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46 Tragic Kingdom Saturn SC2 It was a grand idea
Tests & Drives to remake an empire, but it didn’t last.
GETTY IMAGES
Angus MacKenzie, Aaron Gold
24 A Decade of Change Welcome to the ’90s 54 The R Files Acura Integra Type R vs. Honda Civic
As the 20th century came to a close, the Type R Honda’s commitment to heritage
automotive world was in flux. Angus MacKenzie pays off. Scott Evans
30 Judgment Day Ford Mustang How the pony car 58 In Living Color 1996 Volkswagen Golf Harlequin
survived an inflection point. Christian Seabaugh The off-beat hatch gets its due. Billy Rehbock
36 Unplugged Ford F-150 Lightning Long before 60 Please, Chevy, Don’t Hurt ’Em 1990 Corvette ZR-1
electrification, the Lightning left its burn (out) vs. 2023 Corvette Z06 The birth of a giant slayer.
marks. Frank Markus Eric Tingwall
40 Breathe In, Breathe Out 1996 Porsche 911 64 Noob Lexus LS 400 An amazingly good luxury
The last air-cooled Porsche made for a debut. Alexander Stoklosa
near-instant classic. Mac Morrison
66 Need For Speed Hot-Rodded Compacts
42 Deserve’s Got Nothin’ To Do With It The genesis of tuner culture. Bob Hernandez
1995 BMW M3 Lightweight Reflecting on an
underappreciated performance machine. 72 You Crazy SOB, You Did It ’90s Tech A rundown of
Tim Stevens the decade’s most notable advances. Frank Markus
44 Come Out and Play 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee 74 Flyin’ the Flannel Automotive Fashion
Who said truckish capability and a carlike ride Because who doesn’t love looking back at what
must be mutually exclusive? Aaron Gold they used to wear? Jonny Lieberman
MotorTrend (ISSN 0027-2094) July 2023, Vol. 75, No. 7. Published monthly by Motor Trend Group, LLC, 831 South Douglas Street,
EST. 1949 El Segundo, CA 90245. Copyright© 2023 by Motor Trend Group, LLC; All rights reserved. Periodicals Postage Paid at Los Angeles, CA and
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4 MOTORTREND.COM JULY 2023

10
Departments & Features
8 Editor’s Letter The supercar decade.
10 Intake Prior months’ hot metal.
22 Technologue How the heated EV debate began.
23 Your Say Responses to recent issues.
82 The Big Picture A missed opportunity for GM.
82 78
STREAM THE NEW TOP GEAR AMERICA ON THE MOTORTREND APP! SIGN UP FOR THE ALL-NEW
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JULY 2023 MOTORTREND.COM 5

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CATCH THE ACTION ALL SEASON LONG ON

Jonny Lieberman
Senior Features Editor
Editor’s Note MCLAREN F1
GETTY IMAGES
real reason for valet mode was that the ZR-1’s motor couldn’t
SUPERCAR
pass an emissions test at full mustard? Not me, not in 1990.
Also, two years after the Viper turned up with 400 hp, Chevy
cranked the ZR-1’s output to 405. Because of course it did. The
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra made a stout 320 hp, too.
We had it good here in America, sure, but things were
DECADE even more exciting in 1990s Japan. Can you say Acura NSX?
Launched in ’90 as a ’91 model, the NSX may be on the cover
of the definitive 1990s car book. Formula 1 superstar Ayrton
Senna helped tune the thing, while supercar designer Gordon
Murray said the NSX inspired the unreal McLaren F1. As
The runup to the millennium saw some killers. groundbreaking a sports car as any, the NSX sent shockwaves
s we went about putting together this issue, I couldn’t through the European manufacturers—Ferrari and Porsche,
A
help but to think about a subsect of cars from the ’90s— specifically. Suddenly a Japanese sports car could outperform
cars that are more than deserving of their reputations. Germany’s best, sell for less, and start up every single time an
The past 10 years might very well go down as the peak owner wanted to go for a drive. Crazy! Japan was riding so high
hypercar era—the Bugatti Veyron, LaFerrari, McLaren in the ’90s that Mazda, buoyed by the surprise success of the
P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Aston Martin Valkyrie—but the ’90s Miata, was planning its own luxury division to compete with
were peak supercar. Sure, ’70s (the Lamborghini Countach) and Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus: Amati. Sounds nuts, no?
’80s (still Countach, plus the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 959) Skipping over all sorts of killer Japanese metal (like the Mazda
supercars were cool, but the high-flying stuff from the ’90s was RX-7, Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, twin-turbo Toyota Supra,
simply on another level. After what seemed like two decades of twin-turbo Nissan 300ZX) for the sake of space, it’s the Euro
general decline, cars suddenly didn’t suck anymore. supercars of the ’90s I still drool about. Like the Ferrari F50. It
The Dodge Viper is the first car that comes to mind had an F1 engine, for crying out loud. Moreover, that
when I think about ’90s supercars. Before the Viper, it The Viper V-12 was mated to a six-speed manual attached, race-
had been forever since Mopar built anything a teenager is the first car-style, as a stressed member, with both bolted to the
might pin to their wall. Front-wheel-drive Daytonas? thing that F50’s carbon-fiber central tub. That sort of tech is rare
No thanks. But the Viper was different. In contrast comes to even today, and it was unheard of back in ’95. You can’t
to everything else, it was the coolest parts of Detroit
mixed with the best bits of Carroll Shelby wrapped
mind when mention Ferrari without talking about Lamborghini,
and while nowhere near as racy as the F50, how cool is
around a mighty freakin’ 8.0-liter V-10. The Viper was
I think ’90s. the Diablo? Few cars are as sweet as the Diablo SV.
simultaneously unbelievably brash and the logical halo car to But no supercar is as central to this part of the ’90s story as
build. Why let Lamborghini—the Italian supercar company the earth-moving, mind-bending, more-coveted-than-ever
Chrysler bought in 1987—have all the fun? And if there was a McLaren F1. Here’s a single production car that not only held
little bit of Lambo inside the Viper (Lamborghini helped out the top-speed world record (240.1 mph) until the Bugatti Veyron
with the V-10), all the better! Put it like this: The 1981 Chevrolet showed up but which also took the overall win at Le Mans.
BARRETT-JACKSON VIA GETTY IMAGES

Corvette made 190 horsepower. The 1991 Viper: 400 ponies, baby. Made almost entirely from carbon fiber, Kevlar, titanium, gold,
The ’90s were a pretty great decade for performance. and zinc, the F1 is light, sits three with the driver in the center,
Not to be overlooked, crosstown rival Chevrolet launched the and makes a staggering 617 hp from its BMW-sourced V-12.
Corvette ZR-1 in 1990. Released a year before the Viper, the ZR-1 Everyone and their mother has since proclaimed Murray’s
made 375 hp from its European-style 5.7-liter DOHC 48-valve V-8. masterpiece the greatest car ever built. If you want to buy an F50
You need to understand: 375 hp was an insane amount of power today, you need about $5 million. For the F1, the poster supercar
back then. So much so that the ZR-1 had a valet mode. No, really! of the ’90s, you need more than four times that.
There was a separate key that shut off the secondary intake ports, Of course, there are plenty of other cars worth recognizing
turning the output down to just 210 hp. Who cares if the from such a memorable decade. Read on, and enjoy.
DODGE VIPER

MOTORTREND I 7.23
Intake The ’90s Issue

Welcome to the Decade
WORDS AARON GOLD
• MotorTrend Car of the

Year: Chevrolet Caprice • MotorTrend Car of the • MotorTrend Car of the • MotorTrend Car of the
• MotorTrend Car of the LTZ Year: Cadillac Seville Year: Ford Probe GT Year: Ford Mustang
Year: Lincoln Town Car • MotorTrend Import Car Touring Sedan • MotorTrend Import Car • MotorTrend Import Car
• MotorTrend Import Car of the Year: Mitsubishi • MotorTrend Import Car of the Year: Mazda RX-7 of the Year: Honda Accord
of the Year: Nissan 300ZX 3000GT VR4 of the Year: Lexus SC 400 • MotorTrend Truck of • MotorTrend Truck of the
• MotorTrend Truck of the • MotorTrend Truck of • MotorTrend Truck of the Year: Jeep Grand Year: Dodge Ram Pickup
Year: Ford Aerostar 4WD the Year: Mazda Navajo the Year: Ford Econoline Cherokee • Best Picture: Forrest
• Best Picture: Dances • Best Picture: The Chateau Club Wagon • Best Picture: Gump
with Wolves Silence of the Lambs • Best Picture: Unforgiven Schindler’s List • Song of the Year
• Song of the Year • Song of the Year • Song of the Year • Song of the Year Grammy: “A Whole New
Grammy: “Wind Beneath Grammy: “From a Grammy: “Unforgettable” Grammy: “Tears in World” (Peabo Bryson &
My Wings” (Bette Midler) Distance” (Bette Midler) (Natalie Cole) Heaven” (Eric Clapton) Regina Belle)
1990 › 1991 › 1992 › 1993 › 1994 ›

New Vehicles and New Vehicles and New Vehicles and New Vehicles and New Vehicles and
MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives
•Honda Accord (fourth •Infiniti G20 • Jeep Grand Cherokee •Dodge Ram (second •Dodge/Plymouth Neon
generation) •Subaru SVX • BMW 3 Series (E36) generation) •Porsche 911 (993)
•Dodge Stealth/ •AM General Hummer • Ford Probe •Toyota Supra Turbo •Ford Contour and
Mitsubishi 3000GT •Mazda MX-3 • Toyota MR2 Turbo •Mercedes-Benz Mercury Mystique
•Geo Storm •Toyota Camry (third • Toyota T100 C-Class •Chrysler Cirrus
•Acura NSX generation) • Chrysler LH cars (Dodge •Honda Accord (fifth •GM Impact concept
•GMC Syclone Events Intrepid, Eagle Vision, generation) •VW Concept 1
•Saturn S-Series
• Launch of the World Chrysler Concorde/LHS/ •Ford Mustang (SN95) Events
New Yorker)
Events Wide Web Events • Channel Tunnel opens
• Smoking banned on • Peugeot and Sterling Events •
Ferruccio Lamborghini between the U.K. and
domestic airline flights announce withdrawal • Daihatsu announces dies France
• Police beating of from the U.S. market withdrawal from U.S. •
Beavis and Butt-Head, • Michael Jackson marries
Rodney King prompts Los • U.S. launch of the market Power Rangers, X-Files, Lisa Marie Presley
Angeles riots Super Nintendo • Chevrolet builds the Jurassic Park premiere • O.J. Simpson and Al
• Iraq invades Kuwait, Entertainment System 1 millionth Corvette •
Siege of the Branch Cowlings lead police on a
leading to the Gulf War • Soviet Union ceases • Mazda cancels planned Davidian compound near two-hour chase in
• Reunification of East to exist Amati luxury brand Waco, Texas Simpson’s Ford Bronco
and West Germany • Kia establishes its •
Backstreet Boys formed • Friends, The Lion King
U.S. subsidiary, Kia •
North American Free premiere
GETTY IMAGES
America, Inc. Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • Sony PlayStation and

• Chrysler boss Lee signed into law Netscape Navigator web
Iacocca retires browser are released
MITSUBISHI
3000GT
O.J. SIMPSON AND

10 MOTORTREND.COM JULY 2023 AL COWLINGS
If you lived through the 1990s, you know it was a fascinating era. From cars to pop culture to politics
and more, we can’t come close to reminding you of everything significant that occurred—but we
can highlight some of the key cars, moments, and talking points that defined the decade.
• MotorTrend Car of the

Year: Chrysler 300M
• MotorTrend Car of the • MotorTrend Car of the • MotorTrend Car of the • MotorTrend Import Car
Year: Chrysler Cirrus Year: Dodge Caravan Year: Chevrolet Corvette of the Year: Volkswagen
• MotorTrend Import • MotorTrend Import Car • MotorTrend Car of the • MotorTrend Import Car New Beetle
Car of the Year: Nissan of the Year: Mercedes- Year: Chevrolet Malibu of the Year: Lexus GS • MotorTrend Truck of the
Maxima Benz E-Class • MotorTrend Import Car • MotorTrend Truck of Year: Chevrolet Silverado
• MotorTrend Truck of the • MotorTrend Truck of the of the Year: BMW 5 Series the Year: Mercedes-Benz • MotorTrend SUV of the
Year: Chevrolet Blazer Year: Chevrolet Tahoe • MotorTrend Truck of the M-Class Year: Lexus RX 300
• Best Picture: Braveheart • Best Picture: The Year: Ford F-150 • Best Picture: • Best Picture: American
• Song of the Year: English Patient • Best Picture: Titanic Shakespeare in Love Beauty
“Streets of Philadelphia” • Song of the Year • Song of the Year • Song of the Year: • Song of the Year
(Bruce Springsteen) Grammy: “Kiss from a Grammy: “Change the “Sunny Came Home” Grammy: “My Heart Will
Rose” (Seal) World” (Eric Clapton) (Shawn Colvin) Go On” (Celine Dion)
1995 › 1996 › 1997 › 1998 › 1999

New Vehicles and New Vehicles and New Vehicles and New Vehicles and New Vehicles and
MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives MotorTrend First Drives
• Bentley Azure • Jeep Wrangler (TJ) •Chevrolet Corvette (C5) • VW New Beetle •BMW M5
• Dodge Caravan/ • Toyota RAV4 •Honda CR-V • Mercury Cougar •Honda S2000
Plymouth Voyager/ • GM EV1 •Acura Integra Type R • BMW 3 Series (E46) •Isuzu VehiCross
Chrysler Town & Country • Ford F-150 (10th gen) •Subaru Forester • Mercedes-Benz •Ford Excursion
(third generation) • Aston Martin DB7 •Lincoln Navigator E55 AMG •Toyota Tundra
• Honda Accord (sixth Volante •Dodge Durango • Chevrolet Silverado •Ford F-150 Lightning
generation) • Ford Expedition •Mazda Miata (NB) (GMT800) Events
• Ferrari F50 • Hyundai Tiburon Events • Ford Mustang SVT
• MotorTrend celebrates
• Subaru Legacy • Cadillac Catera
• Madeleine Albright Cobra its 50th anniversary
Outback • Porsche Boxster becomes the first • Shelby Series 1
• NHTSA reports that
Events Events woman confirmed as • Daewoo Lanos, Nubira, only 68% of Americans
and Leganza
• 168 killed in the • MotorTrend.com Secretary of State wear seat belts
bombing of the Alfred P. goes live • DVD format introduced Events • Melissa email virus
Murrah Federal Building • Women’s National in the U.S. • MotorTrend launches is released, infecting
in Oklahoma City Basketball Association • U.S. release of Bandai Truck Trend magazine more than 1 million email
• Amazon.com and (WNBA) founded Tamagotchi digital pet • News breaks of accounts
eBay go live • Ted Kaczynski, • Mike Tyson bites off President Bill Clinton’s • Premiere of The Matrix
• MotorTrend tests its a.k.a. the Unabomber, part of Evander affair with White House and Star Wars Episode 1:
first car with electronic arrested at his cabin in Holyfield’s right ear intern Monica Lewinsky The Phantom Menace
stability control (1996 Montana • Diana, Princess of • Daimler-Benz buys • Columbine High School
Mercedes S-Class) • TWA Flight 800, a Wales, killed in a car Chrysler Corporation, shooting leaves 15 dead
• O.J. Simpson 747 en route from New crash in Paris forming Daimler-Chrysler (including the shooters)
acquitted of murdering York to Paris and Rome, • Porsche introduces first • Google is founded and 24 injured
Nicole Brown Simpson explodes off the coast of water-cooled 911, the • Harry Potter and • Launch of Napster, a
and Ronald Goldman Long Island 996, at the Frankfurt the Sorcerer’s Stone peer-to-peer file-sharing
• Million Man March • Dolly the Sheep is auto show published in the U.S. service commonly used
takes place in born, the first mammal for music piracy
Washington, D.C. cloned from an adult cell
• Premiere of Toy Story, • Spice Girls release
the first completely their first single,
computer-animated “Wannabe”
feature film
MOTORTREND I 7.23 VW NEW
BEETLE
FORD ESCORT
Intake
The Lookback Machine:
MotorTrend’s 1990s Predictions
business, with most models duplicated
as Dodges, Plymouths, and sometimes
Chryslers. The ZJ was the first new product
to launch after Chrysler’s purchase of Jeep,
and it made sense the company would
carbon-copy it to other divisions.
Outcome: We Weren’t Wrong,

But We Weren’t Right, Either
Turns out there was a Dodge version of the
ZJ in development, but it was torpedoed
after Jeep dealers complained. Automotive
News reported that the Dodge version
would appear as a 1994 model if Jeep sales
fell flat, which they most definitely did
VW CONCEPT 1 not. Dodge’s first SUV, the ’98 Durango,
was based on the Dakota, but it moved to
the Grand Cherokee platform in 2011—so
How’d We Do? Right, Wrong, and Not Even Close technically, our prediction eventually
WORDS AARON GOLD mechanicals. The public response was became true.
“T he historian,” wrote Frederich Von

Schlegel, “is a prophet looking
backwards.” We certainly made
so overwhelmingly positive that VW set
about putting it into production, and the
resulting New Beetle ballooned the auto-
1991: Two-Stroke Engines
Are the Future
more than our share of predictions in the maker’s sales by nearly 60 percent in 1997 Back in the early ’90s, the industry had
’90s; we were right about some, wrong and another 44 percent in 1999. If VW had two-stroke fever. A company called
about others, and downright embarrassed listened to us in 1990, it could have had a Orbital developed a line of two-stroke
by a few. Here are a half-dozen of our 1990s much better decade. engines it claimed were significantly
projections and their eventual outcomes. smaller, lighter and more efficient than
1990: Dodge Will Get Its Own four-strokes of similar displacement.
1990: Volkswagen Should Bring Version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee In August 1991, we reported that 11
Back the Beetle In December 1990, we published our first automakers, including GM and Ford, had
In his June 1990 column, MotorTrend spy photos of the Jeep ZJ, the vehicle that signed up with Orbital, while Chrysler
editor Jack Nerad recounted a chat with a would become the 1993 Grand Cherokee, and Toyota were developing their own
Volkswagen PR rep who fretted about the and predicted Dodge would get its own versions. We drove a Chrysler concept
company’s sinking market share. Nerad’s version. Six years before Dolly the Sheep, called the Neon—yes, that Neon—with
suggestion: Bring back the Beetle. Chrysler was neck deep in the cloning two-stroke power, and we (among other
“Volkswagen has lost its reputation for
low-cost, reliable ‘transportation’ cars DODGE GRAND CHEROKEE
to the Japanese and Koreans,” he wrote.
The PR man scoffed—surely Nerad didn’t
mean the Beetle? “I wasn’t proposing the
reintroduction of a several-decades-old
model,” Nerad said. “I was suggesting
fresh, modern mechanicals under a
Beetle skin. They didn’t think much of
this idea, either.”
Outcome: We Were Right

Perhaps Volkswagen didn’t completely
RENDER: RYAN LUGO
ignore our man Nerad: Three and a half

years later VW showed the Concept 1,
a Beetle shape on modern Golf
THE RESULTS
ARE IN.
The Acura Integra is the North American Car of the Year.™
With an available manual transmission, a turbocharged engine, and sporty design, the 2023
Acura Integra has quickly become the best-selling car in the premium sport compact segment.
The award goes to Precision Crafted Performance.
Integra A-Spec® with Technology Package shown. ©2023 Acura. Acura, Integra, A-Spec, Precision Crafted Performance, and the stylized “A” logo are registered trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
INTAKE I 7.23
CHRYSLER NEON
CONCEPT
publications) confidently predicted it

would be one of several two-stroke cars ACURA NSX
on sale by mid-decade.
Outcome: We Were Wrong

The fever broke as suddenly as it had
arrived. The problem was emissions—not
the expected clouds of blue oil smoke, but
NOx from lean combustion, with which
the catalysts of the day were unable to
cope. The two-stroke revolution never
happened, and the 1995 Neon went on
sale with a four-stroke engine.
1992: We’ll Buy EVs Because They

Are Fun to Drive it in less than 4.0. Despite what some here. Our “spy photo” was a Euro-’Scort,
A few years before the GM EV1, when outspoken readers tell us, our love for but that’s not the most embarrassing part.
electric cars were largely seen as glorified EVs stems from that long-ago prediction: The car in our photo was an old model,
golf carts, we drove a Honda CRX with an Pure driving pleasure. which had been on sale for two years. As
electric powertrain—and were shocked for the 1993 U.S.-spec Escort, it looked
(heh) when it hit 60 in 7.8 seconds, same 1992: The V-6-Powered Escort identical to the ’92, and it most definitely
as the BMW 325i and Lexus SC 300. “If In January 1992, we showed a photo did not get a six-cylinder engine. A V-6
future electric vehicles offer this kind of what we authoritatively stated was Escort? What were we thinking?
of power and feel,” we wrote in July ’92, the face-lifted 1993 Ford Escort. The
“maybe we’ll buy them for driving plea- then-current Escort launched in 1990 as 1998: New Acura NSX Coming
sure as well as environmental concerns.” a ’91 model, and Ford told us a two-year With V-12 Power
refresh was part of an accelerated product The first-generation Acura NSX was
Outcome: We Were Right, Though cycle the company was pursuing. Because a magnificent car, yet it never quite
Not Everyone Agrees the Escort we snapped wasn’t one we achieved the status it might have, such
Today’s EVs are changing our perfor- recognized, we figured it was the new as that of a certain storied Italian brand.
mance benchmarks. The quickest car version, and we interpreted the bigger With Honda poised to return to Formula
we’ve ever tested is electric (Tesla grille as evidence that Ford would install a 1 in 2000 (for which it had previously
Model S Plaid, 0–60 mph in 2.0 seconds). 3.0-liter V-6 engine. supplied V-12 engines) and the rising
Better yet, we’re awash in ordinary cars popularity of the 12-pot amid luxury
that are ridiculously quick, like the Outcome: We Weren’t Even Close vehicles, a V-12 NSX made perfect sense
family-friendly Hyundai Ioniq 5 that Ford did face-lift the Escort for 1993—the to us, and we published a sketch of a new
accelerates to 60 in 4.4 seconds, and European version, that is, which was a wedge-shaped version lengthened to
pickups from Ford and Rivian that do completely different car than the one sold accommodate this obvious engine choice.
HONDA CRX
OUTCOME: We Should Have
Known Better
Neither the V-12 nor the redesigned NSX
happened, and Honda’s new F1 engines
turned out to be V-10s. What pains us
about this one is that we knew Honda
better than that. Its engineers were all
about making things lighter and simpler,
and using 12 cylinders when six (or 10)
would do simply wasn’t the Honda Way. A
V-12-powered NSX would have been cool,
but it was as unlikely then as it is today.
MOTORTREND I 7.23
Intake
On The Rise: ’90s Collector Cars
GMC YUKON
FORD TAURUS SHO
lightweight laminated balsa floor panels.

