Turbo-diesel future sweeping the world while U.S. hangs back
If you’re like I am, you must be thinking that the current skyrocket-job of gasoline prices is some sort of evil concoction of Middle Eastern oil moguls, who are out to undermine our carefree, gas-guzzling lifestyle. But when we have to spend nearly $2 a gallon, and it takes $40 to fill one of those new, big vehicles with its subtlely enlarged fuel tank, we might think it’s time to look a different direction.
Last week, we discussed the infinite number of tiny cars I noticed in Paris. Since then, I’ve had a chance to get into some deep and very enlightening discussions with some of Volkswagen’s top engineers, most notably Werner Ebbinghaus, the man in charge of much of VW’s engine development, and Stefan Krebsfanger, production manager for some of VW’s products.
We laugh at Europeans who have been spending $5 per gallon for fuel, although we can understand why they don’t take much sympathy in our current increase toward $2 per gallon. But there are some things I didn’t fully understand. Among them are that Europeans pay more for fuel because of taxes, which are high to promote the use of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars on one hand, and technology to refine higher-mileage vehicles on the other.
While we have been hurtling along on a stubborn plan whereby automotive lobbyists convince the government to NOT tighten the fuel-economy and emission laws, we also are allowing our fuel-refining companies to continue to make fuel that is enormously high in impurities, such as sulfur. I asked those engineers how much more sulfur we have in our fuel than Germany and Europe, and the answer was “between 10-fold, and 100-fold more.”
That is not VW corporate whining. Instead, it exposes the U.S. government’s vulnerability to U.S. automotive lobbyists, who have succeeded in preventing the tightening of fuel-economy and emission laws, which have allowed us to drone along, satisfied to make whopping earnings while shutting down U.S. plants and building them in Canada and Mexico, while our oil companies can rip off gigantic earnings while giving us fuel that is pretty lousy by comparison. But mediocre engines can thrive on lousy fuel. Meanwhile, European companies have made enormous technological strides in engines and engine-management systems, aided by having fuels that are refined to the standpoint that these slick new engines can be developed.
In Volkswagen’s case, as in the case of other European manufacturers, the answer to energy and emission problems is, simply, the Diesel engine.
We think of diesels as those loud, clattering, foul-smoke-spewing things that have tremendous power and are necessary for running semi trucks and buses and huge ships, but they don’t make any sense for consumer-level automobiles. Which proves we’ve been had, again. While those companies build engines for cars that work great in the U.S., we don’t get their best stuff, simply because it won’t work here.
For example, the VW Golf GTI can be had as a hot performer with the VR6 engine, which has a narrow-angle V that has staggered cylinders in a serpentine order. That engine has been improved dramatically, with the addition of dual-overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing. It is introduced in the U.S. in the revised Eurovan, but has been operting on the top Jetta and GTI in Germany already. We will get those cars next year, and they will be screamers.
In the near future, Volkswagen is coming out with a luxury car with a V12 engine, an ingenious powerplant that actually is two VR6 engines mounted side-by-side. Essentially, each bank of the V12 will be a VR6. It has spectacular power, and Volkswagen officials believe it will challenge the best Mercedes and BMW luxury powerhouses.
However, Ebbinghaus and Krebsfanger are more enthused about a turbocharged diesel GTI, which has 150 horsepower and something approaching 170 foot-pounds of torque. “It is not as fast, outright, as the GTI with the new VR6 four-valve,” said Ebbinghaus, whose first job with VW in 1978 was the diesel engine in the Rabbit. “But it is very quick. All that torque allows it to start up very quickly.”
In Europe, where people demand high-mileage cars and purchase inexpensive smaller cars with smaller engines, the Golf is practically a midsized car. Volkswagen makes the smaller Polo, which is very popular there, and a still-smaller Lupo. Ebbinghaus scoffs at hybrid technology such as electric cars and even the gas/electric combinations, which Honda and Toyota are selling now, and insists turbo-diesels are a far better and more accessible alternative.
He and Krebsfanger told about a worldwide challenge which was issued to manufacturers to offer a car for a lengthy test to travel 100 kilometers on 3 liters of fuel, which would be the equivalent of 80 miles per gallon. Volkswagen took the challenge, and competed against the Honda Insight and a Toyota Prius with their hybrid gas/electric engines, with a VW Lupo with a tiny 3-liter turbo-diesel.
“We brought in low-sulfur European diesel fuel,” said Krebsfanger. “And our car won by getting something over 100 miles per gallon.”
In the U.S., of course, we still scoff and say we aren’t interested in diesels for consumer cars, and only accept them on giant pickup trucks needed for massive towing and hauling duties. We don’t like the noise, the clatter, and the smoke. But the smoke is because of our poor fuel quality. The better diesel fuel in Europe burns cleanly, and the turbodiesel cars do not belch out those black clouds. They also don’t clatter, but run smoothly, with only slightly more noise than gasoline engines in comparable vehicles. And while diesels traditionally don’t have any acceleration close to comparable to gas engines, the turbocharging and electronic engine management systems can combine to provide outstanding acceleration as well as high speed.
The speed may not be sustainable at the over-130-mph level, which gasoline engines can cruise at in Germany, but the tradeout is pretty impressive — 50, 60, 75 and more miles per gallon in normal-sized cars, and the aforementioned 100-plus miles per gallon in the minicars.
Reducing sulfur and other impurities in fuel allows companies to build such high-tech, fine-burning engines. Shipping those engines to the U.S. would result in fouling up their operation, plus all that foul smoke and odor. But it’s not because of the diesel technology, just our fuel.
