Mitsubishi adds Raider, enchants with Evolution IX
PORTLAND, OR. — The scenery along the Columbia River was spectacular from the Mitsubishi Raider pickup trucks we were driving during the mid-August North American media introduction of the 2006 Mitsubishi fleet, but the best was yet to come. The scenery at Portland International Raceway wasnÂ’t as spectacular, but driving the new Lancer Evolution IX at the track was mind-blowing.
Mitsubishi officials gushed with enthusiasm about their new products, particularly because the companyÂ’s financial scare of a year ago made an abrupt upturn with the early introduction of the new Eclipse, a stylishly bulgy sports coupe. “We seem to have turned a corner, thanks to the success of the Eclipse,†said Dave Schembri, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America. “Eclipse sales have nearly doubled what we had expected, and l;uckily our Normal, Ill., plant is flexible enough that we can increase production.Ââ€
A lot of hyperbole followed, including the boast that Mitsubishi ranked No. 1 in a market research study of which Japanese company was most-recognized. Mitsubishi officials claim thatÂ’s because other companies are disguising their Japanese heritage at a time when people perceive Japanese products as high-tech and well-made. Frankly, I donÂ’t think companies such as Mazda and Honda are hiding their heritage, itÂ’s just that millions of Americans might recognize MitsubishiÂ’s name from its exceptional lines of television and electronics, which other Japanese car companies donÂ’t produce.
Regardless, Mitsubishi may have lost out on some financing from DaimlerChrysler in the past year, but their connection with Chrysler continues to flourish – obviously. Mitsubishi has a long history of producing cars such as the Colt, Stealth, Champ, Conquest, Expo, Talon and Laser, and it produced a couple of decades of outstanding 3.0-liter V6 engines to bolster the runaway success of Chrysler Corporation’s minivans. And DaimlerChrysler is currently negotiating to buy more Mitsubishi engines.
But here’s a twist. One of the vehicles Mitsubishi made for Chrysler was the Montero, which was rebadged as the Dodge Raider SUV. It’s been a while since that was built, so now Dodge is producing its hot new Dakota pickup for Mitsubishi – as the Raider. It is Mitsubishi’s return to the pickup game for the first time since the old Mighty Max.
After a lengthy description of the Raider’s assets, I innocently asked whether, aside from the exterior and interior, there were any engine, drivetrain or suspension alterations from the Dakota, and Mike Evanoff, manager of product strategy, said, “No.†He later added that Mitsubishi was comfortable that the styling of the Raider, done in the Cypress studios in California, was sufficient to differentiate it from the Dakota, even while it is built alongside the Dakota in the Warren, Mich., plant.
“The Dakota is more of a working truck, while the Raider is aimed at being more of a sporty truck,†he said. And the dramatic, clearly Mitsubishi sweep of the front end of the truck will be its clear attraction. Chrysler, naturally, also supplies the two engines, a 3.7-liter V6 with 210 horsepower and 235 foot-pounds of torque, and either a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic, and a 4.7-liter V8 with 230 horses and 290 foot-pounds of torque, peaking at only 3,600 RPMs, through a 5-speed automatic, and with a 6,500-pound tow capacity. Either an extended cab or full 4-door double-cab style, in LS, DuroCross, or XLS trim levels, and in either 2-wheel or 4-wheel drive, the Raider can be had with either a 6.4-foot bed, or a 5.3-foot bed with the double cab.
The Raider – available in late September starting below $20,000 for base models — follows the Eclipse as the second of six corporate makeover vehicles in a two-year stretch. The Eclipse Spyder (convertible) will be next, then the Outlander SUV, then the compact Lancer sedan, and finally the Evolution X will follow. So many companies are using alph-numeric designations these days, and most of them use “X†in some fashion, but in the case of the Evolution, the “X†is strictly a Roman numeral.
And, indeed, “X†marks the spot for the Lancer Evolution. Always a tidy and efficient compact, the Lancer took a stride toward performance fun with the Evolution back in 2003, while also making a bold stride in professional rally racing with a high-performance specialty version using all-wheel-drive, turbocharged power. As those models evolved, they became more powerful and also more user-friendly.
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The Evo VIII last year boasted 276 horsepower and 0-60 times of 4.6 seconds in Road & Track magazineÂ’s tests, with an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour. For the Evo IX in 2006, Mitsubishi completely reworked the engine, strengthening the block and components, and put its MIVEC variable valve-timing scheme to work, and the superb little 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, with its dual overhead camshafts and 4-valve-per-cylinder heads was hiked to 286 horsepower at 6,500 RPMs, with torque increased to 289 foot-pounds at 3,500 RPMs.
