 percent of the power to the rear when any potential slippage is detected.
Vehicle Dynamic Control, coupled with Traction Control System, assures good traction in all conditions, and the Murano brakes and suspension assure that the vehicle will handle and stop as well as it goes. Which is impressive. Four-wheel independent suspension with a multi-link rear set-up and stiff stabilizer bars join with the 235-65 x 18-inch tires to make handling flat and stable no matter how you swerve.
Four-wheel disc brakes are made superb with the addition of Brake Assist and Electronic Brake-force Distribution, which read the force of your foot and give you full-force and evenly-distributed braking.
For all of that, the Murano is priced at a base of just under $30,000, reaching $30,700 for the SE model with the premium package and front-wheel drive. The price rises as you move up to the firmly sporty SL version with its premium and dynamic control packages, and moving up to the SE or SL all-wheel-drive versions, the price list tops out at a still-reasonable $36,900.
The test vehicle was the SL with front-wheel drive, and it had excellent traction and stability, and probably was a bit quicker and could top 20 miles per gallon. In that version, you still get the premium packageÂ’s roof rails, adjustable pedals, Bose audio, the Dynamic Control Package with its traction aids and tire-pressure monitoring system, and the sunroof and navigation system.
All the Muranos except the lowest of seven versions come with the cold package, which includes heated front seats and heated side mirrors. Those touches are welcome in northern winters, and they indicate that Nissan hasnÂ’t overlooked any details while carving out a new SUV that is as realistic as it is futuristic.
Heritage model celebrates refined, outgoing, Ford F150
Among the anticipated big news items on the upcoming major auto show circuit is the introduction of the all-new 2004 Ford F150 pickup trucks. Very likely, the 2004 Ford truck will be a best-seller, because the Ford F150 has led its class in sales for 25 years, and all vehicles in sales for the past decade or so.
But pickup truck buyers, and particularly Ford pickup truck buyers, have an option. They don’t have to wait. They can stick with the tried and true version of the truck that has dominated the full-size truck marketplace for the past eight years. The flip side of the all-new 2004 F150 is that the new – but already outgoing – 2003 Ford F150 pickup is an example of what can happen if an existing best-seller gets refined and refined further, right up until the replacement shows up. And that may be more than enough for Ford loyalists.
The 2003 Ford F150 Heritage Edition is specially painted to stand out, and to represent the 100th year anniversary of Ford Motor Company. It is appropriate that the F150 have a commemorative model, because the F150 has been the top-selling vehicle in the United States, and therefore the world, for so many years that even FordÂ’s opponents have quit counting.
Consider that for the 2002 model year, just ended, there were 2.3 million full-size pickup trucks sold, and 880,938 of them were Ford F150s. That indicates that the big Fords havenÂ’t lost their allure, but it also indicates that there are some valid challengers out there, from ChevroletÂ’s Silverado (which ranks second with 693,866 sales), Dodge (which was sixth overall in sales with 390,768 and rated tops in a recent Car and Driver comparison of big pickups) and Toyota, which has entered the competition with its excellent Tundra.
Nissan is also ready to spring with a full-size pickup, which will make things even more interesting for 2004. But letÂ’s not get ahead of ourselves.
For now, the F150 is a rugged worker-vehicle that works. It always has been a strong worker, perhaps yielding some points to Chevy in on-road comfort, but settling for a tradition of outworking the competition.
You recall, of course, the days of not too long ago when the only people who bought pickup trucks actually needed them for work, around the farm or the ranch or for heavy-duty hauling. Those days are long gone, because people now buy pickup trucks because of their appeal as a symbol of rugged independence.
For those who still want a no-compromise worker, the 2003 Ford F150 still clears all the hurdles.
The Heritage Edition has all sorts of badges and emblems to make you realize it is celebrating the companyÂ’s centennial year. The test truck had a two-tone paint job, with shiny black on the hood and roof, over dark bergundy on the lower portion of the body.
It also has fancy 17-inch cast aluminum wheels, chrome tubular running boards, a black bedliner for the pickup box, and a chrome grille outline around a black honeycomb grille.