The LS1 V-8 was a lightweight and power-
dense marvel, and it birthed the entire LS
engine family and phenomenon—it’s still
the go-to swap engine for almost every-
thing. There are several body styles to
Some of the decade’s most well-known choose from, too. Ratty, modified C5s are
(and under-the-radar) collector cars. ridiculously cheap, but well-kept low-mile
ones are in the $30,000s after years of
WORDS ALEX KIERSTEIN
1990–1993 Porsche 911 (964) rock-bottom depreciation. The mighty
he ’90s can conjure thoughts of an The 964 is finally coming into its own. Z06, of course, will cost you more.
T automotive dark age full of unsatis-

fying niche vehicles and evolutionary
dead ends. It’s the decade that
Despite a short model run, there are many
variants, available AWD (a first in a produc-
tion 911), and even a Tiptronic automatic for
1989–1995 Ford Taurus SHO
For 20-plus years, the SHO was just an old
gave us the Suzuki X-90, after all. But it those who want one. Excellent ’90s colors (if interesting) sedan, with top examples
was also studded with gems, some of which also give it a flair its predecessors lack. selling for less than $10,000. Now, with
have become bona fide collectibles and Prices have jumped of late; prime examples SUVs everywhere and manual gearboxes
some that still await a star turn. of the base model are into six figures, while dying, the SHO formula—Yamaha-de-
rare models like the Turbo S Lightweights veloped DOHC V-6, stick-shift, four-door
1991–1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo approach the million-dollar barrier. sedan—has an incongruous appeal.
The Z32 Z marked a triumphant return With so many of them thrashed by folks
to sports car greatness, especially in 1997–2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5 delighted by cheap access to a 220-hp car,
twin-turbo guise. It looked sleek, and it It is hard to overstate how radical the clean ones are suddenly rare. But prices
packed 300 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque, C5 Corvette was when new, with its rear have yet to catch up, and $20,000 is likely
wild numbers for the time. Nissan also transaxle, hydroformed frame rails, and to get you one of the world’s best.
included HICAS active rear steering for
MATT CAMPBELL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
world-beating handling that helped it

snap up our 1990 Import Car of the Year
award. While the best examples have
slipped slightly, an excellent 300ZX turbo
is a $40,000 car as of this writing.
1992–1999 Chevrolet Tahoe/

GMC Yukon 2-Door
These have gotten difficult to find in
good condition, and nostalgia and their
upright, honest, and handsome styling
has folks reevaluating them as collect-
ibles. They’re also very usable, with avail-
able 4WD and enough power to tow toys.
Good ones command between $20,000
and $40,000 depending on spec—the
CHEVROLET
clean details and subtle menace of the C5 CORVETTE
Yukon GT is a particular favorite of ours.
INTAKE I 7.23
Intake VW EUROVAN
Volkswagen Eurovan, including the

Weekender and Winnebago versions. The
Eurovan wasn’t necessarily a great vehicle,
but it made up for its shortcomings with
supreme practicality and kitschy appeal,
and later VR6 models offer more power
and better features. Good Eurovan campers
run roughly $35,000 to $45,000 in decent
shape and are a much less expensive way
to get into the van camping hobby than
TOYOTA SUPRA a modern conversion. Plus, a robust and
enthusiastic community exists to help fix
1994–1998 Toyota A80 Supra Turbo SUZUKI any issues that crop up.
Born in the Japanese Bubble Era, this tech JIMNY
marvel added a complicated sequential 1992–1995 Honda Civic Si
twin-turbo system to a massively overbuilt The early 1990s Civic Si hatchback sits
2JZ inline-six that could be tuned to make in a sweet spot of age, desirability, and
legendary power. It was never cheap, even accessible performance—if you can
new, but the cost of entry has escalated find one. Many were either thrashed or
as potential owners’ incomes swelled just driven into the ground, though the
in inverse proportion to the number of survivors are beginning to appear on
remaining unmolested examples. JDM auction sites and forum listings, where
imports muddy the waters a bit, but 1998 Suzuki Jimny they generally trade for as little as $10K.
the mintiest U.S.-market Turbo models This third-gen Jimny didn’t reach America, You’ll pay more toward $20,000 for a top
command the biggest premium—to the where the second generation was sold as example, but the Si is a charmer, with a
tune of $175,000 and up. the Suzuki Samurai. The newer version lightness and zip you just don’t get with
was an updated, modernized, and more much heavier modern front-drivers. And
1996–2001 Toyota Chaser/Mark II civilized take with a lot of what everyone you can’t beat VTEC’s manic pull once the
In 1997, the first Gran Turismo expanded loved about the Samurai: a rugged ladder cam profile switches over.
everyone’s knowledge of (and interest in) frame, live axles front and rear, and a part-
the approximately 597,000 weird variants time 4WD system with a legit low range for 1994–1995 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra
of JDM cars included in the video game’s true off-road capability. Left-hand-drive The SN95-generation Mustang has gener-
lineup. Among them: the Toyota Chaser/ models are available via Europe, while ally not yet crossed the magic threshold
Mark II (virtually identical vehicles with various trims from Japan offer both larger of collectibility, and a nice ’94 or ’95 Cobra
some minor aesthetic differences), an and smaller engine choices. This is the first coupe or convertible is roughly a $20,000
ultimate sleeper in stock form and whose year the third-gen is legal to import, and 10 car today. These may never be as valuable
RWD, inline-six-powered chassis is easily grand should get you a nice one, importa- as, say, the ’93 Fox Body Cobra or the
modified. Importers offer relatively nice tion included. fearsome Cobra R versions, but they’re
basic versions for less than—sometimes still worth considering, particularly the
much less than—$15,000, but configura- 1993–2003 Volkswagen Eurovan pre-Modular models with the famous 5.0
tions vary from taxi-spec to the desirable In the ’90s, the most appealing camper (actually 4.9-liter, but who’s counting?)
Tourer V TRD turbocharged model. vans had to be those based on the small-block V-8. These models got a
slightly improved engine to the tune of
240 hp and 283 lb-ft—not too shabby for a
3,400-pound car.
TOYOTA CHASER FORD MUSTANG SVT COBRA

INTAKE I 7.23
THE EV1: Forget the Trash Talk

WORDS FRANK MARKUS
GM’s Electric Tech Paved the Way for Today’s Teslas

eneral Motors takes way more two-seater was rolling out: the Lotus it presents no drag while coasting. Entry
G flak and gets nowhere near

enough credit for the GM EV1,
the most technologically advanced
Elise. Notably, that car’s rolling chassis
would underpin the Tesla Roadster in
2008. Let’s review some of the EV1’s many
to the car and starting it was keyless,
while acceleration and shifting were
done by wire. Its power electronics used
production vehicle of its time. It innovations. IGBT transistors from the Sunraycer solar
pioneered and/or demonstrated myriad A 137-hp, 110-lb-ft AC induction motor program—a big improvement over the
features we either take for granted on spun the front wheels via a single-speed silicon MOSFETs of the day.
today’s (electric and gas) cars or still transaxle. Tesla began with AC induction Primitive chemistry of the early
regard as futuristic. And it’s worth motors, and there’s been a move toward lead-acid and later NiMH batteries
remembering the first EV1 was built this motor type as the secondary motor in doomed the EV1’s driving range, but
in 1996, just as another all-aluminum all-wheel-drive electric vehicles because its T-shape battery pack persists today
(see the Cadillac Celestiq and Maserati
GranTurismo Folgore). Its SAE J1773
“MagneCharge” inductive paddle charger
won UL approval far more quickly than
today’s J1772 conductive charger did
because of its inherent safety in rain. And
like Tesla, GM installed its own network
of public MagneChargers in regions
where the EV1 was available. (Other
California-compliance EVs of the day, like
the Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Altra, used
LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
them, too.)
A brake-torque control module
(BTCM) blended friction and regener-
ative braking, and the rear drums were
electrohydraulically actuated by wire
(similar to Brembo Sensify). The steering
system pioneered electrohydraulic assist,
and the suspension featured lightweight
INTAKE I 7.23
The T-shaped First by-wire brake

battery pack enabled actuation. Rear
a low seating drum brakes were
position and roofline engaged via a
without consuming remote hydraulic
cargo space, but the circuit actuated by
battery chemistry of an electric screw
the day was unable jack as directed by
to deliver acceptable the brake-torque
driving range. control module.
A permanent-
magnet-free AC
induction motor
was controlled by
an insulated-gate-
bipolar-transistor-
type powertrain
control module.
Cast magnesium
seat frames and
steering wheel
insert, squeeze-cast
aluminum wheels,
cast aluminum shock
towers, an aluminum
spaceframe,
composite body
Heat-pump-type climate control panels, and a
worked with an electrically heated urethane instrument
windshield and solar glass to panel helped
dramatically reduce the the HVAC load. minimize weight.
The slot for the EV1’s induction charging

paddle. A 220-volt MagneCharge charger
could top up the EV1 in three hours, and
110-volt charging took 15 hours.

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INTAKE I 7.23
Intake REAR VIEW

From the MT Archive ...
components like a composite Panhard rod seat frames and steering wheel armature, GM’s soon-to-be-
in back, micro-alloy springs, and many a fiberglass dash structure, and plastic stillborn Wankel
squeeze-cast aluminum components (this body panels filled with hollow glass beads rotary-powered
Vega, showed
forge-casting process can reduce mass slashed weight. Record-breaking low drag JULY 1973 the new plastic-
by 35 percent), including the 8.5-pound (0.19 Cd) plus ultra-low-friction bearings PRICE: $0.75 fantastic bumpers
wheels. Self-sealing, low rolling resistance and seals on the running gear rounded For our Flat Out for the ’74 Corvette
Classic, we headed to and Camaro, and
tires featured pressure monitoring. out the efficiency strategy. The EV1 even California’s new-ish published an editorial
A heat pump, an electrically heated featured a pedestrian warning tone, two Ontario Speedway railing against
windshield, and UV-resistant glass helped decades before FMVSS 141 mandated it. to find 1973’s fastest proposed seat belt
American car. legislation. It would
reduce the load on the HVAC system. An In the end, GM discontinued the EV1
Winner: the Pontiac still be more than a
aluminum space frame, cast magnesium program not at the behest of Big Oil Firebird Trans Am decade before New
and other bad actors but rather because 455 SD at 124.3 York passed the first
battery technology was still a decade or mph. We previewed seat belt law.
two away from where it needed to be to
make mainstream family-size electric
vehicles viable. And most of the cars were
collected and crushed because of the
burdensome legal liability of providing
parts and service support for the tiny fleet
of EV1s. But as its history suggests, GM’s
R&D outlay on the car was not wasted.
The GM EV1 had an impressive 0.19 drag coefficient, and looking at it, it’s no wonder
why. That number still stands as among the best of any automobile ever produced.
JULY 1993 JULY 2013

PRICE: $2.95 PRICE: $4.99
The Golden Age of The Kia Cadenza won
Japanese perfor- our Big Test of big
mance was upon us. sedans, followed by
Toyota’s new Supra the Chevrolet Impala,
Turbo beat the Acura Toyota Avalon,
NSX, Mazda RX-7, Chrysler 300S, and
Mitsubishi 3000GT Ford Taurus. In other
VR-4, and Nissan comparos, Audi’s R8
300ZX Turbo in V10 beat the Nissan
every category. We GT-R, and among
published sneak- diesel SUVs the Jeep
peek drawings of Grand Cherokee
upcoming Chryslers, finished ahead of the
including the Eagle Porsche Cayenne,
Talon, Sebring, Dodge Mercedes ML 350, and
Stratus, and Neon. Volkswagen Touareg.
WATCH FREE CAR SHOWS 24/7
SCAN NOW
Frank Markus
Technologue
Did 1990s Emissions Policy
Help Make Us Vitriolic?
T
oday’s sociopolitical discourse can be ugly. In the Ignoring upstream emissions does a double
automotive space, the us-versus-them vitriol disservice to carbon reduction. With no accounting
frequently centers on electrification, pitting for a BEV’s manufacturing or electricity-production
“eco-weenie coal-fired-EV lovers” against “selfish emissions, there’s no opportunity to credit the positive
wingnut climate deniers.” Our pals at Emissions upstream effects of bio-based and carbon-neutral
Analytics recently published a cogent theory about fuels. I’ve covered numerous promising technologies
how we got here, pointing to emissions regulations for generating liquid fuels from cellulosic materials,
of the ’90s that were ill-informed, disingenuous, or algae, shredder residue, and more that aim to partially
both. Given the theme of this issue, let’s look at how decarbonize the existing fleet, but none could profitably
these ostensibly eco-minded 1990s policies might have compete with cheap oil absent tax credits or incentives.
helped sow the seeds of today’s EV/ICE discord while ExxonMobil introduced its methanol-to-gasoline
grievously contravening their noble objectives. process during the oil crisis in 1975, then shuttered plants
Pull folks in either camp from their respective echo when gas prices plunged. With an incentive nudge or an
chambers, and most can agree on some established oil-price floor, we might still make gasoline from “free”
facts: Constructing and recycling different vehicle types methane flared at oil fields and landfills.
produces differing levels of emissions. Certain scarce Direct air capture of CO2 was first demonstrated in 1999.
raw materials in EVs are sometimes unethically sourced, Making carbon-neutral gasoline from it promises to slash
just as protection of national oil interests occasionally net CO2 production of our existing vehicle fleet by 90-plus
involves geopolitical conflict. Electric propulsion is percent, providing the energy used to produce it is green.
highly efficient, but batteries have low energy Giving this technology a seat at the table alongside
density. Combustion is grossly inefficient, but BEVs decades ago would almost certainly have
this is compensated for by fuel-energy density. increased the urgency to decarbonize the electric
Most electricity isn’t entirely clean, and that grid. Synthetic liquid e-fuels (gas, diesel, jet fuel,
which is clean tends to be intermittent. methanol, ammonia) serve as an excellent energy
But regulators in California, Europe, and vector for exporting energy from remote places
elsewhere ignored some of these facts when where wind, solar, hydro, and other green power
they drew a boundary box around the completed vehicle, sources exist too far away from population centers.
focusing only on the emissions leaving that box during Blame cowardly politicians and the avaricious lobbying
the vehicle’s useful lifetime. By legally declaring EVs to interests who pay them for taking the easy way out.
be “zero-emission vehicles,” policymakers set us up for Forcing car companies to entice the buying public into
cognitive dissonance—discomfort caused by holding EVs—eventually with tax credits to help—is vastly easier
contradictory beliefs. Mandating clean cars that run to sell to sheeple voters than articulating the complex
on dirty power with no requirement to clean the power societal arguments in favor of taxing carbon or pricing
source undermines the environmental argument, while gas and diesel to reflect their true societal costs.
forcing battery electric vehicles on drivers in remote or We can’t know where our global CO2 might be today
extremely hot or cold areas understandably angers them. if back in the 1990s we had apportioned the carrots and
sticks more equitably with an eye toward reducing holistic
cradle-to-grave carbon emissions. The European commis-
sion is drafting a report on possible consideration of e-fuels
Unraveling
(it’s due in 2026!), and California’s current Low-Carbon Fuel decades of
Standard requires a steady decline in well-to-wheels net debate isn’t
easy, but at
“carbon intensity” of transportation fuels through 2030. least part of the
This is clearly attracting e-fuel producers eager to sell Low blame may lie
Carbon Fuel Standard credits (HIF Global plans for a nucle- with insufficient
policies that
ar-powered plant near Houston to supply California). created space
Perhaps in addition to EV credits, auto companies for bad actors.
could be allowed to buy credits for their ICE vehicles by CARB’s initial
EV mandates
investing in e-fuel production, as Porsche is doing with resulted in
HIF Global. For now, when someone engages you in an oddballs like
the Nissan Altra
EV/ICE argument, muster some empathy by blaming EV, a hastily
entities such as CARB for the cognitive dissonance that electrified
1999 Nissan Altra EV may have engendered everyone’s vitriol. Q home-market
R’Nessa.
WRITE US AT IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE FEATURED in Reader on
831 S. Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245 Location, contact us at one of the addresses
Email us at MotorTrend@MotorTrend.com listed to the left and include “Attn: ROL” in
your subject line/on the front of your enve-
Your Say ... lope. Be sure to supply a few high-resolution

images and a brief description of your trip.
A Bunch of Comedians Reader on Location of water is an amount, the rate of flow

Thank you, MotorTrend; your April issue This month’s Reader on Location is determines how fast it will fill. A watt
could not have come at a better time. I Barry Berkowitz of Granger, Indiana: is a flow rate of one joule (an amount of
“In January I returned from a week in
was just about to plunk down $490,810 energy—in this case electrical energy) per
Cuba, a place on my to-visit list and
on a new McLaren 765LT Spider until somewhere to again experience the second. Flowing for one hour, that watts’
I read your article comparing it to the cars of my teen years. Out of 350,000 worth of flow will fill a “bucket” of elec-
Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica and the registered cars there, 50,000 are tricity equal to one watt-hour (Wh). That
Corvette Z06/Z07. For the same money, American iron, mostly from the 1950s. is the confusing part. That watt-hour is an
I’ve decided to buy three of the $164,805 The ingenuity to keep them operating— amount of electricity, namely, a number
Z06s so I can use one as a daily driver, no American parts could be imported of joules, or in the case of one watt-hour
since 1960—defies imagination. My wife
keep one for track days, and mothball the and I rode for an hour in a ’59 Buick
the number of joules equal to the number
third as an investment. Win, win, win! Invicta convertible. Something else of seconds in an hour.
Tom Timmins was 1950s familiar: the smell, as Cuban It’s possible the global consumption
Via email cars don’t have catalytic converters. of electricity (joules) in 2020 was 25
Regards from a satisfied reader!” petawatt-hours (25 PWh). The Interna-
After reading about all the mechanical tional Energy Agency (IEA) appears to
issues that occurred during the 1000 A Clarification state the figure for 2019 as 848 terawatt
Miglia Experience UAE (May) with In your April Technologue column hours (TWh). For the purposes of Frank’s
countless pampered and well-cared-for (essential reading—keep up the good article, I’d be OK with either figure—as
priceless classics, I have only one thing work, Frank Markus!), you stated Earth’s long as we’re taking watt-hours.
to say to anyone who likes to proclaim, consumption of electricity in 2020 was Mark White
“They don’t make them like they used to”: 25 petawatts. As I’m sure you know well, Columbus, Ohio
Thank God for that! a watt is not an amount of electricity, it is Right you are! Thankfully, we’ve hired
Eric Paquette a rate of flow. A watt is like how fast water another engineer to help catch this in
Denver, Colorado pours from a faucet. That bucket’s worth the future.—Ed.
Foreign Language
I thoroughly enjoyed Kristen Lee’s piece
on the new Ferrari Purosangue in your All-new with military know-how
May issue. However, I must protest
her translation of the name to mean
“thoroughbred.” I don’t know Italian, but Meet Valentine One ®
I did read The Da Vinci Code, and I’m quite

certain it means “pure blood.” Which
makes sense considering the company’s
Generation 2
first SUV is still a Ferrari at heart. “It’s about range superiority.
I told my engineers, ‘We want
Bart Larrow
Via email the best radar-finding engine
That isn’t Kristen’s translation. It’s this side of the military.’
Ferrari’s. “Purosangue” can mean
either “thoroughbred” or “pure blood,” For civilian users, V1 Gen2 is
depending on context.—Ed. a break-through on range. ”
— Mike Valentine
Truth Hurts
Bravo! Your “EV Lies” commentary
in the April issue is journalistic
excellence. Your position is backed up
by data, science, math, and (the all too All-new
uncommon nowadays) common sense.
I plan to reference the April issue for the
circuitry with
occasional disagreement over my Audi
E-Tron’s contribution to CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, the Ram 1500 Revolution
can’t get here soon enough; my GMC www.valentine1.com
Sierra with the 3.0-liter Duramax is
1-800-331-3030
literally killing me (err, us).
Paul Drusch Valentine One Generation 2 is a registered trademark of Valentine Research, Inc. ©2021 VRI
Melbourne Beach, Florida
COVER STORY
BACK
TO THE WORDS
ANGUS MACKENZIE

The mid-engine CERV III concept
was a production-ready car, yet it
took GM almost 30 years to launch
the mid-engine C8 Corvette.
GENERAL MOTORS CERV III
The 1990s Saw the American Family Sedan’s Death, the SUV’s Rise,
the Luxury Car’s Democratization—and Much More
A
s the 20th century’s final would reshape global culture—the world of the ’90s, the Germans would be engi-
decade began, Tom Cruise felt wide web. And it would be the decade that neering Bentleys and Minis, the Japanese
the need for speed in a Chevy remade the auto industry. would be building pickup trucks in Texas,
Lumina, the coolest new For carmakers, the ’90s delivered a and the Americans would own the entire
music came from Seattle, and NikeTown decade of unprecedented acquisitions, Swedish car industry.
was the next big thing in retail therapy. mergers, and alliances. Conventional When the decade began, Detroit’s Big
The Berlin Wall had fallen, and with it the notions of vehicle form and function were Three had dominated the industry for
Soviet Union began its collapse. The Cold increasingly blurred if not completely more than 80 years, making and selling
War was over. The good guys won. This outdated. It saw the death of the Amer- more cars and trucks than anyone else
was, declared political scientist Francis ican family sedan, the rise of the SUV, the in the world. Detroit boasted plenty of
Fukuyama, the end of history. democratization of the luxury car, and the imagination and technical skill, but little
Except it wasn’t. The 1990s would return of the roadster. The pickup became of it seemed to actually reach the road.
see the usual catalog of war and misery a lifestyle vehicle, and the primacy of the General Motors’ CERV III was a prime
and political intrigue that has plagued internal combustion engine was seriously example. One of the stars of the 1990
humanity since the beginning. It would questioned for the first time since the Detroit auto show, this mid-engine
also see the invention of a technology that dawn of the automotive age. By the end supercar had a 5.7-liter twin-turbo V-8
THE ’90S ISSUE
The CERV III’s production-ready interior.
It also had a 650-hp mid-mounted V-8, 1992. Lee Iaccoca’s salesmanship, the
all-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering. cost-conscious K-car program, and the
first minivan saved Chrysler, Detroit’s
perennial underdog, during the ’80s, but
as the ’90s dawned, the K-cars looked
dull and outdated, along with Iaccoca’s
old-timey huckstering. A string of spectac-
ular concepts designed under Tom Gale’s
direction helped make the Detroit show
internationally relevant for the first time
in history, and the decision to turn some
into production models—most notably
the Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler—
helped distract attention from the K-cars
while Chrysler retooled to build the
GM CERV III swoopy and stylish LH sedans. But the LHs
were ultimately let down by indifferent
quality, and like GM’s Saturn, the vaunted
Dodge Neon, launched with much fanfare
in 1994, proved Detroit simply couldn’t
build a Corolla killer.
America’s automotive hegemony was
certainly under threat. Indeed, Jacques
Nasser, who became Ford CEO in 1998,
recalls seeing a graph circulating around
World Headquarters in Dearborn that
showed, based on global car production
over the previous 30 years, Toyota was set
that funneled its 650 hp and 656 lb-ft of featured a 3.4-liter straight-eight engine to overtake Ford by the turn of the century
torque earthward via an all-wheel-drive mounted transversely in an extruded and GM a couple of years later.
system with traction control. It featured aluminum space-frame chassis, with
active suspension, antilock brakes with drive coming from a spiral bevel gear
Plymouth Prowler
carbon rotors, and four-wheel steering. at the center of the crankshaft. The
It could hit 60 mph in about 4.0 seconds concept allowed front-wheel drive,
and reach 225 mph, and it met all the rear-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive
federal safety and emissions standards of at little additional cost, and it boosted
the time. But 30 years would pass before interior room. But the Taurus revealed
GM turned the thinking behind the CERV in 1996, which reportedly cost a
III into the C8 Corvette. staggering $3 billion to develop, was
After a decade of billion-dollar deba- an uninspiring front-drive sedan with
cles—the GM10 platform, the purchase weird bubble styling that failed to do
of EDS, a botched reorganization, Saturn the one thing Ford intended it to do— Toyota indeed seemed unstoppable.
(page 46)—GM, which practically vanquish Toyota’s Camry. In fact, Japanese manufacturers were the
invented the modern automobile Afterward, Ford, whose Model T put masters of the automotive universe at
company, seemed unable to get out of its America on wheels, lost interest in cars. the beginning of the 1990s, and not just
own way. “You know what is astounding And with good reason: In 1997, F-Series because they could build mainstream,
about General Motors?” auto industry sales topped 750,000 units in the U.S., mass-market cars at higher quality and at
analyst Maryann Keller said as the ’80s more than the two top-selling sedans—the lower cost than the Americans and Euro-
came to a close. “In spite of everything Camry and Honda Accord—combined. peans, or that their product development
that has happened in the past 10 years, Further, Ford’s research showed only times seemed impossibly quick. They
it still has difficulty doing the things it about one-third of all F-Series truck buyers were also, with cars such as the Lexus LS
ought to be doing.” ever used them for business purposes, 400 and Acura NSX, threatening upscale
Ford’s Contour concept, a four-door and only 14 percent identified work as the market segments the Western automotive
sedan unveiled at the 1991 Detroit show, truck’s primary use. By early 1999, this, establishment believed it owned.
combined with strong Explorer sales—it Even as the more enlightened executives
was first shown in 1990 as a Bronco at American and European automakers
replacement—meant a strategy document devoured The Machine That Changed the
circulated among Ford product planners World, the 1990 book by MIT researchers
did not include a single new car develop- James P. Womak, Daniel T. Jones, and
ment program. Trucks and SUVs, cheaper Daniel Roos that explained how Toyota’s
to make and with higher profit margins, lean production system made it quicker,
were where the money was. more efficient, and more profitable, the
The last of the U.S. auto industry’s ground was shifting beneath Japan Inc. On
Ford Taurus old-school titans left the building in December 29, 1989, the Nikkei stock index
THE MIATA SPAWNED COPYCATS
FROM EUROPEAN ELITES LIKE
BMW AND MERCEDES-BENZ.
Shortly after becoming Mercedes-Benz’s

