Playboy's Automotive Report

This is for serious car lovers. In the first of a series of quarterly insider automotive reports, we'll look under the hood of the auto industry, bringing you up to speed on the latest introductions, the newest developments and the fastest-breaking trends. We'll drive the hottest new cars and tell you what to look for in showrooms packed with new ideas. At no other time in its history has the car business tried so hard to be on the fast track. On your mark, get set....

The news for 1991 is sexy sports coupes, hot sedans, spirited roadsters and even souped-up four-wheelers. The challenge is choosing among the 700-plus models in America's showrooms. This array of machines—coupled with a shrinking number of buyers—has created a nightmare for car makers. You've seen the newspaper ads packed with discount and rebate offers. Television spots echo the bargain-basement theme. As unsold cars moldered on dealers' lots this year, frantic manufacturers spent billions on desperate price-off promotions.

But while the majority of new car models languished, several, including Mazda's Miata, Toyota's MR2 and Nissan's 300ZX, sold well. Another winner was the ever-improving Honda Accord, which edged out Ford's Taurus as the best-selling car in America. Since many Accords are built in Honda's Marysville, Ohio, plant, largely out of domestic components, the 1990 Accord should put to rest the myth that Americans can't build terrific cars. Honda has even begun exporting Accord coupes back to Japan—and expects to ship U.S.-built cars to Europe soon.

Despite tax-law changes that made leasing luxury cars less desirable, business boomed at the high end of the market. The all-new Lincoln Town Car, the Lexus LS 400 sedan and the Mercedes-Benz 300SL/500SL roadsters sold well. Lincoln's progress was predictable: While Cadillac's management focused on reviving the Wurlitzerlike qualities that made Caddy famous in the Fifties—longer, lower, wider and plusher—canny Lincoln tore a page out of the Mercedes and BMW textbooks and built a more sophisticated Continental, along with an aerodynamic Town Car that neatly combines American and European styling.

Essentially, Lincoln took a look at the market place and found a way to appeal to younger Americans who want to root for the home team but still demand a state-of-the-art ride, contemporary good looks and top quality at a fair price. In the process, it has edged ahead of Cadillac. Cadillac has a V8-powered rear-wheel-drive Eurosedan in the works, but it's years away. G.M. waited too long once again; we say Lincoln will set the luxury pace for American cars in the Nineties.

Everyone knows that red-hot sellers play to packed showrooms. So all a car company has to do to reverse stalled sales is bring out a best seller, right? Unfortunately, brand-new cars aren't designed overnight. The process takes about four to five years from drawing board to dealership; many top name plates have gone six to eight years between model revisions. That's now changing. Goaded by innovative Japanese competitors, American and European car makers are accelerating their development timetables. And just like record companies, they're all dying for a hit. Here are some potential chart busters for 1991 (and 1992).

Hot Newcomers

Chrysler's low, mean-looking V10 Viper roadster resembles a Ford Cobra on steroids. Look for it in early 1992. Meanwhile, Chrysler now owns Lamborghini. The Lamborghini Countach's successor, the racy new 200-mile-per-hour Diablo, will take pressure off Lee Iacocca's slow-selling K-car fleet—suggesting that the flashy Italian supercar's halo rubs off on everything you can buy from the Dodge boys.

Ford has dipped down under to its Australian subsidiary for the Mercury Capri—a Miata fighter largely based on Mazda's 323 mechanicals (just like the MX-5). While it's not as hard-edged a sports car as the Miata, the Capri's a delightful topless ride for a sunny day. With their German-built Mercury Merkurs and Scorpios discontinued due to anemic sales, embattled Lincoln-Mercury dealers are betting that the Aussie roadster will please younger buyers.

Chevrolet's Corvette went upmarket in 1984 with a fresh body design and a stand-back price tag. For 1991, a four-cam, 375-basic-horsepower V8 designed by Lotus and built by Mercury Marine continues to be Chevy's prime showroom attraction. For a while, demand for the muscular ZR-1 even sent the car's price roaring past its original $58,995 sticker. Still, at less than half the cost of a new Ferrari 348ts, the ZR-1 offers world-class performance in a model that's destined to become a collectible.

BMW's new 850i luxury sports coupe is a high-tech Wundercar with a silky V12 engine, great handling—thanks to a new multilink integral rear axle—a six-speed gearbox and even a built-in cellular phone. Priced about $75,000, the 155-mph 850i may be the last word in grand-touring luxury for two adults (and two rear-seat Munchkins). BMW is importing only 1000 850i's for 1991—and they're all presold.

