Miata offers contemporary retro thrills for latter-day graduates
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1/ Sun shining, winding road, top down on a Mazda Miata — formula for perfection.
2/ The topless seats of a Mazda Miata were ideal for the Bayfront Blues Festival.
3/ Special-edition Nardi wood steering wheel and trim set off Miata’s functionally retro interior.
4/ The manual top goes up easily so you can appreciate the rainbow, not the rain, from the Miata.
Who, among us, has not seen the venerable old movie, “The Graduate,” in which Dustin Hoffman, Jennifer O’Neill and a wonderful cast touched all generations with a movie for the ages? If there is anyone out there who hasn’t seen it, check out the cable listings, because it’s shown almost every week, somewhere. And if that doesn’t work, go rent it, there’s still time.
Along with a delightfully nerve-wracking plot, there was another prominent star in that movie. It was the Alfa Romeo convertible that Benjamin, Hoffman’s character, drove throughout the show, right up to his climactic race to the church to try to interrupt his lover’s wedding.
It wasn’t just any convertible, it was an Alfa Romeo, which adopted the name “The Graduate” for later versions because of the movie’s overwhelming popularity. After seeing the movie, everybody wanted a convertible roadster. MGBs and Triumphs had pretty much gone away by then, and Alfas were hard to come by as the tightening fuel standards pretty well dissolved the whole convertible/roadster/sports car genre.
Everyone interested in automobiles can bow deeply in gratitude to Mazda, the innovative Japanese company that challenged the world by bringing back the roadster concept with the Miata. It caught on instantly and has continued to sell well for a decade, while other manufacturers have scrambled to counter with all manner of convertibles.
All of which makes this a good time to catch up on where the Miata has gone. I got a chance to road-test a press-fleet Miata, and it was the special edition version, which means it comes in British Racing Green paint, with tan leather interior and the fabulous accents of Nardi wood on the steering wheel, shift knob and emergency brake handgrip.
The greatest thing about the Miata from its inception was that it recaptured all the wonderful, whimsical emotions of sports-car/roadsters of decades long gone, but eliminated all the nuisance problems those entailed. I mean, a fellow I roomed with in college got his hands on an old MG, and the rest of us got used to explaining to visitors how that hunk of iron in the kitchen was our roommate’s MGB motor. Once fixed, you were OK as long as you knew someone to accompany your drives as a riding mechanic.
Anyhow, the Miata came along and simply handled great — and even better when you hurled it around tight turns — and ran strong, with a fabulous exhaust note, with every detail functional and easy to operate. Instrumentation was simple, straightforward, and accurate. And the whole package was reasonably priced.
It was sort of the first attempt at turning out an ultra-sophisticated and modern vehicle that was aimed at being thoroughly retro. And it worked.
The only nitpick I had with the original, and various versions I’ve driven since, was that the flip-up headlight covers were huge, and when you turned the lights on, this big trapdoors flipped up and cut out about 20 percent of the driver’s forward visibility.
So we move into a new century, and Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac and nearly everybody else either has a smallish convertible on the market, or wishes it did. Some are priced high, in the $30,000 or $40,000 range, and others are far higher, up closer to $70,000 or $80,000. None of them, however, can beat the Mazda Miata for bargain pleasure, at $26,745 loaded to the ragtop with options.
First and foremost, Mazda has never strayed from its original intention, of making a roadster that performed well and was truly enjoyable to drive. Drivers who can tolerate driving mundane, boring vehicles might as well stay away from the driver’s seat of a Miata, they just wouldn’t understand. On the other hand, maybe they, of all people, should be pushed into a Miata, just to learn how much fun you can have without breaking any laws.
The Miata has a 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine, tweaked to optimum performance with electronic fuel injection, and snapping the lightweight little 2-seater to attention through a 6-speed manual transmission. The Miata revs to the skies in every gear, and one change from the original that is much appreciated is sixth gear, which means you don’t have to cruise on the freeway with the revs at 4,000 and the wonderful sound becoming wonderfully TOO loud.