In reality, the Heritage Edition is a specialty version of the SuperCab XLT, but its distinctive Heritage touches will set apart 15,000 F150s, which will be built strictly at the Norfolk, Va., assembly plant.
The SuperCab configuration gives you a small jumpseat behind the front buckets, accessible through rear-opening small doors, which are extra convenient for getting to stuff youÂ’ve stashed in the back seat. But the rear seats arenÂ’t really what you might think of as inhabitable for adults. Kids would have a great time back there, while adults would only survive short hops, with the backrest pretty much bolt upright and precious little knee room.
With the F150s, you can get a base 4.2-liter V6 with 202 horsepower and 252 foot-pounds of torque, but the majority move up to the 4.6-liter Triton V8, a proven, single-overhead-cam engine with 231 horses and 293 foot-pounds of torque. Those who need more power can choose the 5.4-liter Triton V8 with 260 horsepower and 350 foot-pounds of torque.
The biggest V8 can be had in supercharged form, upping the power to 340 or 380 horsepower. At the same time, you select the engine according to what you need it for, such as a payload that can range from 1,440 pounds to 3,150, or from a towing capacity of 2,000 pounds up to 8,800.
The other choice, of course, is what price youÂ’d be willing to pay. You can get a basic Ford F150 for under $20,000, or you can go for the specialty versions and equip them up to nearly double that, at over $36,000. The Heritage Edition takes the pricey SuperCab XLT and tacks an extra $1,200 onto it, sending it onward and upward toward $39,000.
When Ford brought out the current F150 as new in 1996, it had made a major change in suspension systems from the proven “I-Beam,†and rumor has it that the new 2004 model will have independent rear suspension. But there are those who feel more comfortable with the polished and proven version, and the Heritage model fills out Ford’s current specialty vehicle scheme.
While the competitors have closed in from all directions, Ford has tried to hold them off by offering regular cabs, SuperCabs, Styleside and Flareside, and even the SuperCrew full four-door, and the ultra-fancy King Ranch Edition, as well as the hardcore Harley-Davidson SuperCrew. Then thereÂ’s the SVT (Special Vehicle Team) Lightning. Both the Harley and the Lightning get the supercharged versions, and they are built to be screamers, not workers.
The Heritage Edition is meant to show you appreciate FordÂ’s heritage, but still want a worker for a truck. It has full instrumentation, with the cruise control remotes on the steering wheel, and an excellent audio system. That, of course, doesnÂ’t set it apart from other full-size pickups.
The stylish pipe-shaped running board is useful, because the cab in the Heritage Edition is up high on the stout FX-4 suspension, and youÂ’d best be a high-jumper if you think you can hop aboard without the running board.
Once inside, you appreciate what was the most controversial part of the current truck when it was introduced – the aerodynamic nose tapers down steeply, allowing you to have a vast view of the road and all you are approaching. Before that, the F150 was like all the others, with a long, high hood.
We donÂ’t know yet what the 2004 will hold for looks and for visibility. But for those truckers who are impatient, buying the 2003 model and getting the final version of the current model is not a bad alternative.
Nissan dominates Car, Truck of Year list of award finalists
Nissan, the resurgent Japanese auto-maker that has turned loose a flock of new products for 2003, is the big preliminary winner in the International Car of the Year and Truck of the Year competition, providing three of the seven finalists for the two awards, while no other manufacturer had more than one vehicle in the field.
The Car of the Year finalists are the Mini Cooper, the Nissan 350Z, and the Infiniti G35 coupe and sedan, which is also made by Nissan for its upscale affiliate.
Truck of the Year candidates include the Volvo XC-90, the Honda Element, the Nissan Murano, and the Hummer H2. A tie among truck candidates caused four finalists to be named, rather than the traditional three.
A jury of 49 automotive writers from all across the United States voted last fall to establish a list of candidates, then voted again to determine the winners in both car and truck categories. The top vote-getters are named finalists. The winners will be announced Sunday, Jan. 5, 2003, at the Detroit International Auto Show.