“Reducing the particulate and sulfur levels would greatly reduce the problem of nitrous-oxide emissions,” said Krebsfanger. “The U.S. sulfur level in fuel is too high to allow our new catalytic converters to work. The U.S. needs a mandate to fix the fuels, which not only would clean up the emissions, but would allow manufacturers to use their latest technology, such as direct-injection.”
Such methods require higher compression ratios, which result in better efficiency in burning all the fuel, with benefits in power and fuel economy. But manufacturers can’t risk having low-grade fuel fouling the cleaning and injection systems of those engines.
“In Europe, fuel is expensive because the fuel is taxed so that the more you use, the more taxes you pay,” said Ebbinghaus. “That is an incentive for the fuel companies to make clean fuel. In Europe, a gallon of premium fuel is taxed more than regular, and regular is taxed more than diesel fuel. Those fuels are highly refined, but the difference in tax from premium to diesel is about 20 percent. That is why consumers go for smaller engines — mostly four-cylinder instead of sixes — and diesel engines.”
But not in the U.S. Here, there is only small demand for diesels, but you can buy a lower-tech VW turbodiesel in a New Beetle, Golf or Jetta. If you ask an owner, you will find an outspoken advocate.
When a new administration takes over and implies we can overcome energy-conservation tightening by simply drilling into all our national parkland preserves to find limitless supplies of oil, a lot of us believe itÂ…can’t we? Despite accusations that George Dubya Bush favors the wealthy, favors big industry, and favors those wealthy supporters to whom he owes favors, we can understand it. That’s U.S. politics at work. So moves to help the bottom-line profit of big business — oil companies to explore for more oil, and U.S. auto manufacturers who want a rollback in fuel-economy and emission standards in order to continue making gas-guzzling enormo-cars — we also seem to accept it.
MeanwhileÂ…”For the whole world, I would estimate that all of Volkswagen’s engines would be 40 percent diesel,” Ebbinghaus added.
But not in the U.S. Here, we are faced with another one of those questions: Are we in the U.S. right, or is the rest of the world right? And if we are wrong, are we falling behind because of a bureaucratic snarl of political posturing?
Ford revisits fun cars of decades past with new Tbird and Bullitt
[[[[CUTLINES:
1/ The 2002 Thunderbird attracted all sorts of passersby along the shore at the surfer’s museum near Monterey, Calif.
2/ A gathering of Tbirds at a rest stop on Highway 1 in the Big Sur region drew attention.
3/ Getting on top of the Pacific Coast fog allowed the top to come down on the new Thunderbird.
4/ The Tbird interior shows off some retro cues but has strict contemporary efficiency.
4/ A pair of Bullitt Mustangs awaited test drives in Monterey, Calif.
5/ The driver is reminded of the early Mustangs with the Bullitt’s gauge package.
6/ The glassed-in headlights give the Bullitt a fierce look, while the tail is emblazoned with the special-edition name. ]]]]]
The everyday tedium of work can be a lot more enjoyable if a little fun can be injected. At Ford Motor Company, the labor of building cars and trucks to compete with the giants of the industry have brought obvious benefits.
Now it’s time for Ford to have a little fun.
Some of the most fun times for Ford date back to the 1950s and 1960s. In the ’50s, Ford built a small, 2-seat sporty car called the Thunderbird. It was small, sleek, contemporary and elicited high levels of emotion from customers and those who saw and coveted them. After building the Tbirds for 1955, ’56 and ’57, tedium took over. Somehow, the Thunderbird grew into a large and far less pleasurable vehicle, becoming a 4-seat coupe, and then a sedan, and growing larger and less sporty by the year.
In the 1960s, Ford shocked the auto industry with a small, affordable sporty coupe called the Mustang. It was a 4-seater from the start, but never more than a coupe, and it, too, elicited strong emotions, right up through the 1970 model year. Then, as if practicality required Ford to make everything bigger to be better, the Mustang grew a foot in 1971, stayed large for a while, then shrunk down to a small compact again. The Mustang is back to being a sporty coupe these days, but there are those at Ford who remember the best Mustangs of all time — the 1968-through-’70 models.
It seems that the popularity of cars like the original Thunderbird and the early Mustangs captivated the public enough to gain starring roles in popular movies. Consider “American Graffiti,” and “Bullitt,” two films that have endured through generations.
“Remember Suzanne Somers, and the white Tbird in American Graffiti?” asked Ford vice president Chris Theodore. “Then there was Steve McQueen in Bullitt, and the most famous chase scene in movie history — a memorable 8-minute stretch with absolutely no dialogue.”
Of course, I remembered the Bullitt scene, where MacQueen in a dark green 1968 Mustang chased a couple of bad guys in a Dodge Charger up and down the steep hills of San Francisco, flying off every flat intersection before plunging down the next block. I had forgotten the American Graffiti bit, with Suzanne Somers, long before the days of Thighmaster promos.
In those days, Ford seemed to be having a lot of fun. Nowadays, Ford sells pickup trucks, SUVs, a lot of sedans of various sizes, and has made it as one of the world’s automotive giants. But you wonder if the company has the wherewithal to ever have that kind of old-time fun.
Well, wonder no more.
Ford summoned several waves of automotive journalists to California this past week to behold the wonders of retro-fun. It was a chance to make introductory test drives of new versions of both the Thunderbird and the Mustang Bullitt.
THUNDERBIRD
Ford brought out a concept car Thunderbird at last year’s Detroit International Auto Show. It was a neat, all-new design, with rounded front and rear, looking both contemporary and a little bit retro. Reaction was so overwhelming that Ford decided to build the car for the real world, and it brought it to life swiftly.
