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77February 1999

NEWSBREAKJohn Lypen

The snow wasn’t plowed,airlines and airports weredysfunctional and masstransit (Detroit’s versionof it, anyway) was shutdown. There were even

reports that parking lot attendants de-manded bribes from journalists for park-ing spots. But despite all the outside dis-tractions, nothing could diminish De-troit’s big shindig—the North AmericanInternational Auto Show (NAIAS).

Celebrating its 11th year as an interna-

tional event, the 1999 NAIAS remainsthe only North American auto show to besanctioned by the Organisation Interna-tionale Des Constructeurs d’Automobiles(OICA). The 1999 event was the 83rdshow in Detroit, making it the longestrunning auto show in the country.

Over 6000 automotive writers from 67countries converged on Motown to seethe latest concept and production vehi-cles from more than 40 manufacturers.And they weren’t disappointed.

This year, perhaps more than ever,

new models seemed to center on the funof driving. “Lifestyle” vehicles, retrocruisers, even models like the replace-ment for the ubiquitous Escort manageto keep the “fun” in functionality whileturning heads with leading-edge styling.

Thankfully, not every coming-soon-to-an-auto-show-near-you modern marvelperched on a rotating pedestal is des-tined to become a reality. But you can besure that, before long, many of thesedream machines will cruise America’shighways...and need service.

‘Too Cool’ ChryslerIf DaimlerChrysler wantedto turn heads at this year’sNAIAS with the PT Cruiser,they sure did. Following thelead of the Dodge Viper andPlymouth Prowler, the PTCruiser is the company’s lat-est concept-to-reality project.

Robert J. Eaton, Chair-man, DaimlerChrysler, saysthat the Chrysler PT Cruiseris a segment-breaker that is“too cool to categorize.” ThePT prefix stands for “personaltransportation.”

“Chrysler PT Cruiser meldsDaimlerChrysler’s signatureAmerican design with an inno-vative interior package to meetconsumer needs on a globalbasis,” said Tom Gale, Execu-tive Vice President ProductStrategy, Design and Passen-ger Car Operations - Daimler-Chrysler Corp. “This combina-tion breaks the mold of the tra-ditional small car to create atruly flexible activity vehicle.”

At 168.8 inches, the overallexterior length of the PTCruiser is 5.3 inches shorterthan the new Ford Focus, yet

its EPA interior volume of119.8 cubic feet rivals that ofa full-size sedan.

For the North Americanmarket, the front-wheel-drivePT Cruiser will be powered bya new 2.4-liter, DOHC 16-valve engine available with anautomatic or manual transmis-sion. Powertrain options for in-ternational markets include asmaller displacement gasolineengine and a diesel engine.

The PT Cruiser can carryfive people as a passengercar, or just the driver withthe cargo capacity of a lighttruck. The 65/35 split foldingrear seat can be folded for-ward in two positions or re-moved completely to reveala flat-load floor. An availablefront passenger seat can befolded down for use as atable top for the driver, or toprovide enough space to loadan 8-foot ladder from therear of the vehicle.

With the rear seat in theupright position, the PTCruiser has a rear storagecompartment with a multipo-sition shelf panel that can be

Chrysler’s segment-busting PT Cruiser (top photo) is de-signed for both the North American and international mar-kets. It goes on sale early next year as a 2001 model. The in-terior (above) blends innovative features and packaging.

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placed in any of five positions,or removed entirely. One po-sition converts it into a tabletop for other uses, such astailgate parties.

Both left- and right-hand-drive versions of the PTCruiser will be produced atDaimlerChrysler’s Toluca as-sembly plant in Mexico, withsales to begin in early 2000.

T-Bird Flies AgainDon’t call it retro! That’s theword from Ford company of-ficials, who say the newThunderbird concept isn’tretro—it’s “modern-her-itage.” Whatever you call it,there’s no doubt that Fordleaned heavily on styling cuesfrom past-generation modelsfor the new Thunderbird.