hit a record high, nearly six times its value head of vehicle development in 1993,
a decade earlier. Since then, however, the Dieter Zetsche announced the company
trajectory had been stubbornly downward. would evolve from a three-line luxury
Japan’s bubble economy had burst, and carmaker to an exclusive full-line manu-
bills were coming due. facturer offering high-quality vehicles in
By 1998 only Toyota and Honda looked all market segments. The three-pointed
relatively secure as vehicle sales in the star was already the world’s most elastic Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Japanese market stubbornly remained brand, effortlessly able to reside on heavy
20 percent down on 1990’s record of 13.5 trucks and taxis without diminishing the deal was an outright takeover, cunningly
million units. The following year Nissan, prestige of an S-Class limo or the respect- executed by ruthless Mercedes-Benz
groaning under debt that was nearly ability of an E-Class sedan. Mercedes CEO Jürgen Schremp. Although it ended
10 times its cash reserves, announced engineers were already working on the ignominiously in 2007 (Zetsche, by then
an alliance with Renault that would A-Class, the most innovatively packaged CEO, would effectively pay private equity
humiliatingly install a foreigner—Renault small car since the 1959 Mini, and on an firm Cerberus Capital Management to
executive vice president Carlos Ghosn—as all-new premium SUV that would be built take Chrysler off his hands), for almost
chief operating officer of what was once in, of all places, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 20 years it provided hardware that
Japan’s flagship automaker. (Embarrassingly, in 1997 the A-Class failed underpinned some of the most successful
Nevertheless, 1990s Japan gave the a Swedish automotive magazine’s “moose Chrysler products ever built, such as the
world some remarkable cars, ranging test,” rolling over during a violent swerve- Dodge Charger and Challenger and the
from the R32, R33, and R34 Nissan Skyline and-recover maneuver, which forced a WK Jeep Grand Cherokee.
GT-Rs and the triple-rotor Mazda Cosmo hurried recalibration of its steering and BMW, which 35 years earlier teetered
to the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer stability control.) on the brink of bankruptcy building tiny
Evo to the mid-engine Toyota Previa Zetsche, who’d spent a year in the U.S. bubble cars designed by Italian scooter
minivan and the tiny Honda Beat roadster. running the Mercedes-Benz-owned manufacturer Isetta, bought Rover
Mazda’s Miata single-handedly revived Freightliner heavy-truck business, was Group in 1994. The purchase would, like
interest in the affordable front-engine, among the first to spot America’s shift to Mercedes’ takeover of Chrysler, prove a
rear-drive roadster, a vehicle format many both SUVs and premium brands, trends
believed safety regulations had killed, and driven by innovative forms of financing
ironically spawned near copycat cars from such as leasing that effectively lowered
the European elite, including the BMW Z3 the upfront cost of car ownership. More
and the Mercedes-Benz SLK. significant, Zetsche, like product planners
DIRCK HALSTEAD/GETTY IMAGES
In terms of sheer imagination and at Ford and GM, whose Lincoln Navigator
audacity, the 1990s belonged to German and Cadillac Escalade would prove the
automakers. Germany’s reunification most profitable vehicles either automaker
following the Berlin Wall’s collapse would build during the decade, also
seemed daunting, but the billions spent by spotted where the two trends intersected.
the German government was a bonanza Mercedes’ growing love affair with
for Germany’s auto industry as the America stunned everyone when, in 1998,
Ostländer rushed to trade their Trabants it announced a “merger of equals” with Masters of the universe (below). The NSX
and Wartburgs for Opels and VWs. Chrysler. In truth, the so-called $37 billion and LS 400 shocked the automotive elite.
Lexus LS 400
Acura NSX

THE ’90S ISSUE
Jaguar XJ220
Rolls-Royce Phantom THE JAGUAR XJ220 WAS AMONG

THE FIRST OF THE HYPERCARS.
right from under the nose of Volkswagen Still, Piëch pushed both Audi and
boss Ferdinand Piëch. A grandson of Volkswagen upmarket, allowing Seat
Ferdinand Porsche, Piëch was the man and Škoda room to grow underneath.
who, among other things, engineered But he also saw—as the impact of 1990s
the Le Mans–winning Porsche 917 before globalization and the dot com boom
leaving the family firm in 1972 to work for began to create unprecedented wealth
Audi. He was also the 1990s’ most influ- around the world—growing demand for
ential auto executive. While GM and Ford ultra-luxury cars. In late 1997 he outbid
CEOs obsessed over financial engineering BMW at the last minute to acquire both
to make their stock prices look good, Piëch Rolls-Royce and Bentley from British
obsessed over engineering cars. heavy engineering specialist and defense
Dowdy, plodding Volkswagen was contractor Vickers plc, which had owned
reinvented with products such as the B5 them since 1980.
Passat and the Mark IV Golf, both of which It was a coup, apart from one small
combined sharply styled sheetmetal with detail: The Rolls-Royce brand name and
interiors that would befit a luxury car. logo were owned by Rolls-Royce plc, the
To lower costs, vehicle architectures and aircraft engine manufacturer that was
financial disaster. “We made the mistake powertrains were shared with the more wholly separate from the automaking
of thinking we had bought a functioning premium Audis, as well as with cheaper business. And Rolls-Royce plc had a joint
car company,” one insider said, horrified cars sold by brands Seat (VW acquired the venture with BMW’s in-house aerospace
at the shambolic state of Rover’s ancient Spanish company in 1986) and Škoda (VW arm. (BMW got its start making aircraft
factories and the paucity of new products would later turn a part-ownership and engines in 1917; the company’s famous
in the pipeline. But in the early days manufacturing deal signed in 1990 with blue-and-white roundel badge if often
CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder and product the first post-communist Czech govern- mistaken as a propeller spinning against
development chief Wolfgang Reitzle ment into full ownership). the sky.) Rolls-Royce plc granted BMW
talked excitedly of bringing back storied Crucially, all these shared-platform cars rights to the brand name and logo in
British brands such as Austin Healey and not only looked dramatically different but 1998 for $66 million. As part of the deal,
Riley, whose names they now owned. That also drove differently. This meant smug Piëch had to grit his teeth and build Rolls-
didn’t happen, but they splurged billions Audi owners were blissfully unaware Royce cars until 2003 while his Munich
on developing an all-new, brilliantly retro- their A3s were fundamentally the same rival worked on what would become the
styled Mini and the L322 Range Rover, the car as a Škoda Octavia or that their chic seventh-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom.
GOODING COMPANY: MIKEMAEZ
vehicle that would provide the template A4s were Passats in fancy dress. Piëch Piëch’s acquisition of Lamborghini in
REMIDARGEGEN
for the 21st century luxury SUV. later bemoaned that his one major 1998 was a much more straightforward
Late in the decade, BMW even snatched mistake with this clever architecture- and affair; the Malaysian and Indonesian
Rolls-Royce, the crown jewel of what powertrain-sharing strategy was telling investors who purchased the storied
remained of the British auto industry, everyone about it. Italian supercar maker from Chrysler in
1994 were only too glad to get rid of it. So,
too, was Piëch’s resurrection of Bugatti,
Bugatti EB110
McLaren F1

General Motors EV1
The ’90s saw the launch of the Toyota

purchased from Italian businessman Prius (below), the first mainstream hybrid
Romano Artioli. Artioli obtained the car, while GM’s EV1 (above and right)
rights to the marque in 1987, and between previewed the modern electric vehicle.
1991 and 1995 he produced a handful of
EB110 supercars powered by a remarkable break-even volume was reportedly five
quad-turbo, five-valves-per-cylinder times that number. “We can afford to fail,”
3.5-liter V-12. But turning Piëch’s vision of a Toyota boss Hiroshi Okuda told a Tokyo
modern Bugatti—a car with at least 1,000 business reporter. But the Prius didn’t fail,
hp and capable of 250 mph yet refined and a version of its powertrain concept
enough to drive to the opera—into a reality is now available on almost every Toyota
was difficult. The Veyron would not appear and Lexus made today, and virtually every
on the road until 2005. automaker now sells vehicles with hybrid
The Bugatti EB110, along with the powertrains of some type.
Jaguar XJ220, was among the first of On the flip side, GM’s EV1 was a
the hypercars, or super sports cars that commercial failure, but it marked the
could top 200 mph. King of them all, modern reinvention of the electric car.
though, was Gordon Murray’s McLaren EV technology had been around since
F1, a version of which, with a revised rev the dawn of the automotive age—Henry
limit of 8,500 rpm, hit 240 mph on Volk- Ford’s wife, Clara, famously preferred her
swagen’s giant Ehra-Lessien test track in clean, smooth, and quiet Baker Electric to
1998. It’s a record for a naturally aspirated her husband’s cantankerous Model T. The
road car that still stands. In terms of its EV1 was an electric car that touched the technologies now widely deployed by
engineering, performance, and all-around 21st century. automakers around the world.
drivability, the F1 remains a benchmark. The car was designed and engineered California’s electric vehicle mandates
However, the two most significant cars in response to the California Air of the time never happened, though, and
of the ’90s, cars that were among the most Resources Board’s (CARB) Low Emission the EV1’s market appeal was hampered
technically complex production vehicles Vehicle 1990 regulation that required 2 by lead-acid batteries that were poor in
ever created and whose influence on percent of vehicles produced for sale in terms of energy density and thus severely
mainstream cars in the 21st century would the state in 1998 to produce zero tailpipe limited the car’s driving range. More
prove profound, were neither hypercars emissions, rising to 5 percent in 2001 and critically, CARB, whose other policies
nor made by Germans. 10 percent in 2003. The EV1 boasted not unquestionably reduced choking smog
Toyota’s first-gen Prius, launched only a highly efficient electric powertrain and automotive greenhouse gas emis-
in Japan in 1997, unveiled a dazzlingly but also technologies such as by-wire sions, never made the imaginative leap
complex hybrid powertrain that deliv- acceleration and regenerative braking, Elon Musk would manage 15 years later
ered remarkable fuel economy. Prius electrohydraulic power steering, tire pres- and mandate a charging infrastructure to
production began small, at 1,000 units sure sensing, a heat pump HVAC system, truly kickstart the electric car revolution.
per month, even though the financial inductive charging, and other advanced Today, electric vehicles are pushing
an even more profound change upon
THE FIRST-GEN PRIUS UNVEILED A the automotive industry’s established
DAZZLING HYBRID POWERTRAIN. order—and upon the cars and trucks and
SUVs we all drive—than we saw in the
1990s. Already there are American and
Toyota Prius
Chinese automakers that didn’t exist 10
years ago building EVs, and established
OEMs from Ford to Ferrari are racing to
make sure they’re not left behind. The
lesson of the ’90s taught us once again
that the past cannot be taken for granted
and the future is hard to predict. We don’t
know for sure what we’ll be driving in
2030, much less 2050. We’ll expect the
worst. And we’ll probably be wrong. Q

THEN AND NOW I Ford Mustang WORDS CHRISTIAN SEABAUGH
PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW TRAHAN
1993 FORD MUSTANG COBRA 1996 FORD MUSTANG GT CONVERTIBLE
erhaps nothing is more important was cruising in his white-on-white “5.0” and Ford planned on selling the Fox
P to the Mustang story than the

fans. This might sound like
platitudinal BS, but it’s also true.
At every turn when Ford could’ve either
killed the famous pony car or made it
Mustang, lyricizing over Queen and
David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” The
Mustang was still a hot commodity, but
sales weren’t quite cooking the Chevrolet
Camaro like a pound of bacon, as Ice
Body as the “Mustang Classic” alongside
the new Mazda-based “Mustang IV,”
before phasing out the older version. We
concluded by asking, “In a car that will
inevitably be compared as weak next to
worse, the Mustang’s wildly vocal and rapped in his hit single. Popularity of the the Mustang GT, are the letters ‘IV’ quite
passionate fan base stepped in to save long-in-tooth Fox-platform Mustang, appropriate?”
it from ruin (well, except for maybe new for 1979, had slumped since 1986 Our colleagues at Mustang Monthly
the Mustang II). Everyone likes to wax and was two years away from flatlining at were even more apoplectic. “As much as
nostalgic about the original “1964 ½” and 79,280 examples sold. Worse, the Camaro I try to rationalize the whole deal,” editor
Shelby Mustangs, but the truth is the two was about to outsell the Mustang for the Donald Farr wrote, “I just can’t force
cars most responsible for keeping the first time in six years. The fact this was a myself to accept Ford’s intended future
model vital and setting it up for success self-inflicted wound didn’t make the pill for the Mustang. Call me old-fashioned or
into the 21st century are ’90s babies. any easier to swallow. sentimental or just plain stubborn, but a
In 1990, a divided Berlin was becoming Autoweek broke the news in the Japanese car, even one built in America,
one again. Soviet citizens in Moscow summer of 1986 that Ford and Mazda is a Japanese car, and I’m not prepared
JEFF ZELEVANSKY/GETTY IMAGES FOR NASCAR
were lining up for the communist bloc’s were developing the next-generation to see a Mazda with the Mustang name
first Big Macs. In America, Vanilla Ice Mustang. Together. Due in 1989, the and running-horse emblems affixed to
new Mustang would trade its old-school its fenders. After the Mustang has clawed
y pushrod 4.9-liter V-8 (the Five-Point-Oh’s its way to the top of the pony car heap
Rapper Vanilla Ice in his Fox Bod nt.
at a 201 2 NAS CA R eve
Mustang 5.0 actual displacement) and rear-drive once again, Ford plans to turn it into a
platform for the Mazda 626’s front-drive front-wheel-drive copy of a Japanese car.
architecture and its I-4 and V-6 engines. Un-American, I say.”
Mustang fans and Ford dealers revolted. A letter-writing campaign from the
The following summer, we reported Mustang faithful followed, and Ford
the rebellion had begun to have an effect. caved to the pressure. By the following
The rear-drive Mustang GT received “a summer, the Blue Oval announced its
stay of execution,” we wrote in July ’87, new Mazda-based “sports car” would be
How the ’90s Saved the Ford Mustang—
and What It Means for the 2024 Model
2024 FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
called the Probe. We liked the Probe GT years for its efforts. Corners would need the fourth-gen Mustang should draw on
just fine when we drove it the next year to be cut. the iconic 1965 model for inspiration. In
but nevertheless felt the need to point out, For starters, the aging Fox platform was came the hood and rear quarter panel
“The Probe is not now and never will be heavily modified to be more forgiving scoops, tribar taillamps, and the pony logo,
Mustang GT competition, and Ford was and livable than the rough-and-ready which was to replace the Ford Blue Oval
right to pass on the silly nonsense of giving third-gen model. The next Mustang in the car’s grille for the first time since
this car a Mustang nameplate.” wouldn’t get Ford’s new modular V-8s— the Mustang II. Inside, the cabin (penned
Thus the question remained: What slated to debut on the 1991 Lincoln Town by Emiline King, Ford’s first Black female
to do with the Mustang? An outspoken Car—at launch, either. Instead, the designer) got a modern take on the first
minority inside Ford still pushed to make 4.9-liter V-8 would truck along with a Mustang’s dual-cowl dash design, even
the car front-drive (the 11-year-old Fox minor power bump, from 205 to 215 hp, for sporting retro features like the original car’s
Body Mustang outselling the Probe in a few more years. A new Taurus-derived pull-out headlight knob.
1989 quieted that crowd), even while a 145-hp 3.8-liter V-6 for the base Mustang The only question left was what the
skunkworks popped up to develop what produced 40 more ponies than the tired SN95 Mustang’s exterior would look like.
would become the SN95 Mustang. That’s 2.3-liter I-4 it replaced. Transmissions Three designs were focus-tested among the
not to say Team Mustang, as it was called, were to be a carryover five-speed manual Mustang faithful. The first effort, dubbed
was given much to work with—it had or a four-speed automatic. the Bruce Jenner for its clean lines and
$700 million and three years to save the With the chassis and powertrains mostly athletic build, was deemed too modernistic
car. For comparison, the team across the taken care of, Team Mustang turned its and Probe-like. The second effort, the
hall, working on what would become the attention to the SN95’s styling. After some Rambo, went to the opposite extreme.
1995 Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, internal debate and numerous focus Featuring stealth-inspired surfaces, edges,
had about $6 billion and more than six groups with Mustang owners, it decided and chines that would make even Elon
Musk think it was a step too far, the Rambo,
1989 FORD PROBE as we wrote in January 1994, “looks like a
car designed by a maker of crosscut saws.”
It, too, was passed over.
The third effort, the Arnold
Schwarzenegger, blended the two earlier
efforts. When Ford designers showed it to
RAMBO JENNER
Rounding out the package introducing its new “modular” V-8s to the
was a revised front fascia Mustang. Named for the engine family’s
SCHWARZENEGGER featuring a galloping pony in ability to be scaled up or down based
the new grille, SVO taillights on the vehicle, the new 4.6-liter over-
in back, and coiled Cobras head-cam V-8s initially kept the Mustang
on the hatchback’s flanks. GT’s output flat at 215 hp and 285 lb-ft, but
Ford planned a production those figures rose to 260 hp and 302 lb-ft
run of just 5,100, including by the time the supremely popular “New
107 lightened track-focused Edge” face-lift arrived in 1999 to close out
Cobra R models. the 20th century.
The work paid off. The modular engine became a boon to
Although it lost in our high-po Mustangs, too. The fourth-gen
Mustang fans, they reportedly stood up and February 1993 head-to-head matchup Mustang closed out its run in 2003, with
burst into applause. With a few final revi- with the 1993 Camaro Z28, the new 1993 the Bullitt, Mach 1, and a slew of reborn
sions and flourishes, the Schwarzenegger Mustang Cobra offered a lot to like. “Has Cobras. Some controversy surrounded the
became the 1994 Ford Mustang. the beans to rip your head off when you’ve 1999 Mustang SVT Cobra’s claimed 320-hp
While Team Mustang gestated the strained the tach needle deep into the vast output, but there were no such qualms
SN95, Ford’s newborn Special Vehicle yellow zone (4,700 rpm to 5,800 rpm),” with its Mustang-first independent rear
Team (SVT) was hard at work making we wrote, even as we noted we missed the suspension or the variants it spawned,
sure the Fox Body Mustang went out with lower-grade Mustangs’ ample low-end such as the 2000 Mustang SVT Cobra
a bang. Spun up in 1991, SVT combined torque. We also appreciated its day-to-day R (a track special powered by a monster
multiple Ford high-performance efforts usability and improved comfort and grip 385-hp 5.4-liter V-8) and the “Terminator”
(such as the team responsible for cult over the standard Fox. Buyers agreed, 2003–04 Mustang SVT Cobras, which
classic ’84–86 Mustang SVO and another quickly snapping up the single-model- featured a supercharged 4.6-liter good for
working on the original F-150 Lightning, year production run. 390 hp and 390 lb-ft of twist.
page 36) under one roof. One of its first A few months later in our November Perhaps not so coincidentally, Mustang
tasks was to turn the aging Fox Body 1993 issue, the new 1994 SN95 Mustang sales exploded after the arrival of the
Mustang GT into a street fighter capable made its debut. We found the GT, for better New Edge face-lift and new engines,
of hanging with the coming, new-for-1993 or worse, softer and slower than the Fox it and Camaro sales dwindled, that model
fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro Z28. replaced. “Many users may find homoge- being unceremoniously dropped from
Working with a shoestring budget, nized handling has pulled the teeth from Chevrolet’s lineup after 2002.
SVT raided the SVO aftermarket parts the new GT, especially since a tepid V-8 Fast-forward to Detroit, 2023, where
catalog to Frankenstein together what won’t restore the roar in a drag race,” we we’ve gathered a 1993 Fox Body Mustang
would become the 1993 Mustang Cobra. wrote. Ford, in response, noted improved Cobra, an SN95 1996 Mustang GT convert-
Freer-flowing cylinder heads; new valves, handling and more power weren’t items ible, and a brand-new seventh-generation
intake manifold, and throttle body; and a Mustang buyers were interested in. S650 2024 Mustang Dark Horse—the first
revised camshaft and ECU tune combined Whether anyone at Ford said this with a new Mustang trim since 2001’s Bullitt.
to bump the 4.9-liter V-8’s output from straight face is lost to history. Nevertheless, Despite the generational gaps separating
the stock 205 hp to 235, with most the Mustang went on to be named our 1994 them all, many of the same philosophies
of the power hitting near the engine’s Car of the Year, largely on the strength of its first set out during the Fox Body–SN95
5,800-rpm redline. styling and the V-6 model’s value. transition still play out today.
SVT’s chassis engineers were somewhat Ford eventually gave in to techno- Design-wise, the 2024’s evolutionary
counterintuitively also working to make logical progress two years later in 1996, rather than revolutionary styling hits all
the Fox Mustang softer. As we noted in
testing a V-8-powered Mustang LX in
1990, the Fox was a handful when canyon
carving, frequently bouncing from
understeer to oversteer. SVT reasoned
that a more compliant suspension
combined with 17-inch wheels—the
lone truly new performance upgrade
to the car—would improve tire contact
and thus performance. Disc brakes also
reappeared at all four corners for the first
time since the SVO model left the lineup.
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the form of a gauge cluster skin that nods Although we lack the context our
to the late Fox Body era. MotorTrend predecessors had of the day’s
Peel back the new Dark Horse’s sheet- Camaro Z28, this mean-looking black ’93
metal, and you certainly won’t find the Fox Mustang Cobra is instantly recognizable
platform hiding underneath. (We checked as a special car. The best way to describe it
to be sure.) Instead, you find a modified to a younger enthusiast is that it feels like
version of the sixth-gen S550 Mustang’s a Subaru BRZ with torque and an engine
bones—the first, we should add, to feature note that doesn’t sound like it’s coming
an independent rear suspension as stan- from a tractor.
dard equipment. Under the new Mustang’s Sure, the Cobra is softer than a modern
hood will also reside some carryover car, with the typical delayed set-and-
engines and transmissions. The base turn behavior of this era, but boy, is it a
2.3-liter turbocharged I-4 is a new version charmer. Dip into the free-breathing “five-
of the last-gen Mustang’s base unit, now oh,” and you’re rewarded with a guttural
producing 315 hp (up five) and 350 lb-ft (up engine note and a torque shove that builds
zilch). The new Mustang GT features a true the longer you hang onto the throttle. The
5.0-liter V-8. The revised Coyote engine—a five-speed manual is remarkably direct
descendant of the modular V-8 family and accurate (we’ve driven worse modern
first seen under the hood of our Bright gearboxes), and thanks to great pedal
Tangerine photo subject—now produces spacing and a responsive engine, drivers
480 horses and 415 lb-ft in standard form, get rewarded with that warm, fuzzy
up from 450 hp and down from 420 lb-ft. feeling when nailing a heel-toe downshift.
the same major cues the Fox and SN95 do. The Dark Horse? It gets an even 500 hp and The four-speed automatic ’96 Mustang
There are the framed trapezoidal grille 418 lb-ft. Six-speed manuals and 10-speed GT convertible represents the opposite
with a pony galloping from right to left, autos carry over, too. end of the performance spectrum from
the fastback roofline, the tribar taillights, Ford declined to let us drive the new Dark the older Cobra. It’s softer, slower, and
and the same sinister stance across the Horse—it says we’ll get a chance closer to more numb, but it’s also more comfort-
board. Inside, the 2024 Mustang recalls the car’s summer on-sale date—but we able and enchanting in its own way. The
its forebears with a similar dual-cockpit took advantage of a rare sunny Detroit 4.6-liter modular V-8 likely has a lot to do
layout to our 1996 Mustang GT, and there’s winter day to go for a spin in the Cobra and with that. With an unmistakable, guttural
a digital nod to the ’93 Mustang Cobra in GT convertible. exhaust note and an angry, lumpy idle, the
GT begs you to drop the power-operated
SPECS 1993 Ford Mustang 1996 Ford Mustang 2024 Ford Mustang soft top and just cruise. This Mustang
Cobra GT Convertible Dark Horse GT era is almost diesellike in its power
BASE PRICE $18,805 ($39,664 in 2023) $23,495 ($45,782 in 2023) $60,000 (est) delivery; with way more torque than
VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, Front-engine, RWD, Front-engine, RWD, horsepower, it gives a strong, short shove
4-pass, 2-door 4-pass, 2-door 4-pass, 2-door off the line but little reward for hanging
hatchback convertible coupe
into the throttle—aside from the V-8’s
ENGINE 4.9L port-injected OHV 4.6L port-injected 5.0L port- and direct-inj
bark as you near its 6,000-rpm redline.
16-valve V-8 SOHC 16-valve V-8 DOHC 32-valve V-8
Yes, electrification looms in the
POWER (SAE NET) 235 hp 215 hp 500 hp
Mustang’s future, but its place in Ford’s
TORQUE (SAE NET) 285 lb-ft 285 lb-ft 418 lb-ft lineup is no longer up for debate as it
TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual 4-speed automatic 6-speed manual was 30 years ago. Now part of a Mustang
CURB WEIGHT 3,300 lb (est) 3,300 lb (est) 3,900 (est) family in which its stablemate, the
WHEELBASE 100.5 in 101.3 in 107.0 in Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, outsells it,
LXWXH 179.6 x 68.3 x 52.1 in 181.5 x 71.8 x 52.9 in 189.7 x 75.5 x 55.2 in the 2024 Mustang is Ford’s halo car.
0-60 MPH 6.2 sec 7.5 sec (MT est) 4.0 sec (MT est) It’s also the only car in the Blue Oval’s
QUARTER MILE 14.4 mph @ 97.4 mph 16.0 sec @ 86.0 mph 12.5 sec @ 114.0 mph lineup. While crosstown rivals wind
(MT est) (MT est) down production of the Challenger and
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 144 ft 127 ft (MT est) 96 ft (MT est) Camaro, Mustang fans can rest easy that
LATERAL 0.86 g (avg) 0.81 g (avg) (MT est) 1.05 g (avg) (MT est) its future is assured. After all, Ford looked
ACCELERATION
down that road before, and the success
EPA CITY/HWY/ 15/22/17 mpg* 15/22/18 mpg* 14/22/17 mpg (MT est) of the ’90s Mustangs—as well as their
COMB FUEL ECON
throngs of faithful fans across the globe—
EPA RANGE, COMB 261 miles 277 miles 272 miles (MT est)
cemented the car’s standing as a staple of
ON SALE 1993 1994-2004 Summer 2023
the automotive world. Q
*Using modern EPA correction factors
WORDS FRANK MARKUS
PHOTOGRAPHY ANDI HEDRICK
hese two Ford F-150 Lightning