The original Tbird was 175.3 inches long, 52.4 inches high and weighed 3,180 pounds. It was powered by a 292 cubic inch V8, and cost $3,000 in 1955. With Ford executives filling the air with terms such as “heritage” and “emotion,” they unveiled the new car, and it is a jewel. It is 186.3 inches long, 52.1 inches high, and weighs 3,775 pounds. It is powered by a 3.9-liter V8. It will be priced from $36,000 up to $39,000
Ford likes to say it is the Lincoln LS engine, but in reality it is the sensational high-tech V8 built by Jaguar and swapped into the LS, while also powering the Jaguar S-Type and sports car. It is a dual-overhead-camshaft, four-valve-per-cylinder beauty producing 252 horsepower at 6,100 RPMs and 267 foot-pounds of torque at 4,300 RPMs.
The transmission is a five-speed automatic.
Frankly, except for the two-seat configuration, there are few similarities to the original Thunderbird. But while it has a few retro touches, the new Tbird might best be described as a projection of what the Thunderbird might be like for 2002 if it had never strayed from its original 2-seater concept.
We got a chance to drive the Tbirds down the South Coast of California, from Monterey to Big Sur. Typically, while that drive is perhaps the best in the world when it’s sunny, it is still one of the best the way we found it — with a heavy, low-hanging cloud of fog rolling in off the Pacific and shrouding the cliffside roadway as it winds its way along and above the coast. We changed drivers as we visited a neat art gallery and coffeehouse on Highway 1, and the sight of a dozen new Thunderbirds — identical except for color choices of black, white, red, yellow and turquoise — attracted all kinds of attention.
It was thick and moist and about 50 degrees when we angled off Highway 1 and headed inland, twisting and curving up, up and finally above the cloud of fog, where the temperature was closer to 80 and the sun created a surreal effect looking down on the fog-bank below. A flip of the switch, and we put the top down on our glistening black Thunderbird. It took more work to snap into place the boot covering the folded top. You also can buy an optional hardtop for the car, which snaps securely on top and comes with the porthole windows familiar to those who recall the original as a hardtop.
Zipping up and down and around the curving roadways, the Thunderbird had plenty of power, and the smooth-shifting transmission was clear evidence why a 5-speed automatic is far superior to the usual 4-speed version. But it also was evident that the Thunderbird is a cruiser, not an all-out sports car.
The Tbird will be in showrooms by late summer, Ford officials say, and will start at a sticker price of $35,495 — another place where the new car doesn’t resemble the original’s $3,000. All of them will come with the fold-down top, with the hardtop an option. The standard fold-down top has a large rear window, glass, with a heated element, and it fits snugly and easily. In fact, it fits tightly enough that when you open and close the doors, the windows drop 12 millimeters in order to clear the roof and seal tightly into it.
Traction control and chrome 17-inch wheels are standard on the premium models. Traction control is optional on the basic model, which Ford chooses to call the “deluxe” model. The 6.7-cubic feet of trunk space is enough, Ford officials claim, to house two golf bags.
Safety has been well tended to in the Tbird, with steel side door beams, side head and thorax airbags to supplement the frontal bags, and even a two-piece driveshaft to eliminate the risk of one long driveshaft that might bend and break, which could threaten to penetrate the passenger compartment. The long driveshaft is because the front-engined Tbird has rear drive, like the original. With its low-slung silhouette and neat headlight and grille, the new Tbird doesn’t look much like the originial from the outside. But unless you like the original tailfins, you probably will prefer the contemporary look of the new one, which is very classy, and yet pleasingly understated.
BULLITT MUSTANG
The new Mustang has taken great effort to look more like the original, or at least like the early-year 1968-70 models. It does the job, and is impressive either in expensive Cobra form, with its hand-built, 32-valve aluminum V8, or in basic GT form, with its 16 valve, single overhead cam design. The GT is a very good car, having benefited by upgrades every time the hottest Cobra has been revised.
Now along comes the Bullitt, and it is an impressive compromise. It has the GT’s easy-to-live-with allure for everyday driving, but it approaches the Cobra’s spectacular handling characteristics. In fact, the Bullitt, with its considerable suspension tweaks, handles so superbly it is nearly perfect the way it responds to your every input of steering, twisting around the tightest curves and staying flat and firmly planted no matter how hard you go into them.
We got to take a dozen or so identical, dark green Bullitt Mustangs from a diner in downtown San Francisco, up the same hills and along the exact same route that the moviemakers traced when the late Steve McQueen roared through that famous chase scene. Of course, I didn’t drive it that forcefully on those hills, although we crested one hill with enough of a surge to feel pretty light as we started to go down the other side, with perhaps the sight of Alcatraz out there ahead in the harbor providing a deterrent to going too hard.
Style-wise, the Bullitt has its name on the rear trunklid, but otherwise has only subtle styling cues. The headlights are completely covered by a curved glass lens, and there are no foglights. Ford executives say they wanted to “reduce weight” as the reason for deleting the foglights, although using the new “bullet” shaped foglights might have been more logical.
Art Hyde, chief engineer for the Bullitt project, said the plan was to bring alive the spirit of fun and “looking cool.” Clean styling on the vents, pillars and rocker panels, with no rear spoiler, and a fabulous exhaust note are all in place. Under the skin, the Bullitt has been lowered, with higher spring-rate shocks, different valving in the shocks to make the handling neutral, and altered pedals to aid heel-and-toe driving. An 11-inch clutch with tremendous grabbing ability but easy foot feel makes the 5-speed manual easy to operate. Two-piston calipers on 13-inch discs aid the stopping, and the 4.6-liter V8 has been modified with a race-proven intake system and dual throttle-body intake.
The entire Bullitt package costs $3,695 over the price of the Mustang GT, and Ford execs claim that the amount covers about $8,000 worth of parts if they were bought and installed separately. The option would lift the price of the Bullitt to something around $27,000, but only 6,500 models will be built, virtually assuring it as a collector’s item. They are in showrooms now, as 2001 models.
