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economist sunlstoujfviue tribune thursday jan 13 2000 tips tips tips fuel titers need 10 be changed every 48000km change your oil fl ier at every oi change oi should be changed every 5000 km stick to the engine coolant maintenance schedules outlined in your owners manual to avoid heater failures protect your cars finch by visiting a car wash every ten days to reduce the effects of winter weather and salt winter survival kit should include blankets spare tire car jack read flares matches shovel flashlight extra batteries and booster cables batteries more than two years old should be tested to ensure troublefree winter driving have your tires rotated every keep door lock defroster 1 easily accessible not locked inside your icecovered vehicle as your car ages it is important to check the oil levels with each fillup celebrating 18 years of serving markham in rust maintenance expanded facility and fall hours monwedfri 85 tuesthurs 88 saturday 75 krown rust control system 23 laidlaw blvd markham 9052944202 auto parts trkham automotive istrial supplies if i hours 1 mon fri 730am saturday 730am 530pm 1 00pm9s 15 heritage road unit 14 9052945773 wghtb3h tfwjsmbslqn w 111 sffludste bring your car in for a transmission tune up 4728383 or 4728384 185 bullock drive unit 12 13 road testing the toyota avalon axjutedlftecporr to advertise in this space please call cindy 9052942200 markham n economist sun by jim robinson road worthy the third car i ever road tested for these pages was a 1988 toyota cressida that pretty well summed up the concept of value added as it then applied to japanese cars instead of three pages of options for your 1998 chevy caprice or dodge diplomat here was a family car fitted out like a luxury car at a very attractive price the concept of air conditioning power windows locks and seats and antenna as standard was pretty radical back then many peo ple who owned cressidas still wish they had them but when toyota created lexus keeping a cressida around didnt make much sense when the idea was to have buyers step up from a camry toaes250ores300 but many north americans still like cars that seat five comfortably these are not so much lux ury cars as big cars like intrepid and crown victoria this was seen as an opportunity by toyota which created the avalon some five years ago it was really a stretched camry with body changes but what we marveled at then was the car grew by five inches but the curbweight remained virtually the same as camry no small feat for 2000 avalon has evolved to be roomier quieter and more refined avalon is being aimed at mature buyers who are looking to make a smart purchase that gives them a little more if they are moving up from camry or accord little things can mean a lot and with the avalon a 25 mm one inch increase in width has resulted in stylists creating a dramatically differ ent exterior with a wide grille the designers con centrated on aero efficiency that reduced the cars i smefi 1 less jack frost nipping at your tailpipe winter maintenance package includes a fully reflective highway help sign at no charge ki lube oil and filter rotate jires inspect brakes 15 point inspection ifi top up fluids check wipers check coolant check battery cables plus in case of emergency receive a lully reflective highway help sign at no charge while quantities last valid at participating dealers lof includes up to 5l ol gm premium motor oil on most gm vehicles see service advisor lor details or call 1800gmdrive limited time only pont1ac buick cmc chevrolet owsmoble h j hj dj goodwrench service at your 6m dealer wwwgoodwrenchgmcanadacom 1800gmdrive drag coefficient from an industryaverage 031 to a stunning 028 the 30litre quad cam v6 benefits from toyotas wti variable valve timing technology that raises power to 210 hp arid 220 ftlb of torque while reducing emission on the big sedan to qual ify it as a low emission vehicle lev with transport canada every piece of the car was studied to reduce noise vibration and harshness nvh one of the solutions is a new active engine mount aem it takes the pulse of the engine vacuum and applies to a diaphragm in the acm this creates a vibra tion that is directly opposed to normal engine vibration a big problem in transversely mounted power plants the effect is the vacuum vibration cancels the other out the transmission for this front driver sedan is a fourspeed automatic with engine control mod ule that sifts through billions of inputs to deliver near seamless shifts in addition to the 25 mm increase in width the instrument panels was moved forward 100 mm the back seat was raised 12 mm onehalf inch while the front seats went up 25 mm as well the impression is of traveling high wide and hand some down the road with the higher seating and improved vision giving the same kind of being in control that minivan drivers feel its interesting that the v6 engine produces the same power and torque as the much larger 46- litre v8 used in the ford crown victoria with the computercontrolled transmission in charge the engine is always producing the optimum power and grip all this is aided by a standard system of for 2000 avalon has evolved to be roomier quieter and more refined antilock brakes fourwheel ventilated disc brakes traction control electronic brake distribu tion ebd and toyotas version of pitch and yaw control called vehicle skid control vsc formerly reserved for premium luxury cars this combination of technologies allows the vsc to use the braking system to correct understeer or oversteer in comersthe traction control reduces tire slippage during acceleration and the brake assists detect emergency braking and add supple mental line pressure to reduce stopping distance believe it or not while all this is going on the dri ver will not feel any abnormal operation cruising along the highways and byways near quebec city recently as leaves started to turn the avalon could easily be compared to the lexus ls400 in terms of civility and the absolute top- quality materials used in this cars construction near silent running and leather surfaces with that feel of linen how the discerning tell if its the best hide resulted in a drive made all that much more enjoyable there will be two versions of the avalon going on sale later this year the xl will cost 36595 while the more lavish xls will cost 43800 the differences are primarily trim like seats and head rests with memory in the xls the major differ ence is the xl has fabric seating while the xls goes with that superb leather either way avalon does offer those a little more in a fullsize but not premium price full five seater with legendary toyota build quality avalon can also be expected to supply depend able motoring for those also seeking a car to last the long term toyotaavalon 2000 at a glance body style four door fullsize sedan front engine front drive engine 30litre dohc v6 200 hp 210 ftlb fuel economy 112l100 km city 74l100 km highway 95l100 km combined price xl 36595 xls 43800