By the time you read this, the Lotus Elan front-wheel-drive roadster should be on the road. Its turbocharged, twincam Isuzu motor and sophisticated handling package earned rave reviews in the British automotive press. It should be priced at about $38,000. Another Isuzu-powered product is—guess what?—Isuzu's newest Impulse, with Lotus-tuned suspension and basically the same motor that's in the Elan. Priced at a reasonable $12,000 or so, the Impulse XS sports coupe is an interesting sleeper in the hotly contested small-car market.

Acura's engineers have created a dazzler—the mid-engined NSX. A slick-looking machine powered by a three-liter, 270-bhp V6 with variable valve timing, it handles beautifully. Look for Lexus to follow with a 185-mph, 40-valve, V8-powered sports coupe, probably in mid-1992.

The Chrysler/Mitsubishi partnership that (continued on page 161)Automotive Report(continued from page 99) produced the Eclipse, Laser and Talon coupes hasn't been idle. Its latest effort is a 160-mph, twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steering challenge to the 300ZX. Dodge's version is named the Stealth; Mitsubishi's has a tamer name—the 3000GT—and slightly more exotic styling. Both models are well engineered, very quick and great buys at just over $30,000 each.

Infiniti is betting heavily on its G20, a pint-sized four-door version of the Q45 with front-wheel drive and a two-liter, twin-cam four-cylinder engine. Priced at just under $20,000, the G20 will appeal to sports-sedan fans, but it's being challenged by Nissan's own Maxima and the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. The latter features optional all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, similar to what the 3000GT offers. Finally, Nissan will capitalize on the four-door Maxima's popularity with a coupe version early next year—intensifying its in-house rivalry with Infiniti.

The Future of American cars

With import wheels tallying more than half of all auto sales in progressive California, it's time to ask the question Are American cars passé? Far from it. Buick has shown signs of progress with its Park Avenue Ultra and Regal—especially in Gran Touring trim. Pontiac is taking its "We build excitement" slogan seriously with a more powerful V6, plus enticing sneak previews of next-generation Firebirds. And although Chevrolet's Caprice successor is a bust (it looks like a Sixties throwback), don't count out the G.M. division that created the ZR-1.

The jury is still out on the Saturn. General Motors took a long time developing it, placing heavy emphasis on a new manufacturing process—early prototypes emphasized quality control, with few advanced styling or mechanical innovations. In today's market, however, it's not enough to be as good as the Japanese and European competition. You have to be better. If it succeeds, the Saturn project may signal a turnaround for the domestic auto industry.

At Chrysler, Iacocca's tough public stance on his Japanese rivals diverts attention from the real issue: competitiveness. While Chrysler was dabbling in aerospace and Iacocca was saving the Statue of Liberty, they took their eyes off the ball. Their extracurricular activities delayed research-and-development efforts that could have produced better products sooner. Truly new Chrysler platforms won't arrive until the 1992 model year.

Even Chrysler/Plymouth's popular minivans are being challenged by Toyota's Previa and Mazda's MPV. (We've just driven Dodge and Plymouth 1991 minivans. Although the styling changes are subtle, the numerous interior and chassis refinements will guarantee that Chrysler will keep its leadership position in this market.) And despite more horsepower and smart new trim packages, the Jeep Cherokee is under attack from Ford's capable new Explorer and Nissan's four-door Pathfinder. Now the good news: The Dodge Spirit R/T sports sedan boasts a new performance suspension that contains a twin-cam, high-revving four-cylinder engine. Not content with that bit of hot-rodding, Chrysler has also revived the Jeep Renegade and dropped a potent 180-bhp fuel-injected six-cylinder engine into it, while rounding off its corners with a snappy plastic fender package.

Ford is now the savviest American car maker. Its quiet partnership with Mazda (responsible for the Probe and the redesigned Escort) is a model marriage, ensuring that Ford's small cars of the future will be world-class competitors. And Ford's purchase of Jaguar brings some new efficiency to that classy marque: Although the long-awaited Jaguar F-Type sports car has been canceled, plans for a redesigned XJ-S coupe and a new midsized sedan to challenge BMW's 5 Series point to progress. Jaguar gives Ford the respected heritage it needs to challenge the top luxury marques.

Attack of the Japanese luxury cars

Despite price cutting by BMW and Jaguar, Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti have stolen some of the established European luxury makes' thunder. Lexus' advertising showed the car. Infiniti's famous "rocks and trees" campaign drew attention at first but soon got annoying—evidenced by the fact that the Lexus LS 400 currently outsells the Q45 three to one. Compounding Infiniti's problem, its entry-level car was the rather dated M30 coupe. Lexus presented a more practical choice in the ES 250, a four-door sedan based on the Camry. But don't give up on Nissan's designers. They're serious players with deep pockets, and they're in the game for keeps.

