Ford’s new models overrun both ends of spectrum
Ford Motor Company has been more than just active in gearing up for the new millenium. In fact, it’s possible that no other company has made as many moves, in as many directions, as Ford has to stay on top of worldwide demands and niches.
The introduction of the Excursion, as the world’s largest and best-equipped sport-utility vehicle, may seem excessive, but there’s nothing excessive about trying to be involved in every major market segment, and trying to dominate it.
While dominating the “normal” size of the SUV market with the Explorer, Ford knew that GM, with its Suburban and its slightly smaller Tahoe and Yukon versions, still had the edge in the larger SUV bracket. So Ford came out with the Expedition, and its Lincoln version, the Navigator. They were larger than the Tahoe and Yukon, and taller than the Suburban, though shorter.
So, almost as if responding to GM adds that boasted that the Suburban was still the biggest, Ford brought out the Excursion, which is seven inches longer than the Suburban. While prices for large SUVs has risen into the $40,000 bracket, they also are, by far, the most financially rewarding vehicles on earth. Logically, Ford officials say, it didn’t make sense to leave GM out there raking in all those enormous profits.
Also, while Ford had come out with an all-new F150 pickup truck and then built the Expedition and Navigator off that platform, Ford had brought out a new larger pickup, the F250 and F350, for 1999. So, a new and larger platform was there, awaiting the call for a huge SUV that could be designed to haul huge loads and still handle decently, ride smoothly, and gain the power of new and higher-tech engines. The Excursion is driven by a 5.4-liter overhead-cam V8 in 2-wheel-drive form, or a potent 6.8-liter V10 or a 7.3-liter turbocharged diesel in 4-wheel-drive form.
As large as the Excursion is, its performance and handling blie its size. And its styling spreads those proportions out in a manner that doesn’t make it seem quite so big. That is, until you climb aboard and find yourself looking down at smaller vehicles that are actually full-size.
At the other end of the scale, Ford is introducing the new Focus, which joins the Escort and Contour at the smaller sedan end. The plan, ultimately, is for the Focus to replace the subcompact Escort, although the revised Escort has sold well enough that Ford will continue making it as a popular low-end and fleet model. The Contour, however, and its Mercury Mystique sibling, are going to disappear when current production runs out.
The reason, Ford says, is that it wasn’t as popular as had been hoped. However, as the Mondeo, that same car is very popular in Europe. It may be that its sales haven’t overrun the eminently popular Taurus, but a very significant other reason for dropping the Contour/Mystique is that Ford is going to make yet another new SUV, which will be smaller than the Explorer, in that same Kansas City plant.
There also is word that a new Ford SUV will be called the Escape, it will be out sometime after the first of the year but still in the first quarter of 2000, and that it will be based on the Mazda 626 platform, because Ford is a primary owner as partner with Mazda. If those two SUVs are not the same, it is a further indication that the SUV market will continue to proliferate, rather than subside.
The Focus, however, is slightly longer than the Escort, and is intended to be another Ford attempt at building a true world car. It will have substantial power, with a 130-horsepower dual-overhead-camshaft four-cylinder Zetec engine (the Contour base powerplant), with a single-overhead-cam 107-horse version as a base.
The car already was voted 1999 European car of the year, and its extremely stiff body shell is available as a 2-door, 4-door and wagon. With a curb weight just over 2,500 pounds it has fuel-economy estimates well into the 30-range. At an an overall length of 174.9 inches, the Focus will be over four feet shorter than the Excursion, a pretty good indication that Ford has covered both ends of the spectrum.
The Excursion and the Focus may be the long and short of it, but Ford has a lot more coming to showrooms this fall.
In affiliate Lincoln-Mercury showrooms, the feature attraction will be the Lincoln LS, a 2000-model sedan that is a great departure for Ford in the luxury category, and truly plunges into the performance-luxury market that has been the private preserve of only a few elite cars from Europe, Japan, and the Cadillac Seville.
