"About 300 OEM tests will be performed on Town Car BPS, including crash tests, which will make it one of the most thoroughly tested armored vehicles in the world," said Lauren Schafer, director, Lincoln Special Engineering Operations. "Additionally, we've conducted extensive ballistic testing at independent labs to validate the ballistic performance of our materials."
Despite the armor, the BPS Town Car is designed to appear to be any other Town Car clogging the Hertz lot. Because when you've been targeted (and you have been) anonymity is your only friend. The irony that you're driving a car designed to protect you from assassination that's named after someone who was assassinated is just something with which you'll have to live.
Colorado High, Canyon Deep [optional][Photos 116-0305.SCUP 9A through 9C on disc.]Fullsize trucks are among the best products Detroit builds. Smaller trucks aren't.
At the Detroit auto show, GM showed it's plan to reinvigorate the compact pickup market in the form of the '04 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. The two trucks replace the achingly deficient S10 and Sonoma.
With styling swiped from its big brother, the Silverado, the Colorado is obviously a Chevy truck. The big advance comes in the form of a much stiffer ladder frame, but the suspension itself is straightforward and conventional pickup stuff: A-arms up front and a solid axle in the back on leaf springs. Of course it should have a much more refined suspension, and the inclusion of rack-and-pinion steering should make for more precise directional control.
Power for the new trucks comes from either the new 175hp Vortec 2800 2.8L, DOHC, 16-valve four or the 220hp Vortec 3500 3.5L, DOHC, 20-valve five. Both all-aluminum engines feature variable valve timing and other advanced technologies derived from the Vortec 4200 4.2L straight-six installed in the Trailblazer SUV. The thick output of the 3500 may even help people overlook the fact that no six-cylinder or V-8 will be offered. Both two- and four-wheel-drive models will be offered (of course) with familiar transmission choices.
Three cabs will be offered; Crew cabs get a 60/40 split-folding rear seat capable of accommodating three adults (we'll see), the extended-cab model comes standard with four doors, and the regular-cab model has either a 60/40 bench or bucket seats. Of course the cabs are roomier and far more contemporary in their accoutrement.
Will these new trucks be enough to talk buyers out of the big ones? The new Colorado and Canyon go on sale late this year.
Magnificent Magnum[Photos 116-0305.SCUP 6A through 6C on disc.]The merger between Chrysler and Daimler-Benz is paying off. Coming some time in the next year is a return to rear-wheel drive for Dodge and Chrysler large sedans (think Intrepid and Concorde). Much of the engineering expertise for rear-drive cars is coming from Daimler, which has never stopped building rear-drive cars. Think about it; the last Chrysler rear-drive passenger car was sold in 1989 and the last time the company designed an all-new rear-drive car was, like, 1970. Anyone who was at Chrysler then is probably in the twilight of his or her career now.
Anyhow, at January's Detroit Auto Show, Dodge showed the Magnum SRT-8, a concept car that's rumored to be an only slightly disguised version of a rear-drive sport wagon that will soon enter production. The looks are obviously influenced by Dodge trucks, and we think they're attractive in a muscular American way. More interesting is the chassis underneath that uses A-arms in front, a multilink independent system in the rear, four-wheel disc brakes, and big 20-inch wheels.