A 400-HP LINCOLN LS,
TOO?
Ford
Motor Co.'s Lincoln division will join the procession of carmakers looking to
spice up their offerings with some serious performance. Senior company officials
tell TheCarConnection that Lincoln will launch a 400-horsepower version of the
rear-drive LS sedan, most likely in early to mid-2004. It will be powered by the
automaker's modular V-8, but in this case, the engine will be upgraded from 4.6
liters to 5.0 liters. It will be mated to the same six-speed ZF gearbox found in
the new 388-hp Jaguar S-Type R, according to current plans. Don't be surprised,
sources add, to see the high-performance motor show up in other Lincoln
products, including the Navigator, Aviator and even the Town Car. There's a
contest underway among the luxury division's employees to come up with a name
for the new line of products. The current front-runner is "Emerald Series,"
which refers to the fact that as part of the effort to create a consistent brand
"DNA," Lincoln has adopted a black background behind its gun sight logo. The
performance models might be visually distinguished by using a green background,
along with other subtle body tweaks. As TCC recently reported, Cadillac has its
own performance series under development, with a Corvette-powered version of the
CTS, tentatively dubbed CTSi, due to debut early next year. McLaren is also
doing a hi-po LS of its own, and showed the vehicle at the New York
show.
CTSi: Caddy Sets
Sights on M5 by TCC Team
(4/22/2002)
AUTOPACIFIC PICKS MOST
SATISFYING
AutoPacific’s
Vehicle Satisfaction survey for 2002 places some brands in its winning lineup
for the first time — and finds GM topping the Big Three. The survey, which seeks
to measure buyer/lessee satisfaction with new cars, is topped this year by
Cadillac and Lexus, and the top vehicle overall was the Lexus LS430 sedan. GM
picked up five top slots, while Toyota scored nine, best of all brands. Kia
makes its first mark on the list with the Sedona minivan. The category winners
as released by AutoPacific include:
PASSENGER CARS
Compact Car Volkswagen Beetle
Mid-Size Car Hyundai Sonata
Premium Mid-Size Car Nissan Altima
Contemporary Luxury Car Lexus ES 300
Luxury/Large Car Cadillac DeVille (tied) (repeat winner)
Toyota Avalon (tied) (repeat winner)
Premium Luxury Car Lexus LS 430 (repeat winner)
Sporty Car Mercury Cougar
Sports Car Lexus SC 430
AWD Sport Wagon Volvo V70XC
"Green" Car Toyota Prius (repeat winner)
LIGHT TRUCKS
Minivan Kia Sedona
Compact Sport Utility Honda CR-V
Mid-Size Sport Utility Hyundai Santa Fe (tied) (repeat winner)
Toyota Highlander (tied)
Large Sport Utility Ford Excursion (repeat winner)
Luxury Sport Utility Cadillac Escalade
Compact Pickup Truck Toyota Tacoma
Large Pickup Truck Chevrolet Silverado HD
Four-Door Pickup Truck Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab
2002 Cadillac Eldorado
MACK DADDY ALERT: ELDO PRODUCTION
ENDS
Yesterday the Cadillac Eldorado nameplate sailed into history. The
two-door vehicle, a veteran of nearly 50 years in the Cadillac lineup, is being
deleted from the luxury brand’s lineup as Caddy prepares to sell its $70,000 XLR
hardtop convertible in the 2004 model year. The Eldo name, says a GM release,
may have a place on a future GM vehicle, however. The first Eldorado was built
in 1953; the last Eldo to roll off its Lansing, Mich., assembly line was a 2002
Collector Series vehicle. The XLR, based on Corvette running gear, makes its
debut in mid-2003; the Lansing Craft Centre switches over to Chevrolet SSR
production this summer.
