OVERDRIVE FOLLOWING THE footsteps of Lexus, Infinity, and Acura, Mazda was sup- posed to introduce its own luxury franchise over the next couple of years. The proposed Ainati division was to market two luxury sedans in its first year — a mid-sized V6 sedan, and a high-profile Vi2 model capable with competing head to head with Europe’s best. Mazda, however, shocked the auto industry a year ago when it announced the Amati plan has beed shelved permanently. Mazda cited the worldwide recession, in- creased competition, and company budget restraints as a part of the reasons forthe cancellation. Naturaliy, car enthusiasts like myself were disappointed with the news. Just last month, however, Maz- da announced that an all-new touring sedan — developed origi- nally for the Amati line — will be introduced to the Canadian Mar- ket by next spring as a '95 model. To be called the Millenia, the V6-powered mid-sized sedan will arrive with a host of technically advanced features, ready to steal some customers away from In-. finity’s J30, Luxus’ ES300, and Acura’s Vigor models. So while we may never see the V12 flagship model in the showroom, we will have a chance to see the mid-level ex-Amati V6 sedan after all. The new Mazda Millenia was first shown to the public at the Frankfurt International Show in mid-September. Before its debut there, some automotive journalists — in- cluding myself -- had an oppor- tunity to view the gorgeous car at Mazda’s $994 Car Preview in Vancouver, “We are very enthusiastic about this new model and expect it to become a leader in its class,’’ said V.G. Hirst, a senior vice-president and general manager of Mazda Canada. With a Jaguar-like grille set up front, smoothly contoured body lines, and elegant interior ap- pointments, the new Millenia is one of the best-looking luxury sedans to come out of the fand of the rising sun. From just about all angles, the Millenia has a strong family resemblance, not surprisingly, to Mazda’s own 626 Cronos and 929 Serenia sedans. The Mazda designers created a classy — if not original — style by integrating the Jaguarish grille neatly at the front and combining a pair of tri-colored taillights with the high deck lid at the back. The inside was more innovative in style than the outside. The instrument and controls were clustered around ina business-like fashion, with some switches resembling the look of OTIVE ilienia launch set for next spring Mazda to introduce touring sedan originally developed for Amati line Photo submitted THE NEW Mazda Millenia was first shown to the public at the Frankfurt Internaticna! Show in mid-September of this year. high-end hi-fi stereo controls. Neat, elegant and expensive were three words I muttered to myself as I slipped behind the wheel. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to drive the car, so I won’t be able to comment on its driving characteristics. Out of the two 24-valve V6 engines that will be available in the Millenia, one of them is rumored to be Mazda's unique Miller-cycle engine, which operates differently from a con- ventional engine. The Miller-cycle engine is said to pump out 14 times more tor- que than a normal gasoline engine of the same size, Moreover, it is supposed to sip 10-15% fess gasoline when com- pared to an engine producing a similar power output. That’s quite a claim, The Miller engine is based on the basic principle that when a jarge volume of air is pushed into the combustion chamber —- without increasing the engine size — the level of torque goes up. The large amount of air, by the way, is pushed into the chamber area by means of a Lysholm Compressor, developed jointly with Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. of Japan. The Miller cycle achieves a high efficiency and torque by adjusting the intake valves during the com- parison stage. Mazda officials won’t confirm the fact that che new Millenia will be the first production vehicle to use this technology, but based on various industry sources I will bet my last dollar that the Muller- eycle engine will debut in the Millenia. I don’t think the uncanny simi- larity between the name Miller and See Precidia page 39 CUSTOM LEASE ALLOWS YOU TO SELECT ANY MAKE OR MODEL OF NEW OR USED VEHICLE CUSTOM LEASE ALLOWS YOU, THE CUSTOMER, TO CREATE THE LEASE THAT SUITS YOUR NEEDS CUSTOM LEASE JS THE PIONEER JN FULL DISCLOSURE LEASE DOCUMENTATION CUSTOM LEASE HAS NO EARLY SETTLEMENT PENALTIES OR MILEAGE RESTRICTIONS, PERIOD CUSTOM LEASE’S STRAIGHTFORWARD, LOW OVERHEAD APPROACH SAVES YOU MONEY! 5 speed, 4 door, A/C. 5 speed, 4 door, AM/EM cassetie eas AM/FM cassette CUSTOM LEASE PRICE INDEPENDENT SPECIALISTS WORKING FOR YOU 1348 MARINE DR. MON.-THURS, 8AM-7PM FRIDAY SAM-6PM NorTH VANCOUVER SATURDAY 10AM-4PM