The original T-Bird, intro-duced in 1954 as a 1955 mod-el, was a two-seat sporty carwith a long cowl set off by el-egant round headlamps, anegg-crate grille and a wrap-around, aircraft-style wind-shield. In 1956, the famousporthole window was addedto Thunderbird’s optional re-movable hard top.

“The new concept car is anindication of where we’reheaded with the Thunderbirdwhen it goes back into pro-duction for the new millenni-um,” said Ford CEO JacNasser. It features design ele-ments from Thunderbirds of1955-57 and 1961-62, simpli-fied into contemporaryforms. The cues include port-hole windows, aluminum-fin-ished chevrons, a hood scoop,round headlamps, taillampsand fog lamps, and the trade-mark Thunderbird badge.

The interior door panelsare covered in black leatherwith yellow leather inserts andbrushed aluminum accents.The instrument panel sportswhite gauges with turquoisepointers. The upper instru-

ment panel, steering wheeland floor-mounted shifter arecovered in black leather. Thelower instrument panel andglove box are accented in yel-low leather, matching the car’ssun-mist yellow exterior.

While no exact dates wereannounced, Ford says thatthe new Thunderbird shouldbe available within a year.

Dakota Quad CabWhen first introduced in thespring of 1986 as an ’87 mod-el, the Dodge Dakota washailed as the first real alterna-tive to traditional compactpickups. Now Dodge’s latestinnovation, the Dakota QuadCab, has been unveiled.

Company research showsthat driving to work, pleasuredriving and errand runningwere given as primary uses fortoday’s compact pickup owner86% of the time. So why not

combine the hauling capabilityof a compact pickup with theseating capacity of a sedan?

The Dakota cab is extend-ed to incorporate full-size,front-hinged rear doors,along with rear seats that ac-commodate three adultscomfortably. The box hasbeen resized, but still offers a1450-pound payload capacity,and the vehicle retains thesame overall length as theDakota Club Cabs.

The rear compartment canbe adapted to accommodatepassengers on one side andcargo on the other, or to pro-vide secure interior storagefor large packages.

Two optional V8s are avail-able, including a new additionto the Dodge Magnum enginefamily, a 4.7-liter V8 producing235 hp and 295 ft-lb of torque.

The new engine features acast-iron block and cast-alu-

minum cylinder heads with asingle overhead camshaft perbank. Magnesium valve cov-ers, a molded composite in-take manifold and accessoriesdirectly mounted to the en-gine structure contribute toan overall weight reduction of54 pounds compared to theprevious 5.2-liter engine.

According to Dodge, theengine is designed to operate150,000 miles under normalconditions without a part re-placement other than normalmaintenance items. A newautomatic serpentine belttensioner increases the aver-age accessory belt life to100,000 miles.

The 4.7-liter Magnum V8can be coupled with a new ful-ly automatic, electronicallycontrolled, multispeed 45RFEtransmission. This transmis-sion has unique features, suchas a tall 3.00:1 first gear ratiothat gives the driver better ini-tial acceleration. Real-timedriver-adaptive shifting fine-tunes the shift pattern to thedriver, while an alternate sec-ond gear ratio enhances drive-ability and performance.

The Dakota Quad Cabcomes in two-wheel drive ora choice of part-time or full-time four-wheel-drive mod-els. It goes into production inthe fourth quarter of 1999 atthe Warren Truck assemblyplant in Warren, Michigan.

The new FordThunderbirdconcept takesstyling cuesfrom its prede-cessors. Fordsays we can ex-pect to see thenew T-Bird inshowroomswithin a year.

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Dodge’s innovative Dakota Quad Cab—a Dakota pickupwith four full doors—will be available for retail sale in thefourth quarter of ’99, as a 2000 model.

