Hybrid Honda Insight, Toyota Prius offer 60-70 MPG
When it comes to technology, Japanese car-makers Honda and Toyota are perhaps the most advanced in the automotive world. With all major Japanese manufacturers now building vehicles in the U.S., and ever-increasing numbers of Americans earning a living by making, selling and servicing cars with Japanese names, that high-tech approach has a more comfortable ring to U.S. consumers.
But for 2000, the folks at Honda and Toyota may have outdone even their own impressive histories.
There are excellent all-new sedans such as the Nissan Maxima, SUVs such as the Mazda MPV, Nissan Xterra and Isuzu VehiCross, sporty coupes such as the Toyota Celica and Mitsubishi Eclipse, and all-out sports cars such as the Honda S2000, all of which deserve headlines and attention. The upgraded classes of Acura for Honda, Lexus for Toyota and Infiniti for Nissan, also deserves acclaim.
But in the face of uphill battles to find alternative methods of commuting to work, which has left most manufacturers either baffled or looking far off into the future, the alternative automobile future is here now, thanks to Honda and Toyota.
Toyota has put together an impressive publicity campaign to claim that its new Prius is the first hybrid alternative energy vehicle to be mass-produced. It is, being sold in Japan since December of 1997. But it won’t be out in the U.S. until next spring. Meanwhile, Honda has quietly been mobilizing and will have its Insight in showrooms by December.
The Insight is a small coupe, with rear fender flares to aid aerodynamics. It is powered by a 3-cylinder, 1-liter gasoline engine, with a battery-pack auxiliary electric motor. Electric motors turn out great quantities of power, but have the drawback of requiring recharging. Most electric-car prototypes can drive to work and back, maybe a couple of times, then need to be plugged in overnight. If one-tenth of the consumers switched to electric cars in any city powered by coal-burning power plants, the amount of pollution from the plants by the increased demands for electricity would go far beyond the amount those cars pollute in gasoline form.
However, the Insight has Honda’s inventive magic going for it. The car runs on the 3-cylinder, 1-liter engine in normal duties. When you step on the gas for entering a freeway, climbing a hill or passing someone, the electric motor kicks in for support and you zoom ahead. Let off, and the electric motor disengages, putting the Insight back on the 3-cylinder gasoline engine — which also recharges the electric motor as you drive.
The result? How about impressive performance, and 70 miles per gallon highway, 61 MPG in town. And the Insight goes for “under $20,000.”
The Toyota Prius is a 4-door sedan that will seat five, unlike the Honda Insight’s 2-door, 2-plus-2 seating. The Prius system will run on either electricity or gasoline alone, or a combination of both, on a ratio provided by monitoring devices on both units, which select the most efficient method of operation, depending on speed and load.
The Prius gasoline engine is a 1.5-liter, dual-overhead-cam 4-cylinder with variable valve timing to make use of every gasp of energy it can produce. The electric motor has a permanent magnet design for no maintenance. Key to the whole system is a power-split device, which sends power from the gasoline engine either directly to the drive wheels of the car, or to the electric generator that controls the electric motor. The electronic automatic transmission adjusts and coordinates the sources to transmit the needed power for acceleration or deceleration.
From a start, only the electric motor functions; in normal driving, the power-split device sends power from the gasoline engine to both the wheels and to an electric generator, which runs the electric motor; under full-power acceleration, the electric motor (run off the generator) is supplemented by power from the batteries.
When decelerating, the electric motor functions as a generator to recharge the batteries, and the gasoline engine also shuts down, using no fuel and creating zero emissions. The 2,728-pound Prius has attained 66 miles per gallon in Japan, although the U.S. car will turn out slightly more power, which could lessen that figure.
The price is not yet available, but you can bet it will be competitive with the Insight.
With the extremely hot S2000 sports car from Honda, which has the most power per liter of any production engine ever built, and revised cars throughout the Honda and upgraded Acura lines, there is plentyto talk about. Toyota, meanwhile, has the impressive new Tundra pickup with its DOHC, 32-valve, 4.7-liter V8, and the flashy new Celica sporty coupe, as well as the tiny Echo commuter car. But the breakthrough alternative-energy hybrids are guaranteed to thrust both to the forefront.