We can only imagine what the Evolution X will be like two years from now in its all-new, 10th iteration, but for 2006, the ninth version – the Evolution IX – will more than suffice. The RS and IX models share the body-lightening tricks, such as an aluminum roof and a hollow rear spoiler, with the top-of-the-line MR (Mitsubishi Racing) model. The RS and IX come with a 5-speed stick shift, while the MR has a 6-speed.
Obviously, the car has improved quickness, and while we donÂ’t have an actual number yet, putting the Evo IX through its paces on both a tightly coned autocross course, and around the Portland International road-racing course, proved the carÂ’s fantastic stability, suspension, and steering control, all of which complement the tremendous power and the all-wheel drive system, which has an active center differential to distribute torque, and a front limited-slip differential to further regulate the power split.
All the assembled journalists got two turns at the autocross. I enjoy those, and usually do pretty well in them, and I thought I had accomplished pretty near the Evo IXÂ’s maximum, with a 48-second run on my tire-screeching second try around the circuit. Anything more, I thought, might be considered abuse. Later, we learned that a couple of journalists who race regularly stayed on the course for 20 or so turns and, while thrashing the car through some tire-lifting runs through the turns, recorded a 42-second time. Astounding.
By then, I was on the road course, where the Evo IX showed exemplary manners, particularly the true Recaro sport bucket seats with perfect bolstering and also a slightly gritty material in the center to keep your butt from moving to port or starboard while you are aiming full-speed ahead. I hit 120 mph on two different spots for several laps in succession, and only occasional stabs at the great brakes was necessary before hurtling around the tightest turns by using the gas pedal and modulating the traction.
There are some other true compact rockets out there these days, with the Subaru WRX STi most notable as the EvoÂ’s top competitor, but interior refinements make the car greatly adaptable to real-world driving, too. Evolutions will reach showrooms by early October, with prices starting at $29,000. The full-boat MR model at $36,000.
Deep down, I still favor little engines that over-achieve to engines that depend on mere largeness to supply power, and while the Eclipse continues to attract great attention, it performs because of a larger 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and a larger 3.8-liter V6. The Evolution, of course, puts it away with a 2.0 in turbo, all-wheel-drive form – which was the way the original Eclipse came. Won’t that drivetrain fit in the new Eclipse? Hiroshi Fujii, an engineer who is also the manager of the ongoing Evolution project, preferred to discuss the vehicle through an interpreter. But he understood that question, and just smiled, broadly.
The 2.4 is in the Eclipse because that car is on the larger Galant platform, while the Evolution is a more compact car, and Mr. Fujii-San explained that the 2.0 is a different engine family – thereby successfully dodging the question. I asked if it was near the limit of its potential, and he just smiled again. He, of course, is in charge of the still-secret and unseen Evo X. But for the next couple of years, the Evo IX will suffice. It is about as much fun as you can have in a compact 4-door sedan with race-track capabilities, real-world pleasures, and even budgetary considerations.
Mazda5 stretches popular Mazda3 into new segment
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA. — The strangest thing happened before the Mazda5 was officially introduced to the North American media, right adjacent to the Southern California surf. For about a month before the introduction, the cars started appearing in West Coast Mazda dealerships. More than just appearing, they started selling.
The Mazda5 will be something truly new and different in the U.S. auto market, and Mazda executives are smiling but keeping their fingers crossed at its early success. The smile is because over 700 Mazda5s were sold at the few dealers that got some in the past month without a word of advertising or promotion. The crossed fingers are because the compact Mazda3 sales have exceeded supply, and, with the Mazda5 based on a stretched Mazda3 platform, that could be a further problem.
“The worldwide demand (for the Mazda3) has been 40 percent greater than what we anticipated,†said Jay Amestoy, MazdaÂ’s vice president of public affairs. “The biggest issue we have is supply. We canÂ’t get enough Mazda3s. The Mazda5 is already at West Coast dealerships, and migrating east, and weÂ’re anticipating building 10,000-15,000 for the first partial year, depending on demand.Ââ€
I must admit, after looking forward to the third generation Miata, and being impressed with the Mazda6 and Mazda3, the Mazda5 snuck up on me. It is a rare vehicle that is easier to describe with words than with photos – a reversal that claims “a sentence is worth a thousand pictures.Ââ€
In photos, the Mazda5 looks sleek and well-contoured, but some might mistake it for a minivan. It is decidedly NOT a minivan. Mazda has the MPV, which is a very good minivan, and the Mazda5 is significantly smaller and more compact, resembling the whole segment of active-people-movers so popular in Europe and Japan. Such a segment hasnÂ’t hit the U.S. yet, but the Mazda5 could change that.