While car of the year awards are commonplace nowadays, most of them are done by one organization, or a magazine or newspaper. The International Car of the Year and Truck of the Year awards were started in 1994 by a group of automotive writers, who organized and conducted their own competition – independent of any advertising or specific agenda.
The 49 journalists drive all the candidates and vote for their top choices on a point basis. Each vehicle is judged on design, safety, fuel economy, performance, comfort, handling, assembly quality, technical innovation, driving pleasure and price.
The jury cut the original list down to 12 car nominees and 13 truck candidates, selecting only cars and trucks that are considered “substantially new.” Other cars considered were the BMW 7-series, Honda Accord, Honda Civic Hybrid, Mazda6, Mercedes E-Class, Pontiac Vibe, Saab 9.3, Saturn Ion and Toyota Matrix. Other truck candidates were the Ford Expedition, Honda Pilot, Kia Sorento, Range Rover, Lexus GX470, Lincoln Aviator, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota 4-Runner, and Subaru Baja.
In the voting process, I ranked the Mazda6 as my top auto pick. Entirely new, with a sleek look, the Mazda6 is still a family sedan, but it has been redesigned for sporty handling and performance, making it a solid, safe and fun-to-drive vehicle with the efficiency of an attractive sedan and the performance of a sports car.
I voted for the Mini Cooper second, the 350Z and the Toyota Matrix tied for third, with the Infiniti G35 next, and the Mercedes E-Class and Civic Hybrid also getting points.
My winner, obviously, cannot win. Here is a brief overview of the finalists:
MINI COOPER – Built by BMW, the Mini Cooper is a new version of the decades old British econobox, which was armed with a racy Cooper engine in the old days, and comes with a high-tech 4-cylinder under BMWs guidance. It is tight, roomy for four, quick in acceleration and steering, and an absolute joy to drive. At right around $20,000, the front-wheel-drive Mini is a solid candidate. And it’s impossible to drive without a smile on your face.
NISSAN 350Z – The return of the Z-car is a flashy giant-step forward by Nissan, which turned out a superbly styled sports car with luxurious but sporty interior amenities and a sizzling engine, with great suspension as well. The Z is certain to be a big seller at $30,000, and has an excellent chance to win the award, even though its front-engine/rear-drive configuration would make it a handful on snow or ice.
INFINITI G35 – Nissan built a true Japanese answer to the BMW 3-Series sedan by taking the 350Z platform and putting a slick sedan body on it. As a coupe, it is longer, with actual rear-seat room, compared to the 350Z, while the sedan seems like an entirely different car. Both have the same 3.5-liter V6, tuned differently, and both give traction-control a thorough workout on ice and snow, because it, too, is front-engine/rear-drive. In style, comfort, luxury, performance and overall panache, the G35 pair as an entry make a formidable contender.
In the truck competition, I voted for the Volvo XC-90 first, with the Element and Murano tied for second, and the Sorento, Outlander and Range Rover tied a notch behind them, and other points going to the Pilot, Aviator and 4Runner. It was extremely tight competition, with every vehicle – just as it was with the cars – deserving of strong consideration.
Here is an overview of the truck finalists:
VOLVO XC-90 – Quite possibly the safest vehicle ever built for normal consumer purchase, the XC-90 is a $40,000 testimony to the Swedish company’s dedication to safety. Not just a crossover from its livery of station wagons, this one is an actual SUV, beefed up for off-road duty, with comfort, performance and an unwavering devotion to safety. A highly sophisticated anti-spinout device prevents the tendency to roll over, and when a rollover test was conducted with a media audience, it proved so structurally strong that it survived a 4.5-rollover crash test. All four doors still opened and closed, and the airbags and self-tightening harnesses kept all four test dummies safe and secure.
HONDA ELEMENT – A tall, boxy vehicle, the Element is so filled with goodies it is sort of a Swiss Army Knife of active-lifestyle SUVs. Side doors open to leave a pillarless side, and rear seats fold up against the walls to leave room for everything from storing mountain bikes upright to sleeping on the floor. Typical strong and high-tech Honda engine gives the Element plenty of variable-valve-timing punch to perform, while the handling makes you forget how tall it is. A bargain in the $20,000 range.