pickups are nothing alike. Their worl-
dviews appear to be diametrically Then again, viewed through a histor-
opposed. The original seems anti- ical lens, they’re eerily similar. Each truck
social—a flagrant corruption of the was conceived to pursue a novel trend in
noble F-150’s puritanical work ethic, a the wider light-duty truck market—the
hedonistic implement for transforming petroleum high-performance “personal-use” pickup
into muscle car noises and pre-Hellcat, tire-shred- of the 1990s and the e-truck of today.
ding burnouts. Oy, the emissions! The modern Neither pioneered its segment—the 1993
Lightning EV, by contrast, hugs the planet by swiftly model having been preceded by the 1990
and silently performing tasks without fouling its Chevrolet SS454 (the first muscle truck of
immediate environs with even a molecule of CO2 the catalytic converter era) while today’s
while selflessly offering to power homes, busi- Lightning EV followed the Rivian R1T
nesses, and disaster locations with its abundant to market by seven months and Tesla’s
onboard energy. Kumbaya, my truck, kumbaya. Cybertruck announcement by a few years.
NImOagOinN EoIN TH’sEH‘90Sd

ed H w Ford ot Ro
Truck Would Evolve

Ford F-150 Lightning I THEN AND NOW
(Of course, that Tesla is chasing the record by meaningfully reimagining its muscle wind up and axle hop under hard accel-
set by Chrysler’s TC by Maserati for years truck. By ceding the engine-output eration, and the Lightning managed to
passing between reveal and production.) numbers game to Chevy, SVT concen- edge the SS454 in the quarter mile when
Ford established the Special Vehicle trated on making its Lightning the MotorTrend compared the two in June
Team in 1991 in part to develop its SS454 better-balanced, more well-rounded 1993—15.6 seconds at 87.4 mph versus
rival, with the first two SVT offerings handler of the two. The team even 15.8 at 84.7. Not that anyone much cared,
being the 1993-model Lightning pickup enlisted racing great Jackie Stewart to but Ford’s approach was also more fuel
and Mustang Cobra (page 30). A couple help tune the truck’s handling. efficient—if only just.
decades later, one month before the first Instead of a big-block, Ford opted for its Handling upgrades started with a beefy
Lightning EV rolled off the line, Ford trusty 351 Cleveland engine, upgrading set of 275/60R17 Firestone Firehawk GTA
boss Jim Farley ensured all future EVs it with lightened pistons and smaller, tires; Chevy made do with 275/60R15
would be developed by a much larger lower-friction rings and topping it with BFGoodrich Comp T/As. Then there was a
“special electric vehicle team,” known GT40 cylinder heads. These featured fatter front anti-roll bar and the addition
as Ford Model e, when he cleaved the bigger ports for better breathing, inhaling of a rear anti-roll bar, a revised steering
corporation in two. (Ford Blue will handle through a tubular intake and exhaling via gear, and a set of Monroe Formula GP
combustion-powered vehicles.) stainless-steel “shorty” exhaust headers. shocks. A major ride/handling liability
It wouldn’t have required forming a The result: 240 hp and 340 lb-ft, sent aft was Ford’s clunky “Twin-I-Beam”
dedicated performance team to pluck via a 4-inch-diameter aluminum drive- swing-arm front suspension; the Chevy’s
a 245-hp, 410-lb-ft, 460-cubic-inch shaft. But the Ford weighed about 80 control arms worked better, especially
big-block out of the era’s F-250 Super pounds less (mostly off the nose), and on bumpy roads. Still, the Lightning
Duty, jam it into the F-150, mount some its overall first gear ratio was 2 percent trounced the SS454 in our handling tests,
bucket seats, slap on some big wheels shorter. Add to that the more aggressive in both max lateral grip (0.84 g to 0.78)
and tires, and nearly tie the SS454’s 255 tires, a limited-slip differential, and a and in speed through our 600-foot slalom
hp and 405 lb-ft. But Ford SVT took dedicated rear leaf spring on each side (62.2 mph to 60.7). Braking
advantage of coming to market second that incorporated a snubber to prevent from 60 mph was a tie
at 143 feet (primitive rear-wheel ABS was
fitted to both), though our original review
noted, “The brakes were the sole disap-
pointment, as only two to three hard stops
caused serious fade with correctable but
unexpected pull to the right.”
It should also be noted that in
converting a regular-cab/short-box work
truck for muscle truck duty, Ford only lost
100 pounds of payload capacity (probably
due to the weight of the bigger wheels,
tires, fancier seats, etc.), and if properly
equipped with the towing package, it MotorTrend’s comparison deemed the
could tow as much as or more than an F-150 Lightning to be the superior muscle
F-150 work truck (no doubt snatching any truck, concluding: “The muscular Ford
trailer around with greater ease, thanks to delivers slightly better [acceleration],
its 4.10:1 axle ratio). vastly superior handling, far greater
The Lightning was based on the towing capacity, and the best bucket seats
then-fanciest XLT trim grade, and SVT ever put into a production pickup. All at a
didn’t do too much to the interior to distin- base price that’s $2,317 lower.”
guish it, save a nice set of high-back bucket Back here in the 21st century, calling
seats with Lightning embroidery and a the Cybertruck’s design “polarizing”
center storage console. Must-haves like would be an understatement bigger than
A/C, cruise control, and power windows Elon Musk’s ego or Twitter following.
and locks were bundled in a package Calling the pricey lifestyle-oriented R1T
that cost $2,651 in 1994. Ford didn’t even “niche” is a similar undersell. So just as
throw in a fancy stereo. (The photo truck’s SVT looked for ways to outmaneuver
“Premium AM/FM Cassette” deck set the its Chevy competition, Ford zigged by
original owner back $90.) To modern eyes, building an electric pickup truck that
this interior comes up short of justifying reused as many of the gas-powered F-150’s
the more than 50 percent price premium parts as practical. The result is an e-truck
at $19,523 to start ($40,950 today). that “passes” as a gasser to better attract

e-skeptics while allowing the F-Series
faithful to reuse aftermarket accessories.
The bed and interior look and function
just like the combustion F-150’s, with the
bonus of a roomy frunk and electrical
outlets galore. The fake powertrain noise
on Platinum models even sounds vaguely
like a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6. The frame
and suspension underpinnings were rede-
signed to mount the large battery packs
and motors, and it features the first inde- SPECS 1993-1995 Ford F-150 2023 Ford F-150
pendent rear suspension offered for an Lightning Lightning
F-Series truck, greatly smoothing the ride.
BASE PRICE $19,523-$23,000 $57,869-$98,769
With standard two-motor all-wheel ($40,950-$45,780 in 2023)
drive producing either 452 or 580 hp
VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, Front- and rear-motor, AWD,
and 775 lb-ft of torque, the Lightning EV 2-pass, 2-door truck 5-pass, 4-door truck
became the quickest, best-handling F-150
ENGINE/MOTOR TYPE 5.8L port-injected OHV Permanent-magnet electric
to date (as did its 1993 progenitor). The 16-valve V-8
monstrous Raptor R accelerates quicker, POWER (SAE NET) 240 hp @ 4,200 rpm 452-580 hp
but despite weighing a half-ton less, that
TORQUE (SAE NET) 340 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm 775 lb-ft
desert racer can’t hope to out-brake or
TRANSMISSION(S) 4-speed auto 1-speed auto
out-corner a Lightning on pavement.
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 4,313 lb (56/44%) 6,081-6,882 lb (50/50%)
As with the muscle truck, payload and
towing do not top the F-150 charts, but WHEELBASE 116.8 in 145.5 in
they’re impressive. Aluminum body- LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 201.8 x 79.0 x 68.9 in 232.7 x 80.0 x 78.3 in
work helps minimize curb weight, and 0-60 MPH 7.2 sec 3.8-4.2 sec
the chassis is fortified for an 8,250-pound QUARTER MILE 15.6 sec @ 87.4 mph 12.4-12.9 sec @ 103.8-107.0 mph
gross vehicle weight rating. That allows BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 143 ft 118-133 ft
the lightest Lightning work trucks to carry LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.84 g (avg) 0.73-0.77 g (avg)
roughly a ton (down from 3,010 pounds),
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 11/15-16/12-13 mpg* 73-78/60-63/66-70 mpg-e
while tow ratings range from 5,000 to
EPA RANGE, COMB 442 miles 240-320 miles
10,000 pounds (down from 14,000). The
ON SALE 1993-1995 Now
electric Lightning can manage a trailer
adroitly, but there are a couple huge *Using current EPA correction factors
caveats: It can’t tow very much very far,
and most charging stations can’t accom- Raptors that filled the performance role this truck remains after having covered
modate trucks with trailers. Despite these in the intervening years have sold as more than 20,000 miles. By contrast,
shortcomings, the modern Lightning’s well or better. Then in 2022, when Ford the new Lightning’s interior bristles with
spectacular drivability, decent (though opened the order banks for the Lightning technology that takes some time to learn
seemingly ever-increasing) pricing, and EV, it received 45,000 orders in just 48 but rewards the effort with class-leading
impressive capabilities earned it our 2023 hours and has struggled to meet demand. convenience. It silently whooshes to
Truck of the Year Calipers. There’s a refreshing clarity of purpose speed in nearly half the time of its more
Ford SVT built 11,563 Lightnings about the original Lightning. It looks exuberant forebear, and you can run a
between 1993 and 1995 then revived the tough, the engine burble is intoxicating, 220-volt welder out of the bed or power
name on the curvier 10th-gen F-150, the rear-wheel drive is playful, and the your house for a few days.
powering it with a 5.4-liter supercharged simplistic interior harbors no mysteries. Someday perhaps all pickups will be
modular V-8 good for 360–380 hp and We settle in for a brief drive and are electric. If that happens, you can bet the
440–450 lb-ft. That one sold 28,124 trucks struck by how direct the steering and Lightning name will set yet another F-150
between 1999 and 2004. The desert-racing brakes feel and how tight and rattle-free performance benchmark. Q
Ford connected us with Cesar

Hermosillo, whose Lightning is
100 percent factory original.
(Yes, that tubular rear bumper
was a $220 option.)

REWIND REVIEW I 1996 Porsche 911
MORE THAN
A FINAL GASP
Porsche’s 993-Series 911 Still Holds Its Own
WORDS MAC MORRISON upgrades to a relatively ancient platform
PHOTOGRAPHY BRANDON LIM
that dated to the early ’60s. If you were
ome objects require a generation around at the time and cared about cars,
S or more to pass before they

achieve Citizen Kane Rosebud
status in a population’s collective
consciousness. Most material items
never get there at all. Porsche’s 993-series
you know a sighting of this “new 911” was
something to get excited about along
with however many friends happened to
be accompanying you—and something
you’d recount to ones who weren’t.
911 needed only a few years to achieve And once it became clear the Carrera’s
predictable heights of reverence and desir- M64 3.6-liter flat-six and its derivatives
ability—not only from Porsche acolytes employed in other 993s would be the last
but also a significant cross-section of car of Porsche’s air-cooled series-production
enthusiasts who recognize a classic, or a engines, long-term values were assured,
classic in the making, when they see one. even if roughly two decades would pass
The 993 went on sale in the U.S. in before secondhand transaction prices by Patrick Long, native Californian,
early 1994 as a 1995 model, replacing the kablitzed their way past anything resem- Porsche brand ambassador, Luftgekühlt
5-year-old 964. It brought many overdue bling reasonableness. co-founder, and recently retired (from
Value and collectibility aren’t on my full-time competition) Porsche factory
mind, though, as I’m about to get behind racer whose résumé includes two Le Mans
the wheel of this 1996 911 Carrera. I class wins, two IMSA championships,
wonder how it holds up in the context of and more. He bought the 993 about three
now—not as an investment or device to years ago, and the odometer displays just
impress the auction-watching crowd, but more than 42,000 miles.
as a car for those who simply like to drive. The car originally carried a base price of
Its owner resembles the latter $64,495, or about $126,100 in 2023 dollars.
description: This 911 was kindly provided (A new Carrera today starts at $116,050.)

The 993’s diminutive footprint regis-
ters upon sight, and it really hits home
when you slide inside. It’s 10.2 inches
shorter overall than the modern Carrera
and 4.6 inches narrower, with a 7.1-inch
shorter wheelbase. These figures
represent massive size differences,
and the skinny pillars surrounding the
glass convey a lightness and perceived
fragility you don’t find in new cars. The
short distance from the dashboard’s face
to the windshield is a stunning contrast
versus today’s deep dash designs that
might as well be coffee tables. And if The 993 represents when
you actually want to drink coffee while old met new, introducing
“modern” design and
onboard, you’ll need to source an after- engineering elements such
market solution to hold your cup. as the 911’s first six-speed
I didn’t know quite what to expect manual transmission.
when driving this car nearly 30 years
after it was built, but you quickly forget what performance driving used to be, of
about its size and focus on the road the dance and true rhythm involved in
around you, the latter made satisfyingly flowing quickly over the road. It’s not a
informative thanks to panoramic “momentum car,” per se, but it’s much
visibility afforded by the upright the opposite of what you get in many of
windshield, great driving position, today’s ubiquitous nutso-limit sports cars
and even the side and back glass. It’s a that sledgehammer you with their wares
pleasure to find just how much of the old and encourage you to brake as late as
911’s character carries forward through possible, point the front end at something
today. I anticipated creaks and rattles marginally resembling an apex, and rifle
and general signs of chassis flex, but confidently out the other side with your
there are none. The body rolls slightly foot down.
through corners, but not by anything I don’t push the car hard enough
approaching an amount that makes to worry about lift-off oversteer, but
you think “old car,” and the steering feel Long assures me the 993’s revised rear
varies between light and just right. suspension with lower control arms
Putting the power down while exiting replacing the semi-trailing-arm setup of
those corners or while executing a previous 911s does its job well, with better
freeway pass is when you realize how rear toe control eliminating much of the 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera
much the performance norm has gone notorious characteristic. “These cars BASE PRICE $64,495 ($126,100 in 2023)
ballistic compared to “back then.” Its really don’t get sideways,” he says. “The LAYOUT Rear-engine, RWD,
engine produces 282 peak horsepower only thing that makes them go sideways 2+2-pass, 2-door coupe
and 251 lb-ft of torque, good for 60 is a fool that goes into a corner with way ENGINE 3.6L/282-hp/251-lb-ft port-inj
mph in 5.3 seconds. It demonstrates too much speed and still keeps winding DOHC 24-valve flat-6
steering on it, past the slip angle, and TRANSMISSION Six-speed manual
then it slows down to the point where the CURB WEIGHT 3,100 lb (mfr)
[understeering] front wheels reconnect
WHEELBASE 89.4 in
suddenly, and then it spins.” In other
LXWXH 167.7 x 68.3 x 51.8 in
words, the same mistake you can make
0–60 MPH 5.3 sec (MT est)
in any car today. Some things, especially
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 15/23/18 mpg*
physics, never change. FUEL ECON
There’s nothing in the 993’s outright EPA RANGE, COMB 349 miles
performance or character to prevent ON SALE 1995
you from enjoying it every time you belt
yourself in, even if you have plenty of seat
time with the world’s latest and greatest.
Its relative lack of power and absence of
downforce-producing aerodynamics
revert you to a more classical driving
style, requiring more delicacy to extract
maximum point-to-point speed as
you sail along a twisting road. I won’t
say it’s more fun than a new sports car,
but neither is it much less—and that is
why the 993 is a classic, air-cooling and *Using modern EPA correction factors
market values be damned. Q
REWIND REVIEW I 1995 BMW M3 Lightweight
SWEET
DELETES
Three Decades Later WKH0/LJKWZHLJKW·V3RZHU'HÀFLW,V)RUJRWWHQDQG)RUJLYHQ
WORDS TIM STEVENS 1995 M3 Lightweight rolled out of BMW’s outnumber actual buttons. A flat panel
PHOTOGRAPHY DARREN MARTIN secret warehouse just for us. sits where the radio should be, while the
he scent hits you first, an undeni- This M3 was something of a parts bin console is trimmed in carbon fiber, one
T ably vintage odor of tired adhe-

sives outgassing their last vapors
through weathered vinyl. This M3
has none of the rich olfactory effect you
get when entering a new BMW, no luxu-
special in its day, but what a bin. Using
the lightweight aluminum doors and
adjustable front splitter plus the tiny wing
mirrors from the European-spec M3 GT,
this version earns its decidedly straight-
of the few signs in here that this is some-
thing special. There’s another woven inset
in the dash bearing a small plaque: BMW
Motorsport International Limited Edition.
How limited? Even BMW isn’t sure. The
rious animal hides, just a sliver of shiny, forward nomenclature by weighing 200 official release states “around 100,” all
slippery leather wrapping the wheel and pounds less than the standard roadgoing sold to a public so flush with fun cars that
another bit on the shift knob. You won’t E36. That might not sound like much few appreciated this gem. In coverage of
find gratuitous Alcantara inserts or garish today in an era when a new M3 weighs the Lightweight in its day, and you’ll find
seat belts, just simple black upholstery just shy of 4,000 pounds, but the 1995 E36 10 people lamenting the lack of power for
for a simpler BMW from a simpler time, a M3 weighed about 3,150 pounds. Losing each one who’s thankful it exists.
200 required some compromises. To be fair, it is a little down even by
Pop the trunk and you see a token 1995 standards—240 hp from this M50
piece of carpet thrown on the floor, but 3.0-liter I-6 compared to 295 from the
that’s it. The engine compartment is European M3 GT’s S50, but either figure is
similarly spartan, stripped of lining and, quaint compared to the 503 hp you can get
more significant, the air conditioning
compressor and all its plumbing. In
the cabin, button blanks

in a present-day M3/M4. Today’s power
comes at a bargain price compared to the
M3 Lightweight, which cost $47,900 new.
Adjust for inflation and you’re looking at
close to $100,000, about $25,000 more
than the base price on a modern M4. For
market value, though, the M3 Lightweight
is on another planet. The last one that
crossed the block, from the late actor Paul
Walker’s collection, came out the other
side with a $385,000 price tag attached.
Every M3 Lightweight was Alpine
White, bespeckled with a vinyl BMW 1995 BMW M3 Lightweight
Motorsport–colored checkered flag
BASE PRICE $47,900 ($95,900 in 2023)
running across the left corner of the nose realize this was done with skill and
LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass,
and right corner of the tail. More notice- purpose. The shifter has a long action by
2-door coupe
able at the back is the wing, standing tall modern sporting standards but stellar
ENGINE 3.0L/240-hp/225-lb-ft
on its risers, while up front, the adjustable feel, the length of throw setting up the
DOHC 24-valve I-6
front splitter pops out about an inch if proper cadence to not rush the five-speed
TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual
you give it a good tug. Everything sits on a gearbox. A shortened 3.23 final drive ratio
CURB WEIGHT 2,950 lb (mfr)
stiffer suspension than the standard M3. makes the most of the 225 lb-ft of torque.
That aggro stance means the 235/40R17 Body roll is substantial, surely accen- WHEELBASE 106.3 in
tires at all four corners are properly tucked tuated by modern Michelin Pilot Sport LXWXH 178.0 x 67.3 x 52.6 in
up in the fenders. Polished aluminum 4S tires that offer orders of magnitude 0-60 MPH 5.3 sec
wheels are perhaps a bit flashy, but the more grip than any ’90s rubber you care to EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 17/25/20 mpg*
FUEL ECON
design is timeless, featuring the deep name, but that didn’t change the fact that
offset that looks so good on period BMWs. hot lapping was such a simple pleasure EPA RANGE, COMB 430 miles
On the outside, the Lightweight is an odd that I didn’t want to stop. ON SALE 1995
mix of simplicity and fanfare, just a white And on the road? It’s just as sweet, that
*Using modern EPA correction factors
M3 with a big wing if you come at it from suspension giving plenty of compliance
the wrong angle. You’d be forgiven for for daily driving, though you do suffer On our early spring drive, the missing
thinking someone slapped it together in the lack of torque between lights, and air conditioning wasn’t much of a bother,
their backyard and spiced it up with a little road noise on the highway is substantial. but passengers with modern sensibilities
splash of color from their Cricut. Visibility, though, is the biggest challenge. will probably question the absence of
But start the Lightweight’s engine and The rear wing hides just about anything proper cupholders despite not one but
dive into some corners, and you quickly short of a Super Duty out back. two ashtrays, both made of carbon fiber.
Perplexing ’90s priorities aside, the BMW
M3 Lightweight is a simple stunner, truly
bare-bones in such a way as would never
fly in a modern machine. But its look,
its character, and, yes, its smell make it
impossible to forget. Q