A Sport model starts at $17,995, with the Touring model starting at $19,500, with trim upgrades. Loading it up with virtually everything from the option bin would still leave you on the near side of $23,000.
Both the Sport and Touring models come with the Mazda3Â’s superb 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine, with variable valve-timing extracting 157 horsepower at 6,500 RPMs, and 148 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500. Quick, responsive steering, large disc brakes (11.8-inches front, 11.9 rear), strut and multilink suspension, front and rear, respectively, and 142 cubic feet of interior space with all the seats folded down, on a platform stretched 5.5 inches longer than the Mazda3 makes the Mazda5 more of a modular people-mover than a minivan or station wagon.
We hurled a Mazda5 with a 5-speed stick shift around some twisty turns in the hills above Huntington Beach, and the vehicle is both quick and agile. It feels strong in acceleration, easy to steer and turn in traffic, and EPA estimates of 27 miles per gallon highway and 22 city should be easily attainable with the 2.3. The 4-speed automatic has a manual shift gate.
Perhaps the most unconventional thing about the Mazda5 is a new marketing plan. Aiming at youthful, active vehicle buyers, there will be no television advertising, no conventional splashy print displays that catch the attention of the usual consumer. Instead, Mazda has worked out some deals for product placement, where the stars of some new fall NBC television show might drive up in a promotion bit driving a Mazda5.
Appropriately, MazdaÂ’s introduction for the car was at the U.S. base facility for Quiksilver, a modern company that specializes in making equipment, clothing and accessories for surfers, skate-boarders and snow-boarders. Quiksilver originated in Australia, where a couple of surfers had the idea to outfit fellow-surfers with the casual stuff they prefer. It has grown into a $2-million global conglomerate.
Officials at Quiksilver agreed fully with MazdaÂ’s executives that the Mazda5 and the surfer/boarder lifestyle were a good match. Quiksilver, based in Huntington Beach, uses such mottos as “Youth is a state of mind;†or “Live the life, embrace the vibe;†or “Inspiration comes from within.Ââ€
The mindset, Mazda officials say, is similar to MazdaÂ’s own “zoom-zoom†campaign, which might show a baby playing with a tiny car as soon as he can say “zoom-zoom,†followed by a mellow voice saying: “One day theyÂ’re born, then they want to go ‘zoom-zoom.Â’Â… Luckily, some never lose that spark.Ââ€
Mazda connected with buyers of all ages – including younger, active types – with the Mazda3, which is built on the extremely strong Volvo S40 platform, thanks to both companiesÂ’ affiliation with Ford. The Mazda3 comes in either a neat 4-door sedan or a 5-door hatchback, both with seating for four – or five in a pinch – and a bit of cargo space as well. Above all, it has Mazda’s strong 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine, which makes it sporty and fun to drive, even while fulfilling all sorts of utilitarian functions.
For those who need a little more room than the Mazda3 offers, it made perfect sense to stretch the Mazda3 platform by 5.5 inches, maintain all the safety characteristics, use the same engine and drivetrain, and adhere strictly to Mazda’s “zoom-zoom†philosophy of being fun to drive. Just like that, the Mazda5 was created as a new, different, and potential worldwide winner.
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The third row of seating means the Mazda5 will seat six, two each in first and second row bucket seats, and two more on a bench in the rear. Even those over 6-feet tall can get back there and fit. Mazda made it happen with a stepped floor, which has a 2-inch rise from the first to second, and another 2-inch rise from second to third. The seated hip points also rise in 2-inch increments. So people in the back can see over those in front of them from the tiered seats.
Sliding side doors take care of getting in and out of both the second and third rows. Some might think sliding side doors make the Mazda5 too minivan-like, but extra-wise rear doors were mandatory for third-row seat access, and conventional doors that big would mean instant crunches in parking lots. So arguably the easiest sliding doors in the industry make good sense.
Both the second and third rows fold down flat, leaving a 5-foot-3 cargo length behind the front buckets. Enough for the kid to take a nap, if not an adult. But perfect for a surfboard or skateboard equipment.
A couple with two youngsters could fold down the right-side seats in the second and third rows, load up the surfboards or snowboards or skateboards, and take off for a contemporary family weekend, all fitting comfortably in a vehicle that also will make a great commuter.
NHL’s new long-pass rule may help fans forget lockout
The National Hockey League not only returns to action this fall, but it could be the fastest, most wide-open NHL in the leagueÂ’s history. College hockey fans, a fervent cult unto themselves, already know what the NHL hasnÂ’t yet comprehended: Eliminating a little nuisance called the two-line pass will open the floodgates to let the best hockey players in the world fully explore their potential.
Pro hockey has used the center red line to determine how long a pass can be ever since World War II, while college hockey rules only use the center red line only for determining icing. When the NHL resumes play after taking last season off, it will do so with the college passing rule.