The rear-wheel-drive car has quick power steering, rack and pinion, of course. And 4-wheel double-wishbone suspension, just like the high-tech race cars have. So it takes off swiftly, shifts surely, corners with flat stability at any speed, and takes bumps without jolting out any of your fillings.
A Bose sound system, complete with CD player, and power windows and door locks all enhance the driveability. Two cupholders work, and remote keyless entry is a nice upgrade. A solid glass rear window also is beneficial, meaning it won’t get scratched up from frequent ups and downs of the foldaway top.
And, trust me, that top will get folded up and down with great regularity, especially in the changeable Northland. Putting the top down requires releasing two push-button latches and unlatching it, then pushing up on the front edge of the top and flinging it back, where it folds and drops into its own cubicle.
A tonneau cover is located in the trunk, and you can put that on easily, fitting it in here and there and giving yourself a smooth, aerodynamic outer cover. I tend to not spend the time to fasten that, and just trust that the top is down and out and not visible.
Besides, if you’re driving along and that threatening sky decides to drip a little, you can slow down, reach back — finding your hand almost magically goes right to the top’s handgrip — and pull forward. The top comes up and over and winds up right over the windshield, where you go blip-blip, and you’ve refastened the top. I’ve done it while rolling at moderate speeds, and while not advisable, it gives you the idea of how easy it is to operate.
Among other little touches Mazda has done to keep the Miata at the leading edge of roadsterism, the new car has stainless scuff plates on the lower edges of either side, dual cupholders, and a race-car style remote fuel door that pops up in chrome-plated aluminum splendor to reveal the fuel nozzle at your next pit stop.
Also, standard on the special edition model are 16-inch alloy wheels, with lug locks, in buffed silver, with 205/45-16-inch tires that give a large footprint and enhance the car’s stability and cornering. Four-wheel disc brakes also do the job, stopping the Miata smoothly and with precision. A limited-slip differential helps keep the power aimed straight ahead, and another structural stiffening trick is to add a brace to fix the strut tower and reduce flexing.
While thoroughly enjoying my week with the Miata, I did have it while I had to move a couple of mattresses during my recent move. No, there’s no way to do that efficiently in a 2-seat roadster. And yes, there are some things the Miata can’t do as well as a truck. But this is not a truck. It is a sports car, aimed at all-out pleasure driving. If it’s identity can be blurred, then blur it toward economy cars.
With that high-revving little 4-cylinder doing the job for power, the Miata will cruise easily at 75 miles per hour all day, and undoubtedly would be happy at a higher rate. But the efficiency of the engine is best described by the fact that I got 30 miles per gallon on the highway, and 27.6 in combined city-freeway driving. There are a fair number of so-called economy cars that won’t get 30 mpg these days. And those that do aren’t as much fun to drive as the Miata.
The headlights on the Miata require special note, too. They are bright, and they are well-supplemented by the foglights for illuminating the shoulders. They also are halogen, projector-style headlights with multiple reflectors. And they are flush-fitting, without the need for those huge trapdoor-like covers popping up to obscure your view.
So, there goes my only criticism.
Don’t get me wrong. The Audi TT, Porsche Boxster and BMW Z3, or the Honda S2000, would all have an edge on the Miata for power, performance and prestige. But you can’t get ’em for $26,000. And you can’t get any Alfa, in these enlightened times in U.S. automotives.
So if they were going to do a remake of “The Graduate” for 2001, Benjamin would be driving a Mazda Miata.
Subaru Outback maintains stability even in freeway emergency
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1/ The Subaru Outback’s looks are now familiar in the company’s signature station wagon.
2/ A compact exterior and low stance give the Outback wagon stability that SUVs can only imagine.
3/ For 2002, Subaru combines a 3.0-liter engine with all-wheel drive, all-wheel traction control and variable torque distribution.
4/ The Outback offers an inviting interior, plus two sunroof, including a large rear one over the rear seat. ]]]]]
There I was, cruising down Interstate-35, past the Forest Lake exit, on my way to the Twin Cities on a recent Friday afternoon. All is well. I’m driving a 2001 Subaru Outback wagon, armed with a strong engine, all sorts of traction-control devices working in concert, and large, 16-inch wheels, upon which are mounted raised-white-letter tires that say: Firestone Wilderness.
