Auto Q & A
Auto Q & A
By: Dr. Wheels
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Sep 5, 2006 15:44:55 PDT
Viewed 894 times
1 response 0 comments Dear Q & A: I had one of the late 1950s Ford retractable hardtops back in the ‘70s, and although the top mechanism was troublesome, I liked it. It was a real attention getter (like to meet girls). I know there’s a new retractable on the market, but I hear it’s really expensive. Is there anything cheaper available? - Tom Jay
Dear Tom: The Volkswagen Eos and the Mazda Miata MX-5 retractable expected in 2007 should cost about $28,620 and $24,350, respectively. Not as cheap as the Ford “Skyliner” retractable was in its day, but reasonably affordable. Pontiac’s 2007 G6 retract, with its 3.5-liter, 217 hp V-6, giving 20/28 mpg, seems an even better buy at an expected MSRP of $22,550. The “really expensive” retracts, one of which you may have had in mind, are the Mercedes-Benz SLK and the Cadillac XLR, though Volvo’s C70 and the Lexus SC430 aren’t expected to be bargain priced either. Are we looking at a trend away from ragtops here?
Dear Q & A: How popular are hybrids, really? I’ve seen a lot of hype, but few actual cars on the street. Have they been selling, or is it mostly talk? - S.L.
Dear SL: They’re selling. More than a quarter-million Toyota Prius hybrids alone have been sold in the United States since 1997. Expect even greater interest when the Lexus GS 450h hybrid, with its 339 hp and zero-to-60 in 5.2 seconds, gets famous.
Dear Q & A: I’m a little confused about the Mini Cooper. Cooper is an English make, right? So what is its connection to the German BMW company? And why is this Doctor Z with the thick German accent selling American Jeeps and Chryslers on television? What am I missing? - Phil S.
Dear Phil: The Morris Mini Minor and the Mini Austin Seven of 1959 were indeed British cars, produced by the BMC company. The Mini concept, by designer Alec Issigonis, later became the just plain “Mini” in 1969, a marque unto itself within British Leyland. Mini became Britain’s most popular car, with more than five million sold during the 1970s. The original Mini Cooper, a hot machine, debuted in ’61 and won at Monte Carlo in ’64, ’65, and ’67. For still murky reasons, production of this extraordinary Cooper was killed in 1971.
Fortunately for a car that’s been hailed as “car of the century” by automotive writers, rights to the Mini were purchased in 1994 by the German BMW firm, and the Mini Cooper was resuscitated as a German product, though it’s still manufactured in the former Rover factory at Cowley, Oxford, England. Mini Cooper engines, now made by Daimler-Chrysler, are expected to be made by Peugeot-BMW beginning in 2008.
Speaking of Daimler-Chrysler, the German-accented gentleman you’ve been seeing so often lately in TV commercials hawking Chryslers and Jeeps, as well as Mercedes-Benzes, is not an actor, as many viewers have assumed. He’s really head of the new international conglomerate that makes and sells all three brands. (And that mustache is real, as he claims.) The idea of the advertising agency creating these ads, presumably, is to borrow for the American brands, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep, some of the admiration many Americans have for Mercedes. An allusion to “German craftsmanship,” you know. (Just between us, can some of the vaunted durability of the German makes be traceable to the extra careful maintenance they often get from their awed owners?)
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