PT Cruiser gives Chrysler a retro look at 2000
If it wasn’t so close to the name of a competing company’s car, you could say that Chrysler’s resurgence in the design, technical and business ends of the automotive business has been nothing short of … mercurial.
A company that stayed alive only because it invented the modern minivan concept a couple of decades ago, has turned out a string of styling gems — the Intrepid, Concorde and 300M for openers — has more than stabilized because of a merger with Mercedes Benz. The new company is called DaimlerChrysler, and the result could allow Mercedes precision to help Chrysler’s only nagging problem, of consistent quality control in executing the strong engineering and design of its vehicles.
In recent years, Chrysler has impressed and astonished auto show viewers with some far-out concept cars, and then turned around and dazzled the entire automotive world by turning those concept cars into real-world vehicles.
It happened with the Dodge Viper, and then it happened with the Plymouth Prowler. Now, as we cross that line into a new century, it is happening again with something called the Chrysler PT Cruiser.
A couple of years ago, then called the “Cruizer” with a “z,” was first shown as a bizarre concept vehicle. But last January in Detroit, at the North American International Auto Show, the PT Cruiser — now with an “s” — was on display as a prototype. And before the first of the year, or thereabouts, the car will begin appearing in showrooms.
While customers can get a Viper for about $90,000, or a Prowler for about $50,000, owning a PT Cruiser won’t require mortgage-style payments. The Cruiser could come in at right around $20,000, because underneath the ultra-retro/futuristic body beats the heart and platform of the new Neon 2000. The Neon itself got an impressive renovation for the upcoming year, and it is that platform upon which the Cruiser is based, complete with the 2.4-liter, 150-horsepower DOHC 4-cylinder.
In case anyone thinks the Cruiser remains too far-fetched to be realistic, Mercedes executives can’t wait to get their hands on it to sell in Germany.
The other biggest chance in Chrysler’s fleet of new vehicles is the Dakota, which is one of the first to pull off the new concept of a full-4-door on its mid-size pickup, called the Quad Cab. That vehicle, of course, was the basis for the stylish Durango SUV, and both the Dakota and the Durango will have at their disposal the option of installing the slick, new-for-’99 Jeep 4.7-liter, single-overhead-cam V8 wich has 235 horsepower and 295 foot-pounds of torque.
GM’s newest: Impala, Saturn, Bonneville, Suburban
Chevrolet roars into the 2000 model year powered by an all-new Impala sedan, a new Monte Carlo sporty coupe, and new Suburban and Tahoe sport-utility vehicles.
And what’s good for Chevrolet is good for General Motors, which follows with similar new products elsewhere throughout the corporate branches, and a startling new sedan from Saturn, that rebel-within-the-cause brand.
General Motors is so large in the automotive world that it can increase sales to record heights, selling more cars than any other company in the world, and still lose market share. The vastness of the company is obviously an asset, but also can be a liability.
For example, smaller companies like Chrysler (now DaimlerChrysler) or Audi or Honda can make abrupt, even midstream changes to engines or models and simply switch over with the agility of a speedboat making a quick U-turn in the Duluth-Superior harbor. For GM to change courses, it’s more like trying to turn an aircraft carrier around in Lake Pokegama.
Over the past two years, GM has brought out new and sophisticated models of its compact cars, including the Pontiac Grand Am and the renamed Oldsmobile Alero, and of its intermediates, including the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Century. Last year, the all-new Oldsmobile Intrigue was introduced, along with the Buick Regal, and GM brought out its long-awaited renovations of the full-sized pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra.
So about all that was left, to complete the turnabout, was thorough revision of the largest sedans, the largest sport-utility vehicles, and a few new things both expected and surprising.
Many things remain shared among divisions, such as the Cadillac OnStar navigation system, which is one of the best, if not THE best, in the industry, and has become expandable as an option in other GM brands over the past two years.
CHEVROLET
From 1958 until the mid-1990s, the Chevrolet Impala was the largest selling sedan in the country. It grew from a sporty coupe into a sedan, and then into a large sedan, and ultimately to an enormous sedan that shared underpinnings with the largest Buicks and Oldsmobiles before that whole line was cancelled.
For 2000, the Impala nameplate has been resurrected, and it is emblazoned, color-on-color, on the flanks of an impressive new sedan that may thrust Chevy back up to those heady competitive regions now dominated by Camry, Accord and Taurus.