The LS has a distinct look to it. It includes a grinning underline to the grille, and it makes a statement. It also can be had with either the Duratec V6 or a 3.9-liter V8. Both engines are impressive, both have dual overhead cams and both produce a lot of power. The secret is that Ford, which bought out Jaguar a few years ago, let that proud British company build a new S-type sedan with a new V8 engine. Ford, of course, oversaw things, and swaps platforms to also house the LS. Under the hood, both cars get a U.S. designed Duratec V6 or the Jag’s exceptional 32-valve V8.
The LS also has a dual personality, with an available sport package that gives the V6 version the chance even to have a 5-speed manual transmission and firm-cornering stiffness. The V8 can be bought softer sprung with a new 5-speed automatic, or with the stiffer sport package and Ford’s first attempt at an manually shiftable automatic — the 5-speed SelectShift.
The Taurus, long the largest-selling sedan in the U.S. until Honda’s Accord and then Toyota’s Camry edged ahead in the last few years, is getting a new look.
Its last redesign was controversial, because the car not only had a unique streamlined look to it, but some designer went crazy over the concept of “ovoids.” The slightly assymetric version of an oval was used somewhere, then repeated everywhere until you couldn’t look at the headlights, windshield, rear window, dashboard, console or anywhere else without being hit between the eyes by the ovoid overload. The new one will offer relief in the way of more conventional shapes to those styling features.
The other major thing to look for from Ford is a whole herd of new versions of various trucks. One of the hot new trends is to combine the virtues of SUVs and pickups, which produces a pickup with a fully-extended cab housing four full-size, front-hinged doors. It will be called the Sport Trac, and may not show up until spring. Ford also is reworking the Explorer, by cutting off the rear end, behind the second row of seats, and replacing that part with a short pickup box. If that sounds like the same vehicle, from different directions, well, that’s the way it sounds.
Lincoln, meanwhile, does the same trick with the Navigator, cutting off the rearmost storage/seat area and replacing it with a small pickup box.
More ways to not only fill every niche, but to offer several alternatives to prospective buyers in every niche.
New-for-2000 cars range from huge to mini
Traditionally, autumn is when auto manufacturers send out their new models for the coming year. While that has changed, to a great extent, with companies turning out models every month, October remains the time when consumers seem to acquire that annual itch to see what’s new and what’s coming in the car world.
In this section, we’ll take a quick look around the country and the world to hit the high points of what’s new and what’s coming just around that next curve. While every car will become “new” simply by model year designation, we’re concerned here with truly new vehicles — not just redone sheet metal to appear new.
There is enough that is genuinely new to keep us busy.
The most popular trend among automotive journalists is to pick out the next new trend. It was pretty easy to spot the economy downsizing trend of years past, and we were properly impressed by the way Chrysler’s minivans overwhelmed the marketplace. We were all pretty much blindsided by the outbreak of SUVs — sport-utility vehicles — when it started, a decade ago, and as it has continued to proliferate with larger, smaller and everything-in-between sizes.
Less shocking, larger, more luxurious, and more expensive cars have recently had a surge in popularity, almost as if full-sized “family” sedans want to make sure that big SUVs and fully-equipped pickup trucks aren’t the only ones to climb over the $40,000 mark.
While also surprising, it was heartwarming to auto fanatics that sports cars made a strong return in the last three years.
But picking the hottest new trend, for the new millenium, may entail taking a chance against steep odds and going for the biggest surprise of all. It appears that the hottest new trend for model year 2000 might be the return of…minicars.
Yup, even though big cars and SUVs continue to be in great demand, returning enormous profits to virtually every automaker on the planet, some of the most interesting and most enticing new cars are teeny.
FORD THE BUSIEST
Ford Motor Company has been the busiest in turning out new models for 2000. On the large end, Ford has brought out the enormous Excursion, a large SUV based on the platform of the company’s largest trucks. In the middle, Ford has reskinned the popular Taurus. But at the small end, Ford is introducing the Focus, a new small car that is approximately the size of the Escort.
On the luxury side, Ford’s Lincoln branch has introduced its new LS sedan, complete with rave reviews from virtually everywhere because of its style and sportiness, as well as its retained luxury. Back on the truck side of things, Ford is readying various models of truck-SUV combinations — adding full four-door cabs to the F150 pickups, as well as carving a small pickup box into the rear of its Explorer SUV and the Lincoln Navigator.
