Inexpensive coupe brings Mercedes within reasonable reach
Every auto manufacturer has been working for years to strive for the high standards of luxury, performance and workmanship for which Mercedes has been known. But a funny thing happened while common cars have been reaching for the Mercedes level — Mercedes has come back to pick up the masses.
I was among a gathering of 75 automotive journalists in the U.S. who were summoned to Raleigh, N.C. to be introduced to the entire Mercedes line for 2002. We stayed right on campus at Duke University, and then paired up to drive off through the countryside, into Virginia, where we ended up at the recently renovated Virginia International Raceway, a 3.25-mile road-racing circuit.
Before the day was done, all 75 of us had been exposed to 85 Mercedes vehicles. In brief overview, here they are:
S-Class–S430, S500, S600 and S55 AMG sedans, ranging from $72,815-$115,865; the SL coupes and roadsters, both the SL500 and SL600, priced from $84,465-$129,615; The CL500, CL55 AMG and CL600 cupes, ranging from $91,415-$119,615.
E-Class–E320, E430 and E55 AMG sedans and wagons, including 4Matic all-wheel-drive versions, ranging from $49,115-$72,015;
C-Class–C240, C320 and C32 AMG sedans, ranging from $25,615-$50,615; and the CLK coupes and roadsters, ranging from $43,215-$79,665;
M-Class (SUVs)–ML320, ML500 and ML55 AMG, ranging from $36,965-$66,565.
These models all were available, but Mercedes has made some bold steps for 2002. Those steps include offering the huge, boxy, off-road specialist, the G500, at $73,165. It is reminiscent of the biggest Range Rover or Toyota Land Cruiser, and it pretty awesome as the ultimate station wagon. Mercedes also is embellishing the C-Class entry level array with a Sport Wagon, a station wagon that has sweet, smooth lines and is all-Mercedes under the skin. There also are numerous sporty-upgrade versions of virtually every model, redone by AMG to be more powerful and better handling than the already powerful and good-handling Mercedes models.
But the biggest hit in the whole Mercedes line, to me, is the new C-Class Coupe. This car doesn’t have the spectacular performance or the breathtaking auras of the costlier coupes — but for $80,000 or more, you SHOULD get spectacular and breathtaking stuff. The Mercedes C-Coupe is a sleek, bobtailed 2-plus-2 vehicle with exceptional performance and fuel economy, and while there never is any doubt that it is purebred Mercedes, the sticker price is only $24,950.
That’s right. For $24,950, you can be driving a Mercedes, and a high-tech, racy coupe at that. True, you can add options to boost the price up over $30,000, but it’s a great car at base price.
If you lined up all the vehicles in the Mercedes line, and offered me one, I would choose the SL600, which might be the outright finest-looking vehicle ever built outside of the Italian Ferrari or Lamborghini factories, and maybe including them. The SL600 has unbelievable lines and the performance of a 389-horsepower, 6-liter, V12 engine. But, come on, the SL600 costs $129,615. So jump to the other end of the Mercedes spectrum, and the C-Coupe is light, agile, quick, amazingly fun to drive, and it comes armed with a 2.3-liter 4-cylinder, fed by supercharger to produce 192 horsepower.
After a classroom overview of all the vehicles, we paired up to drive to Virginia. A fellow asked me to co-drive, and I accepted, because he looked comparatively sane, and at some of these events, you can run into a lunatic disguised as a journalist who decides the only way to impress his peers is to overdrive to the point of being a high-risk threat to life and limb — mine.
So we drove a couple of different vehicles up through the countryside, then arrived at the race track. Some actual race drivers, including Ernie Ervin, John Paul Jr., the son of Johnny Rutherford, the son of Wally Dallenbach, the brother of Eddie Cheever, and a number of other intelligent driver/teachers, would show us the proper lines through all the turns around the road course, which had been divided into two separate shorter road-race courses. There also was an off-road circuit that was muddier and more challenging than anything you’ll find in Northern Minnesota or Wisconsin.
There also was a small autocross course set up in what would be the pit area, a large, paved expanse. Cones were set out to define a narrow, twisty, tight-turning little circuit where a car could be driven one at a time.
All 75 of us were divided into four groups, with one group at each station, rotating after an hour or so.
