European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 18, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13 car Corner a 4x4 with o touch of class Ford s Bronco ii Strong yet stylish the Ford Bronco ii is one of the most popular special purpose vehicles on the american Market and after driving it for some Lime it s easy to see Why. Generally speaking the popularity of four wheel drive sports vehicles obviously rests with their individuality or pure Chic and even if they never go olt Road and most Don t it does t matter because they offer their owners some thing different. In Short these vehicles Are fur people who Don t want Normal cars or sports cars either. Our Ford Bronco ii 4x4 compact test vehicle from the Ford motor co. The vehicle is also available in two wheel drive came in individualistic Eddie Bauer styling this involving special seats and Interior design along with an exterior of Hunter Green with Gold Sandl Wood trim and a Candlewood Interior. It was such a luxurious and attractive 4-Whccler that one would think twice before taking it into off Road mud and grime situations but the Bronco ii could handle that. Although the Bronco ii is defined As a compact Utility vehicle it is Cal Emily carib pc where Interior amenities arc concerned and if you did t sit up High you might think you were in a Normal car. The Bronco ii is easy to drive has All of the luxury items you need and despite rear Leaf suspension for heavy duty Pur poses it gives a relatively Normal and comfortable ride on regular roads. To give an example of its Interior equipment there s a Stem cassette radio with four speakers a simulated Wood instrument panel cruise control air conditioning Power windows till steering wheel Central Locking inflatable scats for both hard and soft settings fully reclining rear privacy windows Are featured on Kronen ii. Scat backs storage panels on both doors and much More. There arc also optional touch drive electric controls on the dash meaning that you can engage either regular 4x4 drive or Low 4x4 by pushing a Button. It could t be simpler. Despite the Large number of Interior items there is no overhead map Light setup for the Driver and his co Driver and this is a rather startling omission on a vehicle that can go into areas where night time map Reading can be a necessity. The lest Bronco featured a four Speed overdrive automatic transmission with steering column mounted shifter that Al lows additional from floor space. The Standard engine for both the two wheel drive and four wheel drive Bronco ii is a fuel injected 2.9-liter v-6 of i40 horsepower at 4,Doo rpm and 170 fool pounds of torque at 2.600 rpm. The engine proved Strong responsive and silent and provided Quick passing on the kick Down. Cruising Al 70 to 80 Mph was about right. At the Legal limit of 65 Mph in most states the engine was pull ing 2750 rpm red me is 5500. At 55 Mph. Still the Legal limit in a few Stales. The engine was loafing along Al 2250 rpm. Al 70 Mph. The Lach read ,1,000 rpm. The Bronco ii was fairly Quick off the line with our /ero-to-60-Mph figure recorded Al 12.4 seconds. Our Road notes show that visibility was first Rale from both from and rear scats and Hal the vehicle always proved Strong and stable in High winds and heavy rain. Because of the nature of its construction and with four wheel drive on Lap. The Bronco ii provided a great feeling of Security regardless of weather. This is True of most special purpose four wheel drive vehicles a characteristic that has added to their popularity the ride As noted earlier was quite comfortable for this Type of vehicle an Ford says this is due to new Standard p205/75ri5 tires and revised Shock absorber calving. The brakes were quite effective with 10.8-Inch discs at the front and 9 Inch Drums Al the rear the rear Drums equipped with an anti lock system. To make entry and and exit easier for rear scat passengers the right front bucket Seal slides Forward and the setback flips Forward and Down. With the rear setbacks in place Luggage room is quite adequate 23.8 cubic Feeland when the setbacks arc Down to provide additional space it totals 56.9 cubic feet. A rolling Blind hides the Luggage when the rear setbacks arc in place. Our combined City open Road fuel Reading came to 18.7 Miles per gallon Epa is 16 cily and 20 Highway and the Lank holds 23 Gallons so the Range is Well Over 400 Miles. The Standard Price for the Bronco ii 4x4 is $13.915. With the optional equipment package delivery costs. Etc., the vehicle de scribed in this report Sells fors 18,188. Of 5tw.ll mini iffy Putes aft Tat Lull details of a Giumo ii. Prospective of tots you Ltd Contact food Al rppfe5 Iti Iti is 1t  Aalf s new cof Sale Points on Tho kit Ous Baw i in Europe Randy bar Natl japanese luxury cars of Challenge europeans Tokyo Al Japan s iwo largest automakers Long known for inexpensive fuel efficient cars have set out to lure lop of the line buyers away from some of the posh european models with new mid priced luxury autos. Toyota and Nissan have set up entirely separate sales divisions to Start marketing the All new cars this fall in the United Stales. And Industry sources say thai if the cars go Over Well in America they will Likely be introduced in other foreign Markels. The cars in the $25,000-540,000 Range have no real  Competition. Their targets Are such european imports As Mercedes Benz Bow and Jaguar which sell for up to twice the japanese cars Price. Toyota s new lexus division and Nis san s infiniti line will debut with iwo cars each this fall. They join Honda s successful Acura division set up in 986, which markets legend and integral mod Els in the United slates. The first lexus to be introduced the four door ls400. Outwardly resembles the Mercedes 300. La has polished Walnut panelling inside and is packed with elec tronic gadgetry. Including warning lights recessed on a Black screen behind the main instrument panel a seven speaker six compact disc stereo system and a microphone built into the steering wheel for hands free Telephone conversations. The smaller es250, based on Toyota s popular camry offers optional leather seats Maple panelling and newly de signed Mica based pain. Toyota plans to have 100 lexus dealerships by september and expects to sell 16,000 cars this year and 75,000 in 1990. Nissan s infiniti is also an at Cpl to put on a new face. The infiniti cars will be shown in pc Ilonda s mid engine is a sports car. Scially built showrooms Complete with standing Oriental screens to lend both a luxurious and japanese air. The infiniti q45 is Sleeker and offers fewer gadgets than Toyota s ls400, and in has a less flashy dashboard with simple analog dials and no Grill or Wood pan cling. The infiniti m30 is a two door Avail Able As a Hardtop or convertible. Sixty infiniti dealers Are lined up for the no vember Start with the number expected to increase to 150 in three years. Japan s top two automakers have Long produced luxury sedans but have never exported them to the United  set the new trend when in began Selling legend sedans and coupes in the . Market where it expects to nearly triple 1986 sales of 52.000 cars to 150.000 this year. When we Sci up Acura we were thinking of High tech sporty models and we wanted to go beyond simple family cars says Honda spokesman Kauai Ota. Ota says Honda in t worried about the new japanese entrants. Unlike the lexus and infiniti. The legend is still sportier something you have an urge to dec  he adds. Next year Honda plans to introduce a High powered addition to the Acura line a $55.000 mid engine sports car called the is a. The is a is expected to give another series of european imports porsche and Ferrari a run for their Money. In has a 250-Horsepowcr engine and can cruise Al More than 155 Miles an hour. The new japanese offerings says the British Industry Magazine automobile will seriously undercut the West Ger mans and could leave the americans in inc