Page 12, Whitby Froe Press, Wednesday, August 18, 1993 PROM PAGE 10 With a change in body sty ling, VW lowered the drag coefficient to .032 from .034. Tis more efficient design bas resulted in botter g as mileage. T he body change h as also ai lowod VW te, increase the engine range, with a V6 coming in t.he neRr future. lie cars I tested wore the CL and GL sedans. 'The CL is the base car. while the GL is the btter option version. The major difference in thoso two cars is the engine. The CL gots the seasoned 1.8-litre, four-cylinder overhead cam, whilo the GL gets a new 2-litre overhead cam four- cylinder. Power for the 1.8-litre cornes in at 90 h.p. while the 2-litre bas an extra 25 h.p. Beth cars im- pressed me with their power. In a base car, the 90 h.p. has plenty of power te got you around u ickly. The extra 25 h.p. in the Lmakes driving jus tthat much PROM PAGE 10 police and bootleggers. Not ail oddities belonged to the early part of the century. In 1963, you could order a Lest Cause. This company teok stock automobiles and custemnized them te even the wildest specifications. For $23,000 you could have a Corvair with custom body work, a rally timner, an altimeter and an aircraft compass. Even stranger was the Mohs, built between 1968 and 1977 in Wisconsin. The four-seater sedans weie designed for safety with rear entry and seats that would drop horizontally in case of a head-on collision. Drivers do not live by safety alone, howevor, se more fun. In general, the new Golf cars feel solid, unlike many of the Iower-priced cars on the market. It's the same kind of solid feel'I had with my many VW Beetles of the past. VXV feels that these new models are so much better, that they are putting their money where their mouth is, with a vecomprehensive warranty 1your new Golf breaks down an ywhere in Canada or the US., VW will tew vou te the nearest dealer. VW will put you in a hotel if you are away from nome, or a car will be loaned for up te two days. Under certain circumstances VW will even reimburse you for out- of-pocket expenses caused by a breakdown. This kind of service says that VW is committod te making good cars and happy, custoeors. I know that I would certainly con- sider a Golf on my next new car purchase. the Mohs aIse came standard with a two-way radio, two base stations and a refrigorator, at prices between $19,600 and $25,600. Because hundrods of tiny companies made se few cars, it's doubtful if even a handful of these vehicles are still around teday. One that definitely isn't is the Samson, a Wisconsin car of 1920 vintage. Samson was a successful truck company that came up with a nine-seater touýing car that could ho convertedjinte a truck. Otherwise remarkable, the Samson is remembered for being the only car ever advertised by General Motors that neyer went into production Ne w Iook VW Goif DIVING. SAFELY Ž~ wîth RANDY RANDY McLEAN IS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO SPECIALIZES IN TRAFFIO SAFETY. Mk. McLean has reviewed thousands of individua] motor vehicle accident reports and his close working relationships with police agencies, govemmrents, safery assocarions, industry and the public. have given him a true overview of tratfic safety issues, problems and solutions in Canada. Room to manoeuvre After an accident police often hear motorists say "I had no choice but to hit the ... ". And, unfortunately, many times they're right. Often motorists must choose the lesser of the two or more evils. Faced with the choice between hitting a pedestrian or a fire hydrant, the fire hydrant starts to look pretty good -- especially from the pedestrian's point of view. In these situations the driving error is not in running off the road and hitting the hydrant, but in getting into a position where hitting the hydrant was the best choice. These drivers painted theniselves into a corner where an accident was unavoidable. Their only real choice was what type of accident they wanted to ho involved in. So while their explanation for the accident might suggest that they were innocent victims of circumstances -- and niost of us who have been involved in an accident truly and honestly believe that we were innocent victims -- this may not ho entirely true. If you hired someone to paint your kitchen floor and carne home to find they had painted themselves inte, a corner you would probably think twice before hiring that person again. If they did it a second time, you would have some real «concerns. Yet many motorists 'paint themselves int o a corner' time and time again. Some do it on a daily basis. On average, there are about 20 traffic accidents everyday in the Region of Durham ; KA* BOOM! YOU JUST GOT HIT BY THE POWER 0F NEWSPAPER ,You neyer saw it coming. You were thurnbing through the paper, rnindling your own business. When suddcuîly this ad caught your eye. And your interest. Newspapers don't rcad themiselves, you know. It takes twvo, a newspaper AND YOU! That's why newspaper is such a powerful advertising medium. It requires your fuit attention and complete concentration. The radio can be playing to nobody in particular, and the TV can be on in an empty room. But when people tumn to their paper, thiey turn there with inter- est. Whicli means that's wliere your advertising message nceds to be. With ail the choices available, it's difficuit deciding how best to advertisc your business. But evcrything becoities a littie simpler when you renembet ,.. ie... alone. In Metropoitan Toronto the average is over 150 accidents every day, many involving drivers who found themselves painted into a corner. Why? Driving is a complex task and driving corners are not always easy te recognize. Many of us don't realize when we're in a driving corner, at least not until after the accident. The surest and safest way to stay out of driving corners is te leave yourself room te manoeuver. Prepare for the une ted. As you drive, continually assure yourself that in an emergency you have a safe place te move te. As a minimum you should leave a safe following distance between your car and the car ahead. The two second rule applies when following another passenger vehicle under good road and weather conditions. This distance should be increased to three or four seconds or more during peor road or weather conditions, when following a motorcycle, and when the driver behind is tailgating you. .But the safe following rule will give you room to manoeuver in a foward direction only. It is aise, important to croate a safety zone for lateral movement. The greater your speed, the more important a lateral safety zone becomes. You can croate this safety zone by adjusting your driving speed to position your vehicle beside a gap in traffic in the adjacent lane. Ideally, vohicles travelling in the same direction should be staggered liko the squares on a chesa board. If you Eind yoursolf pacing anothor vehicle, side by side, for more than a few seconds, you are starting te paint yourself into a corner. Either slow down or speed up until you are driving beside a gap in trafic. Once you are driving beside a gap use your mirrors and glance over your shouldor occasionally te check your lateral positioning. In an emergency you will not have a lot of time te make decisions. Always know where your car is on the road and how much of a safety zone is available te you. In congested traffic it is difficuit to create lateral safety zones. Consequently, the space ahead of and bohind your car is critical. Protect it. Moterists who drive without a lateral safety zone and insist on tailgating often become the not-so-innoceat victims of circumstance. Pay attention te, traffic conditions around you. Do not paint yourself inte a corner, and don't let othor moterists paint you into a corner. Drive safely. Be fore the Big 3