Seats similar to the Mustangs of the ’68-70 era are in place, as are the 5-spoke alloy wheels, which look a lot like the old American mags on the originals. A spring-loaded, brushed aluminum fuel door opens out from the flank, and is brushed silver, a neat touch.
Roaring up and down the hills of San Francisco was neat, but nowhere near as impressive as heading south toward Monterey, using both the hill country inland from the coast, and zipping down the coast highway. The Bullitt can be bought in black, dark blue or green, although the test cars came only in green, because that was what McQueen drove in the movie. Its retro image is only an image, however, because the new model is an improvement on those great vintage Mustangs of three decades ago.
Good car, natural mountain scenery make perfect vacation trip
[[[cutlines:
1/ Like a thoroughbred finally allowed to run free, the trusty ol’ Honda Prelude relaxed atop Independence Pass in Colorado.
2/ Dramatic skies signalled a mountain rainstorm sweeping in at Colorado Springs.
3/ An antelope seemed to be gazing at the sunset on a rolling hillside in Wyoming.
4/ The same antelope took off at full gallop.
5/ Only the vaguaries of the roadmap prevented experiencing this Wyoming thunderstorm.
6/ As a thunderstorm rolled over the eastern Wyoming prairie, it engulfed its own rainbow.
There are all sorts of attractions in various parts of the U.S. designed to lure tourists, but it’s become our family tradition to avoid them and to appreciate the wonders of nature. The natural and dramatic beauty of the North Shore, for example, can brighten your outlook after a week like we’ve just endured, with the tragic happenings in New York and Washington, D.C.
For our family, it also holds true that when we go on longer trips, we follow the same scheme. That includes avoiding the plastic-fantastic, mechanical marvels of Disneyworld, for example, in favor of splashing through the edges of the Everglades to observe alligators and exotic birds.
But a week ago, the timing was right for one of our favorite destinations. If you like to drive, you must enjoy driving vacation trips. And if you like driving trips, then you certainly would love to drive in the Rocky Mountains. The problem with living in Minnesota and wanting to drive in the Rockies is that you have to get there. And to get to Colorado, or Wyoming, you have to drive across Iowa, Nebraska or South Dakota. Which means lots of hours of pretty dull highway scenery in order to get to the spectacular stuff.
As an automotive writer who test-drives new cars on a pretty steady basis, my driving trips have been done in a variety of vehicles, ranging from a BMW 740 to a Ford Escape to an Infiniti Q45 to a Cadillac Seville, or a Dodge Intrepid. Not a bad array. But this time, our trip popped up on short notice, and had to start over Labor Day weekend.
The plan was particularly appealing, because it would allow us to get to Colorado Springs in time to watch Herb Brooks assemble the candidates for the 2002 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Since I was fortunate enough to watch Brooks put the 1980 team together, and then cover that team all the way through its miracle on ice at Lake Placid, I felt some tangential patriotic duty to try to make a similar connection. Besides, that would put us in proximity to do a little Rocky Mountain driving. Beyond that, we figured we could go all the way through the mountains and into Utah, then swing up to Salt Lake City, where we had never visited but would keep with that Olympian theme, amid the vast preparations that city is making for playing host to the Winter Olympics in February.
When word came that it would be a problem getting a new test-drive vehicle for that span, because of new-model-year changeover and the Labor Day weekend, we had a unique idea. We’d drive our own car! Because of all my test-drives over the last seven years, the family Honda Prelude has never made a trip of any substantial length. So this would be a great chance to give it an opportunity to perform the way we anticipated, when we bought it.
But first there were a few things to adjust. For one, the original equipment battery had faltered, so we bought a new battery and had it installed two months ago. Trouble was, the elaborate theft-prevention system worked TOO well. The audio system, impressive as it is with AM-FM-cassette-CD player and a huge subwoofer, has a theft-proof device, and if you happen to disconnect and reconnect the battery, the radio quits working.
There is a code number that allows you to reprogram the radio, but we bought the car with 4,000 miles on it, and we never got that card, or that number. So it took $75 at a Honda dealership to get the blasted thing reprogramed. That did two things — it allowed us to play the radio and an assortment of CDs, and it prevented us from realizing that since getting the radio reprogramed, the lighter didn’t work. Being nonsmokers, that wasn’t a problem; being heavy users of cell-phones and fans of radar-detection devices while driving across long prairies, we couldn’t use the auxilliary charging power.
Oh well. We’d take the music and go for it.
With a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine, the Prelude has the benefit of Honda’s VTEC system for variable valve-timing, which means precious few tuneups. We’ve done one, since 1994. And while it has the reputation of being a personal luxury coupe, the Prelude has spectacular skid-pad numbers to indicate its superlative handling characteristics.
So we were off. The car’s performance was outstanding, and the trip was thoroughly enjoyable, with some intriguing sidelights, always punctuated by our fuel stops. The Prelude drinks premium fuel, so the advertised numbers at gas stations can be misleading, when premium can cost up to 20 cents more per gallon than the advertised regular. We stopped in Owatonna, and got 25.0 miles per gallon.
Heading down I-35, we headed west on I-80 at Des Moines, stopping next in Omaha, where we got 26.0 miles per gallon. Picking at random, we decided to stop in Lincoln overnight, only to learn that not only were there a few lingering Nebraska football fans in the area, but the Nebraska State Fair was going on. We found a place, talked the proprietor down a little in price, then found the only room he had left was a suite, but he’d give it to us for the same price.
Next morning, we continued west, looking for a likely breakfast stop. We spotted a gigantic coffee pot as a restaurant sign, and pulled in. “Does that big coffee pot mean you have great coffee?” I asked the waitress. She chuckled and said, “No, it means you get a lot of coffee.”
