You Auto Know |
"Don't Make Me Stop This Car"by Jim Corbran |
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How many of you out there ever heard your father or mother utter those words as you made a ruckus in the back seat of the family car? Yeah, so did I. And if you’re near my age, you were probably in the back of a seatbelt-less, relatively large American sedan—probably a Ford, Chevy or Plymouth. That’s just the way it was back then.
Now things are different, though. For one thing, Plymouth has disappeared off the automotive map. For another thing, you, who now are the fathers and mothers, are as likely to be buying a Toyota, Honda or Hyundai as you are a Ford, Chevy or Dodge (standing in for the departed Plymouth). And lately, it’s probably an SUV. I think the higher cost of buying the thing and putting gas in it will cause a slow but steady decline in the sales of trucks and SUVs, and a rise in the sale of cars. Cars like the three featured in this this week’s column: the new-for-2006 Chevy Impala, Ford Fusion and Dodge Charger.
All four-door, five-passenger sedans, these three cars are as different as night and day. And night. The Ford Fusion is the newest of the three, being an all-new name and design. It’s based on the hugely popular Mazda6 (Mazda being partly owned by Ford), but it is the freshest of the three design-wise. A standard 2.3-liter I-4 engine and five-speed manual transmission combine for a 31 mpg EPA rating. A 3.0-liter V-6 with a six-speed automatic transmission is also available.
The Chevy Impala has a much longer history behind it. The name originated in 1958, and has been a mainstay of Chevrolet sales for years. These days it comes only as a four-door sedan, and for 2006 (on the SS) is available with an optional 5.3-liter V-8 engine rated at 303 hp. A 3.5-liter V-6 is the standard engine for other Impalas.
The Charger is also different again. For one thing, it’s rear-wheel-drive—just like the old days. And you can get Chrysler’s famed Hemi V-8 engine on the R/T model. That would be the 5.7-liter, 340-hp engine you’ve heard so much about in the Chrysler 300, combined with a five-speed automatic. Base Chargers come with a 3.5-liter V-6 and the five-speed automatic. The Charger also comes with a history, although it’s a history of two-door, mid-sized sport coupes with a flair for style and performance. DaimlerChrysler may have dropped the ball using the Charger name on a four-door sedan (even if they claim it has “coupe styling”). At least Chevrolet for years used the Impala name on a whole line of coupes, sedans, hardtops and station wagons, so no one batted an eye when this latest reincarnation surfaced a few years ago as only a four-door sedan.
All three of these cars come equipped with features not even offered on your Dad’s old car. Naturally, they all come with gobs of safety equipment like seatbelts, air bags, etc. But did your father’s old Plymouth have a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, an outside temperature display (“How cold is it? Stick your head out the window and find out!”), or power four-wheel disc brakes with ABS? The Charger does. Or how about flip-and-fold rear seats, input jacks for iPod/MP3 (“i-what?”) or OnStar? The Impala does. A 60/40 folding rear seat, am/fm/CD/MP3 player (my Dad’s 1963 Ford didn’t even have a radio!), 16-inch wheels? Right there on the Fusion.
So unless your automotive loyalties run deep, you probably can’t miss with any of these “Dad cars.” Now sit down and be quiet!
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