GENERAL MOTORS
If Ford is the busiest, and, according to reports, the most profitable of U.S. companies, General Motors remains the biggest company.
With most of its models redesigned in the last year or two, this is a comparatively quiet new year for GM. There is a new Suburban for Chevrolet, with the matching GMC model now being named the Yukon XL, with the platforms on the new full-sized pickups released a year ago. Otherwise the new Cadillac deVille, Pontiac Bonneville and Buick LeSabre — which share the same platform — and Chevrolet’s striking new Impala sedan are among the major new vehicles.
But the most significant of all GM’s new cars might come from Saturn, which has complemented its standard compact sedans, coupes and wagons with a mid-sized sedan and wagon. While larger in all dimensions than the standard Saturn, the new “L” model is based on the European Opel Vectra, which is a strong and durable model from GM’s German subsidiary.
CHRYSLER CORPORATION
Chrysler Corporation is now DaimlerChrysler, after last year’s stunning merger/takeover by the parent company of Mercedes Benz. Both companies will maintain their autonomy, streamlining production and distribution where it can help the most.
Chrysler’s biggest changeover occurred just a couple years ago, so mild updates are the rule on most models. The Neon is completely redone for 2000, although that model has been out a few months. Sportier R/T versions of the Dodge Intrepid and Neon are examples of the upgrades. A new version of the Dodge Dakota pickup truck has four full doors and a sporty look, and both the Dakota and the Durango SUV will now be available with the corporation’s excellent 4.7-liter overhead-camshaft V8, which came only in the Jeep last year.
But the biggest news from Chrysler will be out around the first of the year — the Chrysler PT Cruiser. It is another example that Chrysler, benefitting by being smaller and thus more easily adjusted than GM or Ford, can come up with flashy concept cars and turn some of them into production vehicles. It happened with the Dodge Viper sports car, and the Plymouth Prowler, and now the PT Cruiser, which resembles a compact square-back wagon resembling a 1930s-era panel truck. It is based on the Neon platform, and has attracted great interes in the U.S., and in Europe as well, through Mercedes connections.
EUROPEAN ROOTS
The rising quality level of domestic company products couldn’t have happened at a better time, because competition from European companies has never been more challenging. Most notably, German companies have reclaimed their status at the top of the engineering scale.
Audi is making a significant step forward with its fabulous new TT Coupe sports car, and a definite upgrade in performance characteristics. The A4 sedan, a standard for excellence in the $20,000-$30,000 range, is redone for 2000, and the S4 sportiest version sets new high-performance standards. The midsize A6 gets two new hotter versions, one with a twin-turbo V6 and the other with Audi’s superb V8 installed. All Audi engines now share the company’s high-tech five-valve-per-cylinder, dual-overhead-cam engineering.
Volkswagen, Audi’s corporate cousin, has temporarily exhausted its complete renovation, with the New Beetle now available in all manner from basic four-cylinder, to turbo-diesel, and on up to the sportiest 1.8-liter turbo — Audi’s A4 and base TT engine.
Porsche, with its limited-edition sports cars, goes into its first full year with the all-new Carrera in normal two-wheel and four-wheel drive, and a turbo top-line performer is coming. The moderately priced Boxster now has an “S” version, with a performance upgrade.
Mercedes has already introduced its 2000 S-Class sedan, the top-of-the-line luxury vehicle that sets industry standards for safety and performance as well. New versions of the coupes and M-Class SUVs, both with more power, are coming.
BMW has completed the changeover of its 3-Series and 5-Series, and now upgrades the luxury 7-series, so big news is the addition of an M5 high-performance midsize sedan to join the popular M3 hot version of the smaller 3-Series. The Z3 sports cars remain hot, which leaves, as a corporate highlight, the filling of the SUV void is BMW’s biggest news. The X5 is an all-new, midsize SUV that goes one step beyond the company’s impressive station-wagon versions of its solid sedans.