She was right on both counts. We could have a lot of it, and it wasn’t good.
Before leaving Nebraska, we stopped again for gas, and got 25.3 mpg. Finally, we reached Colorado, which means switching off onto I-76 for a long stretch in eastern Colorado before you get your first long-awaited glimpse of the mountains. The jaunt down I-25 from Denver to Colorado Springs is pretty much all residential nowadays, but we arrived and checked in to an inexpensive motel after 1,177.4 miles, getting 28 miles per gallon on that tankful.
The hockey was interesting, as Brooks installed some European east-west breakouts on the primarily north-south playing NHL prospects for the Olympic team. We checked the oil level, and found it pretty foul, and a bit low. Checking around the yellow pages, we called several places that would do a fast oil change. My intention was to find someplace that used Amsoil, because I’ve become a firm believer in synthetic oil, and this stuff is the best. Besides, it was developed right here in Superior. I couldn’t find one, however, and settled for a place called “Grease Monkey,” which used Castrol Syn-Tech, my second choice.
A highlight of the days in Colorado Springs, however, was watching a storm come sweeping out of the mountains, right off the pass adjacent to Pike’s Peak. While it rained hard in the mountains, we only got about five minutes of a shower downtown. That made our timing perfect. We left the next morning, right after the storm, and headed west, taking a shortcut through to Buena Vista on Hwy. 24, and than taking Hwy. 82 into Aspen. That turned out to be the only bad part of the trip (aside from the coffee in Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota), because road construction and rush-hour caused us to waste an hour and a half trying to get through the small town of Aspen and on to Glenwood Springs, where we filled up again (27.0 mpg) as we reconnected with I-70.
Then we were off again, westbound into Utah, which turned out to be more varied and spectacular for scenery than I anticipated. We left the almost desert-like plains and mesas to turn northwesterly on Hwy. 6 at Green River, and the terrain changed with us, turning into mountains on either side of the road as we headed north. Just before Provo, we refilled the tank, at 27.8 miles per gallon, although we missed the stunning scenery between Provo and Salt Lake City because it was already too dark. We blamed Aspen.
Salt Lake City was very impressive, both as a city and as a prospective Winter Olympic venue. As for the Great Salt Lake, well, I find that freshwater lakes are Superior, if you know what I mean. We had a good time, found a spectacular Brazilian restaurant, and too soon it was time to head home.
We got onto I-80 headed east last Saturday morning, and drove up into the mountains of northern Utah, crossing over into Wyoming before we stopped for a quick breakfast in Evanston, where our fuel fill showed 29.1 mpg. The improvement, I figured, might be due to the oil change. Or to having the wind at our backs.
The mountain scenery in western Wyoming changes from Utah or Colorado, and even from other parts of Wyoming. But when we realized that staying on I-80 would bring us back south into Nebraska, via Cheyenne, we decided to take an alternative route, north at Rawlins on Hwy. 789, then bearing east on Hwy. 220 into Casper, north on I-25 to Edgerton, and then east on Hwy. 387 and 450 and finally 16 through Custer and into Rapid City.
Although we were still half full, we decided to fill up on fuel at Rawlins, and when I set the filler nozzle on automatic and walked away, another customer told me that gas was pouring out on the concrete. Sure enough, two or three gallons of overflow fouled up my mileage reading, to say nothing of requiring a heavy rinse job to make the driveway safe.
As we scaled a few more mountains and raced across the nearly deserted plains, I must admit we went over the speed limit a couple of times. In eastern Wyoming, we saw a spectacular cloud formation and figured we were driving into a heavy thunderstorm or possibly more-severe weather. The roadways curved this way and that, however, and we continued to circle the thunderhead, driving on rain-soaked roads but never actually getting rained on.
We stayed overnight in Rapid City, getting our perfunctory look at the beauty of the Black Hills Sunday morning, and filling up with fuel — we had covered 377 miles on 11.7 gallons for a surprising 32.3 miles per gallon. We had gone through mountains, on twisting roads, and quite swiftly on that tankful, yet it was the best we achieved on the whole trip.
Passing the badlands, and Wall Drug (see Disneyland, above), we headed east on I-90 to Sioux Falls, where our next fuel fill showed 27.0. We continued on I-90 to Albert Lea, then turned north on I-35. One more tankful (26.8 mpg) in the Twin Cities, and we were back in Duluth.
It was a whirlwind trip, and it cleared our heads as well as the Prelude’s long-awaited chance to make a long trip. Driving trips, at a good pace, with a great car, and with a little break in the weather, can be the perfect therapy to energize you to get back to work.
Eclipse Spyder GT, Volvo C70 test vanishing top-down weather
[[[[cutlines:
Eclipse 1/ All sorts of grooves and scoops enhance the flashy Eclipse Spyder convertible.
Eclipse 2/ The newest Eclipse GT is as sleek as a jet fighter or powerboat from the side.
Eclipse 3/ Cylindrical tubes could better augment the gauge package if tilted toward driver.
Volvo 1/ The Volvo C70 looked good on Hawk Ridge, even when there were no hawks.
Volvo 1 alternate/ Hawk Ridge’s view formed the backdrop for the Volvo C70 convertible.
Volvo 2/ A seat in the Volvo C70 was the perfect vantage point from the cliff of Hawk Ridge.
Volvo 3/ Inside, the Volvo C70 provides actual rear seat living room, unlike most convertibles.
From the standpoint of an automotive columnist, this is the time of year to be in a hurry.
First, September is the last time to drive the remaining vehicles from the outgoing model-year before the new-year changeover. And second, when those late-arriving cars happen to be convertibles, it’s time to race to complete the reports before the fast-changing Northern climate renders them invalid.
