Clje Cliarlotte ^osft
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1997
n^AUTO SHOWCASE
Big 3
output
dips
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SOUTHFIELD, Mich.
Michigan made a lower per
centage of cars and trucks pro
duced in North America this
year, but an economist said it’s
probably not a cause for con
cern.
Test Drive
1997 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport
offers impressive Impreza Outback Sport
“The decline is temporary
rather than an indication that
Michigan is losing its stature
as a leading region for vehicle
production,” said David L.
Littmann, Comerica Bank
senior economist.
Littmann estimates that car
and truck production in
Michigan dropped 5 percent
this ye£ir to 2.93 million, or 19
percent of all North American
output.
Last year, Michigan account
ed for 20 percent of all vehicle
output in North America.
Among the reasons for the
declines were three strikes at
General Motors Corp.; model
changeovers at Ford Motor Co.
and Chrysler Corp. truck
plants; and sluggish car sales
the led to production cutbacks
at Ford plants in Wixom and
Wayne and Chrysler’s Sterling
Heights plants.
It was a good year for North
American car and truck pro
duction - the second best on
record, according to the
newsletter Ward’s Automotive
Reports.
Ward’s said this year’s esti
mated production tally of
15.39 million units is second
only to the 15.68 million in
1994. The total for 1995 was
15.32 milhon.
The three-year total makes
it the strongest three-year
period for production in North
American history.
Car production slipped for
the third straight year, down
by 2.9 percent, the lowest total
since 7.47 milhon units were
produced in 1992. Truck pro
duction increased 1.4 percent
to a record 7.26 million.
Ward’s said.
Analysts told The Detroit
News that trucks could
account for 50 percent of
North American production
for the first time when more
plants are making mimivans,
trucks and sport utility vehi
cles.
Four more North America
plants begin building light
trucks next year.
Toyota Motor Corp. begins
making minivans at its
Georgetown, Ky., assembly
plant in August. Chrysler’s
plant in Newark, Del., and
Mercedes-Benz AG’s plant in
Vance, Ala., and GM’s plant in
Arlington, Texas, will begin
making sports utihty vehicles
next year.
Winfred
B.
Cross
Lots of people like the conve
nience of four-wheel drive and
the roominess of a sports utili
ty vehicle, but some don’t want
to drive one. Some of the vehi
cles are bulky, cumbersome
and boy, do they slurp gas.
Subaru figured out how to
serve the group of folks who
are stuck between a SUV and
a minivan - the Outback, an
all-wheel drive station wagon.
It’s got the utility of an SUV
and the practicality of a sedan.
First came the Legacy
wagon. Now the Impreza
Sport, for those who want
something a wee bit smaller.
The Impreza Sport wagon is
based on the Legacy Wagon’s
chassis. It’s 4.3 inches shorter
than the Legacy and some 345
pounds lighter. It’s a subcom
pact but with enough room for
four, five in a pinch, and lots of
stuff. A handy roof rack gives
you the option to pack even
more stuff. Fold down the rear
seats and you’ve got room for
stuff galore.
The styling of the Impreza is
wildly aggressive. The front
bumper is redesigned, sitting
below a new grill and cooling
vents. The hood has a raised
scoop with vents. Yes, it’s func
tional. It draws in air to cool
the revamped 2.2-liter engine.
More on that later. Fifteen-
inch raised, white-letter all-
season tires are attached to
aggressive alloy wheels. 'The
suspension is raised also to aid
in off-road capabilities.
Inside, new seat fabric is
found. The seats themselves
are very comfortable. Proper
support is given in all the right
places.
The dash is simple and styl
ish, befitting of the exterior.
There are enough gauges and
all can be seen clearly and are
arranged logically.
Head room is very good, as is
hip, leg and shoulder room.
The Impreza Outback Sport
gets a massaged version of
Subaru’s venerable 2.2-liter
engine. Horsepower is bumped
to 137 while torque is 147
pounds-feet at 4,000 rpm.
That’s impressive for such' a
light car.
The engine is wonderfully
responsive. It won’t set any
speed records, but it’s not slug
gish at all. Acceleration could
be better, but for a four-cylin
der, the engine’s got some pep.
The transmission is a four-
speed automatic unit. It works
well until you floor it, then
there’s a pause and woooosh.
you lunge forward. Otherwise,
it works well, shifts without a
lot of fuss and relatively little
hunting for gears.
The suspension is of the four-
wheel independent variety. It’s
raised to allow rumbling
through bush coimtry, if you so
desire. If not, that’s OK, too.
The suspension isn’t stiff
enough to hinder the ride,
which is comfortable on most
surfaces. Bumpy surfaces
degrade the quality a bit, but
not a lot.
'The four-wheel drive system
is excellent. I didn’t take the
vehicle off road, but I still
appreciated the system, espe
cially on rain-shck highways.
