Truck manufacturers, suppliers
meet at Vancouver trade show

From page 31

trucks such as the GMC Yukon
and Mercury Villager, the main
emphasis was on the workhorse of
the trucking industry — the 18-
wheeler semi-trailers.

Sure, most of us may never
drive one of these in our lifetime,
but ic was still interesting to see
and sit in one of these fully-
equipped heavy-duty trucks.

“Did you know that many of
these loaded trucks — which can
cost upwards of $100,000 or more
— have nice, expensive-looking
woodgrains and velour or leather
seats? They also come equipped
with excellent stereo systems, and
some even boast TVs!

1 didn’t even know that you can
eauip these trucks with optional
bunk beds. It’s not exactly
a hotel suite back there, but the
“moving bedroom’’ looked cozy
and comfortable, ready to pamper
the exhausted driver.

I was reminded how different
these trucks really are when I saw
the instrumentations — the sheer
number of secondary gauges make
them. look more like a plane than
a vehicle. With a rear axle load
capacity of 30,000 kilograms or
more, 18-speed transmissions, and
heavy-duty powertrains pumping
out more horsepower than Cor-
etles, these trucks are certainly
not your average  park-it-in-
your-garage trucks.

Passat Turbo
most powerful
of VW diesels

From page 33

However, the Passat Turbo
Diesel will cruise comfortably and
qutietiy at 100 km/h and is capable
of reaching a maximum speed of
165 km/h, something that can't be
said for most diesel cars.

In addition, the Passat’s diesel

engine has an advantage in offer-
ing more power at low engine
speeds (100 Ibs-ft at 2,400 rpm
for the four-cylinder diesel
engines versus 133 Ihs-ft at 4,200
tpm for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder
gasoline engine versus 177 Ibs-ft
at 4,200 rpm for the 2.8-litre gas-
oline V6).
. That means the Passat Diesel
will cruise all day in fifth gear on
the highway with little need to
change down to a lower gear when
going up a grade. It also means
the car will tootle around town in
third or fourth gear, and the
transmission can be changed up
from gear to gear sooner than
with gasoline engines.

Volkswagen has also managed
to soften the engine’s familiar rat-
tling sound. At idle and while
cruising on the highway, the 1.9-
litre engine is comfortably quiet.

It is only above 4,000 rpm that
the engine makes lots of noise and
emits a dark plume. of smoke
from the exhaust pipe.

However, it’s quite possible to
drive this car without ever going
above 4,000 rpin.

At the moment, more than 30%
of al! VW Golfs and Jettas sold in
Canada have diesel engines, and
Volkswagen expects 15% to 20%
of all Passats sold to be diesels.

The base price of a 1993 Passat
Turbo Diesel is pegged at $21,350,
exactly the same price as a base
2.0-litre gasoline engined Passat.

The showstopper of the show
was the Showtime, an_ all-out
show truck owned by Cliff Steen
of Alberta, who actually drove
this piece of art to Vancouver.

One look at the Showtime’s
engine, which liberally used
chrome-plated pipes and air-
craft-style braided hoses, was
enough to convince you that Cliff
wasn't joking when he said, ‘‘!
spent a lot of time on it.’”

The Peterbilt-based truck
featured Ferrari-like side scoops,
gold-plated trims, and a_ velvet
covered interior that was ‘‘80%
done by myself,’’ according to
Steen,

To make sure that his wife does
not get bored during long trips in
this truck, Steen also installed a

wt

TV, VCR, refrigerator, 12-disc
CD changer, and a telephone.

So how much does this black
beast cost? ‘ never talk about
the money part,’ says Steen.

Moving down the scale, liter-
ally, 1 also enjoyed looking at | to
25 scale replica. models of the
trucks, sold by Big Rig Replicas
based in Williams Lake, B.C.

Made out of high-quality white
cedar, these handcrafted trucks
were so well made that even small
details like gear shift nobs, mud
flaps, and antennas were not left
out.

The biggest surprise of all,
however, wasn’t the trucks
themselves but the admission
charge — it was free!

Friday, October 23, 1992 ~ North Shore News — 35

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The Passat Turbo Diesel is cer-
tainly the roomiest, quietest, and
most powerful VW diesel car ever
built.

People who do a lot of highway
driving and those who appreciate
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ORTH VANCOUVEH 907-445B>
save on fuel. "

A Proud member of The Northshore Kingsway Auto Group