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

WI1TB FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY, JULY n5,lm9, PAGE 15 The new Plymouth Laser 2+2 offers an attrative, well-finished interie, standard 4 ,dieel dise btraloes, and a choice.cf 1.8* liter oe 2.0 liter turbdirgéd or noe-turbecharged four cylider engines. Chrysiler, Mitsubish produoe a winner 'Ile Plymouth Laser is one of a growing number of Japanese- American cars- buit in North America. It is manufactured in NoralIllnos by Diaxnond Star Moteors, a joint venture of Chrys- 1er and Mitsubishi. The Laser is built alongside the virtually identical E agie Talon and Mitsubishi Eclipse (the latter not available in Canada). The major difference between the Laser and the Talon is that the Laser is not availabie with all-wheel-drive. Altboug it's. tempting te say that teLer is a Japanese car built in the United States, this is not en'tirely truei. Chrysier parti- cipated in the planning, styling, finiancing, production, and mar- keting of týe Laser and Talon, wbile Mitsubishi provided the basic design, engineering and In my opinion, the dlean, un- cluttered styling of the Laser is extremely attractive, esyecially wben seen 'in the metal. While not entirely diÏstinctive, the styl- ing bas no gimmicks or trendy body mouldings, with the pos- sible exception of the 'power bulge' on the bood. Me Lse r is availale in four trim leveis witb three diffrent engines. The base Laser has a 92 horsepower, 1.8 liter four clin- der engine and is priced wel at $14,300 (suggested retail price). However, in my opinion this engine doesn't really have enough pep te suit the sporty character ofthe car. In addition,.thýe optional auto- mnatic transmission doesn~t suit this engine because it bas te change up and down too often te keep the power up te a satisfac- tory level. I would recommend the standard five speed manual. The Laser RS with the optional 135 horsepower double overhead cazn 2.0 litre four cylin- der enie is a mucb better choice or this tpeof 'car. The enie is smoobth, free-revving, and powerful, and the RS cornes with more standard equipmet The base price ofan RBS with the 2.0 liter engine is $16,300. Last, but not ieast is the Laser BS Tu'rbo model with a 190 horsepower turbochare version of the 2.0 liter engine. eturbo- charged engine bas more power than you're ever ikelly to need and sometimes more than you can handie. The surge of power that occurs when the turbocharger boost cuts in can make steering and hand- ling tricky, especially on wet road.s.TELi car requires a cau- tious manipulation of the acce- lerater e ai. Suggested base price of the S Turbo is $19,100. Ail Lasers come with a higfl level of standard equipment wbich means a iower overali purchase price becauseabuyigers don't have te add on aitf expensive options. Standard equipment includes g ower-assistedffour-wheel disc brakes, tinted glass, five ana- logue gaiuges, dual outside mir- rors, four-speaker FM/AM stereo radio, electric rear window defroster, and intermittent wipers. By GregWilson My test car, an RS Turbo, had a very attractive beiýe interior with excellent fit and înish. The reciining front bucket seats are comfortable and supprtive and are higber. thanth ose in the Eagle Talon, which I found te be too low for proper outward vision. The five speed manual gear lever bas a large pistol-grip handle wbich I found easy te grip eand weil-piaced. Shifting is quite com fortabie with moderately long throws, however it sounds clunky. The Laser's stopping power is excellent tbanks te four-wbeel disc brakes. Based on its reasonable price,' quallty feel, and good perfor- mance, I give the L'ae a high rating. 