Ford in FocusOn sale this fall, Ford’s Es-cort-replacing Focus lineup isavailable in three bodystyles—sedan, wagon andthree-door. The sporty three-door is unique, with curvingarcs created by the rooflineand high-mounted taillampsthat were designed for safetyand reduced repair costs.

The four-door sedan offersa deep luggage compartmentand comprehensive safety sys-tems. As the high series, theZTS sedan is the image leaderfor the Focus lineup with themost standard features, suchas the 16-valve Zetec engineand antilock brakes.

The Focus wagon demon-strates optional versatility de-fined by extended rear sidewindows and full-width tail-gate. Its 37.5 cubic feet is thelargest load area in its class.

Focus is powered by achoice of two 2.0-liter enginesand a choice of manual or anall-new electronically con-trolled automatic transmis-sion. The base 2.0-liter SOHCI-4 split-port induction (SPI)engine delivers 107 hp at 5000rpm. Peak torque is 122 ft-lbat 3750 rpm. The engine uti-lizes a siamesed bore cast-ironcylinder block to increase dis-placement and improve NVH,with a split-port cast-alu-minum cylinder head.

The optional 2.0-liter 16-valve DOHC Zetec I-4 enginedelivers 130 hp at 5500 rpm.Peak torque is 127 ft-lb at4250 rpm. The Zetec engineuses a cast-iron cylinder blockand two belt-driven overheadcamshafts running directly in-to an aluminum head.

Both engines are availablewith an all-new, light, com-pact four-speed automatictransmission, which featuresoverdrive and a lock-uptorque converter. The trans-mission’s electronic synchro-

nous shift control moduleworks in conjunction with theelectronic engine controls,using information from 18different engine and trans-mission sources to calculatethe best possible shiftingstrategy for multiple operat-ing conditions.

Audi TT CoupeFirst shown as a concept carin 1995 at the German Mo-tor Show in Frankfurt, thenew Audi TT Coupe isready to debut in U.S. show-rooms this spring.

A 180-hp, 1.8-liter tur-

bocharged five-valve enginepowers the low-slung sportscoupe, while the new tur-bocharged engine features thelatest electronic engine man-agement system, MotronicME 7.5.

The adaptive engine man-agement system controls anumber of functions—throttleposition, boost pressure con-trol, sequential fuel injectionand a solid-state high-tensionignition system (including in-dividual coils for each cylinderand cylinder-selective knockcontrol with two sensors).

This “self-teaching” system

also makes it possible to modi-fy engine settings according tothe grade of fuel available, andto maintain the best relation-ship between boost pressure,torque and ignition timing.

The TT Coupe is the firstAudi to be equipped withtwo head/thorax side airbags mounted in the frontseat backs. These supple-mental restraints are de-signed to protect the upperbody and head region in theevent of a side impact.

While pricing has not yetbeen announced, Audi saysthe TT Coupe will be pricedin the “attainable range.”

Hyundai SUVHyundai is one of the few ve-hicle manufacturers thatdoesn’t sell a sport/ute, mini-van or pickup...but won’t befor long. South Korea’s au-tomaker unveiled its SantaFe concept sport/utility vehi-cle at the NAIAS—the firstSUV designed, engineeredand developed by Hyundai.The vehicle, which will besold primarily in the U.S., ispowered by an all-aluminum,24-valve, DOHC, transverse-ly mounted V6. The trans-mission is a four-speed, elec-tronically controlled, fullyadaptive automatic.

Power is transmitted to thewheels through an electroni-cally controlled all-wheeldrive system with viscouscoupling that engages therear wheels for added trac-tion when needed withoutany input from the driver.

The Santa Fe has aMacPherson strut front sus-pension. At the back is asemitrailing arm rear suspen-sion. An aggressive stance onthe road is provided by 17-inch wheels and tires, andlarge, egg-shaped headlampsare placed at the corners ofthe front end to create an im-

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80 February 1999

Love it or hate it, the styling of Ford’s new Focus lineup(SE wagon shown here) is anything but plain-Jane. Focusis based on an all-new platform and features the stiffestand one of the lightest body shells in its class.