REWIND REVIEW I 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee
TOMORROW’S
SUV, YESTERDAY
The First Jeep Grand Cherokee Set Standards for Decades
WORDS AARON GOLD tailgate; it’s hidden away in the cargo bay, Good. These old-school bags packed one
PHOTOGRAPHY BRANDON LIM where it eats up an unforgivably large mother of a punch.
chunk of space. There is precious little The dashboard is a collection of 1980s-
t’s been three decades since we first chrome, and in fact few adornments at all. style boxes arranged in a streamlined ’90s
I met the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and back

then we had a strong suspicion we were
looking at the future: a sport-ute with
the off-road ability of a truck (for trucks
is what most SUVs were) and the driving
Like most great car designs, the ZJ’s style is
in its shape.
Opening the door reveals odd propor-
tions: The lower half is short like a car
door, while the window frame seems
motif. There’s no garish plastiwood trim,
though you could get some on the top-of-
the-line Grand Wagoneer model. The gray
and black plastic might look chintzy to
modern eyes, but they’re downright classy
characteristics of a car. absurdly tall. We step up to get in, but compared to the XJ Cherokee’s materials.
Today we’re face to face with another unlike a modern SUV, we don’t drop down We look around: stick-thin windshield
Grand Cherokee, an 8,700-mile original again, because the floor is as flat as a sheet pillars and acres of glass. Is this an SUV or
from Stellantis’ heritage collection. We’re of plywood and not much thicker. The a terrarium? With no back-seat headrests,
here to find out if we were right. Was the ZJ chunky center console topping the tall the cargo bay is very much part of the
of the 1990s the SUV of the future? transmission tunnel reminds us just how cabin, with the big spare hulking in the
We are immediately struck by irony: tightly the Grand Cherokee is wrapped corner like an uninvited guest.
Today’s automakers try to make cars look around its machinery. We turn the key. The sneezing-cat
like SUVs, but the Grand Cherokee is an We climb in, and the steering wheel sound of the Chrysler starter is familiar,
SUV trying to look like a car. Although seems to shove itself into our chest. but the muttering idle of the old AMC 4.0
its hulking presence belies its diminutive Welcome to the first-ever SUV with a is straight out of a time machine. We lean
size—today’s Honda HR-V casts a bigger driver-side airbag—and no, we cannot forward to grab the massive shifter and pull
shadow—the Grand Cherokee looks like move the wheel farther away, as it tilts but it into drive, which engages with a lurch.
it’s sucking in its gut to hide its mass. does not telescope. On this particular ZJ, a We ease into the throttle, and the ZJ takes
There’s no spare tire hanging off the red light indicates an airbag malfunction.
Jeep employed black body-

side cladding as an optical
44 MOTORTREND.COM JULY 2023 trick to reduce visual mass.
off with the coarse grumble that only a
domestic straight-six can make, backed
by the ghostly whine unique to American
The Grand Cherokee’s ride is taut
automatic transmissions of the era. and responsive, firm but not hard. Its
We don’t expect much, given 190 hp combination of genuine off-road chops
and carlike comfort still stands out.
against the Grand Cherokee’s 3,650-
pound curb weight, but that’s because
we’ve grown used to high-revving, four- American Motors, years before Chrysler’s
valve motors. Back in late ’92, we timed 1987 takeover. AMC’s shoestring finances
the six-cylinder Grand Cherokee to 60 in dictated use of an engine that traced its
10.0 seconds, rapid enough by the stan- roots to the 1964 Rambler American.
dards of the day and, critically, slightly We pick up speed, bracing ourselves for
quicker than the archrival Ford Explorer. the bounce and jiggle of a 1990s-era truck,
In the here and now, this old cam-in-block but it never comes. It’s obvious why our
two-valver isn’t shy with its 225 lb-ft of forebears were so fond of this thing. The
torque. It has as much mid-throttle boot steering has a pleasant heft and surpris-
as any modern-day turbo-four. ingly sharp response, the mile-wide
But the engine is noisy, and—oh, who on-center dead spot notwithstanding.
are we kidding? It’s downright crude, as Under the glaring eyes of the ZJ’s
if it were chosen not because it was the keepers and within the confines of
best option but because it was the only Chrysler’s Auburn Hills, Michigan, head-
option. Which it probably was. The ZJ’s quarters—a mall-like edifice gestated at
foundational engineering was done by the same time as the Grand Cherokee—we the industry to embark on a decades-long
must maintain a veneer of prudence. Still, journey to make them feel like cars. Those
these are car guys, and no one’s going to that made it—some still haven’t—found
stop us from going a little faster. We goose the 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee waiting for
the throttle and yank a little harder on the them, its engine at a grumbling idle. When
wheel, and the Grand Cherokee responds we first met the ZJ, we had an inkling that
with a guttural roar from its engine and we might be seeing the future. We had no
sharp, flat directional changes. We marvel idea how right we were. Q
as we remind ourselves that we’re riding
atop not one but two live axles. What must 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee
it have been like for our contemporary BASE PRICE (1993) $18,980-$27,433
test team, whipping through the slalom, ($40,200–$58,100 in 2023)
crunching the numbers, and discovering VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD,
this thing was 0.5 mph quicker than a 5-pass, 4-door SUV
Honda Accord wagon? ENGINE 4.0L port-injected OHV
Carlike: It’s an SUV cliché, yet here we 12-valve I-6
are in the very SUV that originated the POWER (SAE NET) 190 hp @ 4,750 rpm
phrase. The sights and sounds date the ZJ, TORQUE (SAE NET) 225 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm
but we’ve driven modern crossovers that TRANSMISSION(S) 4-speed auto
feel soft and sloppy by comparison. When CURB WEIGHT 3,650 lb (mfr)
we contemplate that the Grand Cherokee WHEELBASE 105.9 in
will out-crawl them off-road, as well, LXWXH 176.5 x 69.3 x 64.7 in
we can practically feel the blood vessels 0-60 MPH 10.0 sec
bursting in our brain. QUARTER MILE 17.4 sec @ 76.9 mph
We expected this 30-year-old Jeep to
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 128 ft
contradict its age. We anticipated a streak
LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.75 g (avg)
of modernity, the beginning of an arc that
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 13-15/19-20/15-16 mpg*
led to today’s best SUVs. The shocking FUEL ECON
realization for us is that the arc isn’t an EPA RANGE, COMB 345-368 miles
arc but a fixed point in space. Thirty years
ago, other SUVs drove like trucks, leading *Using modern EPA correction factors

SATURN WAS MORE THAN JUST A CAR. IT WAS AN
ATTEMPT TO RADICALLY REINVENT GENERAL MOTORS,
THE WORLD’S LARGEST AND WEALTHIEST AUTOMAKER.
WORDS ANGUS MACKENZIE

GM ARCHIVES
aybe we were led to expect
“M too much.” Even on the

first page of the first test of
GM’s all-new Saturn in our
November 1990 issue, the
sense of disappointment
was palpable. For years, we’d been told
Saturn would be a wondercar built
in a factory of the future, something
that would show the world Detroit
could build a better small car than the
Japanese for less money. GM boss Roger
President Ronald Reagan gets
B. Smith insisted in 1985 that Saturn the lowdown from GM CEO Roger
would be “a complete, radical change B. Smith (center) during a 1984
from anything going on anywhere in visit to the GM Tech Center.
auto manufacturing.”
But from behind the wheel of the the time, Smith was nonetheless aware the market share to the Japanese, it was an
early-build sedans and coupes we company faced enormous challenges. obvious metaphor.
sampled at the GM Proving Ground in As Alex Taylor III wrote in Sixty to Zero: Saturn prototypes and concepts were
Milford, Michigan, in the fall of 1990, it An Inside Look at the Collapse of General running by late 1984, before Saturn Corpo-
certainly didn’t feel that way. “We came Motors—and the Detroit Auto Industry, ration was founded and before Spring Hill,
away from the experience somewhat Smith knew GM was “too inward looking, Tennessee, was confirmed as the site for its
frustrated,” former MotorTrend editor too provincial, and too leaden.” However, high-tech plant. The Saturn factory would
Daniel Charles Ross wrote. “While it’s a his determination to modernize GM kicked be highly automated, to the point, Smith
legitimate alternative for many import off a botched reorganization of the entire said, where the lights would switch off at 4
intenders … [Saturn] shows not only company and the disastrous GM-10 midsize in the afternoon, everyone would go home,
how far GM has traveled, but that it still car program. It also led him to enthusiasti- and the plant would run itself, churning out
has a ways to go.” cally latch on to an audacious idea proposed Saturns through the night.
The Saturn story began in mid-1982, by the advanced vehicle engineering and That vision of the factory drove some
not long after Smith, a GM lifer who had advanced manufacturing engineering of the key design features of the original
spent his entire career in the finance groups at the GM Technical Center in Saturn sedan and coupe. Bolting plastic
department, became the chairman and Warren, Michigan: Adopt a completely new body panels onto a steel space frame
CEO of the world’s largest and richest way of engineering and manufacturing cars dramatically reduced cost and complexity
automaker. Although argumentative and use it to build the one product GM knew in the paint shop, for example, and poten-
and autocratic and steeped in the insti- its existing process couldn’t create, a small tially allowed for quicker and easier styling
tutional arrogance that pervaded GM at car that could make money and compete changes. The lost-foam casting technique
with the Japanese imports. used for the engine block, cylinder heads,
The Saturn name was first attached to and transmission casing meant these parts
the project in July 1982, and although the could be made in a cheaper, more compact
logo later created for the division was an facility than traditional sand-cast found-
abstraction of the planet and its rings, the ries, and it produced parts that were lighter
name was originally a reference to the and required less final machining.
Saturn V rocket, which had helped
America beat Russia to the moon.
In the context of an American
automaker that had been losing
GM started building and testing

Saturn prototypes almost seven
years before the first production
car rolled off the line in 1991. This
late example shows the final
exterior design.

Using front-wheel drive and built on a Project Saturn had its own
wheelbase 6 inches longer than a contem- design and engineering
operations inside the
porary Honda Civic’s, with a close-ratio GM Tech Center. Roger
five-speed manual or four-speed auto- B. Smith kickstarted the
project with $900 million in
matic transmission, a fully independent 1982 and three years later
suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, committed $4.1 billion.
and the option of a twin-cam, 16-valve I-4
engine, the Saturn was certainly a bold
step forward for a company whose most unimaginative by 1990. And the fit and The NVH problem was a case in point:
recent “home-grown” subcompact was finish and ergonomics of the interior It was bad enough that the cars had such
the Chevette, a car so laughably antique were subpar versus Japanese cars’. “As an issue after GM spent years developing
it still had rear-drive and a live rear axle. one might expect, Saturn made its an all-new engine. But what made it
But while GM might have thought Saturns more impressive statements trackside,” worse was Smith had ordered the Saturn
to be wondercars, others outside of the Nagy wrote in the April 1991 issue. “As into production before engineers had
Detroit bubble simply … wondered. we moved into the realm of the more perfected the torque-axis engine mount
“Those of us who live here in the subjective, people-oriented qualities, the that would appear in the 1992 model year
heartland of imports,” MT editor Bob pendulum began to swing in the opposite to mitigate the problem. Why? Because
Nagy wrote in the April 1991 issue after direction.” he wanted to drive the first production car
comparing the top-spec Saturn SL2 sedan Nagy’s comments added weight to off the line the day before he retired in July
with Honda’s Civic EX, Nissan’s Sentra the nagging doubts voiced by Ross in 1990. Smith’s photo op was deemed more
GXE, and Toyota’s Corolla LE, “can’t help his story months earlier. “The creation important than ensuring Saturn customers
but think that Saturn … will meet with of an all-new corporate culture,” Ross got the best possible product.
greater success in snaring current owners wrote, “doesn’t seem to have deflected
of domestic vehicles than luring away all the hidebound ‘GM-ness’ the UAW President Owen Bieber hands Roger B.
droves of satisfied Honda, Nissan, and groundbreaking organization was Smith a photo op. Smith retired the next day,
Toyota owners.” supposed to avoid.” to be succeeded by Bob Stempel (far left).
To be fair, the first Saturns, particularly
in the SL2 sedan and SC2 coupe versions
powered by the 124-hp, 122-lb-ft twin-cam
engine, were not bad cars. We praised their
performance, handling, and poised ride,
the latter of which was a cut above those of
Japanese rivals. But rear headroom in the
sedan was surprisingly tight, and the long-
stroke 1.9-liter engine, both in twin-cam
and 85-hp, 107-lb-ft single-cam format,
suffered from annoying noise, vibration,
and harshness throughout the rev range,
especially under load.
Then there was the styling. After
such a long gestation, the general vibe
of the sedan’s styling seemed strangely
FEATURE I The Saturn Story
“I don’t know who is the father of Saturn But it was a lot closer in concept to
around here,” Smith had said when he a modern Toyota plant than the
announced the founding of Saturn Corpo- eye-popping factory of the future
ration in January 1985. “I think all of us are Smith said it would be. From the
promoting it and pushing it. I’ve been hot cars themselves to the way they
for it, but I’m not going to tell you that I were made, Saturn merely seemed
started it, because that wouldn’t be true.” to put GM in the game, not ahead
Without Smith, though, Saturn would of the pack, and even then only
have just remained an idea. He authorized just. “Saturn was announced in
$900 million in 1982 for initial research 1983,” analyst Maryann Keller
and development, and three years later he noted acerbically just before the
committed a further $4.1 billion to turning car was launched. “How could
that idea into GM’s first new car division you possibly have any concept of
since William Durant corralled Chevrolet what the market would be like in
into the stable in 1918. eight years’ time?”
GM finance guys were long used to important aspect of the Saturn program,” While the automotive media was
rounding budget numbers to the nearest Phil Fricke, an analyst with Goldman, underwhelmed, American car buyers
million, but this was serious money, and Sachs & Co. told Chicago Tribune writer enthusiastically embraced the new cars.
it came at a time when Smith had spent James Mateja in early 1985. “The car is Although the Saturn’s plastic panels
$2.5 billion on buying computer company simply a means to an end. I can’t empha- required larger than normal panel gaps
EDS and was about to splurge $5.2 billion size enough that Saturn represents new and would ultimately not provide the
on Hughes Aircraft Corporation. Such manufacturing techniques, and whatever low-cost face-lift capability GM thought
was the power and wealth of GM at the GM learns from this small car will be they would, customers liked that they
time, however, that few analysts seemed applied throughout the organization in all were rustproof and dent-resistant. And
bothered. That’s because to them Saturn its cars, big and small.” with a base price that undercut similarly
wasn’t about the car at all. David Cole, director of the office for equipped Civics, Sentras, and Corollas by at
“The product, the Saturn car, is the least the study of auto transportation at the least a thousand bucks, it delivered on the
University of Michigan, called Saturn an promise of being price competitive with
expensive experiment: “But $5 billion is a the Japanese imports.
cheap price to pay for what will come out Conquest sales ran as high as 81 percent
of this. What makes Saturn unique is that in the early years, and even for existing
the importance of the car is integrated GM customers, Saturn seemed like a car
with the importance of its manufacturing. from a different company. “It was like a
Before an automaker brings out a new car, clean slate,” recalls Barbara Schreiber, who
it builds a prototype. Saturn is a prototype, traded her clunky Oldsmobile Firenza
the basic thread for a new GM.” on an SC2 she still owns (her car is photo-
Except it wasn’t. Yes, the Spring Hill graphed here). “A different kind of car,
plant was very different from the old, different kind of company. All brand-new,
run-of-the-mill GM factories, with higher clean slate, no shared parts from any other
levels of automation and a UAW workforce GM product. Everything was unique. And
operating under a unique labor contract. that’s what appealed to me a lot.”
The 124-hp, 122-lb-ft twin-cam I-4 was But the thing customers really liked
high-tech but suffered from poor NVH. about Saturn was the buying experience.
“When I first went into a Saturn retailer,”
Schreiber recalls, “no one bothered you,
there were no high-pressure salespeople
around.” After inquiring about a test

WHAT’S AN ORIGINAL OWNER
SATURN LIKE TO DRIVE?
Saturn may be gone, but what other General Motors products of the
early 1990s were like—which we do, all too
the way the S-series drives vividly. Most GM cars were known for brake
is hauntingly familiar. pedals that traveled halfway to the firewall
K
udos to Saturn: Those plastic body before biting, turn signal stalks that felt as
panels really do work. The pristine if they might break off in your hand, and
S-Series you see here—a time gravel-grinder four-cylinder engines.
machine of a car if there ever was one— It was with those memories in mind that
resides not in rust-free Arizona or California we climbed into Schreiber’s SC2. Our first
but in the heart of Chicago. Twenty-seven impression—barring the mind-bender
years ago, Barbara Schreiber custom- of sitting in what felt like a brand-new
ordered this bright red SC2, attracted not 27-year-old car—is an overwhelming
only to the coupe’s Coke-bottle planform sense of Saturn’s mission: to turn its back
and pop-up headlights but also to Saturn’s on the rest of GM and build a car as good
new way of doing business. She used the as the Japanese brands. Saturn, like its
car sparingly as her primary driver for 16 trans-Pacific rivals, focused on the tactility
years, and if the roads aren’t too snowy or of frequent contact points. The SC2’s
salty, she still exercises it weekly. turn signals and shifter engage with an
With just 61,000 miles on the clock, her exaggerated clack. Buttons and dials The SC2, while not exactly cramped, has a
first-gen Saturn’s finish still glistens. The feel chunky and substantial. Gauges and surprising dearth of headroom, but visibility
interior is showroom fresh thanks to seat lettering are big and legible, thanks to is great, with nothing but thin pillars and
covers and rubber floormats she bought a 1995 update addressing our 1991-era glass all around. That’s fortunate, because
the day after she took delivery. Every- complaints about the instrumentation. the side mirrors are half the height they
thing except the alternator, valve cover Schreiber drives us out to the curvy roads ought to be. We shift the four-speed auto-
gasket, and muffler (the latter replaced southwest of the city. She is not shy with matic into drive—clack!—and we’re off.
just a month before we drove it) is original— the accelerator pedal, and as we take the The 2 in the SC2’s name denotes, among
including the key fob’s batteries. driver’s seat, she encourages us to follow other things, the 16-valve, twin-cam, 124-hp
If we wanted to experience what the her lead. “I trust you,” she says, and that’s version of the Saturn-exclusive 1.9-liter I-4.
Saturn S-series was like when it was new, saying a lot: We are the first people to drive (SC1 models had eight-valve, single-cam
we couldn’t do any better than this coupe. her SC2 since she bought it new. In nearly engines.) The SC2’s engine is strongest in
To understand how revolutionary the three decades of ownership, this is her first the midrange, with power trailing off as the
Saturn car was, you have to remember ride in the passenger seat. revs rise—unusual for a 1990s 16-valver but

FEATURE I The Saturn Story
1996 Saturn SC2
arguably better suited to American driving PRICE AS TESTED $18,115
habits than the rev-happy Hondas. ($35,300 in 2023)
Back in the day, we complained about
LAYOUT Front-engine, FWD,
both the quantity and quality of the engine
5-pass, 2-door coupe
noise. A couple of sympathetic vibrations
from the interior are among the few signs of ENGINE 1.9 L/124-hp/122-lb-ft
this Saturn’s true age; still, we hear exactly port-injected DOHC
16-valve I-4
what our early ’90s selves complained
about: Whereas Honda engines had a racy TRANSMISSION 4-speed auto
snarl and Toyotas sang like finely tuned CURB WEIGHT 2,400 lb (mfr)
sewing machines, the Saturn’s engine note
WHEELBASE 99.2 in
isn’t much different from a contemporary
Chevrolet Cavalier’s. LXWXH 174.6 x 67.6 x 50.6 in
Everything else, though, is different—very 0–60 MPH 9.0 sec (MT est)
different. The steering is delightfully hefty, EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 21/31/25 mpg*
loading up nicely as we build speed. The FUEL ECON
brake pedal is firm and responsive, as is
EPA RANGE, COMB 320 miles*
the ride. This isn’t the most communicative
chassis, but neither is it actively working to *Using modern EPA correction factors
isolate us from the road surface. Schreiber
encourages us to ramp up our speed in the Are we describing a classic Saturn or a
curves. We don’t push as hard as we dare— modern General Motors product?
no point in risking the pristine bodywork— Saturn may have been a failure, but not
but there’s a lot of fun to be had between one of engineering. Driving this SC2 makes
here and understeer. it clear Saturn’s engineers were on the
What surprises us most is the familiarity right track. The Saturn brand—plastic body
of the driving experience: Good, if not quite panels and all—is gone, but its spirit is alive
up to the standards of its Japanese rivals. and well in GM’s cars of today. Aaron Gold
drive of a Saturn coupe, she was stunned making sure those customers didn’t go kicked in. Saturn’s budgets were slashed
when the salesperson asked her to wait a shopping at a Toyota or Honda dealership. as the bean counters chipped away at
moment while it was washed for her. “That Saturn dealers became an industry its massive overhead and attempted to
just blew me away.” benchmark for customer service. placate the old GM divisions irked by
The cleverest part of the Saturn “The biggest crime of Saturn is GM did Smith’s lavish spending on what they saw
experiment was one of its simplest ideas. not take all those learnings and force them as a rival. By 1999, Saturn—the division
GM created a new sales network from into the rest of the dealer network,” says Jim that was going to radically reinvent not
scratch with handpicked dealers chosen Hall, a former MotorTrend Car of the Year just GM but also automaking worldwide—
based on high customer satisfaction. At judge who spent a significant part of his was manufacturing a midsize car based
a stroke, Saturn bypassed many in the career working at GM. “That’s the biggest on a 5-year-old Opel design in a factory
existing GM network who’d grown fat and single failing of Saturn.” constructed in 1947.
happy through the glory years, dealers But it’s not why Saturn failed. Saturn “Saturn was Roger Smith’s vision,” Hall
used to simply ordering a bunch of cars and failed because the moment Roger B. Smith says, “and when he was gone, nothing was
waiting for the customers to walk in and left the 14th floor of 3044 West Grand Blvd. going to keep it alive. Because to make it,
buy them like they always did rather than in the summer of 1990, GM’s old instincts he had created too many enemies.” Q
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Type R, you’re forgiven for thinking
this story is just another work of Honda
fanboy navel-gazing. But as you see from
the photos, it’s not. We’re not looking back
at the Integra with rose-colored glasses;
we actually drove one. This immaculate
2001 Type R came straight out of Honda’s
own museum in Southern California, and
we didn’t just drive it around for photos.
Trust us, VTEC kicked in and then some.
The third-generation Integra Type R
represents everything Honda knew at the
time about making a front-drive street car
fast and fun to pilot. The 1.8-liter B18C5
engine is stuffed with period motorsports
tricks and is one of the few naturally
aspirated engines of the day to break the
vaunted 100-hp-per-liter mark, pushing
t begins with the shifter. The visual This new Civic Type R shares more out 195 hp at 8,000 rpm and 130 lb-ft
I connection is obvious—it’s the same

shift knob, and not by accident—but
it goes deeper, all the way to the
transmission it operates. More than
any other single part, though, the shifter
in the 2023 Honda Civic Type R is the most
tangible physical and spiritual connection
conceptually with the Integra Type R than
any Honda- or Acura-badged car in the
preceding 26 years. The way it drives, the
way it behaves when pushed to its limit,
the way it makes you feel all channel the
Integra in ways no other car has managed.
So much effusive ink has been poured
of torque at 7,300 rpm. The five-speed
manual is fitted with close gear ratios that
would never fly in today’s efficiency- and
emissions-constrained world, and it packs
a purely mechanical helical limited-slip
differential for good measure.
The rest of the car is equally focused.
to the legendary Acura Integra Type R. over the years in tributes to the Integra The body and chassis have many of their
seams welded to stiffen the car, and
when that wasn’t enough, Acura added
a strut-tower brace under the hood and
bolted a similar piece of unpainted steel
tubing to the trunk’s back wall. The
suspension mounting points are likewise
strengthened. Despite the additions,
engineers found 33 pounds of weight
savings compared to the next-highest
performance model, bringing the curb
weight down to 2,650 pounds.
From the moment you release the
clutch, there’s an unmistakable lightness
Notice how similar the Civic shift knob (left) and Integra’s (right) are? That’s a deliberate callback.

