AutoWeek articles from January 2001

AutoWeek archives from January 2001

Facts.
January 1, 2001... MANUFACTURER'S DATA American Honda Motor Co. 1919 Torrance Blvd. Torrance CA 90501-2746 Customer assistance: (800) 999-1009 Internet address: www.honda.com Country of origin: Japan Number of dealers:...

Offside Undo.
January 1, 2001... A few short weeks ago, as we wound down our preoccupation with dangling chads and partisan Supreme Court rulings, General Motors killed its longest link to the past, Oldsmobile. Understand that the wording GM used is that it is ``phasing out''...

Green Machine; Honda's little hybrid redefines performance.
January 1, 2001... ``I have seen the future, and boy, is it slow.'' -Notes from the test track After track-testing Honda's Insight, we were left wondering why we chose to measure the speed of a car that exhibits so little of the stuff. Then again, the reason...

Super Rolls.
January 1, 2001... All the disguise in the world can't hide the massive vertical grille of Rolls-Royce's range topper due out on New Year's Day 2003-the day that German automaker BMW assumes control of the British car builder. Hidden behind a fastback cloak...

The News.
January 1, 2001... Maserati delays return to U.S. Maserati is pushing back its reentry to the United States until 2002, due to delays in developing the new Spider and a normally aspirated 4.0-liter V8 engine intended for the U.S. market. Maserati had planned to...

Ford Focus ZX3; Tossing and flogging.(vehicle review)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2001... Car-crazed but usually gridlocked (sub)urbanites like us love a good road trip. Our third quarter with the Focus began with a long weekend jaunt-replete with gear-that fueled comparisons with our long-term PT Cruiser. With the seats flipped...

2002 Buick Rendezvous; Buick enters the SUV arena with a "rugged shoe".(sport-utility vehicle)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2001... Wait! Don't stop reading just because this is yet another SUV. Take a look at this one, you might like it. The 2002 Buick Rendez-vous has a roomy interior, a third-row seat and a really cool independent rear suspension. It comes in a number...

2001 Chrysler Sebring convertible; Cruising to new heights.(vehicle review)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2001... We discovered the best features of the new, second-generation Chrysler Sebring convertible during a sunny, four-hour drive in California, from Palm Springs to Borrego Springs and back. The Sebring may not have sped through the curvy, smooth...

Walter Hayes.(passed away on 12/26/00)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 8, 2001... Walter Hayes, the great catalyst of the Ford Motor Co.'s involvement in motorsports, died in Britain on Dec. 26 at the age of 76. Hayes, a pipe smoker for many years, had been battling lung cancer for some months. Hayes was the man who...

Lexus IS 300: New kid on the block.
January 15, 2001... When Lexus claimed its IS 300 would be competition for BMW's 3 Series, the temptation was too much for us. Could Lexus put forth a worthy adversary for the mighty 3? We decided the best way to find out would be to order up an IS 300. Don't...

2001 Mazda Protege; It takes over where Honda once led.
January 15, 2001... Hey, anyone remember the Mazda Protege? It sits down there in the subcompact category, dutifully selling in the 50,000-to-60,000-a-year range, doing battle with big-time stalwarts like Civic and Corolla. Well, it's still there and it has a few...

Honda Insight; Our green machine delivers the goods.
January 15, 2001... Our long-term Insight manages to draw stares and questions wherever we go. We do our best to appease the curious, passing along what knowledge we have gleaned about the Insight in our brief time with it. One of our more pleasant discoveries is...

Mini Maxima; Sentra packs a lot into a little car-and a little price.
January 15, 2001... ONE DRIVE IN THE NISSAN SENTRA SE IS enough to make some fairly sweeping generalizations, most notably that it's too bad so many younger drivers have turned to sport/utes. If it weren't for some inexplicable need to cruise in top-heavy,...

Mass Appeal; Civic leaves enthusiasts wondering what happened.
January 15, 2001... HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NEW CIVIC depends on what you're looking for in a car. If you want a roomy compact that is reliable and affordable and you are cross-shopping Corollas, you will love the Civic. You will probably buy one for yourself and...