NISSAN MURANO – At a glance, the Murano looks like an escapee from the futuristic concept-car circuit, with its sweeping front end and silhouette lines that lead to an upswept rear. The $30,000 Murano has all-wheel-drive capabilities, and is powered by Nissan’s superb 3.5-liter V6, plus it has a new continuously variable transmission. Impressive as is all that hardware, the interior is perhaps more impressive, loaded with plush leather and futuristic electronics combined in a state-of-the-art package that does the design studio proud.
HUMMER H2 – The Hummer was perhaps the ultimate combination SUV and Desert Storm warhorse, but it was enormously wide and barely manageable in normal conditions. So General Motors connected with Hummer’s builders and concocted a Hummer look-alike with the underpinnings from a basic GM Tahoe/Suburban SUV, chopped off shorter to fit. The result is an impressive off-roader that is definitely easy to manage on the road, and, at $50,000, it will still stop your neighbors in their tracks.
If there is a surprise, it is that the four Nissan vehicles that comprise the three finalists – because the G35 coupe and sedan are lumped together – all have the same engine, with different settings. It seems surprising that all 49 journalists would vote for all those vehicles higher than what is an extremely competitive field.
More than that, in the later years of the original Z car, there was a two-seater and a bulbous 2-plus-2 version of the same car. ThatÂ’s essentially what the new cars are, with the 350Z as the sports car and the Infiniti version as the stretched, 2-plus-2 G35 coupe. So in reality, two of the three car finalists could be accused of being virtually the same vehicle.
However, it proves how effective Nissan has been in its very busy redesign effort.
If the jury were asked to vote again, on just the finalists, it would be interesting. It might even come out differently. In my case, I would vote the Mini Cooper first, the 350Z second and the G35 twins third – which would be the same order I had those cars in behind the Mazda6 in my official vote.
As for the trucks, my top three are there, so I would obviously vote for the Volvo XC-90 first, the Element and the Murano tied for second, with the Hummer H2 next.
Now, all we can do is be patient, and wait until Sunday, Jan. 5, when the official winners will be named.
Lengthening age should earn respect, for cars and people
The excitement and anticipation for new creations in the automotive world can make us quick to dismiss what brought us to this point, early in the 21st century. ItÂ’s interesting to pause, every once in a while, and look back. Go back to the first recollection you have of ever riding in a car. What was it? Was it trouble-free? Was it trusty and dependable?
Younger, newer drivers may think cars always have been shiny, flashy, powerful and loaded with cupholder and navigation systems. But how about if you were older – I mean, really old? What if you could go back in memory a full century?
There is a parallel, because in our society, we seem to treat our elderly people a lot like we treat our old cars. There are a few that are thoroughly restored to classic condition and maintained well forever, but a lot of others get sold, in the case of cars, or put away in nursing homes, in the case of people, where both can become somebody elseÂ’s responsibility and we can get on with our modern, contemporary lives.
My first memory of a car was a 1941 Plymouth, two-door. My parents were already in their 40s when I was born, and it was our family car. It was white, as I recall, but it might have been a pale shade of something close to white. I remember scant details about it because I was an infant, but I remember the grille, a wide expanse of wing-shaped chrome bars. About the time I was capable of knowing what was happening in the world, we had traded that 1941 Plymouth for a 1946 Dodge, a used car, to be sure, but a new car to us. It was light green, a four-door, with those rear-opening “suicide†doors.
I’ll never forget my first “thrill ride,†because it was totally unexpected. My dad was driving the Dodge down a Duluth hill, fourth avenue west to second street, as I recall. I was sitting in the right front, where I always loved to sit, and it was in the days long before seatbelts were even thought of. They weren’t even used in race cars at the time. My dad turned left, and as we reached the apex of the turn, my door flew open. And I flew out.
