Car Board.(Brief Article)

Flip a few pages if you want the motorsports preview. Here, we're previewing the future of the automobile.

BMW 330xi Price: $41,335 Engine: 3.0-liter I6, 225 hp, 214 lb-ft Curb weight: 3527 lbs Drivetrain: awd, five-speed manual For too long, Americans have shied away from rear-drive cars. They used to dominate our roads, back when we were interested in the art of actual driving. But fear of snow, ice, rain and gravel, it seems, pushed the public into fwd cars and huge, knobby-tired trucks. Well, all that should change soon. The more automakers like BMW slap awd systems onto their cars-as well as traction and stability control systems-the less dependent we will be on plowing, torque-steering, nose-heavy front-drivers (and trucks) to tackle slippery surfaces. Through some of the messiest stuff Mother Nature could throw our way, the 330xi pressed on with confidence. Now we need only convince other auto- makers that their awd cars should perform like the 330xi.

Oldsmobile BRAVADA Price: $35,000 (est.) Engine: 4.2-liter I6, 270 hp, 275 lb-ft Curb weight: n/a Drivetrain: 4wd, four-speed automatic Okay, as much as we'd like to see more vehicles like the 330xi on the road, there's no denying that the sport/utility vehicle is here to stay. Perhaps more of them in the future will perform like Oldsmobile's upcoming Bravada (at least in most ways). The new straight six sings with power, and the chassis feels as capable and confident as just about any SUV out there. And it doesn't look that bad, either. We would prefer better interior materials, however, and the transmission and Versa-trak four-wheel-drive system seem- ed a mite herky-jerky. Perhaps by the ...