Wednesday, August 23, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C8 See me before you purchase or lease -your next vehicle Ron Marlow S45-7575 YOU WOULDN'T TRUST JUST ANYONE TO DRIVE YOUR CAR, SO W HY TRUST JUST ANY COMPANY TO INSURE IT? Say "R/T" and anyone who loves performance cars will start waxing lovingly about the Dodge Charger R/T, one of the most potent musclecars of all time. Although there are numerous magazines and TV shows about the musclecars, the actual era was quite a short in time. It start ed tentatively in 1964 when the Pontiac GTO exploded on the car scene. By 1968, the rest of the car industry had caught up with their big engined, hightorque road burners. But by 1972 the insurance industry had start ed to step in and then came the death knell with the "Fuel Crisis" of 1973. As wonderful as they were, musclecars were used for the most part as daily drivers. Because they were relatively inexpensive, you could buy a 400 hp rocket and drive it to work during the week and out to the track on the weekend. Chrysler is extremely aware of its past and the company also knows how to incorporate nos talgia with modem technology. Just look at the Prowler or the P/T Cruiser as examples. But most of the MoPar mus clecars were actually family sedans and coupes with large engines, some sourced from big trucks. The "R/T" moniker made a comeback two years ago on the side of a concept coupe called the Charger R/T. It had the same "coke bottle" shape as the origi nal and is rumored to be headed for production. In the meantime, the success of Chrysler's other so-called let ter car, the 300M, has prompted Chrysler to put its most powerful V6 engine and sequential auto matic transmission in a variant of the "LH" platform (that includes LHS, Concorde and 300M) that's being called the Dodge Intrepid R/T in the United States and the Chrysler Intrepid R/T in Canada. I never had a chance to drive the first R/T but I did pilot a 1972 (I believe) Dodge Polara sedan back in 1974 with a 440 cu. in engine putting out close to 400 hp or about the same as . today's 8-litre Viper. With what seemed like unlimited torque you could light up the rather skinny tires with a dab of the throttle. At almost any speed, pressing down on the gas sent the hapless rubber scrambling for grip as the torque simply overwhelmed what traction there was. Perched up on simple oil shocks and rangy rear leaf springs, you soon learned that power is a wonderful thing if ChryslerR/TIntrepidis muscularblastfromthepast CHRYSLER · DODGE · IE G lenleyen C hrysl Wayne M cGill 2388 Royal W indsor Dr., 845- 2M5'*^<ro(iRd#21,0»kv*e I An Oakville Beaver Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 847-5671 The Chrysler Intrepid has been expanded to offer the high performance R/T that recalls the days ing the same name. you can use it. Ergo, a spin in a km (26 mpg) highway. In addi the speedometer. Like the rest of MGB was a revelation. tion to using regular, the R/T the gauges, it is a racy white face But back to the present and comes with a 65L (14.2 gallon) with black numbers and red the 2000 Chrysler R/T and a tank so you won't be stopping at pointers. word on the fit and finish of this the gas station as often. Engineers produced a spe car, as turned out by the good Besides remapcially-tuned perfor men and women of the CAW up ping the fuel system, mance suspension J IM in Bramalea. Trying to get doors a performance-tuned that, according to and hoods to fit uniformly on exhaust system is fit ROBINSON Chrysler "delivers cars like the LH is no easy task. ted. One of the way of crisp, capable han Instead of flat panel like the old spotting the R/T is the, dling and steering for Polara I drove, the new LH cars w i d e - d i a m e t e r a refined interpreta like the R/T have bodies with exhaust tip. tion of the original compound and complex curves The only transmis R/T model that helps all in one fender let alone the sion available is the make the Dodge whole side. It takes a lot of work select-shift, dual name synonymous and practice to get it right. mode AutoStick with with performance." Happily, Bramalea is doing a four speeds. In "D" it Here is a copy great job. It's no surprise to me operates like any writer who never had why the J. D. Power excellence other electronic auto RoadW orthy to wrestle with one of awards keep going to Canadian matic. But pull the ----------- --------- those brutes. R/Ts or facilities. This is world class stick back one more notch and Superbees or Challengers were work. you are in manual mode. To go built to go, with stopping and My R/T was fitted out in a up the gears, nudge the shift turning more of an afterthought. nice metallic red (Inferno Red lever to the right. To shift down, Those old MoPars had the Tinted Pearl Coat to be precise) pull to the left. Gear selection is turning circle of a Greyhound with offsetting black interior. illuminated along the bottom of Bus and were a serious handful These LH cars are truly huge inside and I've got to say those yards and