Coming to showrooms in late spring in the U.S. as afront-wheel-drive coupe with standard traction control,the turbocharged Audi TT Coupe will be offered in a quat-tro all-wheel-drive version starting in late summer.

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age of size and presence.Safety features include

second-generation, depow-ered dual front air bags, apassenger-presence detectionsystem that shuts off the pas-senger-side air bags when asmall child, or no one, is inthe seat and front seat-beltpretensioners to cinch thebelt in the event of a collision.

Lexus IS Not a MaybeLexus has announced plans tobring the European compactsports sedan IS to the U.S.market in mid-2000. The U.S.version will have a six-cylinderengine featuring VariableValve Timing with intelli-gence (VVT-i), but the dis-

placement is still under con-sideration. The car will be po-sitioned below the GS series,to compete with the BMW 3-series and Audi A4. Enginespecifications, as well as stan-dard and optional features,have not yet been finalized.

Marketed as the Altezzain Japan, the IS was de-signed for Europe and willgo on sale there this spring.After it’s modified for theAmerican market, the IS willbe offered here.

Like the Lexus GS, the ISwill feature a front-engine,rear-wheel-drive configura-tion. The center of gravity onthe IS is low, while the small,angled headlamps, low-slung

air dam and built-in fog lampsadd to the sporty effect.

Aerodynamic shielding onthe undercarriage will im-prove airflow and create a vir-tually flat-bottom ground ef-fect similar to that of a racecar. Front and rear fairingsjust ahead of the wheels alsowill improve aerodynamicperformance and stability athigher speeds.

Cadillac EvoqCadillac’s new Evoq is a rear-wheel-drive two-seater with aone-button retractable hard-top. Powered by a super-charged version of the next-generation Northstar V8, theconcept vehicle also showcas-es a host of advanced tech-nologies, either available nowor currently under develop-ment. These include NightVision, a Forewarn Back-UpAid rear obstacle-detectionsystem, rear-vision camerasthat replace outside rearviewmirrors, a vertically anchoredtire and wheel system andCommuniport, a mobile mul-timedia information systemwith voice-activated naviga-tion, electronic mail and en-tertainment capabilities.

Evoq represents the firstapplication of the CadillacNorthstar V8 engine to a rear-wheel-drive configuration,

previewing technology thatwill be seen on the next-gen-eration Northstar System.The new 4.2-liter all-alu-minum V8 has been“crowned” by a fully integrat-ed supercharger/intercoolerunit, and comes with four-camshaft continuously vari-able valve timing plus a newlow-friction valvetrain. Theengine produces 405 hp at6400 rpm and 385 ft-lb oftorque at 4000 rpm. Up-grades include a steel crank-shaft, heavy-duty pistons andconnecting rods, iron insertedmain bearing bulkheads, spe-cific valves and four-layerhead gaskets.

A new four-channel ver-sion of Cadillac’s stability en-hancement system, Stabili-Trak, has been evolved forEvoq’s rear-wheel-drive con-figuration, different suspen-sion and unique tires andwheels. The system uses di-rectional sensors networkedwith the car’s suspension,steering, antilock brake andtraction control systems forbetter control during unpre-dictable situations.

One interesting design fea-ture is the lack of exteriordoor handles. The remotekeyless entry fob not only un-locks the doors, but alsoopens them slightly.

81February 1999

Hyundai ventures outside the world of passenger carswith the Santa Fe SUV. A production version of the vehi-cle will go on sale here in the spring of next year.

Lexus hopes to expand its owner base and attractyounger car buyers “who want to stand out from thecrowd” with its new IS performance sedan.

Cadillac’s Evoq concept is a two-passenger, two-doorluxury roadster with a retractable hardtop. No decisionhas been made yet on whether or not the model—or avariation of it—will go into production.