PT with a 'tude.
January 15, 2001... Folks we've talked to from DaimlerChrysler say it's just wishful thinking, but our spies in Germany report testing of a ``hot'' version of the PT Cruiser at AMG in Affalterbach. No body modifications have been made, but the AMG PT Cruiser...

Facts.
January 15, 2001... MANUFACTURER'S DATA American Honda Motor Co. 1919 Torrance Blvd. Torrance CA 90501-2746 Customer assistance: (800) 999-1009 Internet address: www.honda.com Country of origin: United States Number of...

Views and reviews.
January 15, 2001... OWNERS OUR FIRST HONDA SEEMS TO BE A delight, with excellent build quality and performance. I replaced the Firestone tires immediately along with rims, which really improved steering feel and cornering capability. I have put 1300 miles on it...

Porsche on a roll; A chat with the chairman.
January 22, 2001... Porsche chairman Wendelin Wiedeking says the factory may be able to offer earlier delivery on a Turbo than customers were initially told. Having planned to make 2500 Turbos this year, Porsche has increased production and will actually build...

Porsche Boxster S: Does it get any better?
January 22, 2001... Take one of our Boxster Ss and run it for a year,'' the Porsche representative said. ``Good grief, twist our arm,'' we replied, followed quickly by-before they changed their minds-``well, okay, if you insist.'' Offers like that don't come...

Zero-to-summer in 5.5 seconds.
January 22, 2001... This M3 ragtop, based on the E46 platform 3 Series convertible, will go on sale this spring with a base price of $54,045. The third-generation model shares most specs with its M3 coupe sibling, including the new S54 inline six-cylinder engine...

Fast Poll.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2001... Most respondents think the Jeep Liberty will succeed despite the crowded SUV market. Yes. It is after all, a Jeep, and does what Jeeps are capable of doing. Other makes in the SUV market may appeal to those ``fashion'' buyers who merely...

Most Fun; Subaru Impreza WRX.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 22, 2001... American drivers are finally getting their own model of the rally-inspired Subaru that the rest of the world has been celebrating for years: the Impreza WRX, first unveiled to the American public at Detroit and coming to market in March. Unlike...

Best in Show; Ford Forty-Nine.
January 22, 2001... With a heavenly host of gospel singers praising ``the day that Ford has made,'' Dearborn's self-styled design god J Mays conjured up the industry's latest-and we'd argue Best in Show-take on retro. While the same stand held the production...

Best Concept; Buick Bengal.
January 22, 2001... In a year of lumpish concept vehicles, it wasn't hard for us to name Buick's beautiful Bengal Best Concept for the simple reason that it's an elegant car. Call us reactionary, but we like its understatement. With clean lines disappearing from...

Most Significant; Pontiac Vibe GT.
January 22, 2001... Okay, so we were more than pleasantly surprised at how much we liked the Vibe GT's looks. Can you blame us, after Aztek? The Vibe GT clearly knew how to say ``when'' with its Pontiac excitement stopping while still on the handsome side where...

Shadowy Play; Secondhand stars from earlier shows will brighten Detroit fo the mass market.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2001... Remember when ``video game-like'' was a mild automotive pejorative, a critique of cars that made the right numbers but lacked warmth or soul? Well, it's a new millennium. Carmakers want you to think their cars are like video games, judging by...

American Bad Boy; The Z06 makes America's Best better.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... On the test track and THE road, we have to agree with the many responses we received from passionate owners-the Z06 launches Corvette to a new level. Chevy engineers made performance improvements throughout the Z06, the fastest,...

Competition This week.
January 29, 2001... Prost tags Mazzacane Prost Grand Prix has confirmed a one-year deal for the Argentine driver Gaston Mazzacane. He'll team with Jean Alesi in 2001. The 25-year-old has personal backing from PanAmerican Sports Network, which agreed to a...

2001 Toyota Highlander; The Camry of sport/utes.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Shhh. Hear that? No? That's because it's the sound of quiet. Or in the case of Toyota, the sound of its new Highlander sport/ute. Quiet? An SUV? Yup, the Highlander produces about as much noise as a Black Sabbath record cranked full-bore-in...