Elsewhere on the European front, Volvo has brought out stunning new 40-series vehicles, with an S40 sedan and V40 wagon that are nicely rounded, startlingly compact, but still packed with Volvo quality inside. That complements the larger S70 and V70 sedan and wagon, which still seem new but are soon to be upgraded again. Volvo’s Swedish competitor, Saab, also has completed the updating with the 9.3 and 9.5 sedans and wagons, and will come out with a higher-powered Viggen off the 9.3, and will bring out a 9.5 Aero.
The other European vehicle with any U.S. impact is England’s Jaguar, with its new S-Type sedan expected to be its most popular car ever sold in this country, complementing the XK8 and XJ8.
FAR EAST SOURCES
Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Mazda and Isuzu all have new vehicles headed our way from Japanese companies, and newcomers chipping in from Korea, such as Kia, Daewoo and Hyundai will expand driving and buying choices among U.S. consumers.
Honda offers an all-new S2000 sports car that will challenge the top performance sports cars of the world, at a price that puts it much lower than Porsche, Corvette or other premium sports cars, and more in line with the BMW Z3 and Boxster.
Honda also has an amazing new alternative-energy vehicle that will win the corporate race to bring a competitive hybrid to market, with the Insight, blending gasoline and electric power in a constantly recharging machine that will be amazingly low-priced, at under $20,000, and will get 70 miles per gallon.
Toyota, promising to be a close second with the Prius alternative-energy hybrid by spring, also is bringing out an all-new Echo mini-car for commuters, which should challenge the price-conscious and environmentally-considerate commuter-car buyers, and has the already-introduced Tundra full-sized pickup that is guaranteed to be one of the year’s main success stories.
Nissan has been extremely aggressive, with an all-new Maxima sedan offering luxury and performance at a moderate, mid-$20,000 price, plus a compact SUV called the Xterra, and a full-four-door Frontier pickup truck.
While Honda’s Acura, Toyota’s Lexus and Nissan’s Infiniti division have comparative upgrades to some models, as well, consumers also should include all-new offerings from Mitsubishi, such as the entirely redone Eclipse sporty coupe and Montero Sport; from Subaru, particularly the newly divided Outback and Legacy branches; from Mazda, most notably the new and different MPV, finally a worthy SUV contender; and Isuzu, with its all-truck variety branching out from Trooper and Rodeo to include the racy VehiCross.
There are more — many more — but these are the hottest new cars that provide the classiest, sportiest, and most high-tech way to ride into the new century.
2000 cars meet every extreme
The automotive world will be a study in extremes for 2000, starting from the LARGEST towing-hauling SUV (Ford Excursion, upper left), to SMALL economical commuter vehicles, such as the world-car alternative traffic-beater (Ford Focus, lower left), and on to the MAINSTREAM 4-door, fighting for market share in the mid-to-full size sedan (Chevrolet Impala, lower right), and to the ASTONISHING toy-like concept-car brought to life (Chrysler PT Cruiser, upper right). These cars may all represent impressive entries in extreme segments of the full market, however, cars in 2000 also will invade a NEW FRONTIERof hybrid gas-electric motors and 70 miles per gallon for under $20,000 (Honda Insight, center).
(Photos by John Gilbert, Up North Newspaper Network)
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.
Top engines all boast futuristic technology
(((((Cutline stuff:
#1— BMW’s tendency to build super-smooth and high-performing engines has expanded to include the in-line 6 obtainable in the Z3 sports car.
#2— The 1.9-liter 4-cylinder from Audi has 5 valves per cylinder with low-pressure turbocharging that provides maximum torque from just-over idle speed up to near the redline, making it perfect for sedans and the TT sports coupe alike.
#3— Ford’s 4.6-liter V8 does a commendable job in single-overhead-cam versions for cars and pickups, but the gem of the batch is the hand-built, dual-OHC aluminum version hand-built for the Mustang Cobra.
#4— GM’s 3.5-liter V6 has all the high-tech touches, from dual-overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder, but is only available in Oldsmobile models for its second year of existence.
