12 - Friday, January 1, 1993 ~ North Shore News
3 RTO OE RNS RET CT

aseret KN

THs IS the time of the year for many “Car of the Year”
awards, along with other. awards like ‘‘Technology of the
Yeéur,’’ ‘‘Man of the Year’’ and so on.

Without further ado, here’s my.

not-

most original and unusual,

your-average-publication’s

-—--— of the Year’ awards,. -.

The Most Outrageous Car of the
. Year: Dodge Viper ”

Devoid of ‘all. convenience ‘ ‘and |

‘comfort features ‘normally
‘associated with sports cars in this
: price range. (about $50,000), the
Viper stands io be the only '60s
style, no-holds-barred «roadster
guaranteed to .freak ‘your
neighbors.’

If you’re looking for modern-
day items like anti-lock . brakes
and airbags, sorry, you won't find
them, in.. the’ back-to-the- basic
Viper. !

‘However, you will find an.
litre..V10 engine nestled under a
fibre-reinforced plastic body,
ready to screech the tires with 400
horses if you:can-get your hands
on one ‘at all — only. 200 are
destined for the Canadian market.

Survived »& .Worth-the-Wait Car
‘of the Year: Chevzolet Camaro &
Pontiac Firebird. ;

The. new fourth. gencration
‘Camaro and. Firebird have finally
. arrived after 11 years.

The most amazing aspect of this
product is the fact that it-sucvived

e

/ GM's chopping block activities. -
/ The new Camaro-'and Firebird’

were first designed to be front-
wheel drive, then the concept was
changed to a :Tear-wheel-drive
configuration.

The duo came very close to ‘be-

ing.‘‘scrapped"’ by ‘the GM
management a number of tiraes in
the past, and: no’ ane knew
., whether they would ever make it
to the showroom, ~°.

With the standard dual airbags,
‘ABS, and modernized, sleck-look-

ing ‘design to. go along. with all the. :

oo characteristics of a high- perfor-

'LAREDO®. ALL-SEASONS -
ALL: ‘SEASON! LT TRUCK RADIAL |

TIGER PAW'A/S,

‘ALL-SEASON :
STEEL-BELTED RADIAL.”

* Good sraad life ,
Penetration resistance

jcod waction
» Comfortable side”
Good value.

‘el

ASSISAI2

mtr

‘attributes 4

 155/SA12
155SR13
YE5/SR13
465/SR15 .
“475180813 ©
qwsia0R3
“A475/70R13 9
“485/70R13
185/70R14
195/70R14
188/75R14
195/75A14 -
205/75R14
205/75R15
215/75R15
225/75R15 -:
_235/78R15

OVERDRIVE

~ Mance vehicle, the two cars should .
fare well in the competitive mur-'

kets a
The Most
Truck of the Year: Toyots T100,

» The

Politically ’ Sensitive
GM will give e

- Awards sal iite thi MS 7 year’s

vironment, bulletproof quality,
‘and solid feel — from the T100
truck,
Shortest-Life
Year: Asuna

Brand of the

Introduced in the spring of ‘92.

as an-import-inspired brand simi-
lar to the successful Geo name-
plate, the new Asuna name was
exclusive to the Canadian market. .

Asuna borrowed. some. of its
marketing strategies from Infiniti
(teasing ads with “no car photos)
‘and Saturn (no frills, down-to-

‘earth attitude) in an atiempt ta

capture attention in this highly

* competitive entry-level market.
Partly because of Isuzu’s recent

announcement that it will stop

; making cars (but will still produce

trucks) and partly because of the

cost that is necessary in keeping a”

new brand name alive; GM decid-
ed that ‘‘the Asuna brand will be
discontinued completely at the end
of the 1993 model year,’’ accord-

Of marketing for GM of Canada.