Traditionalists have long fought to keep the two-line passing rule, without ever knowing why, except that it was traditional. Tradition, by itself, is the worst justification for anything. But NHL old-timers have never known anything different. Whenever a team was in its own defensive zone, it could pass ahead to a teammate, but only across the nearest blue line; the pass had to be completed before that teammate reached the center red line, or else – whistle! – the dreaded two-line pass would be called to stop play for a faceoff.
In college hockey, a player pinned up against his own end boards, could fire a pass all the way to the far blue line, hitting a streaking winger with a 120-foot missile. Still, you can’t try to clear the puck from your side of the red line to the far end without it still being called icing and brought back to your end for a faceoff.
If pro hockey stalwarts have never watched a college game, they have no idea how exciting it is to see such wide-open scoring chances. Defensive zealots, and a few goaltenders, who prefer trapping defenses to forechecking and breakaways, may wake up in a cold sweat at the very thought of finding defensive players who can skate with those fast-breaking wingers, rather than merely waiting until the attackers had to slow down at the red line.
Another asset to the long-passing rule is that, even though traditionalists argue that the rule could ruin defensive concepts of the game, instead there will be some spectacular defensive plays. But the defenders will have to be extremely alert, ready to turn and go at high speed, rather than trust their usual assets – clutching, grabbing and hooking.
Nobody can calculate how many spectacular scoring chances and how many more high-speed breakaways and 2-on-1s have been forfeited by the stifling and archaic NHL rules.
The only previous chance the NHL had to adopt the non-redline rule was at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Recall that Sweden, playing a long-passing, wide-open style, would send one or even two forwards streaking up the rink, all the way across the far blue line. NHL-trained defensemen dropped back but relaxed at their own blue line, because any pass across that line would, of course, be offside. But the Swedes would then circle back to catch those 100-foot passes and finish their high-speed circles to sprint in at the unprotected goaltender.
The style confounded NHL purists. Heck, it confounded NHL players. Remember that Sweden humiliated what had been called the strongest Team Canada ever assembled with a 6-2 blowout in a preliminary round game. Canada went on to win the gold medal, but the biggest gasp of relief came when Sweden was upset by Belarus in a quarterfinal game. Otherwise, Canada would have had to beat Sweden in the semifinals, instead of the drained and satisfied Belarus, before getting past the U.S. in the final.
The point was, throughout the Olympics, the action was fast and furious – and eye-catching with its excitement. The International rules, like college, allow the long passes. All along, top NHL executives grudgingly acknowledged that the games were faster and more exciting in that wide-open style, and hints were everywhere that the NHL would reexamine its rules.
Then Canada won the gold medal, and the same NHL executives and management types puffed out their chests and said, “Well, I guess our style of play is OK after all.Ââ€
All that work, all the effort Herb Brooks had put in to distill the top U.S. National Hockey Leaguers to adapt to his hybrid, fast-breaking, puck-controlling style, were swept away. Canada rules, helped by an NHL officiating staff that called the final like a typical, clutch-and-grab NHL game, forgetting entirely about International rules. Ask Mike Modano, or Jeremy Roenick, or Brett Hull, which style they’d prefer to play – Herbie’s style, or the NHL style of the past 50 years.
Stubbornness has long been the biggest liability the NHL has had in preventing itself from achieving its own potential. For example, few observers who praise the two-line pass presence of the center red line seem to be unaware of the wonderful story about how it was put in place to begin with. During World War II, so many of the young men from Canada and the U.S. went off to war that the NHL faced a shortage of players. So it was decided to put in a red line across the middle of the rink, and declare that nobody could pass across it until they had the puck across their own blue line. That would allow some of the old and aging defensemen, who were too old to go to war, to keep playing, so that the league could keep functioning through the war years.
As a cynic who always has preferred the college game, I once wrote that the pro hockeyÂ’s biggest problem is that nobody has told the NHL that World War II ended.
If stubbornness prevailed, in the name of tradition, it took more stubbornness on both sides to cost the National Hockey League a full season of play, and also established pro hockey as an easy target for columnists throughout the United States who needed somewhere to vent any accumulated venom. Those columnists, particularly those who rarely attend hockey games anyhow, took great glee in ridiculing the NHL by calling both sides stupid, suggesting the lockout could be suicidal to the leagueÂ’s future, or, worse, saying that nobody cares anyway.
