March-April 2003
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE ENTHUSIAST’S GUIDE TO LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL VOLUME 2 NUMBER 2 MARCH/APRIL 2003 $5 H2: Tame is a relative term SMA of SCOTTSDALE WINS SEMA GM “Best SUV” Award plus... • Phoenix, LA and Detroit Auto Show Highlights •• HKSHKS Tuner Tuner Comparo:Comparo: Focus/WRX/Eclipse/Tiburon Focus/WRX/Eclipse/Tiburon •• AuctionAuction followup •• “Arizona“Arizona Rider”Rider” MotorcycleMotorcycle OverviewOverview 20032003 •• and more! VEHICLES • EQUIPMENT • SAFETY • PERFORMANCE • MAINTENANCE • MOTORSPORTS • EVENTS • DESTINATIONS • ATTRACTIONS THE ENTHUSIAST’S GUIDE TO LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL Contents MARCH/APRIL 2003 CONCEPTS & INTRODUCTIONS Auto Show Circuit.............................................................5 ABC We attend the Phoenix and Los Angeles International Auto Shows and pass along several highlights perfect for Arizona, along with a few from the Detroit show. VEHICLE IMPRESSIONS Hummer H2 : A Powerful, Usable HMMWV Descendent.........12 Sprouting up in Arizona faster than diamondbacks on a hot August night, the H2 is a sure hit... style, power, utility... and a few lessons in relativity. By Bill & Barbara Schaffer LOCAL MANUFACTURER SMA Hummer ................................................................14 D A Scottsdale firm hits it big with national awards for its modified Hummer H1 and H2 vehicles and accessories. ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS Land Rover Gets Green....................................................15 Land Rovers “Fragile Earth” policy takes on a new dimen- sion as they adopt a high-traction Amur Leopard cub. TRACK TEST HKS Super Tuners...........................................................16 E The Ford Focus, Hyundai Tiburon, Mazda Miata and Subaru WRX are all hot and popular in stock form, but wait’ll you see what HKS has done to these tuner versions. And wait till we get our hands on them. By Dan J. Gardner MOTORSPORTS PIR 2004 NASCAR Tickets ................................................19 F Joining the fun this year gives you a jump on next year. COLLECTING/INVESTING Barrett-Jackson “Six of the Best”.....................................21 Local auction firm selects promising prospects for collectors, based on results of this year’s event. ARIZONARIDER THE ENTHUSIAST’S GUIDE TO LIFE ON TWO WHEELS MOTORCYCLE OVERVIEW 2003 Model Year Hot Picks on 2 Wheels............................22 With an incredible array of choices, we focus on current hot offerings from Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph, Yamaha, and Victory— including a trend toward nakedness. By Jill Amadio CONCEPT: TOMAHAWK Dodge Tomahawk............................................................27 Out of everything at all the auto shows, this four-wheeled two-wheeler gets out vote for the most outrageous concept. DEPARTMENTS CAR SMARTS : QUIZ ...............................................................4 C AUTO INDUSTRY UPDATE ..........................................................8 EVENTS CALENDAR...............................................................20 MOTOR RESOURCES DIRECTORY .................................................11 THE INSIDE TRACK: BRIEFS & RUMORS.........................................28 Scottsdale Air Center: a full service ground support general aviation facility. DESTINATION DIRECTORY........................................................30 FBO amenities include: E B UPCOMING FEATURES............................................................31 8 25,000 sq.ft. terminal comfort 8 72,000 sq.ft. hangar accommodations 8 300,000 sq.ft. flight line concrete D 8 ExxonMobil premier care Avitat flight line service 8 State-of-the-art weather & pilot services 8 Professional management services A 8 Top shelf concierge services at a moment’s notice 8 New & used aircraft sales & marketing services 8 Charter accommodations F 8 Aircraft maintenance 8 Avionics installation & repair COVER PHOTO: SMA, Inc. Stinger/Mac Accessories RIGHT: Photos courtesy of DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, One block west of Hayden between Raintree and Costco • Scottsdale Air Center • 15290 N. 78th Way • Scottsdale AZ 85260 • 480-951-2525 Dan J. Gardner, Barrett-Jackson, and Aprilia. START YOUR ENGINES: FROM THE PUBLISHER AUTO SHOWS : PHOENIX, LOS ANGELES AND DETROIT Auto Show Buzz... ublishing a motor magazine can HUMMER H2: Who hasn’t noticed the MAGAZINE keep a person very busy, which proliferation of Hummer H2 vehicles in We were fortunate enough to attend both the Phoenix and Los means we’ve had a lot of fun and this area! We include an overview of the Angeles International Auto Shows, for an up-front, close and Publisher/Executive Editor: Pdone a lot of work putting this vehicle, and we visit SMA: Stinger/Mac personal look at what’s coming your way. Detroit’s North ....................................................Joe Sage issue together for you. Media credentials Accessories, a local firm making waves American International Auto Show ran at about the same time, Contributing Writers: to the Phoenix and Los Angeles Auto worldwide with their aftermarket acces- and we bring you some of the latest from there, as well. Power ................................................Jill Amadio Shows afforded an opportunity not only sories for the H1 and H2. was a consistent theme, as the number of vehicles presenting ..........................................Dan J. Gardner 400 to 500 hp—and more—was unprecedented. to see the latest vehicles first, but also to .............................Bill & Barbara Schaffer have them presented by some of the IMPORT TUNERS: From the SEMA show Contributing Photographers: loftiest personalities in the business. in Las Vegas, we followed up on an ..........................................Dan J. Gardner 4 Ford & Mercury Pony Up It’s no longer unusual to see a concept invitation to test four hot import tuners .........................................Peter S. Linney vehicle head to production. Chrysler cut from HKS in California. Our correspon- Design & Production ................AdZoneAZ FORD MUSTANG. Ford introduces the next generation Mustang in normal development cycles to a fraction dent Dan J. Gardner investigates all four Advertising Sales ................480-948-0200 2004 as a 2005 model. The platform evolves from the Lincoln LS, of their former selves in the last decade, and offers his opinions. This features Jaguar S-Type and Thunderbird. Standard power will likely be a bringing show cars like the PT Cruiser gives inspiration to anyone who wants to ARIZONA DRIVER MAGAZINE 215-hp V-6 and a 4.6-liter (280-hp) V8, with an SVT near 400 hp. and Prowler to market in record time. light up the track at Firebird Raceway’s PUBLISHED BIMONTHLY BY ADZONE ARIZONA LLC MERCURY MESSENGER. In the company of the new Mustang, Now everybody’s in on the act, as evi- SCO Nights (www.dragracing.com/sco). PO Box 13387 - Scottsdale AZ 85267 above, we think this should instead be a new Cougar., If Ford wants denced by the Ford GT40 Living Legends www.azdrivermag.com to totally dominate the pony car segment in the wake of Camaro’s concept, coming to life over the next few UPCOMING: With some SUVs headed Arizona Driver Magazine and and Firebird’s retirement, it looks like they’re on track. months as the potent Ford GT supercar. down in size, even while the H2 lights up Arizona Rider Magazine are registered (We were fortunate enough to talk to Ford the sales charts, we will shortly drive the tradenames of AdZone Arizona LLC. Design VP J Mays, author of the GT, at the new Lexus GX470, smaller than the LA Show, gaining a few more insights into LX470 but beefier than the RX300, plus his massively creative mind.) the new Kia Sorento, an inspired take on Other vehicle introductions are headed smaller car-chassis SUVs from the boom- for production straightaway, while a few ing Korean peninsula. 5 await public and professional feedback to A couple of weeks ago, we hit the road Chrysler Opens the Throttle help the manufacturers decide. with our test engineer Gary Goldzweig, in DODGE TOMAHAWK. This show-stopper pumps out 500hp. See page 27. Of this much we can be certain: when not one but two Aston Martin DB7 models DODGE KAHUNA. Picking up a contemporary woody treatment reminiscent of the newest, latest, greatest do indeed hit ... the DB7 convertible and also one of the the recent PT California Cruiser’s brushed aluminum side trim, the Kahuna has the pavement, we’ll see them first in rarest and most exciting vehicles we could an aggressive stance that shows a serious desire to head to the fun, and now. Arizona. Hardly a breakthrough vehicle wish to get our hands on: the DB7 GT, one happens that doesn’t somehow appear on of only two in the world. (Don’t despair; our streets even before its release date, they’re making more, so empty the piggy through the miracles of hot weather bank and visit the dealer soon.) testing, grey market exuberance or just Spring training is here, so our mission good connections. Get an idea of what’s wouldn’t be complete without a visit to coming our way, in our show review pages. Tucson Electric Park, where we gained a We ended up passing on the Geneva few insights into what the Diamondbacks show this week, despite receiving prestig- drive. Don’t surprised to learn that the ious credentials, but we’re signed up for D’backs’ garages harbor quite a few more New York in April and will surely have copies of the Hummer H2 ... and more. some more insider scoops for you soon. Welcome to our third edition, which ARIZONA RIDER: This issue introduces means we have now completed one half something