We werenÂ’t going very fast, but it would have been extremely painful, maybe even fatal. Amazingly, my dad, incapacitated as he was with one lung removed from an ailment he got working at the steel plant during
World War II, reverted to his greatest athletic instinctive reactions. Without taking his left hand off the wheel, he lunged across the wide front seat and caught my left wrist. He gave a quick yank, and after an instantaneous two-point landing when my knees hit the pavement, I bounced right back inside and landed in my seat.
I closed the door, and I always wondered if any pedestrians or other motorists saw it, what they must have thought.
A few years later, we traded the green ’46 Dodge for a 1951 DeSoto – black, four doors, sleek lines, and fluid drive. It, took, was used, but it was new and luxurious to us. My dad, Wally Gilbert, and my mom, Mary, weren’t what you’d call car fanatics, but they admired the DeSoto. After my dad died in 1958, I was wise enough to start helping her decide on what cars to buy. There was a 1955 Chevrolet, three-speed stick, in which I learned to drive and took my license test. Then a 1960 Volkswagen Beetle, brand new, with a sunroof and a gas heater. After that, a 1963 Rambler American.
I had just gone from college to the newspaper business when I talked her into buying herself a 1966 Volvo, 122S. Great car. Very safe, very substantial. I felt good, knowing she would be as safe as she could be, driving that car. She kept driving it, not many miles, but often, as she grew older. She was sort of shrinking in size, too, and it got to the point she was looking ahead at the road by looking under the top rim of the steering wheel.
She had a minor accident, then another, and we realized she shouldnÂ’t be driving any more. We joked about it, and her sense of humor was always wonderful. I accused her of driving by ear, going straight until she hit something, then changing vectors. We tried to watch over her, but it was a major cause for concern, with her living in the country.
My family frequently took my mom on trips, either up the North Shore, or down to visit us living in the Twin Cities. Once we went to Florida in a small motor home, and had a million laughs. She loved the new cars I always drove for test-drive evaluations, and she always wanted to ride along.
In later years, she fell and broke her hip. She forced herself to recover and returned home to her beloved Lakewood hillside. Then she broke her other hip, and she was headed for nursing home care. Carlton, first, then Lakeshore Lutheran. Both offer fantastic care, with devoted, sensitive staffs. She could walk a little, then less, then it was wheelchair confinement. Not nearly as neat as the Volvo, which we had taken for our older son, Jack. But it was nowhere near as durable as my mom; while the motor was fine and the transmission perfect, the bottom of the trunk and some of the floor had disintegrated from rust, and we had to send it off to a junkyard.
My mom stayed alert, although her hearing went. Then an accident during cataract surgery blinded her in one eye, and doctors refused to operate on the other eye because of that. So her vision in the good eye slowly dimmed, and finally went to black. Amazingly, her hearing returned somewhat after her vision went away, one of those miracles of humans, and a blessing because she loved music so much. Because she also enjoyed seeing beautiful things so much, I tried to explain in detail what each day was like.
It was more and more difficult to get her to talk at length. But she could take me back to the West End, to the Lincoln Park area where she was born in 1903 and grew up. Her brother Clarence, who was born exactly one year before her, had the first car in the neighborhood and loved working on it. A Model A, I think. Her father, a veterinarian, went by horse-drawn carriage to make his needed rounds. WeÂ’re talking 1910 to 1920 here, hard to comprehend even for someone of middle-age now. She recalled vividly a time when a white horse in his care got loose and wound up on the front porch of their home at 2326 W. 2nd St.
She and her sister, Isabel, would take the trolley downtown, or the train out to the familyÂ’s farm near McGregor in the summertime. She would take the train to Chicago in the early years, when my dad was playing third base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and she would see him when the Dodgers played the Cubs. Sometimes she would take her sister, and they always would have fantastic adventures.
