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Show AutomotiVE Friday, Mu 5 1's entite man and al mum- s, Transportation newsfor Utah Valley Published Fridays by The Daily Herald dogs, ocodiles, Get ready: This honey is a window smudger Blame the rookie mechanic immified | moved, for blown-out spark plugs d repre: oddesses Dear Tom and Ray: My wife owns a 1995 Ford Contour. About three months ago, whiledriving, she began to hear aloudclacking noise. After inspecting the engine,I found that spark plug had Macthe strut ind the back Uses i torsion be im rear axle The Associated Press: CLICK & CLACK Wind noise i a minimum at highway speeds, and Imagine being so interes in a new car that you leave face even engine tones smudges on the side windows as evidenceof attempts to peer inside, This never happened to my test cars until the 2000 Audi TT been completely ejected from the head. Thethreads porty. ‘The front suspension is By ANN M. JOB ofdevo- on the chead were completely stripped tight: seal windows 0 down just a bit when you open a door and move up when the coupe, namedfor the Tourist door is closed. In facet. the TT is rout. Then it happened again, ‘only on anothersparkplug. Could it be that thereis just ion in the engine aid this is causing the ‘spark plugs to beexpelled?If n be done? — Fred 's definitely not a n problem, Fred. No as enough powerto tblow out spark plugs. Certainly not a 95 Contour. * TOM:It’s an unusual problem, though. I've had spark plu low out on mebefore, butit's always been whenI for:»got to tighten them. And when tthat happens, they just slowly twork their wayout andthen *blow—with a frighteningly loud tsound. But that neverstrips ‘the threads. You just screw the splug back in and everything's ‘fine(except for the dent on the ‘undersideof the hood madeby tthe“launching”spark plug) : RAY:I haveoccasionally :seen plugs that were misman- sufactured — wherethethreadsed part ofthe plug was slight- threads overtime until there wereno threadsleft. But the oddsof that happening on two different cylinders are about the same as the odds of Bob Dole becomea national spokesmanfor male impo- tence. All right, bad example. But trust me, it’s VERY unlikely. TOM: Morelike you wereinfor s rookie mechanie cross thred ed acoupleof your plugs. That means the threads onthe plugs werelined upincorrect: ly with the threads in the cylinder head. And whenhe tried to screw in the plugs, he damaged thethreads in the holes. RA’ mistak fter he madethe thekid probablytried ‘might notblow out right away, ‘but mightleave room for hot “straightens out” de ly need to theinterior, for rarely does car cometo mar- ket with so holistic a personali- ty. The TT, with its rounded front and rear shape and short front and rear overhangs, almost seems morelike a fashion statement than a means of transportation. Most car buyers would never suspect it is built on the same platform as the VolkswagenGolf andNew Beetle. Volkswagen AG owns VW andAudi, Car buyers also might not know the engine — a 180- horsepower, 1.8-liter, in-line, turbocharged four-cylinder — liter, turbocharged four in the VW Passat and Audi Ad. The TT comes only with a fivespeed manual transmission, andAudi says it goes from zero 118 West Main Street * Santaquin 754-3281 754-3979 a8 226-8194|| Hours: Mon-Sat 9-9:00 273 S. State, Orem er 8 Se @ Audi BARBER: CO ARDS atall 2 OOR Copy§ aed lighter th n a highway speeds on ping power, even with the b pedal depressed just a bit antilock brake m is part the standard packa » sizable Si eeping turns, the low- and still seem glued to the pavement. This front-wheel drive i car doe percent ofi feel different: 64 weightis upfront, so there's a se of the front ariable powerst rack and pinion and Steering i: formancetires th: bristle under the {1 wells, The TT's ride is firm feels tightly controlled. On really bad pa ment in this short wheelbase ar, there's some roughne ; but most ofthetime, the ride is both pl ant room. Competitors, all listed with manual transmission, include the BMW Z3 roadster, which has 2 starting MSRP plus destination charge of $30,520 f four-cylinder; the Merced SLK, which starts at $40,595 for a supercharged four-cylinand the Porsche Boxster, which starts at $41,675 for a six-cylinder 2200 BILL Fad, ami BARBER: PRO RUAN LL 798-7431 oF / Waves ee ARMO. ‘Since 1936 BowstownduisConter PONTIAC. GMC. TRUCK Oldsmobile Cadlllac 470 W. 100 N., Provo 373-3031 Washburn Isuzu ¢ Kia 1900 North State lait) 375-9732 Coes 40 Years” Gee Plymouth ee Ke Cistesen RICK WARNER 714-2200 115 E. University, Orem Discount Outlet| Ed ® Gee CHPISIENSEN RICK WARNER SMITH AUTO UEaea c OMPANY “You Can Count On Us” 195. E. 1300 S., Orem 110 West Center, Orem “Yoretan 1-15 & Sth East, We'll beatanyin-state dealers current advertised price on 756-3533 you the car FREE! American Fork SATURN 0/ OREM CO Neennen TTR Christensen + BUICK - GEO PONTIAC « BUICK + GMC (Se 756-3546 221 South 500 East Amer an Fork \ UTAH’s Honda Volume 225-1300 omiicK “We're Serious AboutPutting Service Back In The Service Department” HONDA of OREM PROVO « 373-9500 Yo@® onc Sales and Leasing BE Cocdutuels 1635 S.State, Orem ® 226-1635 “Meeting Utah Cownty’s Automotive Needsfor Over SL Many AUTOPLEX UsedCars of Provo 374-1751 ponmac . of ing. It's sometimes difficult to get a good yrip. The two back seats are for children only, according to Audi. They should be short, too, since the sloping roof line takes a toll on back-seat head- ssion. 410 S. University Ave. “You Can Count On Us” oat) pounds Mercedes-Benz SLK with a 185-hp, supercharged four- bahnandfe noticeably differ ent to American drivers unac customed to immediate stop- CHEVROLET. BuicK “You Can Count On Us” 2125 N, University Pkwy. GKEN GARFFG Affordable Home Town Service Brakes are ready for the auto. pounds below a 170-hp, fourcylinder BMWZ3 roadste nd 337 responds crisply to the driver Nu “Cars that make sense from the dealer that makessense.” Tischner Ford Sales, Ine, thecar is in your at, Audi offers a speal cloth fabrie with tiny, raised rubber dots. The seat-back recline knob for the front seats could be de: ed for easier maneuver- FLEA ? RSITY 523 West Main neighborhoodstree reacting quic! I had trouble keeping it under naan AMERICAN FORK EXIT 281 Smokin’ This is the hot new high-performance Audi TT Coupe for 2000, namedafter the Tourist Trophy races in Europe. The TT, with its suggested retail price of more than $31,000, comes only with five-speed manual tranmission and goes from standstill to 60 miles per hour in 7.4 seconds, according to Audi lightweight, just { ‘That's 167 pounds 201-hp Porsche Bos My cars felt the air pressure change in the test car. Front seats sculpted and quite firm, but t y"re not confining. Ifyou really want to stay The © is a version of the 150-hp 1.8- slung TT can hold good speed Since 1899 whenthefirst car was introduced on Utah’s roads the automotive business in the state has been a major contributor to the economy. One out of every six people are directly arp in the automobile industry and with it’s associatesit is Utah’s largest employer, largest tax payer and largest sales tax contributor. Utah County auto dealers are a major factor in Utah’s auto industry and youwill find terrific values at anyofthefriendly, local dealers. 224-4015 back id. To soak upthe novel styling of this 2+2 sports car, real- to 60 mphin7.4 seconds. threads. FACT sealed so well vou might want to brace yourself if you're inside when someone closes the hatch including destination charge,it is hot. Tom & Ray ‘ly too small, In that case,it sexhaust gases to erode the are surprisingly deep and sporty sounding: for four cylinders. To help create a a new Toyota or we'll give | 1825 N.University Pkwy PROVO : 373-2570 798-8503 798-8977 BIG City Inventory With Home Town 325 North Main, VALUES! Spanish Fork 763-6800 Exit 279 - American Fork MRFORD “Investing in Lifetime Customers” 1400 South Sandhill Road 229-3600 |