Anarchy on Marine THERE’S an old axiom "0" stating that civilization is only two meals away from total anarchy, To paraphrase, traffic is only -one traffic light away from total chaos, Power outages are a rather common occurrence along Marine Drive in North Vancouver, and as cir- cumstance would have it, I was in that area during one recent power failure when all the traffic lights went out (Just like that, I had another Signals’ topic). I noticed many drivers doing their darid- ' €st to create some kind of order despite the sudden lack of Big Brother, Traditionally, intelligent drivers revert to the four-way-stop method when contro! sig- nals are absent. That is, first come, first go, take turns,” °° ot Keeping in mind that there is no law gov- ‘ erning this safe’ driving practice, inost drivers on this day began to rely upon common cour- tesy and common sense and recognized how efficiently things moved along, albeit slowly, by doing so. Technically, the Pemberton/ Marine intersection had been transformed onto a very large “uncontrolled” intersection ‘— covered by the mighty Motor Vehicle Act — in which ‘case the car on the right is sup- pose to proceed first. Since everybody had a vehicle to their right, that law was out the window and ‘courtesy reigned supreme. , Almost: fe er ___,It seems that some drivers simply could not Wait their tum and, throwing caution to the wind and fingers at fellow drivers, hastily raced through the intersection stopping half-an-inch ‘short of the bumper in front of them thus .. "MERCEDES BENZ OWNE if insuring that there was absolute- ly no way, no how anybody was going to get in front of them, These are the same drivers that race up to red fights so they can be first in line for that great race to the next red light. These too are the same drivers that pick the lane with the least amount of cars in it, regardless of which lane is moving faster, Unfortunately, these too are the drivers with an infectious bad attitude —- they pro- mote the “he didn’t wait, why should 12” mentality, Between those unfunny jokers and the drivers completely oblivious to the dilem- ma at hand, I began to understand the thought process behind freeway shootings in Los Angeles. Chalk one up for gun contra! laws. Problems were compounded by the fact that Marine Drive consists of six lanes at Pemberton, three lanes in each direction, two reserved for left turns. Most vehicles were not arriving at the stop lines at precisely the same time, yet were departing when the car beside them proceed- ed. While this caused frustration it did not cause confusion and it wasn’t illegal. One more thing, Occasionally, for various ° reasons, traffic lights will revert fo simple flashes of one light. Usually, a main street’s signal will flash yellow and a smaller, intersect- . ing strect’s light will flash red. » Quick review, folks: Flashing, yellow means slow down and proceed with caution, Flashing red means STOP, proceed when : clear, I mention this only because I’ve natice some drivers treating this scenario as a four- way-stop situation, which it is not. Pay attention. Be courteous. Pray for an ; cremal power source, - - e safe.” | ee | Eotovassnenessenes havn Conlin signals If you wish'to sel! your vehicle directly to, Mercedes Benz or if you would like a current _., evaluation of your vehicle, please contact the Sales Manager at your convenience. OWN 24 MONTHS’ : per month [24 MONTHS) | Oo fer month . SNe Lease: All payments based on 24'months. Lease total paid Saturn SLI $4,752, $6,936, $8040 Saturn SCt Sports we | Coupe $4,824, $7008, $8112 Saturn SL2 $4,776, $6960, $8040. Taxes extra HO has macho appeal — From page 29 dise brakes, but the biggest difference berween this SHO and the previous model is under the hood. A new 235 horsepower, 3.4-litre V8 engine with dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder replaces the previous 220 horsepower 3.2-litre DOHC, 24 valve V6 engine. This is the first V8 engine ever offered iti a Taurus, The V8 engine is mated to a standard four-speed auto- matic transmission, but unfor- tunately, a manual transmis- sion is not available. Ford says more than 80% of SHO buy- ers order automatic transmis- sions, so they can’t jusufy the cost of providing a manual transmission. Personally, I can’t under- stand why someone would buy a performance car with an automatic transmission — but I can’t argue with statistics, can }? In addition to the new V8 powertrain, there are subtle differences in styling between the regular Taurus sedan and the SHO. The leading edge of the SHO front bumper is ~ lower, the oval air intake is larger, and the lower grille is mors horizontal. At the rear, there is an add-on spoiler and lower ‘ground effects’ body- work, and along the lower bodysides, there is some addi- tional cladding. And of course, there are er ea mo / pee those beefy P225/55VR-16 inch V-rated Goodyear Eagle performance radials mounted on chunky five-spoke alloy wheels, seats with extra lateral suppurt keep the driver in place, Like many front-wheel- drive performance cars, there is some torque steer caused by, Still, the overall look of the - so much power going SHO is subtle, and it would be very easy for someone to bring this car home and say, “Look honey, I bought a nice family sedan,” and get away with it, My test-drive of the SHO confirmed that this car has a dual personality. Driven sedately around town it has impeccable nianners. [t's guict, easy to drive, comfort- able, and except for a slightly stiffer ride than a standard Taurus, you would never know you are driving a perfor- mance sedan, Until you put your foot down, Then the throaty bur- ~ ble of the overhead cam V8 turns into a race-car-like howl and the car rushes forward at a surprising rate of speed. It also stops quicker thanks to the big four-wheel disc brakes with ABS. Lateral grip is con- siderably higher and there is less lean than in a regular Taurus, Standard froni sport service 72. through the steered wheels, and some nose dive when braking due to the nose-heavy weight distribution. . ; Fowever, these things only. happen at the extreme ends of the performance spectrum — situations which mast road- going motorists will never experience. Though the new Taurus ” offers more performance than the previous model, it's nota . Jot more. A quick check of the performance data confirms that both horsepower and torque have increased by seven percent, but curb - weight has increased by about. 90 kilograms (200 Ibs), Demestic four-door com: pentors for the SHO include - the Pontiac Grarid Prix GTP,” Oldsmobile LSS, Chevrolet Lumina with the 3.4-litre DOHC V6 engine, and - Chrysler LHS. However, the ~ SHO is the only one to offera : VS engine. / so “JAYLORMOTIVE TUNE-UP SPECIALISTS ) . B.C.A.A.-A.R.A.- APPROVED — AirCaie - Gov. Certified #50222 ; TUNE-UPS ~ FUEL SYSTEMS - ELECTRICAL rai KING. OUR 38TH YEAR 176 PEMBERTON AVE, 01.VAN. You can't buy a baiter ‘equipped Carnry. Leather, sunroof, alloy wheels, you name it. Was ‘35,573 Now *30, G38 1 '962TOYO. The: Hagsh ip ob Supercharged .. engine, dual airconditionin, dual airbags, all power . convenience — ‘|featurea. Q Pier eum rn, ag Leather interior, sunroof, every power & comfort opiion available. ; | Was ‘42,378 Now °@ | Your hest pri "+ CONSULTATION GVES-7F455: