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Show The Salt Lake Tribune AUTOMOTIVEFriday, May 26, 1995 F2 Honda Accord Gains Zip With New V-6 Engine CAR QUESTIONS By Alan Vonderhaar TH KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE Question: iam a courier and I drive over 100,000 miles a year. I require a hatchback, a small wagon, or a minipickup with a cap for this job. Can you suggest some inexpensive the world’s best-selling names, it vehicles for someone in my line of work? Background information: The bulk of the miles are highway. I make about 30 cents a mile and pay about $1.15 a gallon for gas. Please, if you would, make specific recommendations in the new and used car categories. Myfinances are tight, but T would like to maximize my profits in the upcoming months. Also, can you suggest the best way to have a used car checked out before I purchase it? Answer: Obviously, you want a car that delivers excellent is wise to hurry slowly. ot 82 ing activities and even its more workaday flings like the marvelous VTEC engines argue the reverse. Honda tends to avoid faddish caprices like double overhead cams, feeling that the incremental gains are not commensurate with the complexity and expense entailed. It is almost a Germanic mindset, unlike that of Toyota and Nissan, who seem to revel in technology for technology's sake. Comes a time, though, when mar- | keting leans on engineering to give the steak little sizzle. Suchis the case with the new 6cylinder engine in the Accord. Honda heid out for years, while thousands of Camrysgalloped out of Japan and the Georgetown, ever, for the type. In the 6-banger car, Honda has goneto a stouterfinal drive ratio and a much higher first gear, which makesit feela bit sluggish off the line, but much more responsive in the middie and upper ranges. It gets by on regular unleaded fuel, and yielded 20.6 mpg. EPA estimates are 19 mpg city, 25 highway The V-6 is a good fit from another standpoint: smoothness, the hallmark of the Accord. Ride, steering, handling are all buttery smooth,a plus for some, a turnoff for others, i.e., driving enthusiasts. Those who value being little morea part of the action would probably be better served by the Camry,giving up a bitof silkiness for a more precise feel. The Accord’s steering, in particular, seems rather fly-by-wire, although the car respondsin a controllable, linear fashion, without the uppermost EX model, it made 145 hp —a bit more than thestandard or even upgraded V-6s in archrival Tauruses. It could get the car up to highway speedsat a decent rate, and propel the car to highly illega! velocities. When they finally caved in, though, they did so with flair, extending the nose of the car 2.8 inches to accommodate oneof the world’s sweetest 2.7-liter sixes. Someof the drawings were recycled from the Acura engine of the same displacement, but Honda says 95 percent of the components are new. All-aluminum, with single overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, the more potent powerplant is worth 170 horsepower and 165 foot-pounds of torque. That is 30 percent more than the base engine,butstill sufficiently conservative to suggest a long and happylife. It is not going to make the Accord a big hit at the dragstrip because, though it is technically a compact, the car tips the scales at a solid 3,219 pounds in LX trim. Subjective feelis satisfying, how- any untoward surprises even in stressful maneuvers. In a superbly engineered car — suchas the Accord — ride quality is never harsh, thoughit canstill vary from athletic to posh, according to design and marketing decisions. In the Accord, the engineers tradedoff a bit of precision and control for a remarkably comfortable ambiance. 