Yup. Those are the tires that supposedly are to blame for the recent Ford Explorer SUV problem, with unexplained tread separation and rollovers and all sorts of other alleged-allegedlies.
Traffic is flowing swiftly, right at 70 or so, but the left lane seems to be slowing slightly. I’m in the center of three lanes, and it appears my lane might be passing the left lane. As I pull up close to the vehicle in front of me, the left lane starts to speed up again, and now more cars are there, bunched up by the brief slowdown. The right lane is already nose-to-tail, and the thought occurs to me that we are three lanes abreast, stacked bumper to bumper, and I’m in the middle of a not-too-easily-digested sandwich.
Just then, I’m aware of something going amiss, ahead and to my left. The vehicle in front of me swerves abruptly, and there, right in my path, came bounding a 2-foot-long, rectangular metal object. In an instant, I recognized this piece of bouncing shrapnel to be a chunk of muffler or resonator. I started to swerve, too, but I realized I had no hope of missing it, so I caught the swerve and instead tried to straddle the thing.
Ka-chunk. I heard it hit something underneath, maybe a couple things. But I kept going. The Outback felt stable, but I slowed down and sought the first opportunity to pull to the right. Once there, and somewhat free of the congestion, I swerved back and forth, left to right, gently at first and then more severely, just to see if anything was evidently amiss. I kept on going, and pulled out my cell phone to call 9-1-1, connect to the Highway Patrol, and inform them that a large and potentially dangerous chunk of metal was right in the middle of the freeway. They thanked me.
Right about then, the Outback pulled unmistakably to the left. Sure enough, my fear was realized. The left front tire was going flat. I pulled over onto the right shoulder, as far as I could go without going into the ditch, and opened the tailgate, finding one of those cute little space-saver spare tires that make so much sense saving space in a sports car, but look woefully undersized for an SUV-like wagon. I got it mounted, and spotted a nasty gash in the inside sidewall of the Firestone Wilderness tire.
I stopped at a gas station, then a Tires Plus store, then a Subaru dealership in White Bear Lake, which sent me to another tire store. At all of these locations, people acted like they had never heard of a flat tire before, when actually they were either too busy or for some reason couldn’t help. Finally, I ended up at a Firestone dealer. They didn’t have the proper replacement tire, but at least they could match the size and quality, and I was on my way.
The lingering question in all of this, of course, is that if those Wilderness tires blow their treads off when mounted on the rear axle and throw cars out of control, how come this was a front tire that blew, and it was easily controllable without ever giving a hint of wanting to roll over?
Maybe it was Subaru’s stability, or maybe its quite impressive list of safety-stability devices. The new wagon wears the Outback attire, and has a little side emblem that reads: “VDC.” That stands for vehicle dynamics control. The VDC system blends with all-wheel traction control, and the company’s trademark all-wheel drive to pretty much take care of evey skidding, sliding, swerving situation you could dream up, and in fact, it helps cure such problems.
Subaru used to make weird little quirky vehicles that worked in all sorts of weather and in foul conditions where most car-owners might choose to stay in the garage. They established a strong cult following of supporters, and deservedly so. Then the company came up with a brainstorm. The Outback. A Subaru wagon with some rugged exterior accessories, rock screens over the foglights, and the image of a rugged off-roader, the Outback became a “crossover” SUV/wagon before that trend became fashionable.
Timing was perfect, because the sport-utility vehicle craze was just beginning, and Subaru was able to hop right on the bandwagon with only a slight alteration to its already-strong station wagon. Outbacks are everywhere. You see them wherever you turn, maybe moreso in the snowbelt than down south, I don’t know. But they always have been a reasonably priced way to beat winter with ease.
Judging by the 2001 Subaru Outback wagon, it would appear that the new Outback is more of a good thing. The reasonable price has become a victim of the economy, and the sticker of the test vehicle was $32,390, with everything but the destination charge standard on the specific Legacy Outback H6-3 VDC all-wheel-drive wagon.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control is a sophisticated system that blends Subaru’s all-wheel-drive system’s variable torque distribution with the all-wheel traction-control. Normally, Subaru’s all-wheel drive system sends 45 percent of the torque to the front and 55 percent to the rear, then responds to driving and road situations to adjust that ratio more or less to the two axles, seeking to give the most responsibility to the end that has the most traction.