and delicacy to the Integra. It’s a decep- before the three-channel ABS kicks in. and narrow powerband peak keep you
tively small car, just a foot and a half longer Even the throttle pedal is delightfully working for the speed.
than a modern Miata and otherwise about mechanical, the resistance of actual cables Back to the shifter, which is the car’s
the same size. Its seven-spoke wheels are and springs coming through your sole, machined-aluminum center. Spindly
just 15 inches in diameter, comically small not the simulated resistance offered by a compared to a modern car’s, the cold (or
by today’s standard but aggressive enough modern electronic pedal. scorching hot, depending on the ambient
for its day. Inside, the low beltline and It somehow makes the raucous spitfire temperature) metal knob rocks between
dashboard give you both a commanding of an engine feel even more alive. The gears with a precision few modern
view of the road and the inescapable more naturally aspirated engines we lose manuals can match decades later. Even
feeling you’re wearing the car as much to the march of progress, the more we driven in anger, it needs only two, maybe
as you’re sitting in it. You feel every move appreciate the emotional attachment three fingertips to find its way to the next
the chassis makes, down to the smallest they’re capable of. The best of them, gate. It’s nearly impossible to miss a shift
twitch. It creates an immediate connec- like this one, keep building power and entirely and just as unlikely you’ll struggle
tion with the driver and never lets go. excitement as the revs climb. It’s as if it’ll at all to place it exactly where you want.
The controls really grab you. The never stop spinning faster, as if you’ll On the street, the lightness, the
hydraulically assisted steering feels never have to shift. It just keeps revving crispness, the eagerness is palpable.
exactly as heavy as it ought to be in a car and going faster and faster as it does. The Thanks to a nearly unprecedented track
this light. It weights up proportionally VTEC variable valve timing kicks in as opportunity a few years ago, though, we
to your inputs and never lessens or loses you approach the tach’s business end, can tell you what the Integra Type R is like
its road feel. The brake pedal responds and the little extra jolt of power you get when driven as it was meant to be. It is, in
immediately and telegraphs precisely how from it is addicting. Then you do it again a word, joyful. The little tires, burdened
much stopping power you have in reserve and again and again as the short gears with surprisingly little weight, hang on
tighter than you’d ever expect just looking
at them. Push the fronts too hard, and the
wheel lightens in your hands as under-
steer takes hold—you could correct it by

What’s this 2001
Integra doing in
the ’90s issue? The
American-market
Type R didn’t
change between
its introduction in
1997 and 2001, its
final model year.
tires give it grip the Integra’s engineers

could only dream of.
When you push the Civic’s consider-
ably higher limits, however, the Integra’s
backing off the throttle, but if you’ve timed knows about making a street car fast and soul begins to shine through. The electric
it right, you can keep your foot in it and let fun to drive. If you wonder how a turbo- power steering neither loads nor lightens
the diff save the day. charged workaday sedan could possibly as much as the Integra’s hydraulic rack, but
All this would be enough to make it channel a light, lithe 2+2 sport coupe the car it’s connected to still behaves simi-
an entertaining front-drive car, but the or you’re already writing us a strongly larly. Enter a tight corner with too much
Integra Type R gives more. Throw too worded email about it, simmer down. It’s speed and unload the rear end: Unlike the
much weight on the nose as you fling it understandable if you haven’t driven an previous model, the new Civic Type R will
into a corner, and the stiffened rear end Integra Type R lately (unmolested exam- step out the rear end gently, just enough
will start to come around on you like an ples are exceedingly rare these days) or a to let you point the car at the apex. It’s not
old Porsche’s. Get it right, and you’ll point new Civic Type R at all (dealer markups are as dramatic or as potentially fraught as
the car right down to the apex and even comically greedy right now) that it sounds it seems in the Integra, but it’s the same
initiate a little four-wheel drift. Overdrive like a stretch. That’s why we drove both of feeling in your inner ear. Think equally
it, though, and the Acura will punish you them back to back and have tracked both. predictable but far less likely to bite you.
the same as that Porsche if your hands Being larger in every dimension and The Civic leaves a corner like an Integra,
aren’t quick enough. fitted with an additional seat and two too. Overwhelm its shockingly strong
The challenge isn’t in figuring out how more doors (not to mention things like grip, and it’ll push wide; lifting slightly
this car wants to be driven. The Integra is airbags), it’s hardly a surprise the Civic brings the nose back in as it should. Once
so communicative, all these tips and tricks weighs about 515 pounds more, and it feels again, though, if you time it right, you can
are obvious from the first corner. The thrill like it. On the other hand, more than two keep your foot on the throttle and let the
is in honing your driving to extract every decades of advancements in materials limited-slip differential pull the front end
last measure of speed from this car. It’ll tell science and engineering result in a much around the bend and down the track.
you when it has more to give, when you’re more rigid platform further stiffened for Making it all possible is yet another
doing the right things, and when you’re in Type R duty and backed by electronically hall-of-fame-worthy engine, the 2.0-liter
over your head. All you have to do is react. adjustable shocks that work in concert turbocharged K20C1. Making 62 percent
Moving decades ahead, the second-gen- with the firmer springs and anti-roll bars more power and 138 percent more torque,
eration (in this market) Civic Type R to keep the Civic considerably flatter it more than makes up for the new Civic’s
represents everything modern Honda through corners. Wider, stickier modern extra weight. We’ve clocked this Type R
THE ENTIRE POINT OF THESE CARS IS HOW THEY MAKE YOU FEEL.

SPECS 2001 Acura Integra Type R 2023 Honda Civic Type R
BASE PRICE $24,390 ($41,900 in 2023) $44,390
at 5.3 seconds to 60 mph, 1.3 quicker than LAYOUT Front-engine, FWD, 4-pass, Front-engine, FWD, 4-pass,
the Integra, and it feels even stronger than 2-door hatchback 4-door hatchback
that. Honda worked on the tune for this ENGINE 1.8L/195-hp/130-lb-ft port- 2.0L/315-hp/310-lb-ft turbo
new Type R, and the result is a power curve injected DOHC 16-valve I-4 direct-injected DOHC 16-valve I-4
not at all unlike the Integra’s. The low-rpm TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual 6-speed manual
turbo lag feels a lot like the Acura’s general CURB WEIGHT 2,650 lb (mfr est) 3,165 lb
lack of torque, but the Civic’s engine wakes WHEELBASE 101.2 in 107.7 in
from its doldrums much, much sooner. LXWXH 172.4 x 66.7 x 51.9 in 180.9 x 74.4 x 55.4 in
Like the Integra, once the Civic is on the
0-60 MPH 7.0 sec 5.3 sec
boil, its engine just keeps pulling harder
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 21/28/23 mpg 22/28/24 mpg
the higher the revs climb. The ride doesn’t FUEL ECON
last as long before it’s time to upshift, with EPA RANGE, COMB 304 miles 298 miles
redline coming 1,400 rpm sooner, but the
trajectory is surprisingly similar. this car. It’ll tell you when it has more to crosses borders and oceans, a goal that
The shifter’s action is somehow even give, when you’re doing the right things, goes deeper than simply making it fast
silkier and the stalk stubbier than the and when you’re in over your head. All to making it drive like a fast Honda. In
Integra’s, but the Civic’s feels as if it was you have to do is react. an era when the value in historic badges
lifted straight from its predecessor. It’s Neither of these cars is perfect, of often ends at public recognition, Honda’s
still fingertip light and so precise you course. The Integra has to be revved to commitment to the Type R’s heritage is all
have to be fully flustered to mess up a gear the moon to make any real power—and the more commendable. Q
change. The machined aluminum knob also just to cruise on the highway thanks
still freezes or burns your hand, and it’s to those crazy short gears. If you value the
still worth it because, well, just look at it. discs in your back, the Civic can only be
Now more than ever, a manual is worth driven in the comfort suspension setting.
celebrating, and this one earns a rager. These are cars compromised for a specific
The challenge isn’t in figuring out how reason, which they pay back with interest.
this car wants to be driven. The Civic, like The entire point is how they make
the Integra, is so communicative, all these you feel. It’s a feeling so remarkably
tips and tricks are obvious from the first similar despite decades of engineering
corner. The thrill is in honing your driving advancement. It’s a testament to devel-
to extract every last measure of speed from opment teams with a shared goal that

WORDS BILLY REHBOCK The Golf version was met with initial
excitement as it hit the 1995 auto show
o other version of the VW Golf is circuit, so VW North America produced
N more emblematic of 1990s style

and hues than the Harlequin, a
car with a backstory as wild as
its quad-color paint job. Diehard VW fans
and retro car enthusiasts are familiar with
264 units. Painted the same colors as
the Polo Harlequin, the cars destined to
become Golf Harlequins were monochro-
matic when they rolled off the assembly
line. VW North America then scrambled
the Harlequin, but the wacky hatchback the panels around in accordance with
only recently has enjoyed renewed guidelines laid out by the brand’s Euro- wasn’t embraced in the same way as its
appreciation. pean headquarters. Every grille matches subcompact sibling. The Golfs lingered on
Volkswagen originated the idea for a the front fenders, the front doors match, dealership lots—buyers didn’t want to be
multicolored car in a 1964 print adver- and the rear doors match. The original seen driving what looked like a clown car.
tisement. The ad showed off the brand’s body color is detectable by the rear quarter Pricing began at $13,775, $150 more
year-to-year interchangeable parts, panels, roof, and rocker panels. Inside, than a standard Golf GL, which is compa-
represented by a Beetle with mismatching cloth seats feature the four exterior colors rable to about $27,600 today. The Golf has
body panels and fenders. The vision was in the fabric’s pattern. traditionally represented class-agnostic
actualized as a production car in the form However, when the production version ambiguity, but the Harlequin’s color
of the Europe-only 1995 Mk3 Polo Harle- came to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico scheme turned an anonymous commuter
quin hatchback, which wore mishmashed later that year, the funky hatchback car into a bold style statement.
body panels painted Tornado Red, Chagall
Blue, Ginster Yellow, and Pistachio Green.
Intended as a small batch of 20 cars,
consumers expressed enthusiasm for the
quirky design. VW ultimately produced
more than 3,000 Polo Harlequins.

Jaime Orr is a Volkswagen customizer, The Golf Harlequin is based on what
collector, and the owner of the Golf seen was the entry-level GL, so it has a 2.0-liter
here. His enthusiasm for these limit- fuel-injected four-cylinder with 115 hp and
ed-production cars runs deep; he owns 122 lb-ft of torque. A five-speed manual
three and even customized a modern with an overdrive gear was standard, but a
Atlas SUV by giving it the same cheerful four-speed automatic was available. Orr’s
paint scheme. Despite his fandom, Orr car features the former, which helps make
acknowledges the design would have the most of the engine’s output.
been a bit much for most folks to buy as The Harlequin is remarkably livable by
their daily driver. “It’s a big commitment modern standards. It’s no hot hatch, but optimism and cheer. There aren’t many
to showcase that [design] on the outside of the engine has ample grunt to scoot away trading hands today, but those that do
yourself, all the time,” Orr says. Showing from a stoplight. The simple, thin steering fetch impressive sums. In 2021, a well-pre-
up in a quad-color car doesn’t feel appro- wheel seems alien in a world of thick served Harlequin sold for about $25,000.
priate in every scenario. tillers with tons of buttons. Orr’s Harle- A year later, a VR6-engine-swapped
VW dealers resorted to swapping their quin doesn’t ask much of the driver—the example sold for about the same price.
Harlequins back to monochromatic color steering is light, brake feedback is excel- Well-kept examples like Orr’s serve as an
schemes to sell off inventory, as the multi- lent, and the four-banger revs happily. The affirmation that VW’s creativity in the
color models became even more difficult five-speed makes everyday driving enter- 1990s wasn’t a total write-off. In fact, their
to unload as their novelty wore off. Even taining thanks to well-spaced gearing for initial lack of appeal has only contributed
as some owners treasured their cars and around-town usage. Compared to today’s to their special aura today. Q
passed them on to other passionate VW manuals, the clutch engages at the very
1996 Volkswagen Golf Harlequin
enthusiasts, most Golf Harlequins have top of the pedal’s travel, but the Golf is still
disappeared. Only about 100 are reported a joy to drive. BASE PRICE $13,775 ($27,600 in 2023)
to still exist, making it one of the rarest Curious onlookers couldn’t get enough LAYOUT Front-engine, FWD,
5-pass, 4-door hatch
Golfs ever produced. of the colorful compact as we navigated
the streets of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. ENGINE 2.0L/115-hp/122-lb-ft
As for the drive? The third-generation
port-injected SOHC
Golf can reasonably be called the first Folks seemed to understand what a Harle- 8-valve I-4
modern version of the brand’s affordable quin is and wanted to know if this one TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual
hatchback. VW moved away from the was genuine. One excited passerby even CURB WEIGHT 2,700 lb
boxy Giugiaro-penned body style and asked if he could buy it, but Orr isn’t ready WHEELBASE 101.2 in
adopted a more aerodynamic look for its to part ways with this classic. It’s easy to LXWXH 172.4 x 66.7 x 51.9 in
exterior design. The driving dynamics are appreciate its appeal; a Golf Harlequin has 0-60 MPH 9.1 sec
more refined than the second-generation supercar magnetism without the compro-
EPA CITY/HWY/ 21/29/24 mpg
model’s, and interior ergonomics are mises and expensive upkeep. COMB FUEL ECON
noticeably improved. There are even two Despite its commercial failure, the EPA RANGE, COMB 348 miles
cupholders in the front row. Harlequin succeeds as a symbol of
ON SALE 1996

V-8, so the work at Lotus focused on
moving air, fuel, and exhaust through the
heads. By doubling the number of valves
and quadrupling the number of camshafts,
WORDS ERIC TINGWALL
PHOTOGRAPHY JIM FETS
it looked to put the energy crisis, perfor- making the targeted 400 horsepower
mance-choking emissions regulations, came easy. The challenge lay in designing
n the 1980s, Chevrolet Corvette and Japanese brands in its rearview an engine that could produce big power
I engineers received an assignment

as ambitious as it was simple: Build
the world’s best-performing produc-
tion car. They delivered the 1990
Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, a monstrously
powerful and furiously quick car that
kept pace with exotic supercars costing
mirror. Under chairman Roger B. Smith,
the company bought Hughes Aircraft for
more than $5 billion in 1985, banking on
head-up displays, in-car navigation, and
radar-based collision avoidance systems to
revolutionize future models. The original
Corvette ZR-1 represented a different tactic
while also remaining flexible enough to be
civilized at low rpm and low loads. Initially,
the air moved through the intake tract so
slowly at part throttle that the 5.7-liter V-8
frequently hesitated and stumbled.
Lotus inflated the torque curve and
smoothed out the power delivery by
tens of thousands of dollars more. Sound of the same strategy. Building the world’s shutting down half of the engine’s 16 intake
familiar? The ZR-1 transformed America’s quickest, fastest, and best-handling sports runners and 16 fuel injectors until they
sports car into a world-beating triumph car would reassert GM’s engineering were needed. At full throttle and above
of engineering for the first time—but prowess and the Corvette’s credibility. 3,500 rpm, butterfly valves blocking the
definitely not the last. The same story has In the era of joint ventures with Toyota secondary intake runners open to deliver
repeated with every subsequent Corvette and Suzuki, GM turned to newly acquired additional air and fuel through intake
generation. The ZR-1’s tradition lives on Lotus to develop the engine for the “King of valves that are held open higher and longer
today in the 2023 Corvette Z06. the Hill” Corvette. Chevrolet engineers had than the primary ones.
General Motors bet big on electronics already experimented with turbocharged With the secondaries uncorked,
and advanced technology in the 1980s as engines but settled on a naturally aspirated the 5.7-liter 32-valve, four-cam

LT5 V-8 spits out 375 hp at 5,800 rpm
and 370 lb-ft at 4,800 rpm. The only cars
making more power had names like Coun-
tach, Testarossa, 959, and F40. The ZR-1
hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and punched
through the quarter mile in 12.8 seconds at
113.8 mph in MotorTrend testing. It stopped
from 60 mph in 109 feet and cornered
steadily at 0.90 g in that evaluation. (An
earlier outing yielded better skidpad grip.)
Those figures were so wild at the time
that they still hold up today. Thirty-three
years on, the ZR-1 accelerates, brakes, and
corners as hard as a 2023 Nissan Z.
The engine’s character holds up, too.
The LT5 makes more than 300 lb-ft of
torque between 1,000 and 5,000 rpm,
and anywhere from idle to 7,000 rpm it The 16 runners on the LT5’s
responds instantly to throttle inputs with intake manifold in the ZR-1
an even, linear pull that’s missing from reveal that this isn’t your
typical small-block V-8.
modern turbocharged performance cars.
You could put this engine in a new car
today and have everything you want, save feature would interrupt leisurely cruising
for the fuel economy we take for granted. by forcing the driver from first gear
Chevy at the time managed to meet directly into fourth at speeds as slow as an
emissions standards and steer clear of the engine-lugging 12 mph.
gas-guzzler tax with some sly features. The ZR-1 was, of course, more than its
Accessing all of the power required engine. It was a technological tour de
inserting a “valet” key into the base of the force, a fact we recognized with a David
center stack and turning it to FULL, which Kimble cutaway illustration of the car on
lit a FULL ENGINE POWER telltale on the our October 1988 cover. It rode on Bilstein
dashboard. Without it, you were locked adaptive dampers with driver-selectable
out of the secondary intake runners and Tour, Sport, and Performance modes,
limited to the Normal mode’s roughly and the fenders were gracefully—almost
210 hp. In either mode, GM’s skip-shift imperceptibly—stretched 3 inches to
THE ZR-1 WAS MORE THAN ITS

ENGINE. IT WAS A TOUR DE FORCE.
speedometer flanked by analog gauges
modernized the cabin, but the cheap mate-
rials and lousy panel fits hardly improved.
You might as well be sitting on the
Michelin Man’s lap, but at least the seats
are as comfortable as they are grotesque.
Despite its prodigious performance,
the ZR-1 struggled to capture the public’s
imagination and buyers’ wallets as GM had
hoped. The interior was certainly part of
the problem. The ZR-1 nearly doubled the
price of the Corvette coupe to $58,995, or
$139,000 in today’s dollars. We justified
the price in an April 1990 feature on the
Corvette lineup, writing, “This one isn’t
likely to depreciate much in our lifetimes.”
Boy, were we wrong. The ZR-1 never
became a cultural icon, and outside of
accommodate the massive 315/35R17 In the Z06, a flat-plane crankshaft the Corvette faithful, collectors continue
Goodyear Eagle ZR rear tires. In its best unlocks an 8,600-rpm redline that osten- to largely ignore it. Still widely underap-
skidpad test, the ZR-1 put up an awesome sibly turns Chevy’s sports car into a race preciated, the best ZR-1s sell for the same
0.98 g, prompting us to write, “The car grips car. Thumb the push-button ignition, and amount today as they did new. Factor in
like a pit bull on a mailman.” the Z06 rips to life, revving the engine inflation, and the price has dropped nearly
While the LT5 had the 4.4-inch bore with a contagious sense of urgency. This 60 percent since they left the factory.
spacing necessary to be called a Chevy engine spins so quickly and sounds so In struggling to earn the recognition
small-block, it was an entirely different righteous that it begs to be driven at full it deserved, the ZR-1 cemented another
engine than the L98 that powered early throttle whenever you’re not braking aspect of the Corvette’s identity that
C4 Corvette coupes and convertibles. The or turning. Along with a pile of go-fast persists to this day. No matter how capable
ZR-1 used an aluminum block rather than chassis tech, the LT6 makes the Corvette or magnificent to drive they are, Corvettes
an iron lump; both engines’ displacement more track-focused than ever. The Z06 always fight to receive the same reverence
rounded to 5.7 liters, but the LT5 had a slings rocks at the Porsche 911 GT3, the as Porsches and Ferraris. That was true
smaller bore, longer stroke, and higher McLaren 765LT, and the Ferrari F8 Pista, for the ZR-1, and it’s true for the Z06. No
compression ratio of 11.3:1, up from 9.5:1. and it lands at least as many as it misses. matter how many times the giants are
It’s a similar story with the LT6 engine The performance is epic, too. In undercut and outperformed, or at least
in today’s Z06. Compared to the 495-hp MotorTrend testing, the Z06 lays down a matched, the Corvette must prove itself
6.2-liter LT2 V-8 that powers the modern 2.6-second 0–60 time and shoots through with every new version.
Corvette Stingray, the Z06’s 670-hp 5.5-liter the quarter mile in 10.6 seconds at 131.6 To give it a fighting chance, GM finally
LT6 V-8 is so different it might as well be a mph. It hauls itself to a stop in as little outfitted the eighth-generation Corvette
nuclear reactor. The Z06’s LT6 follows in as 95 feet and circles the skidpad with
the footsteps of the ZR-1’s LT5 as only the as much as 1.16 g’s of grip. Like the ZR-1
second Corvette with 32 valves and dual before it, the Z06 hits just as hard as many
overhead camshafts, but that’s where the exotics you could reasonably compare
similarities begin and end for these two against it, all at a fraction of the price.
engines. The thread tying them together About the only thing the 1990 Corvette
has virtually nothing to do with architec- ZR-1 couldn’t outrun when it was new
tural similarities. They instead arrive on was GM’s penchant for shoddy interiors.
common ground because Z06 and ZR-1 All Corvettes got a new driver-oriented
engines are so different—in design, perfor- dash for 1990 that was a significant
mance, and character—when compared upgrade over the prior year’s shape- The ZR-1 is 3 inches wider than the
base C4 Corvette, but the fatter
to the small-block V-8s offered in the less, dated design. A switch from an fenders are so well integrated, few
standard Corvette of the era. all-digital instrument cluster to a digital people recognize it for what it is.

with an appropriately upscale interior. The
3LZ trim’s leather-wrapped cabin show-
cases quality you can see and feel. There’s
none of the ZR-1’s flagrant cheapness to be
found, though if you squint, the ramp of
buttons rising from the center console to
the top of the dash imitates the driver-cen-
tric design from the 1990 model. With the
engine off, you’d be forgiven for mistaking
this Z06 for a luxurious grand tourer
rather than a purist’s track toy.
This one car shows the breadth of what
a Corvette can be. You’ll soon see the idea
of a Corvette with multiple personalities
teased even further. Taking a page from
Porsche’s playbook, Chevy is expanding
the model line to cover a broader range SPECS 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
of price, performance, and purpose so its
BASE PRICE $58,995 ($139,300 in 2023) $109,295
most iconic model can be more things to
more people. Today, a Z06 is the top dog. In VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, Mid-engine, RWD, 2-pass,
2-door coupe 2-door targa-hatchback
the future, it’ll be just one variant in a full
ENGINE TYPE 5.7L port-injected DOHC 5.5L direct-injected DOHC
quiver of specialty models.
32-valve V-8 32-valve V-8
In some ways, the fact the Corvette
POWER (SAE NET) 375 hp @ 5,800 rpm 670 hp @ 8,400 rpm
Z06 isn’t the ultimate eighth-generation
TORQUE (SAE NET) 370 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm 460 lb-ft @ 6,300 rpm
Corvette makes it an imperfect analogue
to the ZR-1. Later this year, the Corvette TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual 8-speed twin-clutch auto
will roll into the electrified future with the CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3,481 lb (50/50%) 3,774 lb (39/61%)**
655-hp, all-wheel-drive E-Ray hybrid. That WHEELBASE 96.2 in 107.2 in
car’s basic formula—a motor up front and LXWXH 176.5 x 74.0 x 46.7 in 185.9 x 79.7 x 48.6 in
a gas engine in the rear—will push the 0-60 MPH 4.4 sec 2.6 sec**
Corvette toward four-digit horsepower QUARTER MILE 12.8 sec @ 113.8 mph 10.6 sec @ 131.6 mph**
with a model likely named Zora or ZR1. BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 109 ft 99 ft**
Whatever comes next and whatever it’s
LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.98 g (avg) 1.10 g (avg)**
called, you can bet that the people behind
EPA CITY/HWY/ 15/23/17 mpg* 12/21/15 mpg
it are developing the car with the ZR-1’s COMB FUEL ECON
legacy in mind: The car photographed EPA RANGE, COMB 340 miles 278 miles
for this story is owned by Josh Holder,
ON SALE 1990-1995 Now
Corvette chief engineer. Q
*Using current EPA correction factors
**Test numbers from Z06 convertible

