30 — Friday, August 21, 1992 - North The Salsa sizzles with versatility AFTER SHOPPING around, you’ve decided that your family needs are best met by a practical, econom- ical hatchback coupe. David OVERDRIVE . After owning the coupe for a while, however, you discover that your family-owned business _re- quires a vehiéle with a lot of cargo space — a:need that can’t be met by the hatchback alone. . So you purchase a truck, spend- ing’ an additional $15,000 for a compact two-wheel-drive version, A year later, although you’ re. happy with both vehicles, you’ve ‘ become very fond of convertibles. ’ You start spending a lot of time. looking at used affordable con- vertibles on Sundays. Then when you finally get that raise you were waiting for, you decide to go out ‘and ‘buy the convertible you’ve been keeping an eye on. -OK, so you finally have all . three cars that meet your family, business, and personal needs, but with one problem: you've spent over $40,000 and have to carry three car insurances. ‘There isn’t much you can do TIGER PAW'A/S “ALL-SEASON > STEEL-BELTED RADIAL © Good tread life ~~ Penetration resistance Good traction © Comfortable ride LAREDO? ALLSEASONS - ALLSEASON LT TRUCK RADIAL about this senario today. Within a few years, however, there is a good chance that you can write one cheque, buy one car insurance, and own a car that meets all three needs. That's right, a car that can be an all-weather five-passenger hatchback, a pick-up truck with a load floor of over 1.5 metres, and a sporty convertible with a pillar that acts as a safe roll-bar. Pontiac has been showing this ‘unique, ‘“‘modular’ concept car, called Pontiac Salsa, around the various auto shows this year. The Salsa was conceived and designed at the Southern Califor- nia General Motors Advanced Concepts Centre specifically for the West Coast markets. The con- cept car sizzles with exciting looks, wild fluorescent orange color, and a very trendy, yet roomy, interior. “We wanted a vehicle that would suit the needs of warm- weather customers who want their transportation to provide a number of funétions, and we believe Salsa fits that bill,’’ says John Middlebrook, Pontiac gen- eral manager. Like the popular Transformer | toys, the Salsa can be “transformed”? tc a- variety. of | vehicle styles simply by installing the three distinct exterior roof modules to the basic, core Salsa. In addition, each module has a number of potential spin-offs that are limited only by an individuai’s creativity. ‘‘The core vehicle is not a complete vehicle,’’ Terry Henkine points out. ‘‘It is the springboard from which you build the vehicle of. your choice.” Henline is a director of the GM’s Advanced Concepts Centre, or ACC for short. Unlike some compact hat- chbacks, the multi-purpose Salsa was designed to carry five passen- gers with lots of extra space. ‘ LIKE THE popular Transformer toys, the Salsa can be ‘‘transformed’’ to a variety of vehicle styles simply by installing the three distinct exterior roof maduleg te the basic, core Salsa. : The car has unusually wide tracks, almost 1.8 metres, yet it’s only 4 metres long — resulting in interior space almost as roomy as full-size cars. ‘‘It is so typical of little cars to have the rear seat jammed forward with no head- toom, no room for your knees, and no room for two’ people, let alone three,” comments Henline. “The fact is, Salsa has so much room in its rear seat, you actualiv | stand: up inside the car and walk out of it — much the same way you walk out of a van.” The mechanics of the Salsa are fairly basic. The car is driven by a DOHC, 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine via front wheels with a_ five-speed manual transmission. Independent suspensions, rack-and-pinion power-assisted steecing,. and four-wheel disc brakes make up the rest of the mechanical package. Because the versatility of. the Salsa is its main focus, de- signers decided not to ‘“‘over-daz- See Mechanics page 33 RALLYE® GTS PERFORMANCE STEEL-BELTED RADIALS @ Ali-seascn tread design © Precise steering response » Aggressive perftamance A7SITORIS 185/70R13 195/70R13 185/70R14 495/70R14 20s/70RI4 215/70RI4 225/70R15 215/60R14 235/60R14 245/60R14 235/60R15 245/60R15 265/S0R15 2765/6015 216/65R15 PASSENGER, LIGHT TRUCK, HEAVY GS COUPE 1882 MAZDA MPV. Automatic ° VG, auto, 7 passenger, AM/FM cass 1992 NISSAN PATHFINDER XE © V6, 5 spd., AC cusTOM LEASE PRICE LTZISOSRIG 111.41 LT2ENECRI6 «116.95 LIQVSAIGS 120.57 RTOSORIGS © 141.12 LVIOS7ERIG $90.19 LTQUSTTSRIS 98.60 LYZISITSAIS 193.48 “LTQASTEAIG 122.18 SPECIAL UNIROYAL LAREDO : bass7s Ris Seren ao nent pen encod ases with zero down OAC. Freight & PDI included: Taxes extra. Vehiciss may not be exactly as Hlustrated OPEN MON-FRI. 8am-7pm =Sat. 10am-4pm = Sun. 12 noon-4pm CUSTOM LEASE VEHICLE LEASING SPECIALISTS 1348 MARINE DR., N.V. 988-114 TRUCK INDUSTRIAL,EARTH MOVER, _RETREADING, 24 HOUR EMERGENCY COMMERCIAL SERVICE