Description
Contents: Fun Factor (Stuck in the automotive doldrums, Bunkie? Well, here are a dozen 4-wheeled, gasoline-fueled roller coasters (think Six Flags over R&T) guaranteed to put a thrill in your heart and a smile on your face) Road Tests – BMW 330i (Just when you thought it was impossible to better the 3 series, BMW proves us wrong. Sublime handling, more room and power, and flame-surfaced body panels that don’t resemble a poorly ironed shirt); Bentley Continental Flying Spur (A land yacht in the best sense of the term, this Bentley coddles with hand-stitched leathers and lavish wood veneers. Oh, did we mention that at 195 mph, it’s the fastest sedan in production?); Audi A4 2.0 T Quattro vs. Volvo S40 T5 AWD (What pushes your buttons in a premium compact European sedan? If your priorities lie in smart and restrained style, all-wheel-drive traction and impressive performance, your cars have arrived); Road Test Updates: Audi S4, Scion xB & Volvo S60 R (Performance numbers on two rocket ships (the Audi and the Volvo); and the Scion xB, whose forte isn’t exactly the 0-60 sprint. Acceleration? Bring a book) First Drives – Mazda MX-5 (Remaking the best-selling roadster of all time is not a task to be taken lightly. We’re duly impressed with Mazda’s Miata remix, with character intact, power added and driving dynamics improved); Ferrari Superamerica (A 575M Maranello with a twist…in the form of a unique, pivoting glass top with electrochromatic technology that allows five different tints at the push of a button. Too bad all 170 cars are already sold); Dodge Charger Daytona R/T (The Hemi roars back in yet another retro iteration, the Charger. Never mind that it has four doors to the original’s two, and that it looks a little like a 1957 Chevy Bel Air in profile…it’s still very cool); Mercedes-Benz R-Class (Imagine a Chrysler Pacifica, done by Mercedes, that’s actually capable of strong acceleration – voila, the R-Class. Fitted with the 305-bhp V-8, it’s a people-mover with the emphasis on “move”) Features – Long-Term Test: Jaguar XJ8 (We bid farewell to our al-yew-minium luxury sedan, the XJ8. It piled on miles with the pace of a…er, Jaguar and outside of normal maintenance work and a faulty fuel sensor, was trouble-free); Owner Survey: Mazda MX-5 Miata, 2001-2005 (The Miata was a revelation, a non-leaking modern incarnation of the MGB. We’ve always suspected that their owners love them to a fault, Now it’s official, with survey results in for the second-gen cars); Driving Sims: Forza Motorsport & Gran Turismo 4 (Drive the Nurburgring in your living room! If you can make the distinction between Schwalbenschwanz and Schwarzenegger, then you’ll want to read up on these two amazing driving simulators) Technical – SAE At 100 (Ever ponder why ratchet drives are 3/8 and 1/2 inch? Me either, but we have SAE to thank for this, and many other examples of standardization that makes mass production possible); Surround Sound (We’ve come a long way from 8-tracks playing through cheesy, swap-meet 6x9s. The latest car audio can practically put you in the center of the orchestra pit. (Easy with that violin bow, mister) Columns – On The Road: Factoring In The Fun (“When it comes to cars, which ones are simply the most fun?” A simple premise, but one at the core of our enthusiastic hearts. Here’s a behind-the-curtain look at how it all came together); Ampersand: Pony-Car Wars (The Motown rumor mill is running dangerously near redline: reports of a Chevrolet Camaro replacement, a slick new Dodge Challenger and an exclusive drive os the Shelby GT500 prototype); Side Glances: Rust Sometimes Sleeps (The American Southwest is known for the Grand Canyon, Route 66, In-N-Out Burger and most important, a sizeable cache of solid, relatively rust-free cars from the ’50s. The author’s Cadillac is one such find); Tech Tidbits: Insist On A Donut And A Starburst (No, we’re not talking Winchell’s and wrapped candies; rather, we’re urging you to look for two distinctive seals of certification when you buy motor oil. Plus, alveoli – not an Italian pasta dish); Sport: Shuffling The Deck (Ferrari and a certain M. Schumacher seemed unbeatable in 2004, but guess what: The other teams haven’t exactly been playing tiddlywinks in the off-season. Adam Cooper reports. Plus, NASCAR pit crews); Pole Position: That ’70s Show (In American road racing, making the cars relatively simple and affordable doesn’t equate to a huge fan draw. Maybe Porsche’s new LMP2 race car, with some help from Penske Motorsport, can turn things around) Departments – People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Road Test Summary; Technical Correspondence; Time & Place; Finish Line; PS
Issue: August 2005
Condition: Very Good