My favorite car to drive on the race track was the C32 AMG, which is the C-Class 4-door sedan, which begins life at $30,000, but this one gets tweaked by the racy guys at AMG, with the supercharged V6 engine and trick suspension. The company was founded in 1967 by Hans-Werner Aufrecht (the “A”) and Erhard Melcher (the “M”), and they were located in Grossaspach, Germany (the “G”).
While the AMG folk worked their magic on specialty cars for years, Mercedes finally bought them out and their after-market work is now a standard optional upgrade package of wheels, tires, suspension, interior and engine refinements. As good as all the costlier cars were — and I was able to get some of them up to 125 miles per hour coming out of the last turn and sweeping down the hill past start-finish — the C32 AMG model seemed to be the best total package of power, handling and predictability.
The standard C-Class sedan has 168 horsepower from a 2.6-liter V6; the AMG C32 has 349 horsepower and 332 foot-pounds of torque from a supercharged 3.2-liter V6, and it goes 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, making it the quickest Mercedes sedan ever, while also boasting a top speed of 155. No wonder I liked it.
Running the variety of sedans, coupes and roadsters on the race track, with a high-buck Bell helmet strapped on our noggins, was a phenomenal experience, and my old road-racing tendencies seemed to take over and I was able to improve my cornering and power applications virtually every lap in every car.
The G-Class wagon, which is overbuilt for real-world duty, was remarkable in off-road laps. With the M-Class already up there among the best luxury-SUVs, the G-Class is over the top of the scale, as well as the hill.
By luck of the draw, my group’s final session was at the autocross. The blond-haired guy instructing us on what we would do read off our names as if it were roll-call in junior high. When he got to my name, he mentioned that he wanted to talk to me later. Turns out, his name is Steve Michael, and he used to work in the Twin Cities, and we knew each other vaguely when I was covering the Minnesota North Stars and auto racing in the Twin Cities.
Anyhow, the concept at the autocross is that we would all sit at the starting line, Michael would signal us when to start, and we would zoom, without so much as a practice lap, on one lap, zig-zagging here and there and around something like 15 or 20 kinks and turns, all between cones that were barely more than a car-width wide, and we would be timed from start until we reached the finishing cones. We would drive two identical C-Coupes, with the 2.3 engines but with automatic transmissions instead of the 6-speed manuals. We were told to leave the transmissions in third. Our times would be compiled, but if you hit so much as one cone, you’re disqualified.
I had driven a C-Coupe briefly previously with the 6-speed, but I was amazed at how it handled. I took off as hard as possible, flung the thing around the tight left turn, caught it and stayed on the power around to the right, back and forth, swerving between cones in a chicane-like area where you couldn’t be sure if you had missed the cones or not. After making the 90-degree last big turn, you skipped through a final zig-zag and then charged to the finish line.
A fellow said I had done well, and another said I was the quickest in my particular group, by an eyelash.
Then we drove back to Raleigh, and my driving partner and I chose the ace of the field — a dark blue SL600 V12, the $139,000 model. Hours later, we all were herded out to a fantastic dinner, and in the short program that followed, they pulled out a Bell racing helmet, gleaming white except for the blue permanent marker autographs of all the assembled race drivers who had served as instructors.
The Mercedes folks announced that the souvenir helmet would be awarded to the journalist who had the best overall time, from all four groups. To my amazement, they called my name. It was quite a thrill, but to a driving zealot, no more of a thrill than actually driving all the cars.
As I returned to the table, the fellow who had asked me to be his driving partner laughed, and told me that he had picked me to be his partner because my prematurely silver hair — it’s been prematurely silver for about 20 years now — made him think I would be a safe partner. If he had known I would win the on-track competition, he might have asked someone else.
[[[[[[CUTLINES:
1/ A pair of new C-Coupes were hustled around an autocross course by 75 U.S. automotive journalists at the Mercedes 2002 full-line introduction.
2/ A Bell racing helmet, adorned with signatures of all the race-driver instructors, was the prize for winning the autocross.
3/ The Mercedes C32 AMG offers 349 horsepower, more than doubling the power of the standard C-Class sedan.
4/ New for 2002 is a Mercedes C-Class station wagon.
5/ Another new entry from Mercedes is the G-Class SUV, which is an over-the-top luxury king of the (off) road.
6/ A candidate for best-looking car in the world is the 2002 Mercedes SL600 — a V12 coupe priced at $129,615. ]]]]]]]]]
New Dodge Ram butts into highest-echelon pickup truck battle
The pickup truck segment has always been competent, just like it always was dominated by Ford and Chevrolet. After several decades of that fight, Dodge startled the automotive world by thundering into the battle with the Dodge Ram. It wasn’t that Dodge had never made trucks before, but suddenly Dodge came out with a vehicle that was almost so outrageous that it couldn’t miss.
For years, it seemed that Ford and Chevy were trying to tame down their pickups to make them less truck-like and filled with more car amenities, while still allowing them to fulfill the rugged work duties of a truck. Dodge simply looked at the popularity of pickups and SUVs and decided to make the biggest, baddest truck of all. The Ram looked more like a semi tractor scaled down to large pickup size, and it made an immediate impact on the marketplace.
The latest evolution of the Ford F150 is the best ever, and the new Chevy Silverado burst on the scene a year or so ago and was the best pickup Chevy ever built. So now it is the 2002 model year, which happens to be the time DaimlerChrysler picked to introduce an entirely new Ram.
I was able to road-test a new Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4×4 SLT Sport, which should at least be enough words, numbers, letters and designations to satisfy the decal and emblem makers.
Compared to the huge Ram that ended its run in 2001, the new truck is sleeker but still impressively macho and imposing to the eye. The flame red color is almost traditional for Dodge now, and the clear headlight lenses and grille seem to ride lower. The full four-door cabin is impressive. The front doors, naturally, swing full and easy, and the back doors open fully, almost to a full 90 degrees, making it a wide expanse to climb into either front or rear.
Let’s say, it would be easy, except that the Ram has a lot of ground clearance, in case you have to charge across a field, or haul something off-road. It has so much clearance that you would be better off pole-vaulting into the cabin. There is no running board, which doesn’t bother me, but it did take a trick and a bit of repetition to figure out the most efficient way of climbing aboard. I found that you could put your left foot high up on the floor, and as you leaped toward the driver’s seat, you would do a little half-pivot, landing at least part of your seat on the truck seat. Then you could sort of wiggle your way in the rest of the way.
The slate-grey cloth seats was firm and supportive, and the instrument panel and controls are all well at hand.
Noticeable right off is the large center console that opens to display a housing for a computer. You could lock in and plug in your laptop right there, with room to spare. Not a bad work station. That still leaves lots of room for two full-size front occupants. The rear seat is broad and will easily seat three adults, with surprisingly good legroom and enough space to avoid the usual straight-up, jump-seat style of rear pickup seating.
But here’s the best part. That huge computer-designed front console also will fold up, exposing a full-width center seat on what is called a 40-20-40 front bench, which has full power on the driver’s seat. When you fold it up, the base of the console gives you a nicely designed backrest for the center occupant, making the Dodge a full 6-passenger.
Behind the full, 4-door cabin there is a large pickup box, fully lined with tough plastic stuff to prevent chipping and scratching, no matter what you throw back there.
As impressive as all the standard and optional features were, the best was yet to come. New suspension on the new platform has made the new Dodge extra stable, and a lot of new-technology features have conspired to make it feel extremely tight in all steering and cornering maneuvers. The 20-inch alluminum wheels with P275/60R20 tires bolstered the security even more, and four wheel disc brakes with antilock were as impressive as the 4-wheel-drive was.
Naturally, you can get a selection of engines, and this one had what I would choose — the new 4.7-liter V8, with overhead camshafts. The engine runs strong, starting from low end and all through the revs, with peak horsepower of 240 at 4,800 RPMs, and maximum torque at 300 foot-pounds at 3,200 revs. That engine, which also has seen use in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dakota and Durango, is tied to a 4-speed automatic transmission, with a 1,450 pound payload and a 7,150 pound trailer towing package.
While revving high, that engine also will deliver 13 city miles per gallon and 17 on the highway. Altogether, the big red Dodge is proof that the feel and performance of the vehicle is greater than the sum of the parts.
Accelerating down a ramp, hauling a load of stuff, carrying three or four adult occupants, and steering through tight and twisting maneuvers, the Ram performs well, with comfort and security, but most of all with an impressive tightness. The truck is quiet and strong in every application.
When you buy a pickup truck, silence may not be a prime ingredient. You buy what you like best, but you have to be impressed when you seem neat little touches. But with the Dodge Ram, you get silence and the quietness of a tight, close-tolerance body.
The base price of the Ram pickup is $25,350, which is a lot, but yet reasonable for all you get in a large pickup nowadays. That includes all the standard stuff, including air conditioning, the split seats, and the all wheel drive, which is accessible through a floor-mounted stick. You can get 4-wheel high speed of low, and 2-wheel high and low.
The test truck had a lot of options. The sport group gives you larger wheels, foglights, a grille that is coated in the same color as the body, trailer towing package, keyless entry, security alarm, 4-speed automatic, a rear sliding window, and a stereo radio with CD player and cassette, a trailer towing group, with heavy battery, transmission cooler, hitch, wiring harness and wiring adaptor, power adjustable pedals and the box bedliner.
Naturally, that boosts the base price, and in this case it boosts it to $33,695.
That’s a lot of money, but that’s the going rate for a premium pickup with extended cab seating and all the comforts of home — or computer desk. But keep in mind that the new Ram already had broken into the “big two” to give large truck buyers a definite alternative. This time, it is clear that Dodge intends to move to the front of the class.
I found a couple of interesting things with the Ram pickup. On Duluth hills, after the big snowstorm, there were some icy avenues, which always are a challenge. When a 4-wheel-drive vehicle has high and low shift points, the low range is to lock the axles for steep climbs, but more for steep declines. So when I was about to descend one of Duluth’s steepest avenues, I set the shift-on-the-fly lever to 4wd low, then nosed over for the mile-long descent. The low range worked fantastically to keep the speed of the big truck in check, allowing you to easily cruise down the hill without riding the brake.
As for the full-size, full-opening rear doors, I was parked at night on a downtown street, and when I was going to leave, I walked around the rear of the truck, glancing behind at approaching traffic. I hit the remote to unlock all the doors, then I walked quickly along the driver’s side of the truck, all the while looking back at the approaching car, which was getting close. As I looked at the car coming, I knew I had time to hop in, so without looking at the truck, I grabbed the door handle, flung the door open and did my little hop, jump and get-in move. To my surprise, I was hopping into the BACK seat.
That tells you how big and roomy the rear seating area is, and how daffy your automotive correspondent can get.
[[[[cutlines:
1/ The Dodge Ram for 2002 is all new, from the chassis and suspension on up, including a new look and a new interior.
2/ A full liner in the large box leaves the pickup capability of the Ram 1500 in place, even with a full, 6-passenger cabin with full opening rear doors. ]]]]
Cadillac, Ford, Nissan models are 2002 Car of the Year finalists
The test-drives, the evaluations, calculations and compilations are complete, and the voting for the annual North American International Car (and Truck) of the Year award is finished. The awards are due to be announced in the first week of January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
There is a chance that the winners will be a big surprise. That chance is enhanced by the fact that the three finalists in both the car and truck competition have been announced, in alphabetical order just for enhanced secrecy.
The three car of the year finalists are: Cadillac CTS, Ford Thunderbird, and Nissan Altima.
The three truck of the year finalists are: Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, and Jeep Liberty.
These are the results of complex voting procedures by 50 selected automotive journalists and broadcasters from around the continent. It is my esteemed honor to be among those, which also makes it my “inside” ability to be somewhat surprised by the finalists.
But first, I must say that I found the contenders for both car and truck of the year to be the most hotly competitive in the seven or eight years I’ve been on the jury.
Last year, it was pretty easy. The Chrysler PT Cruiser was an easy winner among the cars, and the Acura MDX was the selected truck of the year. The Cruiser was a can’t-miss, although I was mildly surprised that the MDX won, even though it is an outstanding vehicle, because there were some pretty daunting challengers.
But this year, there is no overwhelming favorite in either category.
Consider the final 10 car candidates. The Cadillac CTS is an entirely new car, and the Thunderbird also is a new project with an old, familiar name. The Altima is an entirely new vehicle too, the latest version of Nissan’s bread-and-butter midsize car. However, other contenders include the Acura RSX, which is a new sports coupe that will replace the Integra and render the Honda Prelude obsolete. Mercedes has brought out a similarly all-new C-Coupe, which has fantastic technology and is a purebred Mercedes, obtainable for $25,000.