So, when both a Mitsubishi Eclipse GT Spyder and a Volvo C70 showed up back to back — both convertibles, and both 2001 models — it made sense to combine them into one evaluation. If we hurry, we can beat the hauling out of fleece pullovers.
Convertibles, in case you haven’t noticed, have made a healthy comeback from near extinction a decade ago. Cars were getting more conservative and more boring, and there seemed to be no place to promote or market a car that had fun written all over it. And convertibles definitely have enjoyment as their basis.
During their comeback, an entire new group of sports cars have emerged, and various coupes have had their tops peeled back to capitalize on the resurgence of ragtops. Mitsubishi has been building the Eclipse for three generations now, and the newest one, which has a sleek, racy nose and all sorts of grooves, lines and contours along the sides, makes a striking visual impact as a convertible.
Volvo, on the other hand, has restructured its whole line, into new and contemporary sedans and wagons. So taking the roof off the 70 model makes it the C70, and it takes on an entirely new personality as a classy, though costly, convertible.
ECLIPSE SPYDER GT
Ever since the first Eclipse rolled off the line at Normal, Ill. — either as Mitsubishis or as Plymouth Lasers or Eagle Talons — I’ve enjoyed driving them. The first ones were tight little wedgy coupes, with driver and passenger seats that more resembled jet fighter cockpits than car interiors. The second version was much more rounded and appealing to the general coupe buyer than the harder-edged originals.
The third one tries to encompass both, with a sporty flair, but also with a lot of creature comforts. For 2001, the Eclipse convertible takes on the unwieldy monicker: Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT.
It is a stout performer, however, and my older son, Jack, thinks it is in the class with the hallowed Volkswagen GTI as a fun machine. I’m a bit more reserved about it. But there is no question it is armed and dangerous with a 3.0-liter V6, complete with four valves per cylinder, run by single overhead camshafts on each bank of cylinders.
Sure, the Eclipse has some shakiness, as do most coupes-turned-convertibles, but it also goes swiftly and straight-on wherever you aim it, with smooth and efficient performance. Its suspension holds you flat, aided undoubtedly by stabilizer bars and gas-filled shocks with firmer settings on the specially tuned 4-wheel independent suspension. The big 17-inch by 6-inch-wide alloy wheels and the 215-50 tires also help plant the footprint.
With a 5-speed manual, the 3-liter V6 flings you on down the road impressively. In fact, I’d like to have a sixth gear for freeway cruising. Fuel economy is estimated at 20 in the city and 27 on the highway, and I got about 25 miles per gallon in combined driving.
When you do stop for gas, there is no insistence of premium, which is important if you want to save a dime or more per gallon on fuel that is creeping toward $2 a gallon. And it is a joy to fill the tank, because there’s a spring-loaded silver alloy fuel-fill cover that you can pop up, very race-car like.
I like the swoopy look of the front, and the side view is flashy, with too many grooves for my taste, but I particularly like the rear end design, with those huge taillights and a curving spoiler arcing up and across the trunklid. So what if it blocks some of the view through the rear-view mirror?
With dual front airbags and side impact door beams, with front and rear crumple zones to absorb energy, the Eclipse is as safe as possible against crashes. The 4-wheel disc brakes also help haul the Spyder down from speed.
The power roof has rear glass, and it goes down and comes back up easily, with the flip of locking switches and a heavy hand on the electric switch. With the top down, you’ll be tempted to leave it that way, regardless of the weather, and throw on a turtleneck, jacket and cap. Plus, in the Great White North, you can always cheat and put the top down but turn on the heater.
Halogen headlights and halogen foglights are impressive, too, although I would have to tinker with them before being convinced they couldn’t be aimed better for more massive road coverage. The optional leather seats are part of a GT package that also includes atilock brakes, a power driver’s seat, the front seat side airbags, and a 7-speaker sound system with a 4-disc changer in the dash along with the radio and cassette.
The price sticker is $28,297, which is a lot for a car, but not a lot for a loaded-up convertible sporty coupe.
My biggest criticism of the car is the same as when it was first introduced. You sit in the driver’s seat and look at large speedometer and tachometer, and flanking them, you have a decent sized fuel gauge on one side and temperature gauge on the other.
However, Mitsubishi designers insist on placing those exterior gauges in cylindrical housings that would be pretty neat, if they were angled in to be aimed directly at the driver. They aren’t. Instead, the cylinders point straight back. They don’t actually cut off your view of the dials or the needles, but they do cut the gauges off almost by half, so you tend to feel as though you might not be seeing the whole gauge on either side.
They aren’t about to change it, so if I bought one, I would take a small saw, and hack down the inside edge of those cylinders to afford a clear view at a glance.
VOLVO C70
The Swedish car business has undergone a few changes in recent years, with Volvo and Saab still competing for the nation’s automotive superiority, but with Ford taking over Volvo much the same way as General Motors has taken over Saab. In both cases, the new parents have let the adopted offspring run free, thankfully, because they are among the world’s neatest cars for safety, performance and eccentricity. The auto business needs more of that.
Volvo has redesigned its full model line, rounding and shaping things into something other than squares or rectangles, which is pretty revolutionary for Volvo. Also, the company that used to insist on rear-drive only, now builds all front-wheel-drive cars, except for a couple of all-wheel-drive wagon versions.
The new sedans are fine, solid vehicles, so it is no surprise to find that the C70 convertible is also a fine, safe, solid sporty machine. Some Volvo models are also surprisingly inexpensive, but not so the C70 convertible. The base sticker price is $45,550, and as tested it was $48,825 — thanks to a cold-weather package with heated front seats and stability and traction control. A premium sound system and 17-inch wheels are the only other options.
A 5-speed automatic transmission is smooth and efficient in getting the car through its paces, and while the EPA estimates show 20 city and 26 highway, I got 24.7 miles per gallon in combined driving, and a dip under 20 in town.