Mazda MPV; Little complaint, lots of uses.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Few people 'fess up to liking minivans, including most of the editors here at AW HQ. But come any long weekend, sure as heck a few'll come a-runnin' for our long-term Mazda MPV. Says a lot about a vehicle fulfilling its purpose. How many sport...

Late Racing News.
January 29, 2001... Resolution Texaco will finish its sponsorship contract with CART's Newman-Haas team thanks to an out-of-court settlement between the parties. Texaco sued Newman-Haas last fall after the team named driver Cristiano da Matta as Michael...

Car Board.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Off-season got you down? With Daytona still three weeks away, here are some vehicles that should keep the boy-racer in you alive. Nissan SENTRA SE Price: $17,659 Engine: 2.0-liter I4, 145 hp, 136 lb-ft Curb weight: 2674 lbs...

Chrysler PT Cruiser; Stylin' along.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... The attention the PT Cruiser receives is a given, even though PT Cruisers are now everywhere and as a fad, had peaked by the time we took delivery of ours. Still, you have to get on a waiting list to get one. As the latest member of our...

The Pacesetter: The Untold Story of Carl G. Fisher.
January 29, 2001... Carl G. Fisher's name should be well known to AutoWeek readers, but this very well may be the first time you've read it. No, he wasn't one of the Body by Fisher brothers, though they may have been distant relatives. Carl G. Fisher was the...

Fast Poll.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Respondents' choices for car and truck of the year were the Corvette ZO6 and the Acura MDX. The Corvette ZO6. The best for the money and the features. America's true sports car. David Niernberger, via e-mail The PT Cruiser for both. If...

What comes after Z?(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Unveiled at the Detroit auto show, the Nissan Sentra SE-R concept forecasts a reality in the not-too-distant future. ``We walked away from this market and Honda took it over,'' Nissan designer Bruce Campbell says. Now, just as it hopes to...

Motown memories; Last (but not least) from the Detroit auto show.
January 29, 2001... With 59 vehicle introductions-including 26 production cars and 33 concepts-at the North American International Auto Show, it's no small feat to make sure AutoWeek readers get the scoop on each of them. Herewith, without further ado and in...

The News.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... WRX fans won't wait Thousands of would-be owners of the 2002 Subaru WRX viewed the car on its official website, www.imprezawrx.com, hours before it was unveiled in Detroit. Subaru says a WRX fan apparently hacked into the site before it...

Sun Worshiper; Lexus finally takes its top off on the French Riviera.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Chief engineer Yosushi Nakagawa lit up another Marlboro Menthol and took a long drag. He'd just spent the day with his ``new baby,'' the retractable-hardtop Lexus SC 430, cruising the streets of fashionable Coronado Island off of San Diego, and...

Views and Reviews.
January 29, 2001... OWNERS I AM VERY PLEASED WITH THE CAR'S immediate performance as compared with my 2000 convertible. I was also pleasantly surprised by the relative comfort of the ride, especially considering the stouter suspension. I welcome the lower...

Facts.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... MANUFACTURER'S DATA Chevrolet Motor Division General Motors Corp. 100 Renaissance Center Detroit MI 48265-1000 Customer assistance: (800) 222-1020 Internet address: www.chevrolet.com Country of origin: United States Number of dealers: 4251...

Pricing.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Base: $46,855 As tested: $48,275 IntelliChoice target price: $51,569 Rebates: None Destination charge: $645 What owners paid, average: $46,285 to $62,000; $49,841 Options as tested: Millennium yellow with...

Road Test Data.
January 29, 2001... STANDING-START ACCELERATION 0-30 mph: 1.75 sec 0-40 mph: 2.48 sec 0-50 mph: 3.48 sec 0-60 mph: 4.31 sec 0-100 km/h (62.1 mph): 4.51 sec 0-80 mph: 6.86 sec 0-quarter-mile: 112.1 mph, 12.73 sec ...

Designs on Our World; Cars, clothes and yes, even toilet bowls, are all made better (or should be) through smarter design.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2001... Five men recognized as design leaders headlined AutoWeek's eighth annual Design Forum held in conjunction with the North American Internation-al Auto Show. The forum, staged during press preview week, saw a 15 percent increase in attendance...