The most notorious was when they drove off from Duluth for Chicago, and drove and drove, two beautiful young women, laughing and enjoying life to the fullest. When they got to the outskirts of Chicago they stopped and asked for directions. A friendly man paused, then informed them: “My dear young ladies, you are not in Chicago. You are in Des Moines, Iowa.Ââ€
Her images were vivid, and her storytelling was great, even though she had trouble remembering what she had for lunch an hour before. Or even if she had lunch. A couple of times in the last three years, attendants were certain she was going to die imminently. But each time she would rally and return to some sort of normalcy. “We call her the Energizer Bunny,Â’ †one attendant told me. “She just keeps on going.Ââ€
I would tell her every time I had to drive to the Twin Cities for an event, or function, and IÂ’d tell her what kind of car I was driving. Invariably, she said she wanted to go to. Just to go along for the ride. In the last year, though, her fragile body could only go for a brief ride outside in the wheelchair, to catch some fresh air blowing in off Lake Superior.
LaVonne, the night nurse at Lakeshore Lutheran told me how my mom would correct her if she ever mispronounced a word, and how she was not offended, but admired that, because she appreciated being able to listen and absorb the benefit of the wisdom of the old people she deals with every day. ThatÂ’s why sheÂ’s so good at her job.
I was glad that both our sons, Jack and Jeff, had visited in recent weeks, when she could respond to them. But this past week was a tough one for the Gilbert family. Mom faltered, and faded. I was there every day, and my sister Patt came often and stayed long. Mom kept clinging to life the way she would cling to my finger, and purse her lips when I kissed her, and form part of a smile when IÂ’d put my cheek next to hers for a hug. Then she lost the ability to swallow. She couldnÂ’t swallow any water, or food until I got her to eat some special cranberry-blackberry sauce my wife, Joan, had made. And I coaxed her to eat a final dinner on Thursday of last week.
The last half-dozen times I hugged her, I told her directly that it would be OK for her to relax and go, and that she had nothing to worry about when it came to leaving this world behind. God would see to it that she would rejoin her beloved Walter after 44 years, and she would see again her mother and father, and her brothers Clarence and Jack, and her sister Isabel. And I assured her that even then, she would also be with me, every minute of every day for the rest of my life.
Maybe that helped her. I hope so. Late last Saturday night, she drew her last breath peacefully and was gone. A century of history died with her, but her spirit is still here. I see it in the stars, and I feel it in the sudden north wind that caught me by surprise during a predawn walk out the driveway to the Lakewood Road on Sunday morning. All those years, from trolley cars, horse carriages and her brother’s Model A, to train-rides, all our family cars and her Volvo driving adventures remain. As does her wish to always go with me – with the mandatory admonition “Don’t drive too fast, now†– whenever I test-drive a slick new car.
Icy roads, wide tires and rear-drive can make great cars scary
Apparently Nissan hasnÂ’t heard that there are some economic struggles going on in the world. In the world according to Nissan, following up on the last yearÂ’s enormously successful Altima revision means a flourish of fantastic new products for 2003.
The new 350Z sports car has gained universal acclaim, and a flashy and futuristic new sport-utility vehicle called the Murano is just being introduced. Meanwhile, Nissan also is bolstering its upscale Infiniti nameplate with some stunning new products, most notably the G35 sedan and G35 coupe, plus the M45, a slick sedan with the big V8 from the flagship Q45.
My only concern for Nissan – and other automakers as well – is that they have made a technical move to veer away from front-wheel drive to the front-engine/rear-drive of the good-ol’ days, which might sound impressive in those California design studios, but means they apparently have decided to forget about those of us who may live and drive in the Great White North. The Murano is all-wheel drive, and the aforementioned Altima is front-wheel drive, but Nissan has gone to front-engine/rear-drive for the 350Z, the Murano, and for the G35 sedan and coupe.
It seems as though many companies have decided to go to rear-wheel drive. ItÂ’s something that Cadillac did with its new CTS, and which legendary makes from Mercedes and BMW always have carried on with. Chrysler is supposedly going that way with a new sedan, as are several other prominent companies.
There are several reasons for the change. For one, a lot of enthusiasts claim that to be the absolute best-handling a car can be, it must have the engine up front and the drive wheels at the rear. ThereÂ’s more balance, they tell us in California; thereÂ’s less work for the front wheels to do if they are steering and braking but relieved of supplying power to the road, they tell us from some heretofore undisclosed subculture, where wheels complain about their workload.
