Auto Q & A
Auto Q & A
By: Dr. Wheels
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 1173 times
0 responses 0 comments Dear Q & A: I parked next to what I thought was a big, black Lincoln Town Car the other day in the Denny’s parking lot. But when I looked for the Lincoln emblem, what I saw instead was the name “Kia Amanti.” Are the Koreans now doing what the Japanese did over the last few decades, graduating from their little Honda motorcycles and Honda CVCC cars to huge luxury cars like Lexus?
— G.I.
Dear GI: Why not? It worked for Tokyo, and Seoul caught on fast. The American market is apparently welcoming Hyundais and Kias even more quickly than it did Toyotas and Hondas in the ‘70s through the ‘90s. And there’s more money to be made per unit sold in the luxury than the economy segment. Here are some specs on the Amanti, compared with those for the Lincoln and, for good measure, the Hyundai Azera.
Kia Amanti: MSRP $27.995; 3.5-liter V-6, 200 hp; 220 lb-ft. torque; EPA mpg. 17 city, 25 highway; length 196 inches; wheelbase 110.2; weight 4,021 lbs.; front drive.
Lincoln Town Car: MSRP $42,055; 4.6-liter V-8, 239 hp; 287 lb-ft. torque; EPA mpg. 18 city, 25 hwy; length 215.4 inches; wheelbase 117.7; weight 4,345; rear drive.
Hyundai Azera: MSRP $24,335 to $26,835; 3.8-liter V-6, 263 hp; 255 lb-ft. torque; EPA mpg. 19 city, 28 hwy; length 193 inches; wheelbase 109; weight 3,752 lbs; front drive.
If all three were parked side by side, you’d see the considerable differences among them.
Dear Q & A: Years ago, when we drove out to California from Wisconsin on vacation, we used to take Highway US 66, like millions of Midwesterners (and the song). Somewhere along that route, maybe in Arizona or New Mexico, we’d sometime see parked in front of a gas station or a restaurant, a Cadillac convertible, I think, that had two front ends. Evidently, two Caddys had been cut in half and the fronts welded together. It was apparently a drivable car and a real tourist attraction. Unfortunately, I never took a picture of it. Can you give any details about it?
— Still Curious
Dear Still: The car you refer to was well known to regular travelers along Route 66 before Interstates 55, 44 and 40 relegated 66 to history’s scrapheap (and took much of the fun out of the trip). It always drew a startled double-take from anyone who saw it for the first time. Facts about it are elusive at this late date, however. Readers who remember this anomaly are invited to send in details or, better yet, a photo.
Dear Q & A: What’s a tire pressure monitoring system, and how does it work? Short question.
— GTDear GT: Long answer: according to US federal law, all new cars and trucks sold in America will be required to have an onboard system that monitors tire pressures. A high proportion of vehicle accidents are caused by tire failures and tire failure is often traceable to under-inflation. Hence the very sensible thinking is that if we reduce the incidence of underinflation, we prevent accidents and save lives. Here’s how the systems work.
There are two types, “direct” and “indirect.” In direct systems, a pressure sensor is mounted in each tire, measures its psi and displays that information to the driver, typically, when the pressure goes down 25 percent. The low tire is identified.
In indirect systems, the vehicle’s antilock brake system wheel sensors are used to indicate that a tire has lost air. The rotational speed of a soft tire differs from the others. The signal is typically triggered at a loss of 30 percent of inflation pressure, but doesn’t identify which tire has lost air, which must be done visually or by pressure test. It’s a welcome life-saving innovation, well worth the slight additional cost per vehicle.
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