Critics have a point. Hockey, many agree, is followed by the most intense body of fans on the planet, but the sport is nowhere near as universally popular as baseball, football or basketball. As Bill Clinton might say, however, “It depends on your definition of universal.Ââ€
Baseball is big in the U.S., big in Central America, and big in Japan – and that’s it. In case you forget, the International Olympic Committee just dropped baseball from being an Olympic sport because of scant participation around the world. Football? The NHL tries to force it into England and Europe, but everywhere outside of the U.S., soccer is what they mean when they say football. Basketball is played some in countries that can grow 7-footers, such as Russia, or Italy, with a flurry in China, and Yugoslavia, but not much, considering it only takes five players to create a winning team.
Hockey, meanwhile, is played and played well in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, and on a lesser scale in the Far East, and even in Great Britain and Australia. It took far less to create the gold medal upset when the old USSR beat the U.S. in Olympic basketball than it did for the U.S. collegians to conquer the USSR, Sweden, Finland, Canada and the Czechs in 1980Â’s hockey tournament.
Still, hockey is not major in many parts of the U.S., and the lack of a strong national television contract is evidence. ThatÂ’s what led to the nobody-wins lockout situation, where both sides were at fault, or neither side was at fault, depending upon your perspective.
Hockey needed to make itself more wide-open, to let the skaters and playmakers have enough room to skate, make plays, and score more goals. But the sport seemed helpless to help itself. Television revenue is what makes football successful at those colleges where it is a success. Removing television revenue, shared among conferences, reduces the number of college football programs that actually make a profit to a half dozen or so, according to nationally circulated statistics a few years ago.
No question, pro baseball, football and basketball have lucrative network contracts, and thus make more money, and can better afford the outrageous salaries players command. Hockey could never afford such salaries, but, driven by the demands of agents, some of whom also represent players in the other pro sports, caused the NHL teams to pay and pay until even the highest ticket prices couldnÂ’t assure financial stability.
Something had to be done. The owners needed a salary cap, and the players, deep down, knew it. But the players association went into negotiations saying they’d do anything – “except a salary cap.†Since a salary cap was the most pressing need, there were no serious negotiations. The lockout kept the players – and fans – out of the arenas, and things got particularly tough when, at midseason, a couple of owners whispered that they were losing less money by not playing than they’d be losing by playing the way things were.
Finally, faced with what might have been the complete eradication of pro hockey as we know it, the players association gave in. Giving back 24 percent of their salaries, and seriously limiting team and individual player salaries will make for a far more even playing surface. And there is a chance for profitability.
In the big picture, however, the best chance for a more exciting game — and the possible TV contract that could follow – is in place because of a couple of rule changes. There had been talk of not letting the goalies handle the puck(!), and of making the goals larger, like soccer goals, to allow more goals – forget about having to throw out all the old scoring records. Widening the blue lines to make the offensive zones larger is questionable, and not really necessary. Making the goaltendersÂ’ pads closer to the size configuration that the rules call for, will help to give shooters some openings, and perhaps officials will have to measure goalie pads the way they measure sticks for illegal curves.
But without question, the elimination of the two-line passing rule is the biggest attribute that NHL players and fans can look forward to. After everyone gets used to the new, high-speed game, and teams start acquiring players who can skate and pass rather than those who can lift heavy things and clutch and grab, they will look back someday and think about how archaic the old rules were. Remember hearing about the way girls basketball rules used to be in some places, where a player could only dribble two bounces, then had to pass, and a player on the defensive side of the court couldnÂ’t advance across to the offensive side? ThatÂ’s the way the old NHL rules will someday be recalled.
When you get a chance to catch the “new†NHL, on television or in person, check it out. The only remaining cynics – aside from those who donÂ’t yet realize World War II is over — are those who donÂ’t want to see guys named Modano, Naslund, Forsberg, Datsyuk, and Kariya skating at full speed to catch a 120-foot breakaway pass. Can you say: “breathtaking?†Can you say: “Where can I buy a ticket?†Can you say: “What lockout?Ââ€
Lexus adds sportiness with new 2006 GS300, GS430
The folks at Lexus, who have been raised from Toyota – with “raised†the operative word here, as the company’s upscale brand – have always produced sound, substantial vehicles, comfortably secure and dependable, and quiet as vaults. The new GS midrange models represent something of an expansion.
Both the GS300 and the GS430 should enhance the Lexus reputation, but both are aiming at different segments in the marketplace, and have distinctly different personalities. They share the same new and longer platform and the same style, which is a sleek, sweeping silhouette that looks much sportier than what we have come to expect from Lexus.
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The cars fit into the Lexus scheme above the very good ES sedan level and the super-luxury LS level, not as sporty as the blunt and racy IS sedans, but definitely taking a swipe outside the upscale luxury category and more at the sport-luxury segment. The biggest difference between the GS 300 and 430 is that the 300 has the 3.0-liter V6 with 245 horsepower, and the 430 has the 4.3-liter V8, with 300 horsepower.