900—Domestic Cars 900-—Domestic Cars a ken TS, waa eae 297-7107 'GARFF HONDA 900—Domestic Cars Speci, WH EAGAE Surv AMC,4 Dr. Nico LokoVi CMC Outer "5BCXReesotis Coo accurted } mm 4oo options gagaeres AWD, 32,000 P72 EAGLE Tohon, turton$13200/0b0, 800-409-9229. BOR 17h, loaded, new rex. 701Soe be| BUCK ra Se BRIG TIV-BATSAY more. $14 199 Lols Wheels tom Most closure! bose fo "due jooded,| Imtd, Promior 92 EAGLE BUCK F 800-409-9329, iS SDE eS Pork Avenue, loaded. Ur ‘ oute | 900—Domestic Cars 900—Domestic Cars a RET, a8 4 Dr, Auto, air, ‘Wagon, 4 Wheel ‘4 BOCK Comming ceyonne Me ae 406%, See ee, 11484, | on this extremely rm M- voi goSlee Oai$, 64 WP The current mileage king is the Honda Civie VX, which, with the help of variable timing, manages incredible EPA mileage ratings of 47 city and 56 highway. The problem with the VX is that it starts at $11,800, which may be more than you want to spend The Geo Metro hatchback could be the Scroogemobile youare looking for. It has extraordinary EPA ratings of 43 city and 48 highway, andstarts at only $8,085. The Metro, which boasts dual air bags, is about as good asit gets in Under-$9,000-ville. With a base price of $11,525, the Ford Escort wagon. is another attractively priced budgetmobile that might work,although here again, we may be bumping your budget cap. You should also check out the new Chevy Cavalier. If it has enough room to meet your requirements, it is a dynamite deal at $10,069 for the base coupe. A compact pickup like the Ford Ranger or Chevy S would do the job for you, and the starting price is right. The Ford opens at $10,244, the Chevy at $10,520. Thenifty thing about pickupsis that they are tough, simple and hold their resale values very well. If you decide to go the used where, especially in sand andsilver. The interior is appealing, and offers a reasonable amount of room front and rear — for a compact. The brakes felt little soft — again, a design decision — but, with discs fore and aft and antilock oversight, produced powerful stops on wet and dry surfaces. Overall fit and finish were excellent. Base price on an Accord LX sedan is $22,300. In standard configuration, the car has most of the goodies anyone would need or want — air conditioning, automatic transmission, power locks and windows,cruise control, dualairbags, anti-lock brakes, rear defroster, intermittent wipers, power antenna, 50-watt AM/FM cassette with four speakers, and locking, fold-downrearseats. If that is not opulent enough, check out the EX, which — for $2,650 more — hasalloy wheels, power moonroof, leathertrimmed seats and steering wheel, power driver’s seat with adjustable lumbar support, 80-watt 6speaker stereo and body color side moldings — in everything else, it is a cloneofits less-extravagantsibling. The test car had no options, only freight charges, for a total of $22,680. Only a 4-speed automatic transmission is mated to the V-6. It is quite a good one, with Honda's “grade logic’’ electronic controls, which keepit from “hunting” for the right gear on upgradesandlet it downshift to third on downgrades when its sensors advise it that some engine braking would be desirable. The console-mounted shifter tendsto fall into 3 when you pull it out of park, making invocation of overdrive a conscious decision. Thatis fine, especially since gearselection is noted with a bright readout amid theinstruments. Thebasic four instruments are large and legible, with white markings and needles against a black background. Overall ergonomics are good. The radio and air-conditioning controls are centrally located, and canted upward for easy reach and goodvisibility. The concentric controls for fadebalance and bass-treble, however, are annoyingly small. The tuner seemed about average in sensitivity, but as a whole the stereo was disappointing, with a somewhat thin sound. Exterior styling, while not provocative, is smooth and modern. V-6 models have a distinctive grille, reminiscent of Acura’s. ‘The rearof the car offersa bit of homage to BMW. The paint is some of the best you will see any- | 900—Domestic Cars 900—Domestic Cars ae * * Wa 532-8882 800-4004 7 ASR| ma GARRRE on scence( amram Wren ee EE SEERBOUNTIPL 20-8163_| "Wooded wihopens $1877 Aa ara ere 4, am/fm acoan cue, Ae matter well enough. Al Haas is an automotive writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Send your automotive question to Al Haas, The Inquirer, Bot 8263, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101. 