The system is high-tech enough to read when you are veering because of understeer, which is the front end pushing out as if intending to ignore your steering move. The system uses individual wheel braking and throttle control to correct that tendency. When you have oversteer, which is the tendency of the front, steered wheels to react too quickly to the amount of steering input, the system works the other way, also to aid stability.
Anyone who has experienced the advantage of traction control in a slippery situation can project how effective having 4-wheel traction control on 4-wheel-drive. The test vehicle had comfortable seats and good controls, and the flat-opposed 6-cylinder engine turns out 212 horsepower and 210 foot-pounds of torque, with the power peaking at 6,000 RPMs and the torque achieving its high point at 4,400 revs. With a 4-speed automatic transmission, this vehicle can handle the steep hills of a city like Duluth with ease.
A highlight of the interior is an extremely formal-looking audio system, which is made by McIntosh, and feeds all sorts of power to 11 speakers, gathered in seven different locations. It had CD and tape players along with the radio. Wood and leather trim, keyless entry, halogen foglights, power windows, locks and mirrors, and some neat details, including de-icing windshield wipers and heated seats, are standard.
The only disturbing thing during my otherwise impressive week with the Outback wagon was the nagging realization that I used to often find Subarus were stubborn about delivering the kind of fuel economy advertised. The info on the test wagon said it would get an EPA estimated 20 miles per gallon city, 27 highway. I combined the two and got only 16.6 miles per gallon. I’d like more than that, even with all-wheel drive.
Still, that’s better than most larger SUVs, and along with being swift, agile and easy to maneuver, the Outback gives you all-weather security, plus the mental security that you can’t roll this puppy over, even if you blow a front tire.
Volkswagen improves upon GTI, Beetle winners with 1.8 turbo
[[[[cutlines: (first, the green gemÂ…)
1/ The GTI started the whole “pocket-rocket” concept of a compact little car that can be fast, fun and safe, on a budget.
2/ With the 1.8-Turbo four-cylinder, the GTI approaches the all-out performance of the V6 but with better economy.
3/ Although the hatchback style conceals it well, the GTI has a surprisingly large trunk.
(Â…and for the black Beetle)
1/ The “New” Beetle is pretty commonplace now, but it still retains the timeless appeal.
2/ Unlike its predecessor, the 2001 Beetle rides on the new Golf platform, with front-wheel drive.
3/ The arching body shape offers unique aerodynamics — and also a lot of front headroom.
4/ The Beetle instrument panel is compact, including a tiny tachometer inset at the left.
5/ A spacious interior that is both ergonomic and efficient greets Beetle occupants.
6/ Under the folding rear hatch panel, the Beetle also offers surprisingly generous storage. ]]]]]]
The New Beetle as a hot rod? The rejuvenated GTI as both an economy car and a street sizzler?
Both premises are true, and both were demonstrated to me in recent weeks when I got the chance to road test both the 2001 Beetle 1.8T and the 2001 GTI.
Anyone who has been on this planet for more than 30 years remembers the Volkswagen Beetle — the OLD Beetle, that is. You have to say that, in referring to the original, because the New Beetle has been out long enough to not only outstrip the “New” phrase, but also to render the original in need of definition.
Similarly, anyone who remembers the VW Rabbit of a couple decades back recalls how a specially-prepared version of that little hatchback became the “GTI,” and wrote new rules about how a little subcompact could become a potent, fun-to-drive machine.
When the Beetle disappeared from the U.S., the GTI stayed around, when the Rabbit gave way to the Golf and moved into a new generation. Since the mid-1990s, the Golf has gotten better and better, and in 1999, it was time to come out with an entirely new platform for the very good and very dependable Golf.
That was when Volkswagen pulled a clever marketing coup. It reintroduced the New Beetle, modernizing and streamlining the arching Beetle shape, and plunking it down onto the platform meant for the new Golf.