WORDS ALEXANDER STOKLOSA PHOTOGRAPHY CAVAN BENNIGSON
large swath of American drivers to undercut the traditional brands’ prices among its most decadent features is a
A today have always known Lexus

as an established power player.
But when Lexus unveiled its
first car, the LS, at the Detroit auto show in
January 1989, America had a lot to learn
while giving customers a highly attentive
dealership experience. It worked. The
cars and eventual SUVs lived up to the
hype, and the dealers’ free breakfasts and
loungelike waiting rooms became bench-
power adjustment for the seat belt anchor
height and the still-sharp electrolumi-
nescent “floating” gauges. Features like
the tiny shade above the rearview mirror
that flips down and can be tilted to help
about Toyota’s upstart luxury brand. marks. By the dawn of the millennium, block that last sliver of sun not caught by
Toyota’s idea? To build cars as luxu- Lexus managed to build itself a chair and the primary sunshades are charmingly
rious and gratifying as the Germans pull it up to the big boys’ table. analog, as is the row of tiny yet clearly
while delivering what those cars didn’t: We can’t go back in time and scarf down marked equalizer knobs on the center
commuter-car reliability. That brief the free croissants, but we can explore the stack. Their settings are always visible—
generated the 1990 LS 400 sedan, which significance of Lexus’ launch by driving no menus to dig through—and adjust-
was launched alongside a business plan an original LS at Toyota’s U.S. headquar- ments are as simple as giving them a twist.
ters in Plano, Texas. Toyota acquired this We pull away from Toyota HQ and onto
sedan via donation in 2006 with a mere Plano’s wide boulevards, noting how
16,766 miles on its odometer, and fewer adeptly the LS 400 seems to simply absorb
than 1,000 more have clicked off since. all external noise. Everything inside the
Short of finding one with the plastic wrap car works, and the stereo even sounds
still on the seats, this is the closest thing to decent. The V-8 never raises its voice.
driving a brand-new first-year LS 400. With 250 hp, it can’t and doesn’t whip the
For how much of a splash it made, little LS around, and the four-speed automatic
about the LS 400 is particularly ground- transmission prefers second-gear starts
breaking, even for the time. Its styling is and wafting the stately four-door up to
clean, albeit unrecognizable as a Lexus
amid the yowling grilles of the
brand’s current vehicles.
The interior is
equally stark, and

highway speeds. The “ECT” rocker switch misconception isn’t supported by the
alongside the shift lever has settings for timeline. The Mercedes that people think
“PWR” and “NORM,” and we detect no Lexus copied, the W140-generation
difference when selecting either one, S-Class, arrived two years after the LS 400
though the switch offers a tangible link launched. The two couldn’t be more
to today’s drive-mode-crazed cars. different philosophically, either.
The ride is placid, with just the The German represented engineering
slightest bob from the nose and tail when run amok, deploying overly complex
coming to a stop or sluicing over a speed solutions to simple problems. The older
hump. The steering ratio is slow, and W126 had pneumatic door locks (chosen
the tall-sidewall tires on 15-inch wheels for being quieter than electric solenoids)
take a beat or two to translate lock into and a vascular hydraulic suspension setup
cornering attitude. In short, the LS 400 for ride quality and height control, and
behaves like a better period S-Class. But the W140 doubled down and only some- didn’t have time for sagging hydraulic
consider this: The Lexus cost a little more what modernized the same ideas. It added suspensions or sneezing electronics.
than half as much as its German bogey electrically operated soft-close doors Round-the-clock communication
in 1989. It must have been staggering and a new solenoid-controlled adaptive reaching into every corner of every day
to customers test-driving both cars that damper system to join the hydraulics for left precious little cover for limping your
Lexus could deliver the same king-of- even finer ride control. overheating Jaguar to a service bay.
the-road presence, the same over-engi- Where Stuttgart loosed its engineers Like everyone else, what the bustling
neered feel, all for so little money. on the S-Class with guidance to innovate wealthy needed was a Camry. What they
Of course, some perspective is at any expense, Toyota filtered at least wanted was something that could be
required. The LS 400 caught the some of the Lexus’ engineering through parked shamelessly alongside BMWs,
W126-generation S-Class near the end of a prism of reason and cost efficiency. And Benzes, and the like. The original LS
a long life cycle that spanned the entirety that’s where the real cleverness is found. 400 was both. Today, when any new car
of the 1980s and then some, from 1979 to Benz loaded its limos with magnificently is expected to just work all the time, the
1991. That Benz’s formal chrome grille, complicated widgets to deliver a luxu- LS’ achievement has been muted. But
hood ornament, and narrow body seem rious drive, but the LS 400 matched that with no screens or sensors beeping—
at least a generation removed from the experience using basic parts like coil and, yes, we shut off our phone—a
LS 400’s more modern riff on luxury. springs and ordinary shocks, stuff sure quiet, comfortable drive in the LS feels
Wait, you thought Lexus copied to last tens of thousands, if not hundreds decadently disconnected. Indulgent,
Benz’s styling, too? This common of thousands of miles with far simpler even. All these years later, the Lexus is
maintenance. still giving back time. Q
We inadvertently popped the hood on
the Lexus reliability mythos, too. After an 1990 Lexus LS 400
unspecified length of time stored away BASE PRICE $35,350 ($83,500 in 2023)
in a Texas warehouse, the temperature LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD,
gauge never budged as the car dutifully 5-pass, 4-door sedan
trundled around Dallas/Fort Worth and ENGINE 4.0L/250-hp/260-lb-ft
idled at length on an 85-degree day. (This port-injected DOHC
was no endurance test—the battery was 32-valve V-8
dead, so we kept the engine spinning the TRANSMISSION 4-speed auto
alternator, lest the car not restart.) CURB WEIGHT 3,800 lb (mfr)
The LS 400 thus reset luxury buyers’
WHEELBASE 110.8 in
expectations. Here was an upscale
LXWXH 196.7 x 71.7 x 55.3 in
isolation chamber so reliable Lexus
0–60 MPH 7.9 sec (mfr est)
needed to offer food and pampering to
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 16/22/18 mpg
beckon customers to dealers’ service bays. FUEL ECON
Consider how the information economy EPA RANGE, COMB 405 miles
boomed throughout the ’90s. Attention ON SALE 1989
was spread ever thinner. Executives
Dragstrips and Honda products were
both critical to establishing the ’90s
tuner culture in the United States.
Honda Tuning interview. Non-rotaries

such as the Toyota Celica Supras and the
Z32 300ZX raced, too, but rotary power
was preferred because it was less expen-
sive and easier to maintain than piston
engines. Plus, rotaries could handle lots
of horsepower. One thing he said almost
all cars had in common: “Predominantly,
it was rear-wheel-drive cars—all
old-school.”
On the East Coast, a concentration of
WORDS BOB HERNANDEZ PHOTOGRAPHY MT ARCHIVE
dragstrips in New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
ebate continues about when the fire. Hot spots of racing sprung up in the and Maryland facilitated the fast-rotary
D and where the tuner scene

began, but like the hot-rodding
and lowriding movements that
came before, it’s now a deeply ingrained
part of the automotive landscape. The
Midwest, along the Eastern seaboard, and
most prominently in Southern California,
but before 1990 few if any events were
officially sanctioned. The streets were the
first flexing arenas, with races held late at
agenda (especially popular with Puerto
Ricans, Dominicans, and other Latin
Americans), and the region had its own
share of street racing. In Ohio, tuners
such as David Buschur championed
culture, largely centered on compact cars, night and in far-flung places unlikely to be Diamond Star Motors’ (the joint venture
is today catered to by a massive apparatus snarled by traffic—or prowled by the police. between Mitsubishi and Chrysler) AWD
consisting of automakers, aftermarket In SoCal, street races had a distinct compacts with the 4G63 turbo-four: the
parts houses, events companies, and media flavor. “You’d see a ton of rotary-swapped first- and second-generation Mitsubishi
industries to keep passions burning—and or -powered stuff like [Datsun] 510s; Eclipse and Eagle Talon models, as well
cash flowing. But it wasn’t always that [Mazda] RX-2s, -3s, -4s, -7s; [and Nissan] as the Plymouth Laser RS Turbo AWD.
way, and it was during the 1990s that tuner 240Zs,” remembered Frank Choi, the Ultimately, they and others would move
culture went from largely underground to visionary behind the seminal Battle of the on to one of the pantheon Japanese cars,
far more mainstream. Imports (BOTI) racing series, in a 2000 the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
By the ’90s, American consumers had
been buying a variety of “imports” (a term
now largely passé) and small cars in large
numbers for 20 years. That provided an
ample stock of affordable used—and easily
customized—machines for an enthusiast
population increasingly influenced by
motorsports, grassroots car shows, and
niche magazines that promoted what was
then a new lifestyle.
Roots in Racing
As with muscle cars in decades past, drag
racing might have been the match that lit
Frank Choi founded Battle of the Imports and
is a sport compact drag-racing architect.
event. As he told Turbo magazine a decade As Honda Civics and CRXs reigned out
JDM Roots Beget later: “I had a meeting with officials at the
West in the early ’90s, DSMs like the
second-generation Mitsubishi Eclipse
American Explosion track to see if I could rent it and put on an started gaining attention elsewhere.
Japanese car culture has always influ- event specifically for imports. I wanted the
enced that on the American West Coast, satisfaction of turning away a V-8, which I
and Option was a driving force in the did two or three times for that first race.”
pre-internet world. Founded in 1981, the Turnout was a modest 60 cars—most of
magazine and its offshoot Video Option them familiar to the street racing crowd—
series established in 1988 provided and roughly 500 spectators, but change
coverage of modified cars and racing, was in the air. After the next year’s event,
and the print product brimmed with ads when car and spectator counts more than
for aftermarket parts. In the U.S., Option doubled, Choi quit his day job and went all
was found primarily on newsstands in in. BOTI kept growing throughout the ’90s.
expatriate communities like those in Los On the other side of the country, event
Angeles County’s South Bay or passed on organizer Javier Ortega—hearing what
via military members stationed abroad. was happening in California—leveraged
Option was devoured by tuning fans Old Bridge Township Raceway Park mechanical side, performing engine
alongside Best Motoring, Hot Version, and in New Jersey (which had previously swaps, adding forced induction, and
Carboy. These titles educated readers on featured an NHRA-sanctioned dragstrip) modifying electronics. Others were
every aspect of Japanese domestic market to host sport compact drag racing in among the few places to order parts—
(JDM) vehicles, some of which were sold ’92. He later developed several large, discovered in large part via Option—from
in America and some of which remained import-focused racing events at the track Japanese companies. And seeing the
forbidden fruit, such as the Nissan Skyline. and replicated the formula at other ones burgeoning potential in the American
Americans also absorbed trends through up and down the East Coast. As the scene market, a few Japanese tuning companies
coverage of big events such as the Tokyo matured into the mainstream, Ortega even set up headquarters in the U.S,
Auto Salon, an annual SEMA-style after- became executive director of the NHRA’s including HKS, Greddy, and Apex.
market expo started in 1983. sport compact series in the mid-2000s
By 1990, the tuner scene had gained a and started DRT Racing in New York with Civic Lesson
toehold, with Choi holding the first Battle racer Rafael Estevez, the real-life inspira- Of course, the most popular models
of the Imports at Los Angeles County tion for the Dominic Toretto character in those shops breathed on were commuter-
Raceway. Its genesis came after he and his the Fast & Furious film series. grade Hondas, in particular the Civic
nitrous-boosted, turbocharged Mazda RX-3 Import speed shops were sparse in and its derivatives. In Japan, enthusiasts
were turned away from a domestic-vehicle the early ’90s. Some specialized in the repurposed these cars for weekend track
days, a trend that spread to Australia and
the U.K. But it wasn’t until Americans
got involved that someone made these
front-drive cars truly fast in a straight
line, and from 1990 onward, fourth- and
fifth-generation Civics, particularly
hatchbacks, were scooped up for their
attractive combination of low cost, low
weight, and easy upgradability. So, too,
Before any track would take them, were both generations of CRX and the
contests were settled on the streets. second-generation Acura Integra.
Early days saw rotary-powered
machines grow in popularity, mostly JULY 2023 MOTORTREND.COM 67
because they were easy to make fast.
Garish colors,
the NOPI Nats,
and primitively
photoshopped
see-through hoods
for photo shoots
are just some of
the things we don’t
miss from the ’90s.
and other Volkswagens and domestics

like Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros.
Stylistically, the inspiration for mods in
this particular corner of the tuner universe
came from the lowrider and mini-truck
trends of the previous two decades, which
were markedly different from the JDM
It was in this environment via some and part nightclub, and his event gave rise influences.
combination of foresight and fortuitous- to the likes of Hot Import Nights, Extreme It was a somewhat similar story in the
ness that Honda also introduced two Autofest, and others. Northeast, where events like Waterfest
landmark FWD performance variants. In the Southeast, NOPI (which stands in New Jersey—a Volkswagen- and
The first Integra Type R made its Japanese for Number One Parts, Inc.) was founded Audi-centric show and autocross—and
debut in 1995 and arrived in America in by brothers Mike and Mark Meyers. It was others held at the Carlisle Fairgrounds
slightly altered form in 1997. Japan also originally an aftermarket parts retailer in Pennsylvania drew large crowds.
got its first Civic Type R hatch in ’97. The with a network of brick-and-mortar loca- Waterfest was also where many got their
naturally aspirated inline-four engines in tions in Georgia. The parts sales moved first taste of Euro-style elements like
each of these cars became the go-to swaps online, but NOPI continued to stage a shaved engine bays and aggressive wheel
for a generation. series of popular regional events featuring fitments. Sound system builds were big,
car shows, racing, and more, culminating too, regardless of region.
The Show Goes On with the massive NOPI Nationals at
Midway through the decade, a healthy Atlanta Motor Speedway every fall. The Magazines
show scene began to emerge. In the West, The cars at NOPI events were less strictly U.S. enthusiast tuner magazines grew in
DJ, promoter, and BOTI racer Ken Miyoshi Japanese and more generally compact. number and page counts throughout the
founded Import Showoff in ’95. Miyoshi Plenty of Civics were present, to be sure, as decade. And because most were based in
sought to create a new “lifestyle” experi- were Preludes and Accords and DSM cars, Southern California, they primarily ampli-
ence, part exhibition, part marketplace, but so were European models like the GTI fied what was local.
The tip of the spear was Kipp Kington’s
For some, a clean Turbo and High-Tech Performance, founded
fifth-gen Civic in Orange County in 1985 and dedicated to
hatchback is still as
desirable as it was explaining advanced engine technology.
in the ‘90s. Originally heavy on domestic cars, it
shifted to sport compacts toward the end
of the ’80s to reflect the growing interest
in Japanese and European models and
their suitability to tuning.
McMullen Publishing’s Sport Compact
Car arrived in 1988, and Petersen Publish-
ing’s Super Street followed in 1996 (the
same year Robert E. Petersen, founder of
MotorTrend, sold his publishing empire);
JDM style and forbidden-fruit cars like the Nissan Skyline kept
the American scene alive and transformed it into what it is today.
racing franchise’s sensational

first installment hit the orig-
inal Sony PlayStation in 1997
and served the same function
as Option magazine nearly
two decades prior, but on an
interactive and global scale,
introducing a vast audience
these addressed the American tuner to tuning companies, parts brands,
audience directly with featured vehicle and vehicles and variants they’d likely
builds, lifestyle coverage, and technical never heard of before. Fan reaction to
knowhow. Rodney Wills’ Toy Machine the Subaru Impreza WRX and WRX STI
Racing, another 1996 debut, offered and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution models Motorsports continued to serve as a
grassroots coverage and was critical in featured in the game was seemingly pillar of inspiration, but tuner-specific
representing the Southeast and other a major reason they were eventually drag racing series—there once were
locales beyond California. As a reaction offered to American buyers. four (!)—faded in favor of one-off annual
to Super Street, the Turbo team launched events such as the World Cup Finals, HDay,
Import Tuner in ’98 to overnight success. The Interim and Spring/Fall/Pan-American Nationals.
Magazine circulations closed out the Throughout the next two decades, OEMs Drifting sprung whole cloth from the
decade strong while the online sites and continued to pump out cars with an eye tuner scene, and an American profes-
forums that would render them obsolete toward the tuner crowd—the Honda sional series—Formula D—launched
began to emerge. UrbanRacer.com, S2000, Nissan 350Z, Acura RSX, and in 2004. Time attack, a Japanese style of
JTuned.com, Overboost.com, and others Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ, for example, road course time trials, became another
presaged today’s influencer culture by as well as new generations of the Civic popular way for participants to prove their
showcasing individual style and giving Type R, WRX, Integra, and Toyota builds weren’t just for show. As for meets,
everyone a voice. The sheer amount of Supra—and in at least one case, created simpler, more community-based gather-
information was transformational. an entire brand (Scion, 2003–2016) that ings like ImportAlliance and the Eibach
And you can’t tell any history of tuner catered to these same buyers. And as Honda Meet rose in prominence as the
culture without mentioning the video the tuner audience aged and financially popularity of larger traveling festivals like
games that set imaginations racing, in matured, operations sprung up willing Hot Import Nights and NOPI ebbed.
particular Polyphony Digital’s (née Polys to import the ’90s JDM car of Americans’ Tuner culture is now firmly a part of
Entertainment) Gran Turismo. The sim dreams right to their doorsteps. mainstream pop culture, having been
romanticized in movies like the Fast &
The FD3S Mazda RX-7 Furious franchise, celebrated in dozens
is one of a handful of of video games, and featured in long-
Japanese “hero cars” running toy lines such as Hot Wheels. For
from the ’90s.
the entire scene, the ’90s were the igni-
tion for an unstoppable ascent. Indeed,
compact car tuning is now a worldwide
phenomenon, thriving not only in Asia
Pacific but also in the Americas and
Europe, where the basic formula and
experience extends to brands native to
those areas. It may not be your father’s
car culture or even yours, but it’s a corner-
stone of today’s automotive passions. Q
MT ’S THE

Cover Archive I THE ’90S ISSUE

ENGINES
n the 1990s we saw such
I improvements as high-pressure
gasoline direct injection, which
cools the intake charge as the fuel
evaporates, allowing higher compression
ratios for better performance and
economy. The Mitsubishi Galant was
first to bring it to volume production in
1996. Five-valve-per-cylinder heads had a
moment, but Audi, Toyota/Yamaha, and
Ferrari quickly retrenched to four-valve
heads. Two engine concepts that got a lot
of ink in the ’90s but didn’t pan out include
two-stroke and ultra-lean-burn engines.
Emissions ultimately killed both ideas due
to the lack of a reliable lean-NOx catalyst.

1997 Honda EV Plus
VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION
got defibrillated in 1990 when California
legislation demanded zero-emission
models account for 10 percent of new
vehicle sales in the state by 2003. The
legislation got watered down enough that
EVs wouldn’t hit that original bogey until
August 2018. Nevertheless, this legis-
lation clearly motivated development
of the 1996 GM EV1, the 1997 Honda EV
Plus, the ’97 Toyota RAV4 EV, and all that
followed. Of course, in 1997 Toyota also
introduced the world’s first production
hybrid. That first-gen Toyota Prius was
penned in California but only sold in
Japan. U.S. sales of an updated version
began in 2000 and were eligible for a
federal tax credit of up to $2,000.
ELECTRONIC CHASSIS
ENHANCEMENTS of the 1990s
include leveraging ABS hardware and BMW introduced the Inflatable Tubular information. Most also offered the
better computers to provide electronic Structure (1997 5 and 7 Series). Mercedes stolen-vehicle location/recovery service
stability control (ESC). In 1990, the introduced an occupant sensor to auto- popularized by LoJack (founded in 1986).
Mitsubishi Diamante took the first step matically turn off front and side bags in
with an active trace and traction control unoccupied seats or when a child seat was OTHER KEY ’90S AUTOMOTIVE
system designed to help maintain an installed (1997 SLK), and the Saab Active TECH TRENDS include high-intensity
intended line through a corner, but that Head Restraint (SAHR) system introduced discharge/xenon headlamps (1991 BMW
system—like some similar early BMW active whiplash protection on the 1998 9-5. 750iL’s “Litronic,” 1995 Lincoln Mk VIII
setups—lacked direct yaw sensing. LSC) as well as power sliding minivan
Between 1995 and 1997 Mercedes, TELEMATICS became a thing in 1996 doors (1994 GM “dustbuster” vans) and
Toyota, and GM introduced ESC, VSC, when Lincoln teamed with Westinghouse dual sliding minivan doors (1996 Chrysler
and StabiliTrak, respectively, with the to launch its Remote Emergency Satellite minivans). Onboard refueling vapor-re-
sensing and computer control necessary Cellular Unit (RESCU) system and GM covery systems became mandatory on all
to function like today’s systems. Honda teamed with Electronic Data Systems light-duty vehicles, phasing in between
also introduced the first true electronic (EDS) and Hughes Electronic Systems to 1998 and 2000, and ozone-friendly A/C
torque-vectoring system on the ’97 form OnStar. Soon thereafter, Mercedes refrigerant R134a began its obligatory
Prelude SH. It used planetary gears to and BMW introduced their similar Tele phase-in around 1993. Finally, the first
speed up drive to the wheel on the outside Aid and ConnectedDrive systems. All retractable hard tops since the Ford
of a turn, thereby inducing yaw. (Then leveraged analog CDMA cellular service Skyliner returned to volume production
as now, we don’t consider braking one to connect vehicles with call centers, with the 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder
wheel to transfer drive to another to be while GPS hardware transmitted location and 1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK.
“real” torque vectoring.)
GETTY IMAGES
SAFETY TECH included frontal airbags

that completed a mandatory phase-in
by 1999, but innovation continued.
1997 Honda Prelude SH

THE ’90S ISSUE I Automotive Trends
Ferrari F50
TINY MOUTHS
OF THE TIME
The ’90s Brought Us Great Music, Questionable
In 2005, Audi kickstarted the massive-
grille design trend with the A6, which has
culminated in ridiculous gaping maws on
cars such as the Toyota Avalon (recently
put out to pasture). But if you stop and
think about it, the only reason a big-grille
trend could take off in the first place is if
Fashion, and Plenty of Automotive Fads grilles had gotten too small. Welcome to
the 1990s, and have you met the Infiniti
WORDS JONNY LIEBERMAN THREE- AND (BARF) Q45? For realsies, that car didn’t even have
ashion trends in the 1990s were FOUR-SPOKE WHEELS a grille. But this trend affected cars of all
F brutal. The music was better than

today’s, sure, but watch an old
Seinfeld rerun—why is everyone
dressed like an outcast from the Eddie
Bauer catalog? Or what about the clothes
Probably my personal favorite trend of
the ’90s. Why? Here’s the funny thing
about wheels on cars: An odd number of
spokes looks like a stationary wheel is in
motion, and an even number of spokes
stripes, from bona fide superstars like
the Ferrari F50 and its weird little mouth
to the 1998 Chevy Cavalier. An E34-gen-
eration BMW 5 Series barely even has
nostrils, which is a hell of a contrast to the
on Friends? Or worse, the hair? That says the opposite. Weirder still is when company’s latest products. As everything
weird overgrown bob not only had a you see fewer than five spokes, something old is always going to be new again, grilles
real name (The Rachel) but was also a just seems off. Four spokes look like are eventually going to go the way of the
real thing real people copied. Walking what you’d find on a tractor. Three spoke combustion engine. Until the next time.
around the grocery store in 1995 was just wheels, or Tri-Spokes as they’re known,
weird, to say the least. (I have no room are just odd (no pun), so naturally the ’90s MY CAR HAS A PHONE!
to talk, as my standard outfit from 1992 were loaded with them. The Dodge Viper, In the late ’70s, my neighbor Al—an
to ’97 was a tie-died Lollapalooza T-shirt Saab 900, Ford Probe, Ford Mustang, Italian gentleman who was in waste
under a pair of Dickies overalls and a and even first-generation Range Rover management and spent an inordinate
matching flannel and/or beanie.) Of (technically an ’80s car, but we’ll allow it) amount of time schlepping back and forth
course, cars in the ’90s followed trends, all rocked excellent three-spoke wheels. from Los Angeles to Las Vegas—had a
too. Some were great, and some, well, Avoiding the four-spoke look is design
have you seen anyone walking around school 101, so naturally Saturn put them
rocking The Rachel lately? on its cars beginning in 1991.
Dodge Viper RT/10