900—Domestic Cars 900—Domestic Cars bed ng sell oe MOOX HMOgag a cADIES | a_i ae KEN GARFF OLDSMOBILE 2095, ares HOS USED CARS| ae Coy CASa Bi CK, Cony, 38, ato onSo. ite 80.000 59. pucK wees, URED CARS ; wa.Ave. A Classic "9 BUICK Pork f u1aB4 individuch oh, most ae ang mac ami| phateEASE) y_gBIROQCK HOOny Recut $2799. ‘paeken 4 dr,loaded, | Aareah no mill has, but it moves along A Se Oe jean "te Seve BU5603800 he bars, Atand SobreConttol BUICKClimate | 7,ual Seats. MARE 8643 V2BUCK supercharger, what they call it. I have heard horror stories about engines with turbochargers, and I understand that they require special oil andcare. Since I keep my cars a long time, 1am concerned aboutits future reliability and special care requirements. Answer: You are right, Lysholm Compressor is a fancy namefor a supercharger. And superchargers, like turbochargers, do eventually wear out. When they do, the repair bill is a size 14 bootin the backside. But you also told me you do not put that many miles on a car. So it should be a good long while before the supercharger, and the attendantintercoolers, give you pricey problems. In the meantime, there is not much care and feeding involved. You do have another alternative: You can buy the cheaper Millenia with the normally aspirated, conventional engine.It does not have the groin muscles the onewith the Miller e ——_SORO 950ko. Deve, spac. Sa feei e rove ene: 83 LOSABRE, 4 df. Limited. green,Ot) Glocn: Sole price 86.899. esses ranean ‘Dy Ado, Wi % BUCK Eig Cesare 4 can RAMAN fs sPauios mene = Chevrolet 969-8224 "sa798 4050 W. 360080. cea ais FoneGe a fuel economy. 4-cylinder Honda Accord’s V-6 engine generates 170 horsepower, 30% more than the base grill. and havea distinctive model. Accords equippedwith the V-6 engine are slightly longer Ky., plant with V-6 emblems on their trunk lids. For its conservative, intensely loyal audience, Honda did not think it needed six; its four was smooth. And, with the tricky VTECvalve-timing mechanism on pdr route, I would look for lowmileagevehicles like the ones I described — except for the pickups, whose high resale value will now work against you. Take the used car to a mechanic and have him checkit over thoroughly. You also could have it evaluated at a AAAdiagnostic center. o Question: I test-drove the Mazda Millenia with the Miller engine,liked the car,its appointments and styling. Its handling and engine seemed tight enough and powerful enough to satisfy me. T have one problem with the car. To enable Mazdato use a really small engine in it, they use the Lysholm Compressor to help push out 210 horsepower. As far as I know, this is By Al Haas INNATI ENQUIRER Hondais the most conservative of the Big Three Japanese nameplates, especially whereits breadand-butter Accord line is concerned. That is not timidity, but prudence — whenyou have one of ae 5ai Cony, weal aeds| 2 WICK. Skyfark fy rea198tak re im oe 06 uN HAYES BROS USED CARS 84112 840050. Sica "SSCADILAC Secon Devile,Leather, e Gamestor * 9.3 K CENTURY, 4c, Clean. Low -_aoe1800SOTATA 08 Wes ay cece Pree 3 ox, AOA Lasoo 4 cr VB, eRe ree Pe nCMN WEESCAR ABO. | 94 CADILLAC DEVILLE CONCOURS 52500, ¢ UTAH'S #1 VOLUME BUICK DEALER 95 LESABRE CUSTOM SE 1070 So. Main Sreet 521-4444 1070$0. Mon Shoot 521-4444 America’s Best Selling Full Size Sedan/ orgy’ 1993 Cadillac Customer Satisfaction Award Winner ie W030.94 MonSe ‘BROUGHAM ACCORD EX 4 DOOR 8 1994 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year Recipient HSSeS 9 OVER 50 IN STOCK AT SIMILAR SAVINGS “Always a Winning Team” HAYES BROTHERS £2280 $0. STATE STREET 484-6181 ® BUICK @ CADILLAC. CREATING A HIGHER STANDARD Ken Garff- Honda 2nd East & Sth South ‘297-7441 *Dealer retains incentives, if any. Plus tax & license + Laramie SUT 2 IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY! + HD Auto “Ta av ap * Detuxe Cloth Bench Seat NO GIMMICKS! fips HO Manat NO GIMMICKS! ; E50 + Tratier Tow Per Package | seginecas | y 97jotter| =~— $59,9 + Ale * Cummins Turbo et Package + Travel Convenience 7 MSRP 30,058 $ ! 7 |@ QUALITY 668 NO. MAIN, TOOELE ‘ackage MSRP 12,136 $ ort, vs "NO GIMMICKS! NO GIMMICKS! | Melengine 10l Package + Air, Lots Moret MSRP 17,234 $ 1 6,376 SLC 537-7000 882-7000 |