In the next week, the United States will be filled with innovative concepts and featurized reports pouring out of Detroit, where the International Auto Show will captivate the nation’s auto-lovers and media folks alike.
One of the features of the auto show is the naming of the top 10 auto engines in the world by Ward’s Automotive. I used to wait anxiously for that information, and relay it eagerly to readers. Last year, I attended the little gathering at the Detroit show, at which the announcement was made. It was a festive affair, with hors d’ouvres, cocktails and all the trimmings. I realized with some dismay that the gathering was a set-up in some ways, with certain manufacturers prepared for all-out sensory assaults to back up their being selected, and some engines that I had tested and decided were considerably mediocre were named ahead of certain engines I knew to be extremely high-tech.
So, it’s not a comlaint. But I realized it was simply a selection of the Ward’s Auto World editors — their favorites, with plenty of subjective stuff in the decision-making. Meanwhile, it being the end of the millennium and everyone naming this list and that list, I considered naming my choices as the top 10 cars of the century. However, all cars are only of the 20th century, and the newest ones, with the newest technology, invariably are the best.
So, on the eve of yet another International Auto Show spectacle, what the heck? Because the top 10 cars seem too expansive to be realistic, and before anybody else can name their awards, let’s compromise, and name a top 10 list of, simply, naming my favorite engines.
10. Nissan 3.0 liter V6. Nissan has far more trouble selling sufficient numbers of cars in the U.S. than it has building highly sophisticated engines, and the 3.0 is its gem. It powers the Maxima, and a slightly upgraded version powers the companion Infiniti I30. The engine came out as an entirely new replacement for an already very good 3.0 V6 made by Nissan, and the new one is improved from every direction, with thinnger walls, lighter weight, extremely close tolerances and fabulous smoothness of operation. It comes with 222 horsepower in the Maxima, which is more than sufficient to make that midsize sedan run up and scream with supposed higher-performance vehicles. In the Infiniti application, it has 227 horsepower and 217 foot-pounds of torque. This is one engine that the Ward’s Automotive folks and I agree on.
9. BMW 2.8-liter in-line 6. These German engineers built an awesome series of in-line engines and continued to upgrade them in size and performance. While the world was switching to V6 configuration, BMW persisted with it’s in-line family, and, after adding the latest technical improvements such as variable valve timing and other upgrades, the current 2.8 engine — which powers the 3-series sedan, the Z3 sports car, and the larger 5-series sedans — is about as near perfection as you can imagine. Smooth, silky, and seamless in acceleration and cruising, it turns out a standard 193 horsepower through its dual-overhead camshaft, 4-valve per cylinder configuration. This engine makes the 3-series sedan perform with cars costing twice as much, and stuffing it into the light and agile Z3 sports car turned a very good sports car into a world-beater.
8. Oldsmobile 3.5-liter V6. This engine proves what General Motors can do when it sets aside strict adherence to bottom-line profit and turns its technicians loose to build a modern engine. This engine is a distant relative to Cadillac’s fabulous Northstar System V8 — and it allows us a copout to not name the Northstar engine on this list. The Northstar V8 is Cadillac’s dual-overhead-cam V8, which has stubbornly been kept for Cadillac-only application. Oldsmobile was desperate to use it, and Cadillac finally relented, allowing Olds to use a smaller version (4.0 liters) in the Aurora. Almost as payback, when GM built the new 3.5 V6, it lopped off the end two engines of the revised Northstar design and came up with the 3.5, with dual overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder, producing 215 horsepower right out of the box. Because the rest of the GM classes all depend heavily on the aging but constantly refined 3800 V6, and because GM maybe felt it owed one to Olds, it said that for 1999, Oldsmobile would be the only brand in GM to have access to the 3.5. Now it is 2000, and while the 3.5 V6 again is available in the Olds Intrigue, it also will become the base engine for the all-new Aurora. The engine accelerates immediately and revs freely and impressively, rivaling some of the best import engines. It makes the Intrigue a special car, while similarly high-tech cars like the Pontiac Grand Prix, Chev Impala and Buick Century all must stick with the good-but-outmoded pushrod 3800.
