Wednesday, June 27, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D7 B . · 2 O O 1 e s t W h e e l s O a k v i l l e M A Z D JU-- Jeep Grand Cherokee gets night vision DaimleiChrysler has unveiled a Jeep Grand Cherokee equipped with the company's unique Active Night Vision. This is a further test of the infrared system that is capable of illuminating objects up to 500 feet in front of the vehicle. The Active Night Vision system, developed by DaimleiChrysler researchers in Ulm, Germany, illu minates the road scene with infrared light energy to detect all objects in the field of view, regardless of temperature. The system reaches beyond the 130foot range of conventional high-beam headlights and, because infrared energy is invisible to the human eye, does not distract oncoming drivers. In the Active Night Vision system, two laser headlights on the front of the vehicle illuminate the road with infrared light, and a digital camera records the reflected image. The infrared image is projected in black and white onto a liquid crystal display screen located behind the instrument cluster. Oakville Volkswagen General Sales Manager, Mark Siebert, awards Lauren Maguire (age 7) a rem ote control Beetle. Lauren was the winner o f the Oakville Volkswagen colouring contest that appeared in our April 27, 2001 edition. Photo by Riziero Vertolli. ; HYUNDAI Of OAKVILLE ·· 7 Time P resident's Award W inner ·· \wa rd b e \ t j va k i g h o l l e i f l o f r u i l v m t r j a i i t j o e u u a f » r x a l u uud . A spirited sport ute that's as pleasing to drive as it is easy on your wallet By Jeff Melnychuk SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Tent's A & Prices are u p I k m n m HYUNDAI FROM WED. JUNE 27T H - SAT. JUNE 5OTH E veryone you know has an SUV and now you've got your heart set on one, too. Or, at least you did, that is, until that pesky sticker price got in way. And then there's the insurance premi ums. And what about the latest enemy: the ever-increasing price o f gas. Whoever said there's a price to be paid for looking cool wasn't joking -- at least when it comes to SUVs. However, Mazda, it seems, is one manufacturer that has figured this out and offers a very real solution. It's called the Tribute. So, Bunky, pick yourself up and brush yourself off, 'cause we've got some good news for you. The Tribute gives you the chunky, macho, good looks you seek, the shal low sticker price your line of credit can handle, and sips fuel like a mid-sized car. In fact, the only other sport utes that can touch the Tribute's fuel fig ures are Toyota's RAV4, Suzuki's Vitara , Chevrolet's Tracker and, of course, the Tributes domestic-based twin, the Ford Escape. How is this possible, you might ask? Simple. Mazda keeps the base price (just shy of $22,000) and fuel consumption in check by offering a 130-horsepower four-cylinder engine under the hood, front-wheel drive and a five-speed manual transmission as standard. And, with exterior dimen sions approaching those of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, you get the unmis takable aura of sturdiness and offroadability. I told you it was simple. Adding 4x4 to the base model adds just $2,650. The Tribute becomes very enticing when you realize that you can get a 200-horsepower V6 and four-wheel drive for not a lot more loot. With these attributes, in fact, the Tribute comes in at about the same price as the more utilitarian Nissan Xterra and the smaller, less powerful Honda CR-V. A bit of a surprise is the availability of the V6 with front-wheel drive, sure to be a hit with warm-city dwellers. The Tribute carries the D-shaped grille that adorns most of M azda's products (and looks strangely similar to most Acura products, too) with a large corporate logo affixed to a center crosspiece. Snake-eyes style combina tion headlam ps offer a distinctly upmarket look and rival those found in more expensive machinery. O f course, the sides and bumpers are slathered with more plastic than you'll find at a resin chair convention, but at least it saves the sheetmetal from dings and scratches that are commonplace in the urban jungle. The Tribute's cost (and weight, to