The new Impala is large enough to have good room inside and in the trunk, but nowhere near as large as its predecessor. It styling is one of its strong suits, with a smooth and racy-looking front end, a gracefully contoured curvature to the body as it streams toward the rear, which has a great-looking round taillight treatment (another link with past Impalas) housed by a full-width red sheath angling up to meet the trunk-topping spoiler.
Inside, the 122.1 cubic feet of space make the Impala fit the large car government standards, although it is more of a longish midsize from the outside. The chassis stiffness and stability makes the Impala handle well, and it is the same chassis used for the new Olds Intrigue and Buick Regal. Chevy got it last, but has made good use out of it.
Powering the Impala are the GM staple 3400 and 3800 V6 engines, with the 3400 offering 180 horsepower and the 3800 kicking out 200 horsepower. Those are solid, substantial but aging engines. Curiously, GM has developed a new, high-tech 3.5-liter V6 with dual-overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. The engine was ready for 1999, but was installed only in the Olds Intrigue as an option with the 3800. The Impala, high-tech as it is, cries out for that engine and may someday get it. But GM has a lot of plants making the older engines, which are very workable if not high-tech. And for now, they handle the Impala just fine.
The Impala comes only as a 4-door. If it is a 2-door, it has all different body panels, front and rear ends, and becomes transformed into the new Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo has exactly the same engine options as the Impala.
At the large end of the Chevy line, the new Suburban and large but not quite as large Tahoe are all new, built on the new Chevy Silverado pickup frame, and with the trucks’ various engines. The Suburban has created its own market segment, and despite the introduction of a new competitor in Ford’s Excursion, the Suburban is expected to maintain its high owner loyalty. It was, however, good timing to to have revised the beast just as the new competitor shows up.
The Silverado pickup, which was the last of the full-size pickups to be introduced, following remakes of the Dodge Ram and Ford F150, suffered by getting only a third door to the competitors’ four in the extended-cab versions. For 2000, after a full year of turning that big ship around in the small harbor, the Silverado gets a driver’s side door on the extended cab.
SATURN
The biggest surprise from GM is that Saturn, which has made a solid name for itself for its cozy, neighborly construction and marketing concepts with a technically advanced coupe/sedan/wagon, now has a second car. It is the L model, which stands for larger, and adds a midsize car to the Saturn’s compact.
The car has some chassis and drivetrain components from GM’s German Opel factory, but it also has composite body panels. And, where most GM brands don’t have any — or precious few — overhead-camshaft engines to boast about, the Saturn has ONLY overhead-cam technology. The base car always was either single or dual OHC, and the new L series has either an all-new 2.2-liter dual overhead cam 16-valve 4-cylinder, or an autobahn-based 3.0-liter V6 with dual overhead cams and 24 valves.
The new L series is available as a 4-door sedan or as a station wagon. Both are very impressive to drive, and have excellent roominess. GM obviously hopes the LS (sedan) and LW (wagon) will carve some customers away from competitors, but they are good enough that they might swipe a few from other GM brands, too.
CADILLAC
From the top, Cadillac has a new DeVille sedan, which is completely new with a stiffer platform now shared with the Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville. It is slightly shorter than the car it replaces, but definitely big enough. It has the benefit of the Northstar engine, GM’s state-of-the-art overhead-cam, multiple-valve V8, which began life in the Seville STS but has branched out through the Cadillac line in recent years.
Biggest news on the DeVille, beside its styling, is the Night Vision system, which is a device which, by thermal imaging, can allow the driver to see a person or object on the dark road ahead, even beyond headlight range. Automatic shock dampening suspension and a rear-proximity warning system for backing up arms the DeVille with some of the latest technology from stem to stern.
BUICK
The LeSabre and Regal were updated last year, and the LeSabre and Park Avenue now offer the same StabiliTrak vehicle stability control system as Cadillac. The Century, Buick’s midsize car, will be offered in a special, limited form for the, uh, new century.
PONTIAC
The new Bonneville has been redone completely on the new platform that began life under the Olds Aurora and also serves the newest Seville. It is much stiffer than the Bonneville’s former, and quite stiff, chassis, so handling is improved considerably. It has the 3800 pushrod V6, or a supercharged, 240-horse version of that familiar 205-horsepower engine.