The idea was creative, but it paid off in ways even Volkswagen couldn’t have anticipated. Because the previous Golf was a solid and substantial little thing, it always had excellent safety records. So, naturally, the new Golf would improve on those impressive characteristics. When the New Beetle was introduced, it had good, front-wheel-drive performance, strong acceleration, and the best crash-test results of any small car ever tested.
A year later, in 2000, the new Golf came out as scheduled, and it, too, has exceptional crash-test results.
The Beetle and Golf shared the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, a strong, workhorse of an engine. You also could get the turbodiesel, which got over 40 miles per gallon.
German automakers have been on a roll in recent years. Mercedes, BMW and Porsche all have maintained their standards, and even improved upon them by making better cars with tightened manufacturing techniques that allowed them to lower prices. Audi charged into the mix with greatly improved cars in the mid-1990s, particularly with the advent of the A4 sedan.
So Volkswagen’s ability to reclaim the territory once capitulated to various Japanese economy-car-builders shouldn’t have come as a big surprise. Volkswagen did compromise the excellence of the once-proud GTI, however, by offering trim-only versions of the car without the commensurate upgrade in performance. So there are a bunch of bargain-GTIs out there, with fancy wheels and GTI emblems but with no upgrades to the engine or suspension.
All the while, VW did offer a serious upgrade to the GTI line, with a top-end version that had a 2.8-liter V6 engine. It was an absolute screamer, with good reason.
But the most intriguing spinoff to all this German technology was the emerging evidence of the relationship between Audi and Volkswagen, brothers under the sheetmetal. One of the most significant engineering tricks Audi pulled off was in building a comparatively small 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, and installing five valves per cylinder, where four are high-tech, and two are outdated.
The Audi 1.8T has three intake and two exhaust valves on each cylinder, run via dual overhead camshafts. Because it is small in displacement, and Audi wanted it to perform in cars of varying sizes, it hooked it up to a turbocharger, but it is a low-pressure turbo, so it spins fast and does its job without the usual lag-and-lurch familiar to normal turbo engine operators.
The technology goes beyond that, however, because Audi linked it all to a sophisticated electronic engine-management system, which magically coordinates its maximum 150 foot-pounds of torque with its maximum 150 horsepower. Instead of a torque curve, the full torque is coaxed to life at just about 2,000 RPMs, and it is held in a flat plateau all the way up to about 5,000 RPMs, which thrusts you right into the middle of the horsepower curve.
So you don’t have an overwhelming abundance of power, but what you have you get at just above idle speed.
All this Audi talk would be misplaced, except that Volkswagen has gotten the 1.8T from Audi, and while it is an impressive engine in the larger Passat and midsize Jetta, you can now get that engine in the GTI, and you also can get it in the Beetle.
GTI GLS 1.8T
Like it or not, that’s the official name of the new GTI, as Volkswagen strives to separate its hottest model from the mainstream. It’s foolish, of course, because the Golf is a solid, reliable little hatchback coupe, and VW simply redoes all the power and handling characteristics of the Golf, gives it a sportier interior, and you have the GTI.
The test car was a sparkling emerald green, which Volkswagen calls “green rave pearl,” and which is about as attention-grabbing as green can be when painted on a car.
The highlights of the car are obvious. There is the engine, which can get 30 miles per gallon on the highway, if you can stay out of the hard-accelerating pleasure. It also can get 25 miles per gallon in town, no matter how you drive it.
No, the GTI 1.8T doesn’t have the all-out, low-end charge of big U.S. V6 or V8 engines, but it might be the perfect compromise. You can get on it hard enough to sqeal the tires on takeoff, and ride the surge as the turbo boost comes up, or you can take it easy, drive in a more mellow attitude, and get the kind of fuel economy tiny car owners will envy.
Besides, if some bozo in a hot rod wants to challenge you to a race, you can simply look at him dryly and say: “Do you want to race up to 120? Or FROM 120 up?”
Gets ’em every time.
The sport suspension lets the GTI corner hard, staying flat and stable all the way. The 5-speed manual shifter lets you run through the gears swiftly and smoothly.
