overdrive

_IN THE 1970s and 89s, auto- mobiles were biand, stale, and “boring, largely due to many _ uninspired, look-alike designs ‘— most apparent in the fami- ody car segment. “General Motors and Chrysler, “along with other automakers, - ” believed that family cars should look angular, flat, and appliance-like in shape. Both continued to produce such conservative cars as the : Chrysler K-cars, They strongly felt that consumers would not buy a ~ practical four-door sedan that looked futuristic, ‘sporty, and worse of all, curvy and round. tot With the ‘introduction of the smoothly’ sculptured, energetically.” “Styled Ford Taurus and Mercury

able in:1986, however, Ford proved °

that they were: wrong. This was the beginning of a new chapter i in car

: “We shocked our design staff by - asking them to come up with some- : thing that they would actually like to; ® drive,” commented Edward: Hagenlocker, president of Ford " "Automotive Operations. - “lt didn't take long before this -

4Y FRIEND, Chris, asked

“me the other day, most elo- “ quently, “man, what’s the

‘deal with these (infuriating

_ people), who signal right.

’ then'swerve way to the left

“Sand then make a really wide

‘right turn and sort of mean- ~ der into the wrong lane and .

: just generally (make me

Mad). ans

T replied, “gosh, Chris, I really ; “don’t know. Your question, howev- er, certainly merits a spot in the

Signals column in the News!”

_, What is with these people that *...“wind up” for a turn? Technically, “+ one can take a comer at a greater

__ Speed if one elongates the arc, but.

* the practice is mostly effective on

“an indy circuit — kind of pointless

in town where vehicles cross paths

call the time. . .

CAS a simple act of common

‘

designer-driven jelly-bean shape became the most important design change to ever hit the automotive industry. The spherical, soup-shaped design has since become so common that we no longer view this as an innovative shape.

Nine years and three million cars later, Ford is shaking up the automo- tive design ficid once again with the unveiling of its totally revised and redesigned 1996 Ford ‘Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans. According to Ford design executives, their goal was to “create cars that have the same dramatic impact on automotive design as the original.”

The new 1996 Taurus and Sable, which will arrive in our showrooms this fall, aren‘t as radical looking as the original versions back in 1986,

- but they still make a strong state-

ment. Ford has been displaying the two models at various auto shows in both Canada and the U.S,

The new cars boast an elliptical theme all around, from headlights to the body contours, to the handsome interior layout. Both the Taurus and

Sable share design cues with other - Ford products, including the smaller

Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique. The front design of the .

‘Taunus stands out the most, with four:

round lights reminiscent of the Lexus SC400,

The interior is anything but bland, either, The elliptical-shaped dash panel looks as if it came ; straight out of a concept car. It also boasts 2n innovative centre control panel, which neatly integrates the radio and heater controls into one. round pod, with no visible bound- aries between the two sections. The interior was designed to convey quality throughout by incorporating

* soft-touch feel buttons and seamless

interior components — you won't

“eourtesy, most drivers try to

' squeeze over to the right shoulder

before making a right turn. After

“all, most of us slow down before a _ turn and moving over simply gets “us Out of the way of those cars

behind us that want to travel Straight without slowing.

.. This is called “sharing the road” and you are less likely to have a “driver conflict” (as Opposed to the old-fashion, inaccu-' rately named “accident”) if you do it. Likewise, staying to the left part

_ of the lane before a left tum is a way of sharing, too. In either case, |

slowing down and making a sharp- er, controlled turn is more safe, more communicative with other drivers and easier on your car and its tires. Also, if you cared to mea- sure, the distance traveled is less. In the example my friend Chris raised, the driver in front of him signalled one way then moved his vehicle the other. While the signal itself was the irue indication of

where the driver was actually turn- .

ing, he made himself appear as one of those drivers that truly have no

" clue as to where they want ta go. I was surprised that Chris mentioned : " signals at ail; not signalling is usu-

ally the first bad habit on the list of unsafe driving practices, making

sloppy, wide tums comes later.

Anyway, Chris would appreci-

ate it if these drivers would stop

“making him mad.” Be safe.

’ Shaun Conlin is the owner/operator of Upper Levels Driving School. To reach Shaun

for a question or comment, call”

984-8688.

SORT Ge MRD Oa yds Me oe

see a single exposed screw any- where.

Designs aside, the new Taurus and Sable promise to deliver a high level of refinement, comfort, and performance, thanks to a 60% stiffer body, roomier interior, 160,000 km tunc-up V-6 engines, Micronfilter system, and all the usual safety fea- tures,

Is the new pair of sedans too futuristic looking to appeal to main- stream sedan buyers?

Maybe, but that's what some crit-

ics said back in 1986, and Ford ' proved them otherwise. This time around, { don't think anyone is ques- tioning Ford's aggressive approach to car design.

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