OLDSMOBILE
The last Cutlass version is gone completely, eliminating a nameplate that became familiar over 40-some years of duty. Mourners should wait, however, before falling in with those who thought they’d never see another Impala.
Biggest news for 2000 will have to wait until after the first of the year, when the Aurora gets its first complete renovation, and it will be designated a 2001 model. Apparently there will be some Auroras available for sale, but they may be remaining 1999s. It is possible Olds may rebadge them as 2000 models, but if not, there will be a gap from ’99 to ’01 in the cars lineage.
Olds retains the downsized Northstar V8, which is 4.0 instead of 4.6 in Aurora livery, and it also retains sole usage of the shortened version of that engine, which, with two end cylinders cut off, stands at 3.5-liters as a V6 for the Intrigue — one of many GM high-tech cars and the only one of that size with the accompanying high-tech engine.
GMC
While the Chevrolet Suburban is all new, the old GMC Suburban is gone forever (or, maybe not; re Impala). GMC’s version continues to exist in its new shape and form, but it will be called the Yukon XL instead of the GMC Suburban. The Yukon, GMC’s version of Chevy’s Tahoe, is plenty big. And the considerably longer Suburban-version is called the “XL” for obvious reasons.
The GMC Sierra pickup also gets a fourth door on its driver side, bringing it up to the standard in the industry.
[Cutlines for all section photos…]
[CUTLINES FOR NEW CAR TAB: (All photo credits should read: John Gilbert, Up North Newspaper Network.)
(With overview)
1/ The Lincoln LS is a departure for Lincoln, combining sporty performance — a 5-speed manual is available — and new-age luxury.
2/ Toyota roars into big-pickup competition with the Tundra, which has a high-tech, 4.7-liter dual-overhead-cam, 32-valve V8.
3/ The Audi TT Coupe is clearly one of the new year’s standouts, with quattro available and a combination of retro and futuristic styling.
(With Ford section)
4/ Ford’s Excursion is the new king of the road as the largest sport-utility vehicle made, with engine choices up to a 6.8-liter V10 or a 7.3-liter turbocharged diesel.
5/ The F150 gets full Crew Cab treatment with four full doors making it a pickup/SUV combination.
6/ The Focus is Ford’s latest version of a quick, universally inexpensive world-car commuter.
(With Sports cars)
7/ Honda’s S2000 combines exotic engine performance with the popularity of inexpensive sports cars.
(With General Motors)
8/ Saturn adds a larger sedan — the LS — to its galaxy, featuring high-tech engines, front-wheel drive, and a sticker price remarkably close to $20,000.
9/ Chevrolet for 2000 features the “Return of the Impala,” with that popular nameplate brought back on a stylish and impressive new sedan.
(If the Saturn wagon is found)
10/ The Saturn LW is a station wagon version of the new L-series, which is a variation of an Opel Vectra with plastic body panels.
(If the Saturn wagon isn’t available)
10/ The panoramic taillight display of the Impala incorporates round lights shining through wall-to-wall red plexiglass.
(With Chrysler)
11/ The popular Dakota pickup gains a Quad Cab model for 2000, plus availability of Jeep’s high-tech 4.7-liter overhead-cam V8.
12/ Neon is redesigned for 2000 and will be just one of various Dodge models soon available in sporty “R/T” trim.
(With Japanese)
13/ Toyota brings back the Celica for 2000, with streamlined sporty lines and the usual Toyota dependability.
14/ Nissan’s all-new revision of the Maxima has a more distinctive look, an exceptional V6, and a price tag only in the mid-$20,000 range.
(On Picture Page)
15/ Acura, Honda’s upscale sibling, has improved the navigation system of its new RL, a luxury boat no less comfortable than the Queen Elizabeth II, docked behind it.
16/ Porsche doesn’t change the 911 often, but the new Carrera is the newest version of unwavering performance and has a top speed of 174.
17/ Driving the NSX can make you feel as though you could get to anyplace in the world with exotic flair, and in less than a half-hour.
18/ Nissan’s answer to the sportiest SUV questions is the Xterra, with a storage compartment on the roof-rack, and a potent 3.3-liter V6.