From the start, when Honda spun off Acura, then Toyota begat Lexus and Nissan started Infiniti, my theory is that the Japanese companies had captivated the United States auto-buying world by offering something extra. Arguably, instead of trying to duplicate American cars for American buyers, they would try to emulate the best German cars and sell them for considerably less to a U.S. market that was craving higher-quality cars for reasonable prices.
If that theory holds true, then it appeared Lexus set its sights on Mercedes, while Infiniti seemed to go after BMW – the sportier of the two luxury-road-car German giants. If you extend it, then Audi and Acura might have a link as the more cost-efficient combination of sportiness, luxury, and technology.
As years passed, Lexus has done a good job of duplicating fine Mercedes road-car comfort, style, and performance, and, in fact, went beyond the Germans in the sound-deadening silence of their cars. All of a sudden, a year ago, Mercedes showed off a sweeping, coupe-shaped four-door S-Class sedan on the auto show circuit, and this year theyÂ’ve introduced that provocative shape on the new CRS.
Hot on the heels of that introduction, Lexus has brought out a pair of very coupe-shaped four-door sedans in the GS300 and GS430.
The new models come just as Toyota seems to be trying to adjust its image. At recent media introductions, ToyotaÂ’s trained speakers have issued numerous statements claiming that the new models will stress passion and emotional impact. There is no question that these cars fit the claim, but it is interesting to observe a company that has gone the luxury route realize that it may also want to branch into sports-luxury.
No one will question ToyotaÂ’s technology. By dabbling in Formula 1 and Indy Car racing in recent years, Toyota is following the high-tech lead that lifted Honda (and Acura) to exalted levels of performance technology. In the process, some very impressive work has been done in the engine compartment, and not just on the bigger powerplant. As is often the case, the smaller V6 has a lot to offer, and buyers shouldnÂ’t just flock in and ask for the V8 upgrade.
For one thing, both cars follow the current performance-car trend of having front engine with rear-wheel drive. That may confound some Minnesotans who would rather have front-wheel drive when they negotiate winter, but the GS300 that I test drove had the optional all-wheel drive, which is not available on the V8 model.
With 245 horsepower and 230 foot-pounds of torque, the GS300 is plenty quick from 0-60, with MotorTrend showing it at 7.2 seconds. ThatÂ’s not all-out sports-sedan quick, but it certainly feels swift enough when youÂ’re driving it. The GS300Â’s all-wheel drive system runs normally at 30 percent front/70 percent rear drive, with torque transferring to make it 50/50 whenever the system detects wheelspin.
The V6 has continuous variable valve-timing, and direct injection – something Audi has debuted on both its 3.2 V6 and 2.0 four-cylinder. The plan is to control and direct the air-fuel mixture directly into each combustion chamber, rather than into a runner that deposits equal doses to all cylinders. By injecting directly, the fuel can be more closely monitored for pressure and temperature, and engineers have been able to lift the compression ratio from 10.5-to-1, to 11.5-to-1, and still register an EPA highway fuel economy rating of 30.
At 245 horses, the new engine raises the ante from the 220 horsepower of the inline six in the 2005 GS300, while torque is up by 10 foot-pounds, to 230. Obviously, Lexus could have gone for more power in the GS, because it has the 3.3-liter V6 and a new 3.5-liter V6 in its expanding arsenal. But apparently Lexus wanted to leave room for the more powerful GS430, as well as the new, more powerful LS models coming.
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Real-world drivers, especially Lexus veterans, will find the V6 more than adequate. As far as interior amenities are concerned, both cars leave little to be desired in the creature-comfort category. Both blend upscale leather and rich wood, plus some metal accents. The darker wood, leather, and grainy dashboard covering added a classy touch, and you can choose light or dark motifs.
The navigation system is good, although not as impressive as some I’ve tested. Same with the Mark Levinson sound system – very good, and one of the best. One very impressive part of both cars is the tiny rear-view video lens affixed in the rear indentation for the license plate. Shift into reverse and the nav screen instantly switches to a wide-angle view of what is behind you. In glorious color.
The cars both have keyless entry, with the ability to walk up to the car and have it unlock itself because you have the key in your pocket or purse. Once inside, you also can start the vehicle by pushing a button – in other words, if you have the key, you needn’t use the key.
Both cars also run through the same smooth, six-speed automatic transmission. Drivers can shift for themselves, although itÂ’s not as likely as in some cars, because of the luxury feel of the car.