What's next from Acura besides the aforementioned NSX? Spy photos have captured a Mercedes 300-like Legend II coupe—probably with a V10 engine—on the test track. Any time Acura's engineers want more power in the Integra, they can unveil a sizzling 160-bhp motor with variable valve timing that has been waiting in the wings.

Mazda has a V8-powered BMW 5 Series type of luxury sedan ready to go but can't seem to decide whether to sell it in Mazda showrooms or to spring another new name plate on an already model-weary public. They'll probably compromise with new showrooms next to existing Mazda dealers. Meanwhile, the Miata is now available with an automatic transmission. Look for a turbocharged version soon—to battle Mercury's powerful Capri convertible.

Mitsubishi has launched its Diamante sports luxury sedan in Japan. Taking a cue from the oft-imitated BMW, the mid-sized Diamante V6 features in its most expensive configuration all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and other high-tech features including a satellite navigation system. U.S. availability will be next spring, probably with a Sigma label.

The Germans are coming—again

In the face of all these innovations from the Far East, German engineers remain confident that they can out-tech the Japanese, but they may be underestimating Japan's reaction time. Perhaps more important, there's suddenly a slew of brilliant innovations in relatively inexpensive Japanese cars. Fighting back, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have announced lower-priced models: the BMW 318is (about $22,000) and the Benz 190E (about $30,000). Mercedes is emphasizing its 50-year pioneer effort in safety; a company spokesman confidently said it is 20 years ahead of the Japanese. Mercedes is also readying a behemoth six-liter, 400-bhp V12 S-Class sedan it insists will be superior to any luxury car now on the road. And if there's another fuel shortage, Mercedes is ready. Its freshly minted turbodiesels sacrifice little in performance to their gasoline counterparts.

We've recently driven the thundering 500E, a factory hot rod featuring the 500SL's 332-bhp V8 stuffed into a 300 sedan with upgraded suspension. Look for this autobahn burner in 1992.

Porsche sales recovered slightly from the pounding they took over the past three years. Banking on the innovative Tiptronic automatic transmission—probably the best sports automatic ever designed—Porsche has increased its prices three to four percent and brought back the wickedly fast 911 Turbo. From the 944S2 coupe at $43,350 to the 911 Turbo at $95,000, Porsches remain playthings for the wealthy.

Priced about $17,900, Volkswagen's supercharged pocket-rocket Corrado is an interesting option in the hotly contested bargain-GT market and so is its Passat sedan. The speedy Corrado has a stubby boy-racer look we like. The Passat is surprisingly roomy yet nimble for a sedan its size.

Those other Europeans

A few rusty 124s and X/19s are all that remain of the once-powerful Fiat presence in America. Fiat builds popular low-priced cars in Europe. Can it make a comeback here? Consider its success with Ferrari. Now almost completely owned by Fiat, the blood-red machines from Maranello are shining examples of how the Italians can make a car right. For 1991, the squat but incredibly fast V8-powered 348ts is even quicker than its big brother, the Testarossa V12. But don't rush out to buy one. The waiting lists at Ferrari dealers stretch into 1992. Those same dealers won't even quote a current price over the phone. If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

Fiat also owns Alfa-Romeo. While secretly making overtures to buy Chrysler, it organized a joint venture with carefully selected Chrysler dealers to distribute Alfa's stylish front-wheel-drive 164 sports sedan here. Based on a platform similar to Saab's speedy 9000 Turbo, the 164 boasts terrific handling, a high-revving Alfa V6, a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission and a head-turning Pininfarina-styled body. If Alfa succeeds, look for more Fiats to follow.

France, like Italy, has made a major impact in the fashion industry, but French auto makers have failed to establish an automotive presence in America—perhaps because French styling and quality suffer by comparison to other European makes. That's no longer true. Enthusiasts who drive the snappy Peugeot 405 Mi 16 sedan and its fun-yet-functional companion, the 405 S Sportswagon, won't be disappointed. Both are sporty and fast.

Saab's 9000CD notchback has a feisty new 150-bhp 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine—smoothed with balance shafts—that gives the car a six-cylinder kick. Saab's most powerful model, the 9000 Turbo, is still available as a four-door hatchback.

Maserati's on-again, off-again marketing has left potential U.S. customers confused, and that's too bad. Its V6 Zagato Spyder roadster is a topless treat with surprising handling and speed. For 1991, Maserati promises a coupe called Shamal powered by a multivalve, twin-turbo V8.

Whatever the make or model, 1991 looks to be a banner year for car lovers. One sweet new set of wheels follows another, and many offer tempting prices. Grab your driving gloves—the bank's open late tonight.

Lamborghini's raging bull of a machine, the 12-cylinder, mid-engine Diablo, hits 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, tops out at over 200 and has a devil of a price—about $200,000.