The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economist suntribune wheels thursday may 23 2002 15 markham economist sun stouffville tribune wheels edition i markham kia kia its about time everyone had a well made car 347 main st markham 9054711818 by malcolm gunn wheelbase communications in 1969 datsuns 240z knocked the socks off the automotive world now a new company name and 33years later and after a sevenyear gap since the 300zx the last zseries car was killed off nissan is poised to strike again with its equally bedazzling 350z the new z is in many ways simi lar in spirit to the original both are rear- wheeldrive twoseater sport coupes of the longhoodshorttail variety and both use a rear hatch to gain access to the payload compartment also as in days of old both the 240z and 350z employ sixcylinder engines from a design perspective the 240 and the newcomer zcar have bor rowed liberally and unabashedly from existing designs just as the 240z con tained elements of ferrari and maserati in its sheetmetal traces of porsche 91 1 and audi tt can be spotted when ogling the more teutoniclooking 350z the result of this most recent effort is nothing short of sculpture on wheels the 350z has a broadshouldered hun- kereddown racer appearance accentu ated by its bulging flanks straining to contain wheels that are positioned as far outward as possible the jewellike headlight housings are seamlessly blended into each fender and the grille gives the car that hungry shark look just sitting still this machine looks like it means business inside the 350z all of its key fea tures seats instrument panel foot pedals and assorted knobs and switches look thoroughly modern without the slightest hint of retro design theres plenty of industrialstrength aluminum trim a welcome alternative to wood fake or otherwise that for years served as the dressup material of choice on most vehicles one unique feature concerning the 350zs interior is its massive shock- tower brace that extends behind the seats like a ushaped rib connecting both flanks of the rear suspension filling the space between the 350zs front fenders is the most potent version to date anyway of the corporate 35litre dohc v6 although final numbers have yet to be revealed nissan claims the 350z will produce in excess of 280 horsepow er at least 25 more than the adver tised rating of the similar 35 found in the nissan maxima or infiniti 135 and 40 more than the 35equipped altima that should be good enough to reach 100 kmh in sixseconds flat or slightly less a feat that will easily keep most of its competitors at bay connected to this engine is a choice of two transmissions a close- ratio sixspeed manual or optional five- speed automatic that includes a manu alshift mode for drivers who prefer to take the gearselection process into their own hands to maximize content selection the attractively priced 350z less than 45000 to start is available in three pur poseful trim levels performance touring and track pack in performance form you get the sixspeed manual transmission air con ditioning power windows and door locks tilt steering cruise control sixway manually adjusted drivers seat 1 8inch alloy wheels xenon headlights tire- pressure monitoring system and a sevenspeaker bose audio system with indash cd changer the touring version which stickers for the same money as the performance includes the automatic transmission along with the rest of the performance models goodies the topoftheline track pack model adds stability and traction con trol limitedslip differential 1 8inch light weight forged alloy wheels different from the performance model big brembo highperformance disc brakes plus front and rear spoilers of course it comes with the sixspeed manual the 350z which returns nissan to its performance roots is a welcome addition to the companys growing list of sedans trucks and suvs for sports- car fanatics eager to get in on some z- car action expect long lineups of cus tomers frantic for one of these beauties when they finally begin arriving this august mileage restriction 2002 focus se sedan lease for 48 months gfiflg focus sb waoow tdown auto air cd antitheft stk 217901 5 spd air j power group comfort group stk 221416 2002 taurus se sedan jm s lease for 48 months 20q2 taurus se wagon jnown pwr pedals air pwr group cd absstk 213452 pwr moonrf keyless entry auto headlamps electronic climate control stk if 228583 2002 windstar lx v6 air 7 pass quadruple 5 ftflmarrth star safetv ratino vtw viwonhl star safety rating stk 221797 lease for 48 months 2q wiw s tdown keyless entry pad i air tilt cruise pwr grp mags anti theft stk 207344 2002 explorer sp0rttrac 4x4 pioneer edition power moonroof leather comfort group bed extender stk 256622 lease for 48 months month ifoown 2002 explorer xlt 4x4 equipped with 3rd row seats dual climate control dual media audio all power convenience stk 221920 lease for 48 months month fdown 499 freight administration fees and all taxes extra 0 leasing 0 ac cap cost e leassee guaranteed lease end values focus sedan 19976 8480 focus wagon 21122 a 8650 taurus sedan 26770 9985 tauius wagon 28723 10995 windstar lx 26770 9995 windstar sport 31687 12995 explorer sport trac 361 1 1 1 6960 explorer xlt 39950 15995 spring bonus has been applied see dealor for details tffioln mffyi 21 main street unionville markville ford kennedy road ford- lincoln svt 1 block north of hwy 407 9054741350 vywwmarkvillefordcom wwwmarkvillefordcom wwwmarkvillefordcom wwwmarkvillefordcom wwwmarkvillefordcom wwwmarkvillefordcom