Complementing all the power and stiff handling, there is a track-correcting independent torsion beam rear suspension, and the GTI has ASR (anti-slip regulation) and EDL (electronic differential lock) in an all-out effort to make sure the thing goes in a straight line, even when you might be careless about it.
The test GTI had the standard 15-inch wheels replaced by optional 17-inch allow wheels and extremely low-profile, high-performance tires, which was another method of amplifying the cornering capabilities of the car.
Still, impressive as all those items are, there are some other things that may have the best staying power when it comes to making the GTI a family car.
For example, a small, squared-back hatchback doesn’t look like it should have much rear seat room, and certainly no trunk space. But the GTI has enormous trunk space, augmented by fold-down rear seats, if need be, and a little shelf that sits above whatever you’re stowing. The rearseat room, however, is always a surprise. Put a 6-footer back there, via the easy and wide flip-forward passenger side bucket seat, and he’ll remark about how much headroom there is. A small concave channel running crosswise just ahead of the rear window adds an inch or so of rear headroom.
Foglights integrated behind the headlight lenses helps with night driving, and the front buckets are height adjustable as well as the usual fore, aft and tilt controls. Power windows, locks, hatch, and remote keyless entry are other nice touches.
For 2001, the GTI’s already strong safety gets improved with the addition of side airbags to the usual frontal bags. There is a glass sunroof, and a full-size spare tire.
The test car also had what is called a leather package, which includes the steering wheel with remote cruise and audio controls, and the Monsoon sound system, which upgrades the stock 8-speaker system to thundering power.
Driving the GTI remains its strong suit, and the feel of fun you get from driving one is boosted by the sticker sheet, which shows the base GTI costs $19,275, and with those classy options the total price is only $21,800.
BEETLE 1.8T
The biggest asset owned by the Beetle isÂ…it’s so darn cute. It remains an attention-grabbing, eye-catcher. And that’s certainly not bad, for openers, in this era when thousands are spent on cars, trucks and all sorts of transportation devices as status symbols.
The Beetle, in base form, accomplishes all that those who would spend $65,000 are seeking, and for $18,000. We, of course, are talking about a loaded Beetle in our test-drive form.
The car came in jet black, with the aforementioned 1.8-turbo engine under the hood, and high-performing tires on alloy wheels, with some suspension tweaks. If we didn’t know better, we might assume this was a GTI-model Beetle.
At one intersection, I realized a construction thing in the block ahead was forcing a merge into the left lane. I gambled that maybe I could beat the guy next to me, so I ran the revs up just a bit, and, when the light changed, I hammered the Beetle. It screeched the tires, all the way across the intersection. I merged cleanly.
Because it’s the same drivetrain as the GTI, the Beetle 1.8T can be driven hard, for fun, or easy, for great economy.
Inside, the Beetle remains a charmer. The neat little instrument cluster houses a speedometer and fuel gauge, and has a tiny little tachometer tucked into the lower left. Yes, I would like to see a more prominent tach, especially when that 1.8 wants to rev so high and so swiftly, but at least there is one.
About the time you have had enough of being impressed with the gauges, the sun sets, and you turn on the headlights and are startled to see the instruments come to life in an almost iridescent blue. Very neat. So is the tiny bud vase located just to the right of the instruments.
Open the rear hatch, and there is a surprising amount of storage space behind the rear seats. Yes, this car would work as a family car for a small or young family, and it works fantastically for a growing or grown family, where somebody is sane enough to want a compact car for basic, 30-mile-per-gallon commuting.
It is very stable on the road at freeway speeds anywhere up to 80. It was always pretty stable, but the sporty suspension and the lower-profile tires give the 2001 version of the Beetle a better, more stable stance in all circumstances.
The headroom is remarkable. You could be 6-foot-3 and wearing a sombrero and still fit comfortably in the bucket seats. The rear seats are cramped, only because the roofline tapers swiftly down and back.
So a lack of rear seat headroom is a valid criticism, but again we must concede something to Volkswagen’s engineers. If the Beetle is an exceptional personal car, but too confining for a family, you can always move up to the Golf or GTI, or even to the Jetta or Passat.
Good car, natural mountain scenery make perfect vacation trip
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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.
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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