7. Audi 2.7-liter V6. There’s a subtle little difference between Audi’s old, reliable 2.8-liter V6 and the new 2.7. It is, essentially, the same engine, slightly altered and reduced in displacement while adding twin turbochargers, one on each bank of cylinders. The venerable 2.8 was the mainstay of the original Audi A4 and A6, and while it was strong and dependable, it was a tad less than exciting. In Germany, Audi worked hard to prove its dependability and engineering excellence to the automotive world, and it stayed conservative to do it. When the new A6 sedan came out, it was beautifully designed, but the basic 2.8 couldn’t run with the powerful BMW 540 V8, or even the 2.8-liter BMW 6s. For 2000, Audi is now intent on shedding its conservative image, so after first adding 5 valves per cylinder (three intake, two exhaust), it has now put together a twin-turbo version of the 2.7. That engine produces 250 horsepower, which is more than enough to make the A6 run with (or away from) the BMW and Mercedes competition, but it also offers its peak of 258 foot-pounds of torque at a mere 1,850 RPMs, thanks to clever engine management with the turbos. On top of bringing the A6 to full life, the same 2.7 twin turbo can be had in the S4 — a tricked out high-performance version of the A4 with all sorts of special handling, interior and design features. In either form, it can be driven through a 6-speed manual shifter or a Tiptronic automatic with manual-shift capabilities. It proves, also, what a company can do by taking a proven commodity and refining it with futuristic technology.
6. Ford 4.6-liter V8. Like Cadillac with its Northstar V8, Ford came out with the 4.6 as a high-tech exercise in V8 engines several years ago. Unlike its GM rival, though, Ford put the 4.6 to expansive use as the mainstay of its engine family — going to sedans, into the ubiquitous F-150 pickup trucks, and into the Mustang coupes. My favorite version is the Cobra, which is put together by the Special Vehicle Team engineers, who take the basic single-overhead-cam with 16 valves, and they build it anew, out of aluminum, with dual-overhead cams and 32 valves. In that form, it has 320 horsepower, and they are extremely refined horses at that, and 317 foot-pounds of torque. Even in base form, the 4.6 pulls smoothly and steadily to higher revs than pushrod competitors, and is so smooth that some truck buyers must get accustomed to the capabilities against the low-end grunt and limited top end of the old pushrod V8s. But in Cobra form, the handbuilt upgrade is a jewel to be driven hard and savored, at the same time.
5. BMW 4.4-liter V8. Here we go again, with German engineering and some surprising applications. The 4.4 is an enlarged version of the 4.0 V8 that BMW built to make the large 740 series go, and wound up making the midsize 540 an absolute freeway (or autobahn) cruiser/screamer. BMW has, for 2000, shocked the marketplace with the X5, a new SUV that is all BMW. It, too, gets to use the 4.4 V8, which means you can have your SUV and break every speed limit known to man at the same time. The 4.4 is as smooth as any engine ever built by BMW — or anyone else, for that matter. It has 282 horsepower, and the refinement of dual-overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder, and the latest in valve-timing management. Cost is prohibitive for any vehicle that BMW sells with this engine, but the engineering makes it universally a bargain, regardless of price.
4. Chrysler 2.7-liter V6. This engine is the biggest mystery in the automotive industry. Chrysler continues to promote and push the very good 3.2 and 3.5 liter V6 engines, with their single-overhead-cam layouts and responsive and efficient outlay of power. But the 2.7 is virtually a secret, as the base engine in both the Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde. The 2.7 was a fabulous design, carried off after 1,500 versions were done and refined on computers. But for some incomprehensible reason — cost, perhaps? — Chrysler is doing its best to not promote the 2.7. For one thing, it is the closest thing to blueprint-perfect of any engine made for standard issue by any U.S. manufacturer. Unlike its slightly larger cousins, the 2.7 has chain (not belt) driven dual-overhead camshafts directing its 4 valves per cylinder. With aluminum block and heads, coil-on-plug wireless ignition, and a forged crankshaft with cross-bolted main bearings — like the legendary old Hemi racing engines — the 2.7 is a jewel of precision. Incredibly, the higher-winding capabilities of the 2.7 are not exploited, yet, because Chrysler doesn’t even provide the AutoStick transmission, which can be had with the 3.2 or 3.5, with the 2.7. And Chrysler has yet to make what seems such an obvious move — to install the 2.7 into the Avenger and/or Stratus. So to appreciate the 2.7, you have to buy the base Intrepid or Concorde, then hand-hold the shifter and stnd on the gas to run the revs up and enjoy the wonderful high-tech sound and full efficiency.