A second reason for the change is that modern traction-control devices are amazing in their ability to control power, enhance braking, and anticipate a potential skid and counteract it to prevent you from losing control. The devices are so impressive that it is easy to be consumed into believing that it can conquer any problem. On most days of each year, itÂ’s no problem. But every once in a while, you can wind up facing the kind of problem youÂ’d pay large amounts of money to avoid.
The best reason for front-wheel drive is that if you live in an area where it might snow occasionally in winter, FWD simply relieves the carÂ’s attempts to have the rear wheels try to overtake the fronts. That tendency happens in rear-drive, whether you have an electronic gizmo to fight it or not. With front-wheel drive, the rear end simply follows the front, and unless you compound a couple of vital mistakes on ice, such as slamming on the brakes and turning the steering wheel to full lock, itÂ’s actually difficult to spin out a front-wheel drive car.
There are a lot of venerable old-timer drivers out there who swear by rear-drive, and they are right when they say we used to all have to get by that way, so they insist upon it. With the right tires, and being selective about when not to drive, you can get through the winter months trauma-free. Trouble is, the new cars also have new, high-technology tires, with harder compounds for longer wear and larger blocks of rubber compound, which do wonderful things to stick to the road when itÂ’s dry. Or even wet.
But on ice, the larger blocks of rubber, combined with the harder long-wear compounds that donÂ’t keep their flexibility in the cold, can get their little grooves filled with snow-pack and become smoother and slithery. Without grooves or slits that properly spit out the snow it accumulates, a tire can become a lot like a drag-racing slick. In case you havenÂ’t noticed, they donÂ’t ever run drag-races if it rains, simply because those big slicks would turn the dragsters into unguided missiles. In the good-olÂ’ days, all those front-engine/rear-drive cars had skinny tires, compared to the current era. Skinny tires cut through the snow better than wide ones, and less-sophisticated skinny tires that hold some flexibility in the cold are far safer than performance-oriented contemporary tires that stay hard and lose their grip in the cold.
From my driving of thousands of cars with the drive wheels at both ends, I have developed the theory that even the most sophisticated and impressive traction-control gadgets need to have SOME traction to function. When there is none, itÂ’s best to have the drive wheels at the front, where they have the majority of weight on their side to steer, put power to the road, optimize braking capability, and lead the rest of the car in a straight line.
Having experimented with many high-performance cars on race tracks and elsewhere, I will declare that the alleged handling superiority of rear-drive is a bunch of hooey. Even on dry pavement. True, you can have great fun with a powerful front-engine/rear-drive car, by using the throttle to crack the rear tires loose and it all makes you feel like you’re flying through corners, but in the tightest turns, you have to get off the throttle and/or on the brakes or else you’ll spin out. With front-wheel drive – the best FWD cars at least – you simply stay on the power and steer through those same corners. It takes a different technique, and it doesn’t even feel as fast, but your autocross lap times wind up better.
Anyhow, itÂ’s understandable that the 350Z sports car would be rear drive, and I wrote how impressive that car is when I recently test-drove one. The Infiniti G35 and the G35 Coupe are built on the same chassis as the 350Z, extended a bit to add some extra room. I got both of those cars a few weeks after I had the 350Z.
The G35 sedan was OK, too, although it didnÂ’t really snow the week I drove it. I was amused when, on the extremely slight upward slope of my driveway, the G35 sedan engaged its traction control several times, chattering whenever I hit even a patch of loose snow.
Then I got the G35 Coupe. It is more stunning than the 350Z, and has more room. It was a shiny black, and it was very impressive, with a 6-speed manual transmission and all that power. The big 245 low-profile Michelin Pilot tires, mounted on those beautiful 18-inch alloy wheels, did a great job of sticking to dry pavement. I stayed after a Friday night college hockey game when UMD’s men lost 3-2 to St. Cloud State, not realizing that while I was getting a few interviews, about an inch of what they call “lake effect snow†was falling outside.