/: To compensate. the current
“owners of, the: Asuna . products,
each owner a $500

The: large pickup segment was/ voucher, good for purchasing ser-

the only market not threatened by’

~ the Japanese makes until now...
‘ Since the truck market is one.of
the -hattest -selling segments. und -

therefore one of the most signifi-
cant profit-earning centres for the
Big Three automakers, Toyota’ s

“ ‘entry in this area broug ght, Tiany
reactions, ©) > i

Toyota — perhaps 10 avoid

‘stepping directly on the t toes of the

domestics — has decided to mar-
ket ths wonderfully built truck as
a mid-size, - with’
slightly smalier: than!
GM's full-sized trucks.”
At least for now, the 1100 i is
only available with a:3.0-litre V6,
again avoiding -a direct - Chit eat
domestic V8-equipped models,“
You can expect all the Toyota
comfortable ene

Ford or

" P2asi7s R18".
AND BALANCED

RALLYE® GTS. ,

PERFORMANCE =

‘dimensions.

‘SPECIAL: |
UNIROYAL LAREDO

vice work or products at the Pon-
tiac dealers.

The Comeback Make of the Year:
Audi

~ When Audi “introduced the, new
$000 series n.-1983- a5°"a “198d
model it brok eonew pround in
styling and design. '

With a round), sleek shape and
excellent performance traits, the
5000 series got the ‘thumbs up"’
from many journalists, including
myself,

However, the “well- publicized
“unintended acceleration” was
found to be the fault-of drivers
who stepped on the wrong pedal. '

: Audi lost’ millions of dollars .in
, Sales: because; some. of the people

“ who sued * Audi: were not honest

about ~ theraselves inadvertently

Mepping ‘On| the gas.pedal instead

LT95/75Ai4 $0416 ‘LT216/5R16 111.41
LT21S7BAIS 98.89 LTZI6MENIG 110.95

. LT235/75R5 103.40" LT8.75F16.5 120.87
LT245/75R16 123.16. LTO, BRIG. $ 441.12

¢

” STEEL-BELTED RADIALS

© All-season tread design

© Precise steering response |

a iy, “ fi geri

SIZE

“175170 R13

PIASHORTS

~ pIgs/70R1a
| PIBSITORIS
PISS/7ORI4 ”
 pRosrronis
P2ISH7ORtS
" PR2SI/ORIS .

- P2SSTORI5 °
 POBSAOAIS :*
P2ISMORIA
P235'60R14
P24S'60R14
P23SI80R15
P2ASIGORIS
‘ PASSIBORIS
P2TSIBORIS °°
:_P2ISIBSRI5

ERA YEON NG EIS ONCE RY TRESS CA ve

nning 5 ¢ ars.

oO ANDRA TR RCS

Ah Dodge \iper .

. devoid of all

~ convenience and comfort featur es. 7

of the brake pedal.

The 5000 serics was eventually
renamed as 100 and: 200 series in
1989,

For '93, Audi hus introduced
the all-new «100 models
aren't as innovative looking as the
predecessor,” but nevertheless’ rep-
resent an excellent engineering and
design package that is still some-

what unrecognized by the con--.

sumer.

So although Audi has suffered |

ing to Tom Mason, vice-president.

which

unfairly in the past from this: in

’ cident, its new lineup of 100. and

highly modified 90 series should
bring back the reputation Audi

deserves,
The Most Significant Modet of the

“Year: Chrysler’ s LH sedans, -

! had no problem picking‘ the

- winner for this category...

No other model. this, year ha
received ‘as much attention ‘as th
; as

FAST COLLISION REPAIRS «
FREE COURTESY CARS ©

QUALITY WORKMANSHIP
PRECISION REPAIRS ;

Sy E a RAMEE NCERE SCAN
FREE ESTIMATES & 2448. INFORMATIONS

, CONSULTATION

832.2000" |

985-7455

‘SE4 Goon °
NG V6 ENGIN
ABS BRAKES *~

“XE 4 poor’ '
‘AC V6 ENGINE .
“ABS BRAKES -.

88 of 388

"ALL PRICES:
o/”_INCLUDE FREIGHT!

THEW 39 SSH ALTA

HERE. NOW) oo"

ase 16495. J

~panirdemuce: e
[ 291-7261 i)