The GS430, with the LS430Â’s potent V8, has 300 horsepower and 325 foot-pounds of torque, and you can feel the heavier weight shift rearward when you stomp on the gas. It will run 0-60 in about 6-seconds flat, easily outsprinting the GS300. Like the V6, the V8 is a dual-overhead-camshaft, four-valve-per-cylinder unit with ToyotaÂ’s VVT-I, which means variable valve-timing with intelligence. It makes your engine computer-perfect in the duration of valve opening and closing for optimum response to whatever input your right foot implies.
The V8 model also has larger wheels, and more of a high-performance feel supplied by slightly stiffer suspension components. An extremely sophisticated electronic Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management — or VDIM, if you can stand one more catchy acronym — uses three sensors to read everything from acceleration, deceleration, brake force, and steering angle, and adjusts everything for you. One of the more impressive traits is that at slower speeds, it quickens the steering considerably, knocking off about a half-turn of steering-wheel required to turn on a tighter arc.
So the GS300 and the GS430 both are impressive, in different ways. The V8 will attract some who want more oomph, while the V6 will be plenty for normal drivers, and easily preferred by those who want the security of all-wheel drive.
The GS430 has a base sticker price of $51,125, but as-tested, the car I drove was $58,734. ThatÂ’s pretty stiff, although itÂ’s right there in the heart of Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series territory. The GS300 has a more-reasonable base price of $45,500, but as-tested, with all-wheel drive, it was over $52,000.
The GS twins are worthy additions to the Lexus fleet, particularly in looks and interior features. The performance is certainly adequate, but there are more than just Mercedes and BMW out there, these days. There is the Audi A6, with either a strong V8 or V6, and there are the new Infiniti twins – the M35 and M45. They parallel the size and target market of the GS cars, but with significant power upgrades for both. And don’t overlook Acura, which has the very sporty TL sedan with a stick shift available, and the new RL with more power and all-wheel drive for about the same price as the GS300. And the Cadillac STS is also in the running, with its hot V8 and a very strong V6.
With so many strong and stylish candidates, the consumers win. A year ago, the buyer who wants a definite dose of sportiness with luxury might have looked only at those competitors, without considering a Lexus. For 2006, the GS300 and GS430 lift Lexus into that battleground, and consumers can decide how much sportiness they’d like in a comfortably secure Lexus.
Honda’s S2000 stays ahead of sports car mainstream
A good friend of mine spent a lot of years and one long-since-passed marriage buying generically practical cars that were dull and uninteresting. Then he discovered two-seaters, and heÂ’s driven small roadsters for well over a decade now. His budgetary priorities dictate the cars must be used, rather than new, but he was due again, he told me a couple months ago, and he wondered what I might recommend.
I told him I had several in mind, but before he made any decision, I had just spotted a four-year-old Honda S2000 in a newspaper want ad, and that he owed it to himself to find one and take it for a test drive. He protested that I was probably trying to get him into some exotic, 200-mile-per-hour burner, and he just wanted something that would handle well and provide that wind-in-your-hair freedom. It didnÂ’t matter if it was a racy car, but I knew that, because his two-seaters have included a Pontiac Fiero and a Honda del Sol.
I repeated that it was true that the Honda S2000 would run away and hide from many sports cars, but it wasn’t required, in order to provide pleasure. Yes, it has an exceptional engine, and yes, it has a six-speed stick shift, but it truly is a car he could drive for10 years and find levels of sports-car enjoyment that he – and most car owners – don’t know exist, without ever breaking the speed limit. Just find one and drive it, I told him, then go off and buy whatever you want, knowing that you have experienced a benchmark for comparison as the ultimate handling car.
My friend moved across town shortly after that conversation, and I misplaced the scrap of paper, on which I had written his new unlisted number. So I was unable to find him a couple weeks ago when I got my test-driving paws on a new 2005 Honda S2000 for a week. Too bad, because I really wanted to show it to him before he made a decision.
The test car was “Rio Yellow Pearl†– an almost iridescent yellow with lots of metallic highlights glistening through. Like finding another old friend, the new S2000 proved it might still be the best-handling car I’ve ever driven, even though the new S2000 is a bit different from the original I drove five years ago. That one was pretty edgy, with a 2-liter 4-cylinder tweaked to turn out 240 horsepower, and a stock redline of 9,000 RPMs. At the time, I wrote that “maybe only dogs can hear 9,000 RPMs†because of the shrillness as the little engine gleefully went from alto to soprano. That was one of its unmatched features, like having your own Formula 1 race car to drive on the street. It also handled with astounding flatness and precision, and its quick-reacting steering was riveted in my memory.
A year or so ago, Honda decided the S2000 should be backed off just a bit. The 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine was reduced from 9,000 to an 8,000-RPM redline, while horsepower remained at 240, while the torque was raised just a bit. HondaÂ’s reasoning was that more torque and fewer revs might lure more mainstream buyers to the S2000, if they didnÂ’t have to run the revs up so high. I disagreed, but Honda didnÂ’t ask me. My feeling was that 9,000 revs was a unique and uncompromising feature, so why compromise?
At $33,000, the new S2000 costs a bit more than a Mazda Miata, which bristles with low-to-mid-$20,000 fun, but it canÂ’t hope to run with the higher-strung S2000. On the other hand, a Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4, or Corvette have considerably more power, and about the same performance, but youÂ’d have to pay $50,000 for a Boxster, Z4, or Corvette. A Corvette has twice as much power, but its engine is almost three times larger than the S2000; a Boxster S has a few more horses, but a full liter more displacement; and a Z4 has less power despite almost a full liter more displacement. Motor TrendÂ’s published statistics show acceleration, handling stability and slalom speeds are nearly identical for the S2000, Z4 and Boxster S.
The all-aluminum, shark-nosed S2000 is light and lean, and with Formula 1-type double wishbone suspension on all four corners, augmented with stabilizer bars at both front and rear, its handling is so good that it turns on the proverbial dime. One time, driving at 30 on a deserted street, my passenger said, “Oh, you should have turned there.†I turned, instantly and without touching the brake, and we made the turn, flat and perfectly stable. After that, I found pleasure driving up to unpopulated 90-degree corners and simply making the turn while accelerating from 30 to 40, instead of touching the brakes.
Much of the time I had with the S2000 was spent setting a personal record for the number of rides I gave to friends, neighbors, and friends of theirs I didnÂ’t even know. True, I would run through the close-ratio gears, taking off quickly in first, running it up to the 8,000 redline in second perhaps, then coasting a bit. It dashes forward with great suddenness, but still, the most impressive demonstration was to show how flat and stable the car stayed while making practiced but abrupt 90-degree turns.
Some of my criticisms about the car proved unfounded. For instance, I was disappointed the S2000 didn’t have foglights – right up until the first night, when I flipped on the Xenon gas-discharge headlights, which lit up the night, with a stark cutoff that was like a line between total darkness and brilliant light. Never mind the lack of foglights.
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As a two-seater, there is no rear seat. There also is precious little trunkspace – enough for a weekend trip, but if you bring luggage you might want to leave the golf bags at home. There aren’t a lot of little storage bins for the two occupants, either. But the ergonomics work, with neat little flippers protruding from the dash for no-look increases or decreases to radio volume and air-conditioning/heat fan.
My biggest remaining criticism is the gearbox. The action of flinging the short-throw, perfectly balanced shifter through its six gears is scintillating, no quarrel there. But the close-ratio arrangement of the gears means you must shift as soon as youÂ’ve shifted, without any gap to enjoy letting the revs build a bit. At 70-mph or so cruising speed on a freeway, you are turning about 3,500 revs. That is no strain for an engine that will go to 8,000, but wider-ratio gears would let you spend a few moments longer in each gear, and if you could cruise at 2,000 RPMs at 70, youÂ’d probably get 30miles per gallon instead of 25.
Of course, HondaÂ’s Formula 1 and Indy car technology were originally inserted into the S2000Â’s 16-valve, dual-overhead-camshaft engine, most notable the VTEC variable valve timing. The clean-burning engine meets EPA Tier-2, Bin-9 emission standards, with 105,000 miles suggested between tune-ups. The roof fits snugly, and goes up and down at the touch of a button. You unlatch it, hit the button, and it engulfs its all-glass rear window and folds itself down behind the seats in a flash. Large disc brakes and surrounding airbags join the rigid construction to provide maximum safety, although the carÂ’s superb handling is probably its best safety feature.
The test car listed at $33,665, including $515 for shipping, and no charge for a full tank of gas – the only thing not standard on the sticker sheet.
I put the top down every time I drove, and I cheated by turning on the air-conditioning at foot-level when I was in thick traffic and it was 90-something outside. The hot, fun-filled week passed too swiftly, and I realized how much I had enjoyed the car when, a week later, I was driving down Hwy. 280, the Minnesota highway that separates Minneapolis from St. Paul, and I spotted a silver S2000 up ahead, cruising in its top-down splendor.
It was one of the older S2000s, the edgier ones, with the 9,000-RPM redline. I maneuvered up through congested traffic to get alongside, and to my surprise, the driver was my friend – the sports-car nut who had been reluctant to even think about the S2000. I hollered to him, and he glanced over, smiled broadly, and yelled two sentences. First, he said, “This is the greatest car I’ve ever driven,†and second, he asked: “Can I cut in front of you for the next exit?†I said sure. He swerved neatly in front of me, and he was gone.
I really like that car.
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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