3. Toyota Celica 1.8-liter 4-cylinder. This one is a surprise, coming out new for 2000 with limited fanfare. The new Celica is entirely redesigned, and Toyota worked with Yamaha’s high-performance motorcycle engineers to develop the heads for this one. It has a 7,800-RPM redline, and the kind of 6-speed transmission that is perfect for real-world usage, with close-ratio 1-5 gearing, then a wide-spaced gap to sixth, for optimum freeway cruising. The engine itself is a prize, with dual-overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder, and variable valve timing on a continuous basis, turning out 180 horsepower that makes the new Celica perform with much costlier sporty cars. The Celica always had been a popular sports coupe, but the new one goes right off the scale, thanks to the innovative new engine.
2. Audi 1.9-liter 4-cylinder, with low-pressure turbocharger. This engine originally came out as a low-priced alternative to the 2.8 V6 in the Audi A4 sedan. It is highly technical, with 5 valves per cylinder and dual overhead cams, and the whole engine management system and the low-pressure turbo figure into the concept. The turbocharger comes on smoothly at low RPMs and allows the 180 horsepower to build up to high RPMs. The big surprise is that the low-pressure turbo coaxes maximum torque at 1,850 RPMs — barely above idle speed — and then it doesn’t drop off but stays at its peak all the way up into the mid-5,000 RPM range. So while small in displacement in comparatively low in outright power, the engine delivers optimum power all the way up from idle to redline. The engine is so impressive, and it comes as the base engine in the least-expensive A4, it is the perfect choice in that sedan. When Audi came out with the flashy new TT Coupe sports car, the 1.9 turbo was the ideal choice, running either as front-wheel-drive or in Audi’s incomparable quattro all-wheel-drive system. While 180 horsepower is certainly sufficient, this spring Audi expects to have it up to around 225 horsepower.
1. Honda S2000. Nobody has a handle on technology better than Honda, which has used it to first win in Formula 1 racing, then to dominate CART racing. And Honda always takes its technical advancements back to production. For a true top-10 list, it would be easy to name Honda’s VTEC (variable valve timing) 4-cylinder engines out of the Civic Si, the Accord and the Acura Integra. But while all of those deserve to be rated, Honda has outdone itself with its new 2-seat sports car, the S2000. This thing comes loaded with a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine that turns out an incredible 240 horsepower at 8,300 RPMs. No competitor comes close to 8,300 RPMs, but the S2000 is redlined at 9,000 RPMs. Word is that the S2000 engine is so impressive, Honda may use its concept to replace all its exceptional existing engines to go with the new, highest-tech design.
Not a bad list. It’ll be interesting to see how it stacks up alongside Ward’s in about a week or so. There were some other very good candidates, namely the Northstar V8 (although we list a derivative), and the Mercedes 3.2-liter V6 (as well as some costlier V8s), and the tiny but innovative new engine in the Toyota Echo.
The Lexus 4.7-liter V8 is my first runner-up, because it is used not only in the top vehicles such as the LX470 SUV, but also is the optional engine for the new Tundra pickup truck. It will turn out 230 horsepower and 320 foot-pounds of torque, and will allow the Tundra to make serious inroads in the U.S. pickup market, proving that dual-overhead-cams and 4 valves per cylinder offer the kind of technology that can work with trucks as well as with cars.
Technology, however, is an ever-increasing spiral, and competitors must not only use it to design and build new engines, but to refine them in a constantly improving rise to stay ahead of others in the marketplace. Maybe you can name an engine that could be on this list, but it’s virtually impossible to bump one off it.
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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