a certain extent) is also kept low because of the two-speed transfer case. Rather, there isn't one. Instead, you'll find a nifty torque-splitting differential that maintains power to the front wheels, unless they begin to slip, at which point torque begins to flow to the back wheels. In really crum my conditions, just press the dash button that locks the differential in 4x4 mode and each of the wheels gets an equal amount of power. The Tribute is no pretender and can tow up to a 1,600 kilo grams. The most number riders you'll fit into the Tribute are five, with two front buckets and a rear bench seat that folds to increase hauling space. Perhaps the thing that sticks out the most -- liter ally -- is the large, columnmounted gear selector stalk. Conspicuous is a polite understatement, but its loca- tion does allow you to get up and move to the back of the vehicle without tripping over a console-mounted shifter. The Tribute is available in four trim levels -- DX, DX-V6, LX-V6 and ES-V6 -- with all models having air conditioning, power win dows and locks, 100-watt CD stereo and anti-theft engine immobilizer. Unfortunately, none of the V6 models is available with a manual transmission. But as far as value goes, the DXV6 4x4 at around $26,500 has to be viewed as a rela tive bargain, while an ESV6 4x4 equipped with leather seats at just over $32,000 is well within the budget of the typical sport ute shopper. M azda's Tribute might not be the most powerful or luxurious sport utility that money can buy, but it just might be the most sensible way to look cool, be cool and save some cool cash at the same time. $1 I D A P. n n S n n a ta C (O.A.C. on Sonata GL) SONATA GL MSRP M S R P ACCENT GS $0 Down, Freight and PDE Incl. $0 Security Dep. (O.A.C.) MSRP $20,495 $0 Down, Freigntand PDE Incl. $0 Security Dep. MSRP $12,195 100,000 K M W ARRANTY Long Lasting Protection: 3-year/60,000km "Burm er-to-Bum per" Limited Warranty · _£year/100,000km Powertrain Warranty · 5-year Anti-Perforation Warranty available from ' 3-year/60,000km 24 Hour Roadside Assistance Program; a 48 month walkHyundai Financial Services based on 2001 Accent GS 3-dr $179,2001 Sonata GL away lease. First monthly payment required. Security deposit (Accent $0. Sonata $0 (O A C .) Freight and PDE for Accent & Sonata included. Taxes, license and $350 lease acquisition tee extra. 20,000km mileage allowance Additonal km charge of $0.10. All MSRP prices exclude freight, license, PDE and taxes. All purchases and lease offers are for a limited time O.A.C. and may not be comwith any other offer. See Hyundai of Oakville for details. Offer good till June 30/01. ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 24HR | -- w 2 3 HYUNDAI OF OAKVILLE io7i s p i:i:k s r o \n uum \\is t» r 4 th i im , a 905- 845-7791 Fla m e Decals SOLD S e p a r a t e l y . For only / m o n th more, get an LX w ith air conditioning, keyless entry, new 2.0L 130-hp engine. 15" w heels and upgraded upholstery. O akville m azD a Introducing the 2002 MAZDA PR0TEGE5. Now available in dealerships. purchase financing for up to 36 months* cash purchase from -- &lease from per m o n th /4 8 m onths N rM f, ® > cash purchase fra m j iic ® lease from per m o n th /4 8 months , Purc!" * finon" n! f o r u , " o 3 4 m o n " ,s 1$ 2 ,4 0 0 dow n or tra d e e q u iv a le n t on lease, fr e ig h t and P.D.E. · 2.0L DOHC 16-valve engine · 16" a lloy w h e e ls · T a ch o m e te r · CD player · GPX Package · Cruise c o n tro l 1Large fo g lam ps · Rear w ip e r · A n ti-lo c k Brake System · Centre console · 4 0 /4 0 s p lit s e a ts · Dual a ir bags · Sports in te rio r · R em ote keyless e n try · Pow er door lo cks 1 Power w in d o w s · W h ite fa c e gauges 1 $ 2 ,4 0 0 down or tra d e e q u iv a le n t on lease, fr e ig h t and P .O .I. includ ed O ptional 1 3 0 -h p , 2.0L DOHC engine available (IX and ES m odel) 1 AM/FM/CD s te re o system · S tandard dual a ir bags Oakuiiiemazoa 1291 SPEERS R O AD North side beKveen 3rd Line & 4th line 905-827-4242 Where Good Seruice Is R Fact. Hof Just 0 Promise! CEASE MAZDA GRADUATE PROGRAM I HW Y. #5 _ g r § X "S l ' 1 SPEERS RD. w w w .oakvillem azda.com i