Page 14, Whitby Froc Press, Wednesday. JuIy 21, 1993 r- THE SECTION by Jil Mclntosh Those flashy extras When I bought my 1989 Chevrolet, the salesman proudly announced that it was 'fully loaded." Indeed it was, for it contained the little extras that can drive the price of a car right through the roof. power windows and locks, power seats, twilight sentinel, cassette player. It aiso contained many of the items now considered standard ewgpment on most cars, and whch were options not that long ago: air conditioning, disc brakes, dual mirrors, halogen headlights. What a comparison te rny 1947 Cadillnc. Like the Chevy, she's aiso 'fully Ioaded,' but you had to have a sharp pencil when you ordered a car like that back then. Her optional equipment -- al ordered at extra cost - - included turn signais, a heater and defroster, backup light, dlock, radio, day-night mirror, foglamps and windshield washers. In fact, she's only missing two options (the originai owner didn't want the automatic transmission or the oul filter) on a long ist of items that today are standard. Over the years, a few ' basic' items have stayed with us -- automatics and whitewall tires, for example. Some familiar items are quite old; the 1924 Nash was the first te offer an electric dlock, while the 1930 Chrysier gave buyers the chance to pay for a radio. Early Volkswagens did not have gas gauges, but you could pay extra for a glass bud vase to fit on the dash, just like the 1920s and 1930s American closed caA~ that placed them beside the rear seat. Early Porsches cidn't have a needle for the gas either, but came with a stick that was dipped into the tank. Another famous marque that offered an optional gauge was the 1908 Rolis Royce. Strangely enough, while you had te fork over if you wanted te, know how much gas you had, you didn't have te pay for the standard-equipment gauge that rneasured air pressure inside the tank. In the 1950s, cars took on the 'bigger is better? theme, and that included options, too. Carmakers fell ail over themselves trying te offer newer and flashier extras. Some of the more outlandish included swivel seats that turned when the doors were opened, vacuum ashtrays that sucked the ashes into a bottie under the hood, pull-down tissue holders, radios that changed stations through a buttori on the floor, gautronic eyes' that turned the highbeams up and down when traffic approached and even under-dash record players. The 1950 Ford pickup could be ordered with a fire extinguisher and electric razor, while the Dodge 'La Femme' came with a rain cape, umbrella, boots and a handbag to match the colour of the car. For women, autemakers SEE PAGE 15 325is - The 'coupe' body shares no exterior with a Iower roofline, longer hood and shorter panels with the sedan. It's a true coupe shape rear deck. BMW New 3-series best yet By Glen Konorowski Introduced in 1990, the 3- series group of cars from BMW (325, 320 and 318) has become a favourite with ail who enjoy driv- ing. My personal choice of aIl the models is the 318is. Its lighter and smaller engine makes for great handling in the tightest corners.* Known for their sporting vir- tue, the new 3-series is, in rny opinion, the best ever. The balance and control each car has sets the standard others follow. Ail the 3-series corne in four- door sedans designated with an diY' while the 318 and 325 come in two-door coupes known as 'is.' New for the 1994 model year will be a 325i Cabriolet, better known in North America as a convertible. The top model of the group is the 325i and 325is. This car is equipped with the most powerful engine of the group. The double- overhead cam mn-lne six-cylinder engine output is a healthy 189 hp. and 181 lbs./ft. of torque. This gives the car a 0 to lOOkpm time of 7.8 seconds with a manual transmission. Those looking for the power of a six-cylinder but don't care about the zip, opt for the 320i. This middle-of-the-road model bas a detuned version of the in-line six-cylinder, delivering just llOhp. My favourite, the 318 series, bas the smallest engine displace- ment at just 1.8 litres. But like the other engines, it is a double- overhead cam four-cylinder with 138hp. and 129 lbsift. of torque. The lighter weight of the engine gives the car acceleration times of 9.9 seconds from 0 te lOOkph. The coupe version the 318is cornes with an alloy wheels.and- sport suspension. It was this combination of engine and sus- pension that made me such a fan of this model. A f»ive-speed manual transmis- sion is standard on the 318 and 325, while a manual transmis- sion is optional on the 320 models. This slick unit upshifted and downshifted with ease. A light, crisp shift is the only way to describe how well these units really worked. Those who find shifting gears a chore can get automatic trans- mission in aIl models. This unit is a four-speed electronic unit which, under my testing, worked flawlessly. Making aIl the 3-series handle is a MacPherson strut-type sus- pension in the front. In the rear, BMW has designed a three-link- type suspension with coil springs, rather complex but it works quite well. 0f course, sway bars are both in front and rear, adding te the stability. Braking comes in the form of discs on aIl four wheels. Teamed up with an anti-lock system, you have a system that is second te none. Like most Uernian cars, the SEE PAGE 17 OWASC;o Has Thle Right VéhicIe For You 1993 Jetta GL This German-engineered road sedan combnes quaialy, comfort and sensibility resultng in pure ci'iving. Arnd ifs affordable. 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