Utilize A Sporty New AcuraDilemma. There's a rave or a cactus convention or a midnight revival in your hometown, and you desperately want to go. Six of your friends also want to go, and boy, wouldn't it be super if you could all go together? Wouldn't it? You could sing "99 Bottles of Tequiza on the Wall" on the way there and then play "I Spy" on the way home, all without the need of those Motorola walkie-talkie things. But nobody in your clique of friends has a car bigger than an Integra. Ugh. What's an Acura lover to do?
What do you do? You buy an MDX (or make your parents buy one and then borrow it). It's the latest from Acura, and it's an SUV. Can you believe it? An SUV. From Acura. It's luxurious.
Acura decided that the time had come to redefine the luxury sport/utility vehicle to include a versatile passenger compartment, sport-sedan-like handling, ultra-low emissions, and class-leading fuel economy. To fulfill that goal, the engineers at the Big A created an interior space that can change configurations as often as Tech Editor Jonny Wong changes his socks. Going snowboarding with friends this weekend? No prob. Just drop some seats down and load up the MDX. You and your honey having a romantic mountain bike ride? Easy peasy. Just put down the very rear seats, lock the bikes down on the fork mounts in the MDX, and you're on your way to couples bliss. Or allay the fears of those six space-challenged friends by piling them all comfortably into your beautiful new party mobile.
The MDX also sports a newly designed four-wheel-drive system called Variable Torque Management-4WD, or VTM-4 for short. The fully automatic four-wheel-drive system transfers engine torque from front to rear during acceleration-before scary wheel slip occurs.
The newest member of the Acura family will be available this fall as a 2001 model and will put a mid-to-high $30,000 strain on your credit limit-not bad for such a big performance machine. The only question left is how soon the aftermarket will jump to the task of Super Streeting it.
Toyota Puts Comedians On The RoadWith the wind whipping through their hair and their wisecracks streaming on www.isthistoyota.com, two men made the first-ever Webventure across the U.S. in a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder. Comedian twin brothers Randy and Jason Sklar (you probably saw them on their show on MTV, Apartment 2F) were chosen to drive the brand-new crazy-yellow MR2 Spyder on a cross-country trip from The Comedy Store in Los Angeles to Caroline's on Broadway in New York City, via the "smile" route (think South United States), all the while broadcasting live via the Web cam installed in the Spyder especially for this trip. Jason and Randy performed at comedy clubs along the route, as well. All the footage from the kick-off party, on-the-road commentary from the guys, and the grand finale at Caroline's can be found at www.isthistoyota.com. Watch as Randy and Jason test the convertible top's sealing capabilities at a car wash somewhere in Texas. Giggle as they enjoy saying "hot wax" over and over. It's all there for you at www.isthistoyota.com.
Steph Breaks Into The 8sOn May 14, Stephan Papadakis kissed the 9s goodbye as he made two consecutive 8-second passes at the IDRC event in Maple Grove, Pennsylvania. After hitting a world record of 8.93 at 164 mph, he went on to back it up with an 8.98 at 166 mph on his way to winning the Outlaw class at the event. "I knew it was going to happen this year," Steph said right after the race. "This weekend everything just came together. I knew [the first pass] was a good run, but not an eight."
This makes Steph the first man ever to drive a front-wheel-drive car to an 8-second quarter-mile, a monumental achievement that extends beyond our industry. What's more exciting, Steph believes there's more to come. "I know there's still more left in the car. I know I can still go faster," he said. "Each pass, I pick up mistakes, places where I can improve upon. And I picked up a couple of places during [the 8-second passes]." Mistakes in an 8-second pass? We can't even begin to comprehend.