Another all-new car is the Jaguar X-Type, an under-$30,000 all-wheel-drive vehicle that is a perfect blend of Jaguar style and class and Ford production streamlining. Like the Altima, Toyota has brought out the latest generation of the Camry, which is the all new vehicle that has been the top-selling car in the U.S. for two or three years. Nissan also brought out an all-new Q45 for its upscale Infiniti group. Subaru has graced the Impreza line with a WRX hot version of a worldwide rally champion, and the WRX was another finalist.
My personal choice, however, for most points, is the new Audi A4, in a tight choice over the RSX, the C-Coupe, the X-Type, and the Altima, while I also gave vote points to the Thunderbird, CTS and Q45.
The A4 arguably has been the best overall mid-size sedan in the world for six years, with very few changes, offering both front-wheel-drive and quattro all-wheel-drive. For 2002, Audi has completely redone the A4, and its technology has gone right over the top of the scales. It has a new 3.0-liter V6, all aluminum, with 5-valves per cylinder and variable valve timing, or the spectacular 1.8-liter 4-cylinder turbo, which delivers V8-like power, V6-type versatility, and 4-cylinder-like economy. On top of that, you can get the front-drive version with a continuously variable automatic transmission that shifts continuously and seamlessly. The hottest new, however, is the Audi A4 with the CVT is actually quicker accelerating than the 6-speed manual!
But I digress.
The truck competition is even closer, I think. The Avalanche, Trailblazer and Liberty are all vehicles I have written about, and they deserve high status. However, the new Dodge Ram 1500 is possibly the most impressive pickup truck on the market in its newly redone form, with a high-tech overhead-cam 4.7 V8, extremely tight four-door cabin, and great performance. The new Ford Explorer has been completely redone, too, and it has the significant touches of having the floor lowered by 8 inches with the rear axle halfshafts ingeniously run through the side-beams of the chassis. It’s also bigger, along with having a much better stance. The Toyota Highlander is another outstanding and all-new truck, and Honda has redone the extremely popular CR-V compact sport-utility vehicle with better styling, a more potent engine and exceptional flexibility and performance.
My personal choice — in an extremely narrow split decision over the Ram, the Trailblazer and the CR-V, with some votes also going to the Explorer and Highlander — is the new Saturn VUE. This is an all-new compact sport-utility vehicle, with front-wheel-drive until it detects slippage, in which case it becomes all-wheel drive, and it has different styling, including a somewhat bizarre front end but an extremely attractive side and rear look. It also has the Saturn special composite plastic body panels, eliminating dent, chip and corrosion concerns. And, it has a continuously variable transmission, operating on a completely different theory from Audi. Every company is working on a CVT, but Audi’s is exceptional, and while the Saturn VUE version lacks the quick-accelerating performance of Audi’s, it does provide the benefit of smooth and constant upshifting without noticeable shiftpoints.
In my personal vote, I have a somewhat sliding system of rating style, performance, economy, overall feel and technology. I admit that I weigh more heavily on technology, because new features require the gamble of courage along with the brilliance of futuristic engineering. While the Audi and the VUE might rank highest high-tech as well as in overall cohesiveness of all its high-tech parts, the finalists also are armed with technology.
The Cadillac CTS, for example, is a futuristic design on top of the new General Motors Sigma platform. It shows that after the Cimarron and the Catera, which was based on a GM German Opel platform, Caddy has gotten it right. The compact Cadillac starts at under $30,000, and it is a strong performer with a new 3.2-liter V6, boasting dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. It runs strong and straight, handles with firm precision, and has tremendous room and trunk space. Think of it as a rear-wheel-drive Seville.
The Thunderbird is a neat little roadster, with a bolt-on hardtop if you don’t want just the convertible top. It has a great engine, the Jaguar-built 3.9-liter V8 used also in the Lincoln LS, although it also has only an automatic without even an auto-manual feature. The Thunderbird is a traffic-stopper, a real eye-catcher, also with rear-wheel drive. But it costs $40,000 to start with, and no matter how appealing it is, it still seems to be something of a bauble, a Christmas toy rather than a hard-core transportation vessel.
The Altima is almost overwhelming in its alteration from past versions. It gets a V6 for the first time, and it’s a 3.5-liter V6, with tremendous power. It also has been lengthened and increased in every dimension. In the past, the Altima was a snub-nosed, more compact challenger for the Accord and Camry, with a 4-cylinder only, while the bigger Maxima carried Nissan’s colors into battle with the V6. The Altima is good enough from every angle to deserve this status, and it only can beg the question about what Nissan plans to do with the Maxima.
On the truck side, the Avalanche is an enormously long Chevy pickup with full four doors, and a full pickup box, and with an intriguing little device that raises the rear window and lowers the rear wall, allowing you to have hauling space from the front bucket seats all the way to the tailgate. Personally, I don’t want to share my interior with the stuff I’d put in a pickup box, but that’s just me. The Avalanche is covered with plastic cladding, and it is massively designed.
The TrailBlazer is a gem. The all-new version of the Blazer, the TrailBlazer is smaller than the enormo SUVs from Chevy, the Tahoe and Suburban. It also has the high-tech new 4.2-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine, with tremendous power and performance. This, to me, is the cinch winner of the category, and was tied as top challenger to the VUE in my distribution of voting points.
The Liberty is fun and exciting as the replacement for the basic Cherokee, although I also found it taller and with a shorter wheelbase, which makes it bouncy and feeling instable in some circumstances. Everything works, however, and Jeeps are popular, and always have been.
The most significant thing about this year’s finalists, in my opinion, is simple. September 11, 2001, changed all our lives, and has fanned the flames of patriotism in all walks of life. I tried not to let that affect my objectivity in voting. It is perhaps just coincidence that all three truck finalists — the Avalanche, TrailBlazer and Liberty — and two of the three car finalists — the Cadillac CTS and the Thunderbird — are from traditional U.S. manufacturers. Only the Altima is the product of a foreign company, although some of the other most spectacular new products also came from foreign companies.
Maybe it’s just coincidence, and the Altima will be the car of the year. But maybe not, also. My guess is the Cadillac CTS, because it is more reasonably priced and more of an everyday car than the Thunderbird.
I also figure that there probably was more of a divergent array of votes spread among the candidates this year then ever before. That’s what makes the world go ’round, and the automotive world as well.
Totally redesigned Nissan Altima wins Car of the Year award
A couple of decades or so ago, Nissan built a car called the Stanza. It was a new vehicle in a new niche in the automotive industry, falling in the large gap between big, oversized U.S. sedans and the tiny little econoboxes being imported here.
That niche has now been taken over and dominated by cars like the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus, Pontiac Grand Am, Volkswagen Jetta, Mazda 626, and a dozen or so others. They can call them compact, or intermediate, or midsize.
While Nissan’s Stanza remained a good and dependable vehicle, it seemed that the car almost got squeezed out by the more public-relations savvy opponents. So Nissan retrenched, and revised the Stanza into the Altima. While the Accord and Camry were running away in popularity, Nissan tried to outflank them with the more expensive Maxima, armed with a V6 engine and a lot of amenities, just above them in price, and the new Altima, with its strong 4-cylinder, just below them in the price structure.
Now it is 2002, and Nissan has pulled out all the stops. The new Altima is entirely new from top to bottom, and it not only has a V6 but a bigger V6 than either Accord or Camry, and it is larger, seeming to crowd into the Maxima territory. Overall, it is extremely impressive.
So impressive, it was just named the North American International Car of the Year at the Detroit International Auto Show.
The Altima beat out some impressive opponents, compiling a total of 267 voting points from a jury of 49 automotive journalists — including this one — to outrank the Cadillac CTS, which had 203 points as runner-up, and the Ford Thunderbird, which had 160 points to finish third.
The Chevrolet TrailBlazer, which I wrote about recently, won Truck of the Year, with 217 points, to lead the Chevrolet Avalanche (206) and the Jeep Liberty (162).
For the Altima, it was a breakthrough to gain the support of the cynical autowriters, and it joins pretty exclusive company by winning the only car of the year award not done by a specific publication that might weigh its choice against advertising revenue.
In the years since the prestigious award has been presented, the winners have been: Mercedes C-Class 1994; Chrysler Cirrus 1995; Chrysler Minivans 1996; Mercedes CLK roadster 1997; Chevrolet Corvette 1998; Volkswagen New Beetle 1999; Ford Focus 2000; and Chrysler PT Cruiser 2001.
The new Altima has a 3.5-liter V6, with dual-overhead camshafts and 24 valves, with continuously variable valve-timing, all calibrated to produce 240 horsepower. A 4-speed automatic transmission handles the power well, and the car handles very well, with stabilizer bars front and rear and multilink independent rear suspension. The SE model I test-drove had performance suspension tuning.
With the longer body, there is a lot of room inside, and the outside looks of the Altima have a forward slant, with the slope of the rear deck giving it a racy look. That upturned tail also aids aerodynamics, which is impressive from an engineering standpoint, and truck space, which is impressive when you’re going on a trip.
Nissan also went to some pains to set apart the interior with distinctive touches. The instruments are housed in cylindrical tunnels, but they slope to the driver and are neat, rather than intrusive. The center dash slopes away, much like the new Camry, but the difference is the Camry put the radio controls up on top, which makes it a reach for the driver, while the Altima puts two air vents up high, then the Bose audio system — radio and 6-speaker CD player — next, so all the dials are easily reached.
Nissan tried a little too hard when it came to the audio system itself, making the radio needlessly complex, with A, B and C preset groupings that might let you interact AM and FM station settings.
Below the audio controls are the heat-air switches, which are three rotating knobs for fan, temperature and direction of airflow.
The front end has an aero lok, with flush-mounted halogen headlights and foglights, and in-glass antenna, and the rear has neatly styled taillights and that aforementioned stylishly tapered flip.
Other features of the SE include remote keyless entry and power windows with express-down feature on the ddriver and passenger doors. Dual cupholders front and rear, variable intermittent wipers, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, 60-40 fold-down rear seat, 8-way power driver’s seat with manual lumbar support, cruise control, air-conditioning, speed-sensitive volume control for the audio system, dual front airbags, side beams in the body, front and rear crumple zones for safety, and a vehicle security system.
The steering wheel itself needs an instruction manual. Along with the cruise control settings on the right, there are audio controls on the left, with a button to access the navigation system as well.
As for options, the antilock brake system on the 4-wheel discs is an option, and comes with side airbags and front and rear head-curtain airbags. The Bose audio upgrade is optional, as is a power glass sunroof, the rear spoiler, traction control, and xenon headlights.
When it came to the voting, I voted for the Audi A4 as the top car, but all of us on the jury got 25 points to spread out through as many candidates as we thought deserved them. I gave some voting points to the Altima, because it is impressive, although not as many as to the A4, the Acura RSX coupe, the Mercedes C-Coupe, and the Jaguar X-Type.
That in no way diminishes the Altima’s excellence in my view. The only drawbacks to the new Altima are that in seeking to make it more powerful, the big 3.5-liter engine gets a range of 19-26 miles per gallon, which was not as economical as the A4, or the RSX, and no better than the supercharged Mercedes or the Jag. Also, in making it bigger and better in every way, the Altima SE now lists for a base price of $23,149, and as tested it ran up to $27,462.
A couple of years ago, you could get an Altima with a good 4-cylinder for under $20,000. Now, the new car is better in every way, but when you get up to $27,000, you’ve moved into the price range of the A4, RSX, C-Coupe and X-type. Very good company, indeed, for a very good new car. Congratulations.
Cadillac gets early jump in high-tech luxury with 2003 CTS
Ever since the production of the NorthStar V8 engine, Cadillac has moved to, and defended the position of, the technology leader of General Motors.
Forget Chevy, or Pontiac, or even specialty things like the Corvette; the NorthStar V8, with its dual overhead camshaft, 32-valve design, spent the better part of a decade as the only evidence contrary to the notion that bean-counters would forever doom GM customers to aging or ancient motors. Along with that engine, Cadillac also redesigned the Seville, making it a true contemporary Caddy to tackle the many high-tech imports on the market.
Other attempts to expand the Cadillac line have been less successful. A sports car named Allante was neat, but didn’t sell. A small car called the Cimarron was a thinly disguised twin to the compact of other GM branches, and didn’t sell. The Catera came out as the “Caddy that zigs,” but when it came to sales, the rebadged version of a German-GM Opel “zagged” where it should have zigged, and didn’t sell.