No problem, I thought. Then I tried to pull out of the parking lot, and the G35 Coupe preferred to spin its rear drive wheels until I let up and barely crawled out onto the street. I pulled onto the freeway, heading for the North Shore very carefully, and the G35 Coupe went sideways anyway, with tires chattering and lights blinking to notify me the traction-control was engaging. I feathered it, but even easing along the road, the car wanted to go sideways every time I touched the gas. As fantastic as those Michelin Pilot tires are in dry-road handling precision, they simply had no interest in sticking to the slippery, snow-covered pavement.
As I crossed the Lester River Bridge and eased onto the Hwy. 61 freeway heading up the North Shore, I tried to maintain a moderate 40 miles per hour, and I held on as the car went partially sideways for about 100 feet before I could gather it in. As if driving on eggs, I tiptoed along until I got to my road and turned northward. The G35 Coupe felt like it was skating instead of rolling as I crept up the first little hill. I had a couple of miles to go, most of it up a long, slow grade, and as I urged it forward, oh so gradually, I realized I would probably have to abandon the car on the side of the road and walk the last part. The question was, how close could I get to home?
I switched the traction-control off and on and off again, and it didnÂ’t seem to make much difference in my instability. The car spun more freely, but predictably, without it, and it chattered meaningfully with it. Somehow, I was able to keep going, and after what seemed all night, I reached the bottom of the final but abrupt hill to my driveway.
With the traction-control off, I was going slower and slower, so I headed for the right shoulder in first gear, resigned to the fact that I’d have to park it, give up and walk. As I got to the edge of the pavement, the rear end suddenly shot out to the right, and by luck, the right rear caught the gravel shoulder, which, even with snow cover, was gritty enough to provide some traction. I shifted up to second, and slowly – endlessly – I coaxed the G35 Coupe in that attitude to keep chugging up the hill. Three tires were on the asphalt, and only the right rear had traction on the shoulder, but with the car at about a 40-degree angle, I got it to keep inching up the hill at something far slower than walking speed.
Somehow, I made it, and the feeling of accomplishment whooshed out of me as I realized I was exhaling for the first time in who knows how long.
Now, I love to drive in foul weather. ItÂ’s always a beneficial test of driver and machine. But exciting as it was, this was the most terrifying drive I have experienced in 20 years. I never felt that I had any control because the slick and hard tires wouldnÂ’t bite, while I was constantly aware that if IÂ’d had the benefit of front-drive, it would have allowed me to keep churning onward, wheels spinning or not, in something resembling a straight line.
For those who would prefer not to have quite so much excitement in their lives, there are a few things you can do to prevent facing the same challenge. One: Make sure you buy a front-wheel-drive car; Two: Equip your car with proper winter or all-season tires, such as my favorite, Nokian Hakkapelittas; Three: If you have low-profile/high-performance tires or tires with large blocks of rubber instead of multiple little slits going horizontally across the tread, then find a tire dealer that offers after-market siping – which is a device that cuts those tiny horizontal slits in the rubber to increase flexibility and therefore traction.
Come to think of it, there is a fourth alternative: You coul park your new sporty car in the garage if thereÂ’s any chance of any snowfall, and drive an SUV or front-wheel-driver all winter.
My foul-weather experience might have been rare, because of the conditions of that particular hour and day, and it doesn’t mean the Infiniti G35 Coupe is a bad car. In fact, Motor Trend just named the G35 Coupe and sedan as its 2003 Car of the Year. As an interesting aside, however, Motor Trend did a thorough test of 27 new cars before making its choice, which came from a pool that included such powerful, high-performance, great-handling cars as the Dodge Viper, Mercedes SL500 and E500, and BMW 745. And the car that negotiated the magazine’s slalom course, in perfect conditions, with the fastest speed of all 27 was – the Mini Cooper S, front-wheel-drive and all!
We can presume Motor Trend didnÂ’t try all the cars in the cold and snow, or the Mini Cooper would have won by more.
What my experience does indicate is that some of the most modern car designers are trusting their electronic traction-enhancing devices far too much, that neither automotive nor tire companies have tested their products adequately in the cold and snow, or else they simply figure that there are so many more potential buyers in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida that they neednÂ’t worry about those of us in the Great White North, who might spend four months driving sideways.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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