Infiniti Q45
mixed, and digitally mastered. Back

then, years before people got nostalgic
for the clicks, pops, and (supposed)
warmth of vinyl, the compact disc was
king. True, CD players wound up in cars
in the ’80s, but that meant you had to
physically change the album each and
every time. Enter wide adoption of multi-
disc CD changers in the ’90s. Not only
could you (sorta) easily switch between
albums, but if you had more than one
CD-storing magazine, you could also
hot-swap half a dozen discs at a time.
Or more: Why settle for only six when
you could go for a 10- or even a 12-disc
changer? Will wonders never cease?
phone in his Lincoln Mark III. True, you In 1995, the author’s six-disc lineup:
Morphine, Firehose, Primus, Tom Waits,
THE END OF SEVERAL ERAS
had to dial a mobile operator to make a More than being packed with new trends,
GETTY IMAGES
Mudhoney, and NoMeansNo. Let us

call, and it wasn’t exactly private, but it know yours via electronic mail at the ’90s turned out to be the decade
was the craziest thing the neighborhood MotorTrend@MotorTrend.com. where several automotive features met
had ever seen. Fast-forward to the age of their demise. True, there were some great
the beeper, the ’90s, and having an actual innovations that are still with us (OBD II,
working cellular in your ride was the xenon headlights, keyless entry/start),
ultimate luxury flex. Was your E38 but just as many proved to be evolu-
7 Series complete without a BMW- tionary dead ends. Here’s a partial list:
branded Autotelefon hardwired inside crank windows, carburetors, hubcaps,
the center armrest? Was your Mercedes power antennas, headlight wipers,
W140 S-Class even worthy of cruising the kick-on brights, quarter windows that
Hamptons without a Motorola StarTAC open, T-tops, automatic seat belts, cloth
inside? Do calls from your Lexus LS 400 bench seats, and pop-up headlamps.
sound as good without the built-in mobile What happened? Safety and
device? The answer to all three is of course aerodynamics, mostly. Bucket seats
no. Sadly, the FCC allowed phone compa- work much better than a bench in a side
nies to switch off their analog services impact, for example. Do we miss any of
15 years ago; as such, none of these old these? With the exception of kick-on
devices will work today. Also, hands-free brights and pop-up lamps, not really.
driving and all that.
SIX COMPACT DISCS

Kids today have no idea just how exciting
seeing “DDD” stamped onto a new CD was
back in the day. That SPARS code meant
the music was digitally recorded, digitally

MOTORTREND I 7.23
REWIND
ong-term tests aren’t new. Putting a vehicle On the following pages, you’ll find two such verdicts
L through its paces over several months had long

been a car magazine staple, but it wasn’t until the
’90s that MotorTrend’s program began to look like
the Garage you know today. The shift began in September
1991, when we began publishing monthly updates on our
covering vehicles in niche segments. The Mazda Miata
of the early ’90s resurrected the open-top roadster. Three
decades later, it soldiers on as one of the few accessible
convertibles left. The Dodge Dakota, introduced in the
late ’80s, sought to offer a just-right blend of everyday
fleet. We aspired to drive real cars the way real people did maneuverability and utility many pickup drivers wanted.
so we could provide useful info on the ownership experi- Unlike the Miata, the Dakota met the end of its road in
ence. We covered maintenance costs, common problem 2011, though Ram is exploring the nameplate’s possible
areas, and vehicle idiosyncrasies. Unlike today, though, return on a new midsize offering. Will it satisfy a fresh
we also relied on you. Each verdict we published in the generation as it did truck owners of the ’90s? We might
’90s included information gleaned from reader surveys. have an answer after a future long-term test.
PHOTOGRAPHY
MT STAFF
VERDICT: 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata

After about 8,000 miles behind difficult to comprehend.” The fun over- purchase. These observations ... coincide
the wheel, we bid farewell to a load begins simply by opening the Miata’s with our own experiences. The MX-5
little roadster we loved. door. It’s a doorway into a bygone period Miata is consistently popular around here
of open-air sports driving effectively lost on Fridays, especially when the lucky
since the discontinuation of the love/hate ragtop designee plans to leave about
BASE PRICE/AS TESTED MG experience, but with a contemporary mid-afternoon with the top open to the
$13,800/$15,799 topspin and refreshing modern reliability. heavens. On a good day, it sets the tone for
($32,700/$37,450 in 2023) The simplicity of a classic sports car was the entire weekend. On a bad day, running
distilled down into an up-to-date brew, through the snick-quick gear changes as
ORIGINAL WORDS Daniel Charles Ross and courtesy of product evangelist Bob you throttle up through the mountain
COVER DATE December 1991 Hall, Mazda deliberately punched all the passes is a certified mood enhancer. You
here are few cars one encounters hot buttons that give Americans fresh win either way.
T in an auto-scribbling career that

leave an indelible first impression,
but the Mazda MX-5 Miata is such an auto-
hope of motoring salvation: Mazda drew
a fascinating design, gave it impressive
yet fuel-efficient performance, and held
The survey agrees with our positive
assessment of the Miata’s sporty
performance credentials. Respondents
mobile. How do we love thee? Let us count a price line that would’ve been difficult to reported excellent or good performance
the ways. Its reliability has been beyond achieve at other companies. opinions to the tune of 98.6 percent, with
reproach even for a high-quality Japanese Not surprisingly, all this forward/back- 90.8 percent reporting an “excellent”
car. And it stands tall and looks good at ward thinking has drawn both praise and handling opinion. The car’s perfect
rest and at speed. The MT long-term Miata enthusiasts. Respondents to our owner’s laden 50/50 percent weight distribution,
has been about as popular around our survey validated many of the Miata’s impressive grip (we’ve seen 0.89 g on
playground as Miss September, and a darn objectives. Styling was the chief reason the skidpad), and linear rack-and-pinion
sight more accessible. 79.9 percent of respondents bought their steering are conspicuous reasons for its
“This car is so much fun on so many cars; 23.5 percent said it was because the balance and control in hard cornering
levels,” we wrote in the ’90 Import Car car is a convertible; others cited price, “for or fast transients. The fully independent
of the Year story (March ’91), “that it’s fun,” and handling as more reasons for double-wishbone suspension contributes

THE ’90S ISSUE
Four of the
top five survey
responses to the
“specific likes”
question were
handling, style,
performance,
and fun to
drive. Biggest
complaint?
About 20
percent cited a
lack of storage
space.
considerable ride quality to this the car is adequately powered at present For our time with the long-term test
short-wheelbase (89.2 inches) sportster, (9.4 seconds in the 0-60-mph event), we car, our experience with the Mazda dealer
too. The car’s brakes are also up to their would eagerly approve of more go-power, service department was favorable. When
task. Our car stopped from 60 mph in too. Over half of survey respondents, we noted to the service people at the 7,500-
only 122 feet—without ABS—because the 56.1 percent, graded the Miata’s comfort mile service stop that the ragtop zipper
Miata’s excellent four-wheel disc brakes level as only good; 31.2 percent reported broke, we were surprised to learn their
are powerful, fade-resistant, and easy comfort as excellent, but 12.6 percent response was to install a brand-new top.
to modulate. In the survey, 96.1 percent graded the two-seater either fair or poor. Owners in the survey field indicate they’re
of the national sample reported their Given the Miata’s willingness to partici- rather less happy with their service
braking opinion as excellent or good. pate in sporty maneuvers, we’d appreciate encounters. The largest percentage of
Somewhat surprisingly, the biggest improved seats ourselves. They lack respondents, 79.5 percent, rated their
demographic bulge in the survey age support over long distances or when the dealer service practices as excellent or
category was in the 40-44-year age road gets fast and curvy, which our roads good, but an alarming 20.5 percent assess
bracket, with the largest number of all tend to do quite often. their service experience as fair or poor.
respondents checking in from MT’s Our long-term test car has had only two This is surprisingly coincident with the
ancestral California home. While the mechanical miscues, which is already too number of folks who reported those
price range for new Miatas covered the strong a characterization of the problems. expensive battery problems.
ground between $13,968 and $22,650, First, we discovered our Miata had a The scores for sales practices at import
the fleet average price was $17,779, about penchant to exhibit a difficult third gear. dealers are normally quite high, but such
what we expected. Almost 60 percent of When the circumstance was brought up was not the case with this category in the
respondents said they were influenced to to a Mazda service department during a Miata owners survey. A combined 62.4
buy a Miata by a report in a car magazine, routine visit, a thorough examination of percent of respondents chose excellent
but 41.4 percent only needed a test drive the complaint brought back no evidence or good as their answer to this important
to be convinced. Styling, an auto show, of any trouble—and a suggestion that question. However, a shocking 37.6
other media reports, and vehicle price we might be rushing the gear change percent of the survey reported their
were all write-ins as buying influences. excessively. Hey, it could happen. Only a dealer’s sales practices are fair or poor.
On the gripe side of the ledger, the miniscule 5 percent of respondents said One naturally suspects these sour grapes
complaint list is small and somewhat they’d also had some kind of transmis- have something to do with the Miata’s
curious: Lack of storage space was cited sion trouble. phenomenal early popularity, which often
as a specific complaint by almost 20 The Owner’s Survey returned one resulted in a sticker surcharge far in excess
percent of respondents, yet the Miata is provocative tidbit: 20 percent of of the suggested retail price.
quite obviously a two-seater with limited respondents reported trouble with the
room for your stuff. It’s certainly true the Miata’s special battery—for which a local 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Miata’s luggage capacity is torturously Detroit dealer quoted an over-the-parts- VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD,
small (only 3.6 cubic feet!), but none of us department-counter replacement cost of 2-pass, 2-door
convertible
objects too much. $126.25. A check with Mazda recovered
ENGINE 1.6L port-injected
Lack of power, inadequate rear no official reason for the relatively high DOHC 16-valve I-4
visibility, and comfort complaints were number of battery-related questions. POWER (SAE NET) 116 hp @ 6,500 rpm
lodged as other specifics in the survey. Fourteen percent of owners reported TORQUE (SAE NET) 100 lb-ft @ 5,500 rpm
Over 17 percent of respondents checked air-conditioning trouble. A few clutch TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual
“more power” on their wish lists for problems were also cited, and [many] CURB WEIGHT 2,182 lb
future Miatas, and though we accept that complained of tape deck problems. WHEELBASE 89.2 in
An almost invisible 6 percent said elec-
LXWXH 155.4 x 65.9 x 48.2 in
trical systems, usually the sharpest thorn
0-60 MPH 9.4 sec
in one’s automotive side, were the source
QUARTER MILE 16.9 sec @ 77.5 mph
of their operating problems. However
small the various dissatisfied stats may
appear, though, they seem to have had no LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.89 g (avg)
big impact on the owner body’s opinion EPA CITY/HWY/COMB 22/28/24 mpg*
FUEL ECON
of quality and workmanship. Almost 100
EPA RANGE, COMB 286 miles
percent reported their opinion in this
critical category as excellent or good. *Using modern EPA correction factors

MT GARAGE I 7.23
94 percent said yes or maybe when asked

if they’d buy another Dakota, but the
more telling statistic is the number who
answered no: a small 6.1 percent.
Some of the beauty of the Dakota lies
in its versatility. The ’92 lineup offered
seven model designations on three wheel-
bases with two bed lengths, plus two- or
four-wheel drive, three engines, and
two transmissions. Chrysler created the
mini-van segment with its T-115, and it did
the same thing for mid-size trucks. Until
the recent debut of the Toyota T100, the
innovative Dodge was the only mid-size
pickup. At that, in a spectrum of two, the
Toyota skews toward full-size buyers,
while the Dakota appeals to a buyer of
smaller trucks.
In any case, Dakota is the only pickup
less than full-size to offer a V-8 power-
plant, and folks like its power a great deal.
“I’ve driven through snow up to the head-
lights and never been stuck,” wrote an
insurance man from Minnesota. “Unbe-
lievable acceleration from a stop.” Of the
1992 Dodge Dakota V-8 4x4 98.5 percent who reported their truck’s
acceleration as excellent or good, 93.1
The Dodge Dakota gave V-8 Like the porridge Goldilocks finally found percent said excellent. Chrysler’s 5.2-liter
power to the people, and the to be perfect for her, the MT owner survey (318 cubic inches) Magnum engine has
people were happy to have it. discovered most Dakota V-8 4x4 owners been around for decades, but it’s been
feel their trucks are just right. improved continually, most significantly
They’re driving the pants off them, in ’92 with the institution of multipoint
BASE PRICE/AS TESTED too. The Dakota V-8 4x4 questionnaire fuel injection. The V-8 makes 230 horse-
$15,028/$17,454 returned one of the highest fleet-average power at 4,800 rpm, a ton of go in a small
($32,850/$38,150 in 2023) miles-driven figures in modern survey pickup. The thing is a torque-monster,
history. The fleet has traveled 6,722,701 too, generating 280 pound-feet of grunt at
ORIGINAL WORDS Daniel Charles Ross long miles. “I think this is the best truck 3,200 rpm. Here’s a good demonstration
COVER DATE May 1993 I’ve ever owned or driven,” wrote a man of Magnum V-8 effectiveness from a
hen the Dodge Dakota pickup from New York. “[I like] its overall pickup, retired Michigan teacher, which echoes
W was introduced in the ’87

model year, it seemed a great
answer to a question few people had
handling, and almost no maintenance
except what’s routine. I was a Ford owner
before, and there’s just no comparison. I
many of the outdoorsy comments on
the surveys. “On a recent hunting trip in
Montana, we hauled home two deer, one
asked. It was a mid-size truck, fitting a shopped Ford and Chevy for three years elk, one antelope, all our gear, and even a
niche between the full-size, work-a-day before buying my Dakota—I’m glad I camper top that extends 16 inches above
pickups on one side and downsized, waited.” Surprisingly, 36.3 percent of the the roofline—and we averaged 17.5 mpg
compact pickups often used for personal survey listed the “in-between” Dakota’s size for 2,000 miles at speeds up to 75 mph.”
transportation on the other. It was nice- as the number one reason for purchase, Sheesh. Marlin Perkins, you have a call in
looking and all, but that “mid-size” thing? followed by styling (25.9 percent) and V-8 the lobby. Our long-term logbook began
Hair-splitting, right? Not as it turns out. engine availability (24.5 percent). Almost recording similar notes as early as 2,613
miles. “Good strong power; really can haul
up a hill (both literally and figuratively),”
an editor praised.
It wasn’t a shock, therefore, to see that
respondents scored the Dakota V-8 4x4
A sign of the times: highly in the dynamic categories. Over
In 1993, we wrote 93 percent said their truck’s braking was
about the V-8’s
“whopping” 230 excellent or good. Handling brought
horsepower and the same answers to the tune of 94.6
“bone-crushing”
280 lb-ft of torque,
percent. The fun-to-drive capabilities
similar to a modern question brought ratings of excellent or
Ford Maverick with good from 95.8 percent, and 96.8 percent
a turbo-four—but
the Ford gets reported those same responses for overall
double the mpg. performance. Obviously, Dodge is doing

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missing second gear, wrote, “The problem

with the transmission wasn’t as bad as the
attitude of the local dealer. It took eight
months to have a new tranny installed, and
again the truck was delivered faulty.”
Other problems reported by the survey
include radiator trouble, oil leaks (several
want the oil filter repositioned for easier
do-it-yourself access), heater, electrical,
gauge, and overheating woes. Our
logbook noted only a few performance
and ergonomics gripes. “Off-idle engine
response is abrupt, and kickdown is harsh;
lurching throttle response,” was one entry.
Our long-term truck tended to hunt for
gears between third and fourth on hills,
accompanied by an annoying shock. It so
bothered some drivers they turned off the
overdrive on hills. Our intermittent wiper
setting worked and didn’t work as it saw fit,
and the dealer failed to repair it during a
service stop. Several logbook references, as
well as commentary from survey respon-
dents, decried the awkward positioning of
window and door-lock buttons.
The chief appeal of the Dakota V-8 4x4
clearly is its macho go-anywhereness in
a smaller, easy-to-drive package. “I drive
this Dakota 50 miles a day, over rough
something right in the powertrain depart- Though Chrysler build quality has roads, rocks, mud, and snow, from 3,000
ment. An Army pilot from Colorado said, improved by leaps and bounds over recent to 8,000 feet. I have 27,000 miles and
“Good performance above 10,000 feet years, the owner’s survey was adamant the second set of tires on mine,” compli-
with a load in the cargo area.” Here’s a guy that much progress remains to be made. mented an Idaho industrial designer. The
who knows well the benefit of such details. Overall quality and workmanship scores smaller dimensions are just what some
Survey respondents found overall were unexpectedly disappointing, with a are after, according to an Air Force pilot
comfort to their general liking (61.4 comparatively low 87.9 percent reporting in Montana, who wrote of his Club Cab
percent excellent; 32.9 percent good). Our it excellent (48.9 percent) or good (39 model, “More room than a regular cab,
long-term drivers, including several who percent). A full 50.1 percent reported but I’m still able to reach everything.” In
took long trips, liked the front seats quite mechanical trouble, chiefly numerous the search to fill new and smaller niches,
well with only a few grumbles about the transmission problems and trouble with Dodge is nearing the target with a small
abbreviated length of the seat base. Unre- brakes and the four-wheel-drive system. but powerful vehicle that’s almost just
markably, 39.8 percent reported jump-seat Dealers’ sales and service practices took right. Apparently, a mid-size pickup was
comfort in the extended cab models as similar direct hits. A technician from the answer to many unasked questions.
average, fair, or poor. Kentucky, whose transmission kept Size is important. We knew it all along. Q
1992 Dodge Dakota V-8 4x4

The chief appeal of the Dakota V-8 4x4 clearly is
VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-eng, 4WD, 2-6-
its macho go-anywhereness in a smaller package. pass, 2-door truck
ENGINE 5.2L OHV 16-valve V-8
POWER (SAE NET) 230 hp @ 4,800 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET) 280 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm
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CURB WEIGHT 4,101 lb
WHEELBASE 131.0 in
LXWXH 203.2 x 68.4 x 67.7 in
0-60 MPH 8.8 sec
QUARTER MILE 16.7 sec @ 84.5 mph
LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.73 g (avg)
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JULY 2023 / MOTORTREND.COM 81

Angus MacKenzie
The Big Picture
Most of GM’s mainstream ’90s cars
were boring. They didn’t have to be.
I
’ll never forget the 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme In the end, fears arose within Cadillac and Opel
coupe I drove from St. Louis to Du Quoin, Illinois, that the GMX127 would be a demonstrably better
mainly because in many ways it was staggeringly car than the Catera. Additional worries over costs—
forgettable. Without the kitschy cladding added and concerns that sourcing a Buick from a foreign
for the 1992 model year, the GM10-based W-body plant could cause problems in future UAW contract
two-door didn’t look bad, with nice surfaces, decent talks—killed the project.
proportions, and a rear window that seemed to wrap The GMX127 could have been a game changer,
around invisible C-pillars. But the rest of it? Awful. but not as a Buick. GM may have thought otherwise,
The transverse-mounted V-6 driving the front wheels but by the early ’90s buyers of premium rear-drive
wheezed like an old wino reaching for his first pull of sedans such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5
Thunderbird. It didn’t appear to have any shocks, the Series, Lexus GS, and Infiniti J30 simply wouldn’t
hood rising and falling like a freighter’s bow in a North consider a car from a brand they believed built soft and
Atlantic storm every time the front wheels hit a bump. squishy sedans for old men in white shoes and Sansa-
Steering? Brakes? Fortunately, Illinois didn’t have many belt pants. However, the GMX127 would have worked as
corners. The deep red interior was a petrochemical a Chevy. A Chevy Impala, to be precise.
mélange of plastic and velour and looked like Elvira’s Commodores in Australia were offered with GM’s
living room. Toxic-green numbers glowed from a rudi- punchy 3.8-liter supercharged V-6 or Gen III 5.7-liter
mentary digital dash. V-8, so those engines would have been readily available
It was a car without a soul, that Oldsmobile—a car for an improved Impala. And an Impala sedan with
that had no reason for being. It merely … existed. The rear drive and a rumbling V-8 under the hood would
Cutlass Supreme coupe was, like far too many main- have provided the missing link between mainstream
stream American cars in the early 1990s, an appliance Chevys and the Corvette—it would have been a car GM
with delusions of adequacy. Following the finned marketers still struggle today to find. What’s more,
flamboyance of the ’50s and the rambunctious rumble the Commodore platform, stretched 5.9 inches for
of the ’60s, the automotive zeitgeist of early ’90s Detroit Holden’s luxury model, could have underpinned an
seemed, with a few exceptions, unremittingly dull. upgraded Caprice. A short-wheelbase version could
If only the GMX127 had happened. The have replaced the ancient F-Body Camaro.
GMX127 was a secret General Motors plan to Bob Lutz would try a similar strategy
build a rear-drive Buick sedan based on the between Holden and Pontiac after he became
Holden Commodore the company’s Australian GM’s product development chief in 2001. But GM scrapped the
Buick XP2000
subsidiary had been developing for launch in GM could have got there with Chevy in the concept shortly
1997. The GMX127 would be manufactured 1990s, and, given the Bow Tie brand’s greater after its debut,
but it could have
in Australia and shipped to the U.S. It would bandwidth, made it work. The GMX127 was a been just what
have independent suspension and disc brakes massive missed opportunity. Chevy needed.
all around, and it would be powered by GM’s
3.8-liter V-6 driving through a four-speed
automatic transmission. The Buick XP2000 concept
car revealed at the 1995 North American International
Auto Show in Detroit gave a strong hint as to what the
production GMX127 would have looked like.
Indeed, the GMX127 was a completely different
car to the Cadillac Catera. The Catera was based on
the GM2800 Opel Omega sedan, with few cosmetic
or mechanical changes. The VT Commodore was
originally planned as a GM2800-based car but was
widened 2.3 inches to increase interior room, and it
rolled on a wider track. Because Australian roads were
so demanding and Australians still liked V-8 engines,
the body structure and suspension were stronger. The
GMX127 Buick would thus have been a bigger, more
robust, more powerful car than the Catera, and it would
have been visually differentiated from its donor car.
WHEN I RIDE,
EVEN the FAMILIAR
SEEMS STRANGE and GLORIOUS.
The air has weight.
AS I PUSH THROUGH IT,
ITS TOUCH
is as INTIMATE as WATER
TO A SWIMMER. from Season of the Bike
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Intake The ’90s Issue

• MotorTrend Car of the

1990 › 1991 › 1992 › 1993 › 1994 ›

America, Inc. Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • Sony PlayStation and

O.J. SIMPSON AND

• MotorTrend Car of the

1995 › 1996 › 1997 › 1998 › 1999

Outcome: We Weren’t Wrong,

“T he historian,” wrote Frederich Von

Outcome: We Were Right

ignore our man Nerad: Three and a half

publications) confidently predicted it

Outcome: We Were Wrong

1992: We’ll Buy EVs Because They

FORD TAURUS SHO

lightweight laminated balsa floor panels.

T automotive dark age full of unsatis-

world-beating handling that helped it

1992–1999 Chevrolet Tahoe/

Volkswagen Eurovan, including the

TOYOTA CHASER FORD MUSTANG SVT COBRA

THE EV1: Forget the Trash Talk

GM’s Electric Tech Paved the Way for Today’s Teslas

G flak and gets nowhere near

The T-shaped First by-wire brake

The slot for the EV1’s induction charging

18 MOTORTREND.COM JULY 2023

Monday, June 12 Hampton, GA: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Intake REAR VIEW

JULY 1993 JULY 2013

Your Say ... lope. Be sure to supply a few high-resolution

A Bunch of Comedians Reader on Location of water is an amount, the rate of flow

I did read The Da Vinci Code, and I’m quite

24 MOTORTREND.COM JULY 2023

GENERAL MOTORS CERV III

Shortly after becoming Mercedes-Benz’s

JULY 2023 MOTORTREND.COM 27

Rolls-Royce Phantom THE JAGUAR XJ220 WAS AMONG

28 MOTORTREND.COM JULY 2023

The ’90s saw the launch of the Toyota

JULY 2023 MOTORTREND.COM 29

1993 FORD MUSTANG COBRA 1996 FORD MUSTANG GT CONVERTIBLE

P to the Mustang story than the