G — Friday, January 10, 1992 — North Shore News

=

Check out the fit and finish yourself —

TODAY, CONSUMERS hold high expectations of their
cars. Cars must offer more than basic transportation. They
are expected to be fuel-efficient, comfortable, easy to ser-
vice, and most of all, reliable and trouble-free. Quality, to
many buyers, is probably the most important factor in the
purchasing of a new car. Thanks to sources such as Con-
sumer Reporis and J.D. Power & Associates, consumers
are well aware of the many high-quality cars available to-
day, such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord, and

Buick Le Sabre.

If you could assess a car’s
assembly and body quality right
on the -deafer’s lot, you would
have an advantage over other
buyers. By using some: of the
techniques employed by manufac-
turing and quality control
engineers, the average consumer
can perform simple ‘‘checks’’
which will give them a general feel
for the quality level of the car’s
body and fit-and-fisish. The
technique described here is not
meant to be a complete inspec-
tion, but it will give you a betzer
idea of what to look for when
checking the car’s quality.

Let’s concentrate on the exterior
of the car first, since this is the
“barometer”? of a car’s general
body quality. AL! high-quality cars
have body panels that are built
with minimum fluctuations, which
mean consistent dimensions. Any
fluctuations will clearly show up
in the car’s gaps. So look closely

‘at the gaps between the hood and
front fenders, trunk and rear
quarter panels, and between the
doors. Run your finger or hand

David
Chao

OVERDRIVE

mediately feel the difference be-
tween, say, a Toyota Celica, and a
Chevrolet Camaro (Camaro is
handicapped by the old design).
Several of my friends who had no
experience in the auto industry
quickly picked up this technique

44 All high-quality cars have body panels
that are built with minimum fluctuations,
which mean consistent dimensions. 9¥

along the gaps slowly, and see if
you can “‘feel’’ the levelness and
the smoothness. The two surfaces
shouid be flush with each other —
question the quality if one surface
is quite a bit higher than the
other. -

- Also see if the width of the gaps
stay consisterit as you run your
finger from one end to another —
again watch out for cars with gaps
that vary move than. five
millimetres or so. This sounds a
bit tricky, but you’! get the hang
of it as you try it on several dif-
ferent cars. You should im-

Junior ©
jazzercise
is back!

ONCE AGAIN the North Shore
Neighbourhood House is offering
its popular junior jazzercise pro-
gram for seven to 12-year-olds.

Junior jazzercise is similar to
adult jazzercise but with a little
more emphasis on jazz dance
techniques and specific dance
choreography. Participants im-
prove their. flexibility, balance and
coordination’:There are oppor-
tunities in class t6 use props and
costumes to complement junior
jazzercise dance techniques.

Classes meet once each week on
Saturdays beginning Jan. 18 until
March 21. The fee is $28 for 10
lessons or a $3.25 drop-in fee.

Interested participants are asked
to pre-register. For move infor-
mation call 987-8138 or drop by
the North Shore Neighbourhood
House located at 225 East 2nd St.,
North Vancouver.

during one of the auto shows.
Soon, they were all “running”
their fingers on the gaps of every
car! They also found out that
price was not always directly link-
ed to quality.

If the car that you’re viewing
has pinstripes and edges running
along the sides of the car, see if
they stay even as they cross over
the door gaps. A well-built car
has consistent stripes and edges
that do not ‘“‘jump’’ around. The
body panels shculd also be free of
warpage, wrinkles, and bumps,
usually most evident in the door

THE
SUPERSTORE

is pleased to announce the
, appointineni of
VIRGINIA FERGUSON
as sales consultant

ne
" VIRGINIA (GINNY) FERGUSON
‘ THIS WEEK... © soe
"VIRGINIA RECOMMENDS :

Brand new VW CABRIOLET
5 spd. transmissicn, P/S, cruise control,
yellow with black top,
3 year factory warranty
$16,567

"91 VW 2 DOOR SEDAN FOX
Metallic silver with decor package,
4 spd. transmission
"92 ECONOMICAL SOLF DIESEL
4 door, sunroot, PFS, split rear seat
‘$11,822

CAPIVANO VOLKSWAGEN LIB
‘. a) YE .

gap area when seen from an
angle.

Evaluating 2 paint job, unfor-
tunately, is a much more difficult
task, so I won’t get into too rnuch
depth except for two points. First,
compare the paint job and color
between the plastic bumpers (if
the car has color-coordinated
bumpers) and the adjacent hood
or trunk. If the paint quality is
not strictly enforced, the two col-
ors will actually be off from each
other. The difference, by the way,
is much easier to detect under
direct sunlight (you might have to
wait a while for this in Van-
couver!}. Second, rub the paint
lightly with your palm, and see if
you notice any imperfections in
the paint — a good paint job will
feel like a piece of finely polished
furniture with no bumps and dirt.

The basic principle explained so
far can also be applied to the in-
terior of a vehicle. Waich out for
uneven gaps between plastic pieces
on the dash. Various ridges,
curves, and other lines used to ac-
cent the dash should al! line up as
they cross through different pieces
of the dash. Move and feel the
switches — do they feel flimsy?
Do the seats move back and forth
easily? Do the door straps feel
solid when pulled? Excessive rip-
ples in the carpet or vinyl panels
could also mean sloppy workman-
ship. Basically, inspect the interior
as you would when shopping for
plastic toys. Again, the trick is to
take your time looking at different
cars, and you'll get a feel for
what’s considered good in the in-
dustry. ‘

If you ever have a chance to at-

~— ==

tend any of the international auto
shows, in Tokyo or Detroit, for
example, look around and you'll
spot engineers using this tech-
nique. They’il run their fingers
along the tody panels and touch
every part of the car. This tech-
nique is called a “‘static review’’,
simply because the car is ‘‘static’’
(ie. mot moving) while being
analyzed. The static review is only
used to check the fit-and-finish
and body quality of the car, not
the quality of the powertain or

—

¥

ieapenepnpnignnnigely

mechanical parts (engine, suspen-
sion, transmission, etc.). Keep in
mind that an actual static review
is quite a bit more involved than
this, and a real inspection or audit
is even more complicated, utilizing
gauges and instruments.

You may or may not be happy
with your evaluation of cars, but
regardless of the result, you'll be
relieved to know that there are
many cars available today where
the gaps stay straight and the
carpets stay flat.

AProud member q he Northshore [Kingswe Auto Group :

i =

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