Familiar Impala name defines all-new Chevy sedan
[[[[[CUTLINE STUFF:
#1— From the front, the grille, covered headlights and stylish nose blend well on the 2000 Chevrolet Impala.
#2— The interior is driver and passenger friendly, with contemporary firm support.
#3— The Impala looks are most striking from the rear, but is, overall, a graceful package. ]]]]
Back in the ’50s — yes, the 1950s — we used to play a lot of kid baseball at Portman Square in Lakeside. A kid named Terry was among our pitchers, a left-hander who could only throw one pitch. No curve, no change-up, no slider, just a fastball. But because he was a lefty and threw it hard, the fastball backed up, right to left, every pitch. That made it tough to hit for right-handed hitters, because it was like an extremely fast slider or curve, and left-handed hitters had to decide whether to risk swinging at it early, or to start ducking because it was coming at ’em.
We liked his pitching, and his infectious laugh, and we also, in later years, liked it when he got hold of his parents’ car, because it was a 1958 Chevy Impala, 2-door hardtop — which meant no pillar between the front and rear side windows — and with a small-block V8 so it would go like heck. It was sandalwood, I recall, which means it was among the first cars to be of a color that couldn’t really be defined by ordinary color names.
It’s a good time to think back to those good times, one reason being because it is major league baseball playoff time. And another reason is because Chevrolet has, for the 2000 model year, reinvented the Impala nameplate, which it dropped a few years ago.
There was good reason for dropping the name, and the car, because it had grown over its 40-year lifespan from a sleek let’s-go-for-a-ride coupe to a 4-door sedan, and then to a big 4-door sedan, and finally to one that was so big it worked best as a taxicab, or police car, or as a huge family hauler for families that couldn’t afford a Buick Roadmaster but wished they could. That was four years ago, which is just about long enough for Impala-mourners to get on with their lives. And, Chevy hopes, to want to get on with those lives by buying a new Impala.
Such recycled nameplates are common in the auto biz, but this time Chevy may be onto something good. The 2000 Impala LS is a handsome beast, even just sitting at a curb. You might like the nose, with its near-chevron shaped grille and its aerodynamic headlights that shine through plexiglass shrouds. You might like the gracefully wavering contours as the bodywork flows back to include the passenger compartment, angling down at the rear pillar just right to inspire some comparisons to BMW’s signature roofline.
Me? I like the view of the rear best. The red taillight enclosure goes from wall-to-wall, also in a gradual, near-chevron, with two round circular taillights shining through on either side, while the outer walls of the car taper just slightly inward as they rise, making a harmonious meeting spot with the rear spoiler atop the hood. It is bold, and classy, not always an easy combination.
It’s not a huge, full-sized car, although Chevy claims it has more interior room than a Lexus LS400. That surprises me, because when I sit in the back seat, at 6-feet tall, I have good headroom, but my knees are pretty much up against the front bucket’s backrest. That’s with the backrest set for me, and I like it pretty much bolt upright. I’ve tried the rear seats of Lexus LS400s, and I recall them as being considerably more spacious.
But we quibble. The Impala shouldn’t try to compare itself with $50,000 luxury sedans, because it isn’t one of those. The test car, the top-of-the-line LS, lists for $25,415, loaded up with everything. That includes options such as leather seats, which are actually “leather accent bucket seat” (the singular is Chevy’s; don’t ask me about the passenger bucket), for $625; an electric sunroof for $700; an alarm system, information center on the ceiling and radio controls on the steering wheel for a $517 package price; 6-way power seat adjustment for the passenger, with heated elements for both front buckets at $425; and an added $223 for the audio upgrade that includes eight speakers, with in-dash cassette and CD player and speed-compensated volume.
Without those things, the car is an even-better bargain at $22,365.
STANDARD STUFF
By selecting the LS upgrade, you get the 3800 Stage II V6 engine as standard, over the 3400 V6. The 3400 has 180 horsepower, while the 3800 delivers 200 horsepower and 225 foot-pounds of torque. That engine is pretty long in the tooth, but it has been skillfully manipulated by Chevy’s tireless engineers to be powerful, smooth and as good as an engine without overhead camshafts can be. I got 25.3 miles per gallon on an all-freeway highway test drive with cruise control engaged almost the whole way.
Other standard features are a 4-speed automatic on the front-wheel-drive platform; ride and handling suspension upgrade; 4-wheel disc brakes with antilock; electronic traction control that boths stalls the power and modulates the brakes in the event of a skid; a theft-deterrent system; 16-inch wheels; foglights; dual-zone air-conditioning; power windows and locks and outside heated mirrors; a 6-way power driver’s seat, with a manual lumbar adjustment; and a pollen filter on the ventilation system.
Pretty thorough stuff for a car barely over $20,000.
The true test of success, of course, will be in whether the new Impala can attract new young buyers who had forced the abandonment of the name just a few years ago as being laughably large compared to the herd of quick, agile and efficient midsize cars, mostly from Japan, and mostly named Accord, Camry, Galant, Maxima, 626, Integra, Altima, and Subaru. They all are priced about the same, and every one of them offer high-tech, overhead-cam, multiple valve engines, the kind of advanced technology that can well attract buyers who want the latest in computers and, presumably, automotive tricks.
The Impala does have the smooth ride and good, quick handling much more like those competitive vehicles, and more like the sportiest variations of long years past than like the most recent Impalas. That’s a plus. The last cars to wear that name were good and big, and they were front-engine/rear-drive with big, powerful V8 engines.
So the new Impala is a leap forward in technology and stylish efficiency, and it shares the impressively stiff Oldsmobile Intrigue in sharing the same platform. The Intrigue, oddly enough, is the only one of GM’s midsize cars to have the benefit of using GM’s year-old 3.5-liter V6, with dual-overhead cams, four valves per cylinder and a costlier-to-build engine that would fit very nicely under the Impala’s graceful hood.
RIGHT SIZE
At an overal length of 200 inches, the new Impala is sized to be at the top of the midsize market, which is the most competitive market segment of all cars, and just under the full-size segment, which is big. The new Impala doesn’t want to be too big. Just big enough. At 3,389 pounds, it is certainly heavy enough.
The fit and finish on the test car was excellent, and the newly designed seats are the most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat on while also being in a Chevrolet. The rear bench seat is slightly raised, which is good for rear passengers to feel like they are somewhere other than in a cave, and it doesn’t interrupt the design flow because the aerodynamics that wound up at an impressive 0.31 for coefficient of drag called for the lines to rise slightly as they approached the rear.
I found the Impala LS capable of carrying out all of its objectives well. The only gripe I might have is that the sunroof is one of those two-way things, which tips up at the rear as a vent, and then the whole unit slides back. That makes a neat, aerodynamic wedge for the roof, and I favor that design to the ones that slide into the roof, and thus require a couple inches of lost headroom. However, I’m a fresh-air zealot, and when you’re cruising at highway speed on a warm autumn afternoon with the sunroof open, the wind noise is so intrusively loud that even with the upgraded audio system cranked up high you’ll have trouble understanding the words to that neat song on KUMD.
Also, when you get the power goodies on the seats, you need to be alert. Amid all those switches for moving the seat to and fro there is an extra little toggle switch in the same area, out of sight and only reachable by unseeing fingers. So if you’re thinking of adjusting the seat or maybe firming up the lumbar a bit, you might logically switch the toggle either forward or back. Do that, however, and you’ll find the electric heating element will toast your backside either medium or medium-rare.
The trunk houses 17.6 cubic feet of space, which, Chevy points out, is nearly 2 cubic feet larger than the Taurus. The handling is enhanced by front and rear stabilizer bars, which are much larger in the rear (17.2 mm to 14.0) when you take the LS over the base Impala, but are, curiously enough, smaller (30.0mm to 32.0) when you move to the LS.
Front airbags are standard for both front seats, and side airbags are standard on the LS, optional on the base model. The LS seats five, while the base model, without the front buckets and center console, seats six. The LS also has quicker steering than the base Impala.
The car is built in Oshawa, Ontario, which is OK for the “All-American” car these days, because the North American Free Trade Act makes us slow-learners in the U.S. count Canadian-built cars as domestic.
The aerodynamic styling of the Impala is not only efficient, but it brings back another resemblance to that old Coke-bottle shapeliness of years long past. Maybe it can attract new younger buyers, and maybe some older folks will want to buy one just to recapture the wonderfulness of the older Impalas. Terry, where are you now?
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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