0f the tbree powertrains, I recommend the normally- aspirated 2.0 liter engine. TECCHNICAL DATA R'IÉ atouted $19100 <plus freight> Type 2 tir, 4 peu. coupe Layoezt Tranveruefront en front wheel drive Englue 'Turboclurged DORe, 16 valve, 2.0 liter, 4 CY1lài0n1er, wMF 'n.numusicn 5 spd. manual <4 spd. auto.) Tires205W VEIO radials Cuab Wdight 1245 kgO2745IDm. Length 4330 mzn7.5 ib. Width 1690 mm/66.55in HfeighL 1306 mmiSl.4 in. CargO space 289 11.2 cu.ft& M l onon 9.4 /100 km, 31 mMg Warnty Baic 1 yrf/2,000 km. *Powetrin. >7 e 3r 115,000 km. Air pollution lt*s a sweltering sunimer day. Cars and :trucks jam the high- ways. emitting grirny clouds lof exhaust, and an ominous haze floats on the horizon. Vehicle- related air pollution is a seriaus problem for Canadians in large cities, yet it's no lcss a concern to suburban and rural residents. Emissions are carried hun- dreds of kilometres by wind. causing widespread health and agricultural prohlems. [n recent years, almost aIl Canadian cities have exceeded federal air con- tamination limits. especiallduring the summer. THE CAUSE 0F SMOG The yellowish-brown haze that sometimes hangs on the horizon is known as photo- chemnical smog. Currently, 4<) percent of urhan smog is attrib- uted ta vehicles, which release large amaunts of nitric oxi(le. carbon munoxide and* hydrocar- hans. Ini the presence of sun- light, the mixture of these gases rcacts ta forni ozone. per- oxyacetyl nitrate and aldehydes .. - substances which can le ad ta health prohlems. ONE WAY TO CLEAR THE AIR There are stcps wc can take to reduce smog and air pollution causcd hy vehicles. If you must drive, switch to natural gas. TOYOTA WENII.RTS is a driving issue Ný4TURAL GAS i?ART 0F THE POLLUrlON SOLUTION Décr-easinig oui use of 'e- hic/es is 0mie way Io0 re- duce pollutioni. If yoit niust dr-ive, swftch zIo clean -buiing, ecopomi - cal niatuirai gas, whèr-e available. Talk to youi- local utilùy for deMails. where available. Natural gas is the clcanest burning fossil fuel; by converting your vehicle to naturail gas. carbon monoxide and reactivc hydrocarbon emis- sions can be reduced by at least 30 percent. ADD UP THE ADVANTAGES ln addition to its clean-burn- ing qualities. Natural ýGas for Vehîcles (NOV) is a highly ef- ficient. safe and econornical ruel choice. NOV users across Canada have reported fuel cost reductions of up ta -50 percent over gasoline. And because nat- ural gas burns s0 cleanly. ve li- cle maintenance costs can bei reduced. NGV i's a simple add-on s>ys- tem. qui4kly and econornically installedib'\ an authorized n½è- chanic. Tihé process leaves yôur vehicle's original fuel svstýffm intact. soi y'ou can easi ly swi tch betwveen!înatural gas and gasa- line. even wvhile dri-ving. NATURAL GAS DRIViNG MADE EASY There are more than 20.000 natural g'as vehicles in C anada. and overi 117 refuelling statiàs - with ýnore to corne. In adýi- tion. a home refuelling appli- ance thaï plugs into the house- hold' natural gas systemr for overnight vehicle refuelling wilI soon be available in selected Canadian locations. The onus is on ai of us to be part of the pollution solu- tion. The Canadian Gas Asso- -ciation (CGA) has informa- tion on natural gasrpowered- vehicles, and the role they can play in reducing smog and harmful emissions. For a free brochure on the benetits of natural gas, cai CGA's toîl- free information line ait 1-800- 668-1503. TOYOTA TOYOTA Attention AI Toyotcu wner s ~,Due to numerous Srequests from our Scustomers, we are 'Yp eased to" announce.. as of JuIy 30, 1990,' Parts & Service wiII be open 6cm - 8pm, Mon. -Thurs. 6cmn - 6pm, Frîdcy. We hope these extended hours wiII enable us. ta beffer service your vehicle' needs and show at WhitbyToyota, WEREALLY DQ ARE! WIIm. ~v *1025 Dundà"s St. W. e Whitby e (416) 668-4792* (416) 668-4799 eTORONTO LUNE:(1)6-28 TOYOTAý ol m -