Under the hood, there is an oddity, a 2.3-liter, in-line 5-cylinder engine, with dual overhead camshafts and a turbocharger. The turbo emits a telltale whir every once in a while, otherwise the only indication it exists is that the C70 takes off with more power than a 2.3-liter engine should allow.
All sorts of safety things are included, because it’s a Volvo, starting with the unit body construction with its roll-cage design of high-strength steel and energy-absorbing materials. A side-impact protection system with side airbags in addition to the front bags, and a whiplash protection system, and automatic safety tensioners on the harnesses, plus something called rollover protection pretty well fills out the chart.
Integrated foglights are another touch that could be considered safety related. Leather seats, an in-dash 3-disc changer in the dash as a feature of the 400-watt, 12-speaker audio system, and a trip computer are other added features.
Everything worked well, including the no-latch power top, and the 8-way power driver and passenger seats were neat.
There also is real room in the rear seat to put people, unlike most convertibles. However, that was my biggest complaint against the Volvo C70. The power seat switches let you move the buckets fore, aft, up, down and tilt. When you get out, you find another switch, mounted higher on the backrest. Pull up on the switch, and the backrest whirs as it tilts forward, which allows you to easily reach into the rear seat for stuff.
In case you want to let someone enter or exit the rear seat, you can hold onto the switch, and soon the whole seat starts whirring as it moves slowly forward, until a large gap is opened to allow rear seat access.
The only problem is, if you just want to reach back there to grab a jacket or brief case, and you want to simply flip the seat backrest forward and then back, you’re out of luck. Once forward, I couldn’t find any way to simply return the backrest to its assigned position. Instead, I had to hold it until it slid slowly, slowly, slowly forward, after which it would let me slide the backrest back. Then I had to hit the other button to make the whole seat slide back — slowly, slowly slowly again — until I could climb into the front.
Maybe this is a sign that Volvo has let Ford sneak in with an idea. Otherwise, it is distinctly un-Volvo-like to have some nuisance gadget like that anywhere on board.
I drove up to Hawk Ridge on Hawk Ridge Weekend last Saturday and Sunday to check out the scenery and to show off the Volvo, both top-up and top-down. It made for nice picture background, and there weren’t many people around. Planning Hawk Ridge Weekend for a specific date in September is a lot like driving a convertible in Northern Minnesota in September — risky. You should never risk taking Mother Nature for granted. Luckily, the C70, and the Eclipse, for that matter, look good even with the tops up.
Cars and trucks of all shapes and prices highlight 2002 models
[[[[cutlines:
1/ Ford is reintroducing the Thunderbird in a slick package that combines the retro trend with /futuristic touches.
2/ Chevrolet continues to stress large trucks — large in size and in profit margin — such as the 2002 Avalanche pickup-SUV.
3/ Volkswagen has restyled the Passat for 2002, with smoother aerodynamics and increased power on a solid family sedan.
4/ The Toyota Camry has been the top-selling car in the U.S. for several years, and it is totally redone for 2002.
Do you like cars? Do you like trucks? Do you like all things in between the two?
Stick around, because there is sure to be something, and more likely dozens of somethings, that will catch your eye and attract your attention among the new vehicles already turning up in automotive dealerships everywhere.
The big news of recent years, such as the outburst of Sport Utility Vehicles, the resurgence of retro cars, sports cars and convertibles, and the introduction of crossover vehicles that blur the lines, has led the automotive industry to a world where anything goes.
There are domestics made in the U.S., imports made in foreign countries, domestics made in other countries, and imports made in the U.S. — enough to further blur the lines of nationalistic pride. There remain a few uninformed who think a “foreign car” is anything not made by General Motors, Ford or Chrysler, and who may yet find it hard to accept that Chrysler is now DaimlerChrysler, having been bought out by that storied old German company.
As has become the trend in recent years, however, the once-Big Three of the U.S. are stressing trucks more than cars, because people not only continue to buy SUVs, pickups and minivans in amazing numbers, but they continue to be willing to assure the manufacturers of enormous profits in the process.
Tops among the truck segment are a barrage from General Motors, including the new Chevrolet Avalanche and the GM threesome of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada, plus a Cadillac Escalade that is a Caddy version of the daringly styled Avalanche. Buick introduces its first SUV, the Rendezvous, which is a sleeker version of the star-crossed Pontiac Aztek.
A sleeper among the GM entries is the new Saturn VUE, yet another new SUV, but a compact one with a lot of cleverly designed interior amenities, and powered by the proven Saturn sedan engines.
Ford also has big truck news, with the Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer all new and with a much more stable chassis design. And the large, specialty aimed Lincoln Blackwood combines SUV and pickup in a flashy model that cannot, for some reason, be obtained with 4-wheel drive.
Dodge comes out with an all-new Ram, full-sized pickup, and Chrysler breaks out the new Jeep Liberty, which replaces the venerable but tired Cherokee.
As for the cars, it is still far too early to assess what will be the hottest sellers among the new 2002s, but that doesn’t stop us from hitting the high points in offering an assortment of what’s new and what is sure to attract some attention. Among the traditional domestic manufacturers, Ford will have the biggest car news with the reintroduction of the Thunderbird.
Built as a roadster but with an available hardtop, the Tbird has a retro look to it that will remind purists of the mid-1950s original. The car will be a touring joy, although it will stop short of being a hot-performing sporty car. Not that it couldn’t be. The Thunderbird will be powered by the Jaguar-built 3.9-liter V8 that is also used in the Lincoln LS, and it will turn out 252 horsepower, but it will be filtered through only a 5-speed automatic transmission that is geared for smoothness, not neck-snapping performance.