yards of charcoal cloth and plastic (as good in quality as they are) are a bit too somber for my taste. While it may start life coming down the Bramalea assembly line as an Intrepid ES, the R/T gets significant changes. Whereas the Intrepid is offered with a 2.7- or 3.2-litre V6, the R/T has the 3.5-litre, quad cam from the 300M installed. In the R/T you're looking at 242 hp and 248 lb/ft of torque - quite bit more than the 2.7's 149 hp or the 3.2's 168 ponies. The best part is it produces this power on regular gas. Transport Canada estimates fuel consumption as 15.9L/100 The usual 2.7- or 3.2-Iitre V6 offered in the Intrepid has been km (18 mpg) city and 10.8L/100 replaced in the R/T by a 3.5-litre producing 242 hp. of the MoPar musclecars bearin a comer where body lean could bring fears of the hereafter to you or your passenger depending on whether you were turning right or left. I think the Queen Mary could stop faster than those old Dodges that relied (I believe) on solid disc brakes front and drum brakes rear. The 2000 Chrysler R/T comes equipped with special 17inch alloy wheels and these are fitted with Michelin MXM4 high-speed (149 mph) P225/55 R/17 tires. Four wheel disc brakes (vented front) with antilock is standard. Combined with a surprisingly communica tive power steering rack, the 2000 R/T is fairly adept at get ting through the tight places in a tidy manner. But where it comes into its own is at higher speeds and longer distances. Here is a car that meets or exceeds Canada's speed limit almost at idling speed. Hit the gas and the engine wastes no time dropping down a gear and moving out. At a street light, moving back into the man ual mode is lots of fun because you can hold it in gear up to the point just before the rev limiter kicks in. Going on engine note, you flick the AutoStick to the right and it clicks up a cog ready to do battle and swing up to the redline again. But at all times, you have to remember this isn't a roadster, but a very large sedan. With a wheelbase of a full 113 inches (2,870 mm) and a track width of 61.9/61.6 inches (1,573/1564) front rear, the R/Ts footprint on the ground is wide and long. This long wheelbase allows the suspension to soak up road undulations that cause the char acteristic choppy ride of twoseaters. What it may not have, in hairpin turning, it more than makes up for on long highway sweepers. The first generation LHs used to be known for the amount of road noise that seeped into the cabin, especially in the back seat. With a passenger volume of 104.5 cu. ft. (2,953 litres) this car is really huge inside. Ergo, it is like riding inside a bass drum when there are no passengers. The "boom" that came from behind the rear wheels of the early LH cars has been eliminat ed. Tire noise is faint, and wind noise, never a real problem with the swoopy body contours, is almost inaudible thanks to the 0.299 coefficient of drag index. And that's surprising considering this car is 2.1 metres wide at the mirror tips. I've driven cars that are 2.1 metres long bumper-tobumper. And if you have kids, there is 18.4 cu. ft. (521 litres) of trunk space - take all the strollers you want. Also nicely balanced, and something unheard of in the original R/T, was the premium sound system with eight speak ers located in six strategic spots within the cabin. With nearly 105 cu. ft. of interior volume it really is like being in a concert theatre in terms of audio response. Big room makes for big sound and it was a high point in the R/T. One of the attractions of the original musclecars like the Charger R/T was you got a lot of go for not a heap of dough (I remember hearing that on a Detroit radio station back in the late '60s). Dollars then and now are relative, but the R/T of today is, like the Intrepid ES, loaded with premium features as stan dard, like climate control, cruise control and power everything that the old MoPars never had. Nevertheless the 2000 price of the R/T is $29,755. My test car had the $790 power sunroof* the $295 full-size spare, and the $35 Smokers Group (politically correct for ash tray and lighter) for a total of $30,875. And while it may not be a musclecar as it was 30 years ago, the R/T is definitely more lavish ly equipped and light years ahead in terms of ride and han dling. So if you have a family, or a lot of clients, or you're looking for a way to get a little perfor mance with the cap on your lease that pretty well rules out fun, then the Chrysler R/T might be just what you're looking for. Purchase Financing up to 36 months on all . f| Purchased Financing / up to 60 m onths 000 Dodge Caravan N e o n Many to cnoose from, all colours. Immediate Delivery Our overflowing inventory is located in the Country Squire parking lot, off the North Service Rd. Prices are clearly marked on all vehicles. Feel free to browse! 2000 Chrysler Intrepid 2000 Chrysler 300 M . ,llS f » H H l p ric e s A I!iLTdBS3 & BP' E S1C H or m a r or m a r' vA 048 o r? 4 M 8 H H F IN /E S T A R R Y S L E R ·Reflates are assigned to dealership r I