For this year, however, Cadillac has struck it rich, it appears. It has come out with a new model, which now has been declared a 2003 model, called the CTS. That may mean that the folks at Cadillac are fresh out of viable nicknames, or collections of rational syllables that might sound impressive. But whatever they’re calling it, the CTS is the real deal.
Not only was it the runner-up to the Nissan Altima as North American Car of the Year — which was interesting, particularly since it was close to being a 2003 model winning the 2002 car of the year prize — but it meets all the requirements of a world-class sporty sedan for performance, technology and unique styling, but also for moderate price. The CTS starts with a base of $29,995, and lists for a reasonable $34,000 more realistically.
That puts the CTS in the midst of the near-luxury bracket, with the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series and 5-Series, Mercedes C-Class, Infiniti I35, several Lexuses, the top-rung Acuras, plus assorted Volvos, Lincolns and the best Chrysler. Performance-wise, the CTS fits in there too.
Let’s start with the only negative I can perceive about the car. It has front engine, rear drive. That is not a major drawback, unless you’re a mainstream driver, whose mainstream consists of driving in the snow belt during the winter. Most winters, we should say, because this winter has been so meek that slipping, spinning and skidding have been scarce, and the only time you seem to see a plow truck is when they’re zooming up and down the freeways, awaiting some storm that has been erroneously predicted to be oncoming.
While anyone who has driven both knows that front-wheel-drive has many inherent benefits for snow, ice and hills, the rest of the country doesn’t care.
Styling is impressive. At first, I thought it was a little too much. The front is tall and sort of stacked in the way that a lot of concept cars seem to be, and I wasn’t sure I cared for it. However, as the week passed, it grew more attractive to me. The angled grille and the tall headlight cover leads directly to a wedgy flow of lines angling along the sides. From the side, the CTS has a very impressive slant, and the rear deck is tall, housing a huge trunk, and leaving a stylish canvas for designers to play with. They did well, with tall and distinctive taillights, angling back to a vertical point at the midpoint of the trunk, topped by a neat little horizontal bar that tapers off the top edge as a high brake light.
If it looks good from the outside, it feels good from the inside, too, with leather seats and a wood shift knob. The CTS can be had with a manual transmission, although the test car I had used the 5-speed automatic. That connects to a 3.2-liter V6 engine, with dual overhead camshafts and 24 valves, which turns out 220 horsepower at 6,000 RPMs and 218 foot-pounds of torque at only 3,400 RPMs.
Cadillac claims 0-60 acceleration times of 7 seconds. That seems quick, but there is no question the car is adequately swift in off-the-line performance, as well as cruising or high-speed passing punch.
The CTS can be had with traction control and the StabiliTrak skid control device on the sport package.
While having a sporty and moderately-priced vehicle is a huge advantage for Cadillac, with a price point right in there with the top Bonnevilles and other GM top-line sedans, having a classy feel is every bit as important. The CTS delivers there, with a uniquely styled steering wheel, loaded with remote buttons for operating the audio system, and, on the lower part, cruise control.
The instruments are neatly styled with italic figures and easy to read gauges, and the audio system includes an in-dash CD player.
Comfortable bucket seats and a roomy rear seat add to the motoring pleasure of the CTS, which means Cadillac engineers also did a job under the skin. The platform is GM’s new “Sigma” layout, wich has independent suspension front and rear, with the components isolated in separate little cradles. That helps prevent the shocks from reaching the interior, and it also makes the CTS feel like it has natural stability, rather than a beefed-up, artificially enhanced shock system.
The front suspension has an extra-firm setting to prevent front “dive,” which is the deep-bowing dip that many U.S. cars, and particularly soft luxury cars, used to be unable to avoid. Hit the big 4-wheel disc brakes hard in the CTS and it simply stops, fast and firm, and without bobbing its front bumper.
Driving the CTS for a week, the car attracted many curious onlookers. Some thought the styling was over the edge, but most were impressed at the futuristic look. It does look like a concept car come to life, and for both General Motors and Cadillac, having a car suddenly considered on the cutting edge of high-tech is a major benefit.
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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