Ford also will introduce an SVT (Special Vehicle Team) version of the subcompact Focus, making it a true pocket-rocket to complement the high-volume economy models.
Chrysler was quite active in 2001, introducing new Sebring, Stratus and minivans, on the heels of the sizzling PT Cruiser. So for 2002, Chrysler is throttlng back, with about the only new model a special version of the sporty full-size sedan, the 300M.
General Motors also had a fair number of introductions in 2001, and the only completely new car from GM is the Cadillac CTS, which will replace the Catera and is a bold new design that is sort of a block shape chiseled down into a unique form. It is aimed at the top European entry-level sedans from BMW, Audi and Mercedes, plus such Japanese entries as Lexus, Acura and Infiniti.
Elsewhere at GM, change is coming. Oldsmobile is about to be eliminated, although it will continue to sell existing models as long as there is some demand. Chevrolet loses the Prizm, which is in its final season as a rebadged Toyota Corolla, and the Toyota connection switches to Pontiac, where a crossover vehicle called the Vibe will debut.
The Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird get collector’s editions, which come just before the end of their long and storied histories. Some say the names will be resurrected on new models after a couple of years away. Buick remains unchanged, trusting stability and consistency might continue to attract a loyal following.
From the European side, where all the companies seem to be riding the crest of success, Volkswagen is making the most moves. Having made an early introduction of the Passat full-sized sedan, which comes with a strong 190-horsepower, 30-valve V6, also will be available with a unique new V8 that is actually configured like two small V4 layouts, one on either bank of the V. In addition, Volkswagen increases the power of the GTI in either 4-cylinder or V6 form, and the Beetle and Jetta also share in the power surge, getting the same engine upgrades from 150 to 180 horsepower with the 1.8-Turbo 4, and 201 horses with the VR6, which shows up with four valves per cylinder and dual overhead-cams.
Audi will start selling a renovated A4 model in the sub-$30,000 bracket. The outgoing model clearly rejuvenated Audi’s position as a world player in the sedan business, and the new model has bobtailed rear lights and an all-aluminum 3.0-liter V6 replaced the iron-block 2.8, and it comes blessed with five valves per cylinder and Audi’s unexcelled quattro all-wheel-drive system if you so choose. Strong as it is on innovations, the A4 also will offer a continuously-variable automatic transmission on the front-drive V6 and all 4-cylinder models.
BMW has a new 7-Series luxury sedan field coming out, with infinitely variable intake valve timing and a 6-speed automatic transmission, plus adjustable stabilizer bars front and rear. The popular 3-Series sedans and coupes will introduce a new M3 version for 2002, with power boosted to 333 horsepower from its 3.2-liter in-line 6. For those who can’t get enough fun touches, the M3 will offer shift paddles behind the steering wheel for sequential shifting.
Mercedes has a new C230 coupe, which is a sporty 2-door version of the entry level C-Class, and it comes with a 192-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, with either a 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic.
The other big news from Europe is the introduction of the X-Type Jaguar, a $30,000 entry-level sedan that performs impressively and has full-time all-wheel-drive. Volvo, also, goes to all-wheel drive in the S60 sedan. Saab offers the 9.3 only in sporty Viggen form, stressing the bigger 9.5. Britain’s Land Rover brings out the Freelander, a more compact and affordable SUV.
Swinging to the other side of the world, the Far East has some impressive new entries. Just when you think they must have exhausted all the ideas on technology, along comes Toyota, with a new Camry redesigned from the ground up in an effort to maintain its hold as the top-selling U.S. sedan. The Camry comes with plenty of luxury and a new sportier version as well, and its styling looks remarkably like the Mercedes C-Class.
Toyota also introduces the Matrix, a neat little sporty wagon that will be the basis for the Pontiac Vibe, as well. The Matrix was introduced at the auto show circuit last year, and was a big hit. It will have the hot powerplant from the Celica sports coupe. The Highlander is yet another in the ever-expanding fleet of Toyota SUVs. In upscale Lexus form, Toyota offers a new ES300, which continues to be based on the Camry, and the SC430 sports hardtop was introduced as an early 2002. The sporty IS300 sedan adds a SportCross wagon back.
Honda with a new Acura RSX sports coupe, and a hot Si version of the Civic, making up for the demise of the long-popular Prelude, which will cease to exist. The CR-V small SUV is also all-new, with different styling, and more power from its engine, and the highly successful Odyssey minivan gets a whopping boost up to 240 horsepower with a 5-speed automatic and rear disc brakes in a thorough upgrade.
Nissan has been busy, too, with a new Sentra SE-R performance sedan, and an all-new Altima midsize sedan that gets V6 power, while offering a new Q45 luxury sedan from its upscale Infiniti branch, which also has a new G35 sports sedan, priced more moderately.
Mazda has a new prize with the Protégé compact sedan redesigned and featuring the Protege5 as a slant-back wagon version. Mitsubishi has a competitor for the Protégé with the introduction of the Lancer, which replaces the Mirage in the compact sedan segment. The Galant and Diamante get cosmetic styling changes.
Subaru has a couple of hot numbers, with the Impreza WRX and WRX STi rally-based compact sedans, loaded with 227-horsepower, turbocharged engines. On a more sedate note, other Impreza models are very impressive both as a sedan and sport wagon. Suzuki brought out the XL-7, a larger small SUV, if that makes sense, just after the first of the year as a 2002. Isuzu drops the high-style VehiCross after a brief run, but comes out with the Axiom, another new SUV.
Korea also has become a major player in the auto business, and Hyundai leads the way with a new Sonata sedan and the XG300 becomes the XG350 with its engine enlarged. Kia makes big news by introducing the Sedona minivan, priced under $20,000 and with a 195-horsepower V6. Daiwoo models remain basically unchanged.
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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