CTSi: Caddy Sets
Sights on M5 (4/22/2002)
2004 Maserati Quattroporte
MASERATI RESURRECTS
QUATTROPORTE
Lucky Japanese fans of Italian exotica will get a double treat this week:
at the same Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art tribute to Ferrari and Maserati,
the brands will show off their next projects. We’ve shown you the Ferrari FX in
Daily Edition; now, take an imaginary first look at what Ferrari spokespeople
say will become the next four-door Maserati Quattroporte. The Pininfarina-penned
four-door is due to make its debut at next year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, but the
first scale models will be shown in Tokyo on April 27th. A production
version of the new Maserati is to go on sale at the end of next year.
2002 Maserati Coupe by TCC Team (3/25/2002)
NHTSA: ROAD DEATHS DOWN IN ‘01
U.S. highway deaths fell in 2001, while child
fatalities dropped to their lowest recorded level, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported this week. The NHSTA logged more than 6
million crashes in 2001 and 41,730 deaths, down by 91. Child deaths dropped to
2658, the lowest number since the agency began tracking them in 1966. The number
of drunk driving fatalities remained at roughly 40 percent of all highway
deaths, according to the AP.
NHTSA: We’re Staying
Alive by Bengt Halvorson (4/28/2002)
NHTSA TALKS TOUGHER CHILD
RESTRAINTS
Children need more restraint, says the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and new regulations are needed to keep
them safe in vehicles. The agency is proposing new rules that would improve the
quality of crash-test dummies and testing equipment — and would create tougher
standards for booster seats. If the new rules are finalized, new generation
booster seats would have to restrain children up to 65 pounds, versus today’s
40-pound requirement, and would have to incorporate neck protection.
FEDS LOOK INTO FORD ADJUSTABLE
PEDALS
Ford
is facing an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) into its popular adjustable pedals. The NHTSA study will look into the
spacing of the adjustable pedals on 2000 and 2001 Ford Tauruses and Mercury
Sables. The pedals are also available on various sport-utility vehicles not
included in the study. A recall would be issued if NHTSA determines the pedals
are a safety hazard; so far the agency reports 22 complaints.
Ford Counting on
PAG for Profits (4/22/2002)
BLAZER GETS WORST ROLLOVER RATING; T-BIRD
BEST
Chevrolet’s 2002 Blazer
with two-wheel drive has received the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration’s (NHTSA) worst rollover rating, according to the safety agency.
The one-star rating given to the Blazer was the worst of the 26 vehicles NHTSA
ranked in its most recent tests. The Ford Thunderbird, in the same set, scored
five stars, the best ranking. Several sport-utes and trucks, such as the 2002
Explorer and 4WD Blazer, received two-star ratings.
WAL-MART’S NEW BIZ: USED CARS
Houstonians, now you can buy your next used car at
the same place you buy bathroom tissue. Wal-Mart, the biggest corporate entity
known in the universe, says it’s getting into the used-car business by opening
lots at five of its Houston-area SuperCenters. The test markets are being run
with megadealer Asbury Automotive Group; called Price 1 Auto Stores, the outlets
will only offer vehicles less than four years old with less than 75,000 miles,
and no haggle-prices will be the order of the day.
ATLANTA COPS GET SEGWAYS
The AP reports that one of Segway’s first clients
will be the Atlanta police. Not generally known for their own mobility, the
city’s cops will pilot six of the two-wheeled transporters around Hartsfield
Airport and downtown, to evaluate their possible uses in crimefighting. The
15-mph scooters have already been tested on Atlanta’s criminal-sized potholes,
and will be tested for a couple of months as a possible alternative to foot and
bike patrols.
ZOMBIE TAKES MAZDA TO COURT
Mazda’s being sued over music it’s said to have
stolen from a Zombie — death-rocker Rob Zombie, that is. The artist says Mazda
and its ad agency, Doner, pilfered tunes from his 1998 album Hellbilly Deluxe
for a truck commercial. The always quotable Zombie told Reuters that “I
don't want to play that song live and see the kids go, 'Hey! It's the truck
song!'” The case is set to go to trial in mid-July — unless Mazda and Doner
decide a settlement would be better than continuing to cheese off the
undead.
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