The" system kept the car from
shding or feeling loose. That,
in conjunction with the four-
channel anti-lock brakes and^
dual air bags, make this vehi-,
cle feel as safe as other
Subarus.
The price on the Impreza is '
surprisingly tame. For $17,995 ■
you get the above-mentioned'
stuff, plus air conditioning, 80-'
watt cassette stereo system, !
power door locks, windows and :
mirrors, two-tone paint ( a;
lovely Arctic white and slate
scheme) and an ignition-off
head light system. The auto
matic transmission was $800
while carpeted floor mats
added $64 and the alloy
wheels cost $629.
Throw in $495 for destina
tion and the as-tested price
comes to $19,983. That’s not a
bad price for something that
will hold five folks while you
traipse around in bush cour,
try. And, as long as Subaru
last, you could traipse for r
mighty long time.
Mercedes-Benz experiences an
unexpected sales surge in ‘96
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STUTTGART, Germany - Mercedes-Benz AG group sales rose to
a preliminary 77 billion marks (dlrs 51 billion) in 1996, up from 72
billion marks (dlrs 48 billion) last year, the luxury car and truck
maker said Friday.
The figure is higher than the 75 billion marks ($ 50 billion) the
company, a division of Daimler-Benz, forecast for the year in
October. Mercedes also said it expects to post gains in unit sales,
revenues and earnings in 1997.
According to the preliminary figures, Mercedes’ passenger car
sales this year were up to nearly 46 billion marks (dlrs 30.7 billion)
from 40.4 billion marks (dlrs 26.9 billion) in 1995, while revenues
in its truck division stagnated at around 31 billion marks (dlrs 20.7
billion), compared to 31.6 billion marks ($ 21.1 billion) a year ago.
Company chairman Helmut Werner also said earnings were up
from last year despite high investment spending. He gave no
specifics.
In 1995, Mercedes posted a net profit of 2.28 billion marks ($ 1.52
billion), up from 1.85 billion marks ($ 1.23 billion) in 1994.
On a unit sales basis, Mercedes said its passenger car division
shipped more than 640,000 automobiles in 1996, up about 10 per
cent from around 580,000 units last year.
Domestic sales were up around 12 percent to 266,000 units ver
sus 238,300 units in 1995.
Over 370,000 units were sold abroad, with 90,000 units shipped
in the United States compared to 76,800 a year earlier.
j
-iiss ” >
■‘I
S MK17!
I
1998 Mercedes CLK Coupe
Sports cars make comeback in L.A.
\
I
Oldsmobile Antares
By Brian S. Akre
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES - Though sports car sales
have been in a deep slump for years, the
world’s automakers are embracing the horse-
power-and-testosterone market once again.
Sleek and sexy road rockets from the United
States, Japan and Europe dominate the new-
model introductions slated for this year’s Los
Angeles and Detroit auto shows, which open in
early January.
They include a redesigned Coirette, the first
all-new Porsche in 19 years, a supercharged
Mercedes-Benz roadster and a new version of
Acura’s pricey speed machine, the NSX.
The new models are emerging as some ven
erable marques fall by the wayside, victims of
rising prices and a shift in consumer tastes to
sport utility vehicles and sporty pickups.
Mazda stopped exporting the rotary-engined
R3t-7 to North America this year, Nissan ended
the Z-car series when it halted production of
the 300ZX, and Chrysler stopped importing
the Dodge Stealth.
“Sports cars have been doing terribly over
the past couple of years,” said George
Peterson, an industry consultant with
AutoPadfic Inc. in Santa Ana. “Everybody was
trying to develop best-in-class products.
Consequently, they all got too good and too
expensive.” |
The enduring success of the affordable Mazda p
Miata and the strong first-year sales of BMW' s ^
new 2i3 roadster have proven that there’s still ^:
money to be made with sports cars if the price ^
and product are right.
Sports car fans in the United States will get i
their first chance to see and touch the newest ‘;
entries at this year’s Greater Los Angeles Auto
Show and Detroit’s North American
International Auto Show. 'The L.A show begins '
its nine-day run Jan. 4, followed by Detroit Jan.:
11-20.
Los Angeles will be the site of the North.
American debuts of the Mercedes-Benz SLK.
and Porsche Boxster, and the world debut of the I
redesigned ‘97 Acura NSX, the mid-engine flag- ■
ship of Honda’s luxury division.
But much of the attention will be on Detroit,
where the long-delayed redesign of the ^
Chevrolet Corvette - the fifth generation offi
Chevy’s red-blooded, high-performance sports ‘
ear will have its world debut,
Chevrolet managed to keep an unusually tiglit ^
lid on the ‘97 Corvette until recent weeks, when
some details and spy photos emerged as the car
went into production at Bowling Green, Ky. The s
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