Page 14, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, February 16. 1994 by Jil Mclntosh Pace car tradition Ites a long way off to Memorial Day, but that doesn't mean the foîkes at Indianapolis are sitting ide. According to a ltter I roceived recently fromn the Hal of Fame Museum, the pace car for this yoar's lady 500 will ha a 1994 Ford Iustang Cobra. Fm. iot much of afan of car racig, and I nover watch the race itself, but 1 have a spoc-ial fascination for the pace cars Since 1911, 77 cars have done the official duty, leading the pack except durlng the twc world wars when race were cancellod. The idea cf a Pace car came about moStly bocauseone ocf the SPoedway's founders was alo a major shareholder in a car caed the Stoddard-Dayton. These well-mede cars led the field for the firat, third and fourth.SOos. The earliest years cf pace cars illustrate how diverse the Amncan automobile industry was bock thon. 11w Stutz, the Premier 6, the HCS, the Duesenharg, the National Sextet and the Rickenbacker a had their moment of glory on the brickyard, only to disapar, Most Of them victime of tIi. Groati Depression. A 'B*g lhre' car did net make theiigrd until 1926, whon a C h y se r I p r a 8 0 w a s u s e d . drncly o o gi it was driven byiS Lous Cere, founder of the model that bore hie namo. Ho diod in 1947, and se nover got to oses a 1948 Chevrolet Flotmaster become tho flrst Chevy te paco the event. Genoral Motors first lied an entry in, 1927 with thoir LaSale V-8, while Ford lied te wait untl 1932 when Edsel Ford drove a Lincoln on the track. Independent manufacturers such as Nashi, Packard, Studebaker and Hudson still made appoarances alcngmïde their larger competitors. By this time, companios realizod that pacing the Indy 500 wasWit juet an honour but an important marketing tool that they could use te, get their name out te tthe public. In 1954, Dodge got the idea of reproducing the. pace car for publie sale. That year, 701 Dodgo RoyalW09 eresold. These are stil h rar.st of aUl eplicas, but ovea today, thesp*cal decels of a Pace car roplica can add considerebly te, the price cf a 'colector car! The lest independent te pace the 500 was Studeboikor la 1962. Since thon, oaly Big ir;e.car have don s l. Right from 1911, anothor stipulation has been that the. cars hae demestically produced. In 1991, Dodge wanted te, use their Japanese-built Stealth, but public outcry was n ston that they used their liitdprouction, Americen-bufit Viper,1 drven by Carroll Shelby. The choice of paco car drivera lias changed slightly over the years as well. Until'the 1960w, drivers were msly car company exocutives or race drivers, la the 1970o and 1980a, the bEst oxpanded te, include anich poople as singer Marty Robbns. actor James Gerner (throe times) and flyngace Genorel Chwik Yeager SEE PAGE 16 -~ EIÈt.iN:14 rdI=d Sporty, By Gleu Konorwl I have always loved four- whool-drivos (4X4), but never could justiSr their rr gas mile- age. Fortunately SV.k change that when they introdu- ced their umaller efficient lin. of MX vehicles back ln the late seventies. Things have corne a long way since those early days cf Suzuki. Today' lateet version of the 4X4 utility-vehice le the Sidekick. The Sidekick cornes in three basic a y tles, a two-door soft- top (co=nvertbe , a two-door hard Ztop and a four-door hard top. Ad to this a few different trim levels and you have a sport utility to fit everyone's budget. I was lucky enough te récently drive a two-door soft-top and a four-door hardtop. Havîng three children, the four-door was my favounite. For those without the need to get in and eut of the rear seats,4 the two-door le juat as much fun. Koe"ping thinga inexpensive, Suzuki starts thoir lineup with the Sidekick two-door soft-top JA (base modal). Tl well-equipped base model in the hast way téget into the sport utility scene. Inuid. you flnd a very hospi- table place to ride with all con- troIs easy te reacf and comfor- table soating. For a vehicle this amall, rear seating isn't toc bad. The rear seats in the soft-top are also a4justable allowig for better comfort ancâ fold-up for more cargo space. When the rear seats are folded, 1 found you could pack plenty of gear for any outdoor outmg. When weather prinits, the soft-top cf the Sideik allows a couple cf modes of open-air motoring. You can open t he sec- tion cf îroof above the two front seats and zip down the rear window. The procodure le qulck and takes littie time. 'confident' fun. 1994 SUZUKIJ SIDEKICK Th1-e second way leto fold the wholo ttop dewn. Tis takes about three te, five minutes, depending- how familiar you are with the procedure. Fer just going around tewa, I flipped open the. section over the front seats. It gave me lots cf air and quickly close when parking. Those cf you Who need the convenience of four door but still like the confidence cf drivi* a sport utility, tho Sidekick four- door in the only way teop. I have te admit 1 love this vehiîcle. A while age, I had the. pleasure cf usin our-door Sidekick for a few mnthe te test accessory car producta. When I had te retura the vehicle te Suzuki, I literally had te pry the keys ut 'efrnwife shand. What makes this model se bpecial is that driving the vehicle instille no mucli confidence. This in net te say that you shouldn't b. concerned about adverse weather, but you know that if ou do.it will nothaeasmnuch Power for alI Sidekicks cornes from a 1.6-litre overhead carn four-cylinder onpe. This little powerhuse makes 80 herse- power la the. two-door Sidekick, while la the four-door output in lncreaeed te 95 horsepower te, compensate for the extra weight. Drgmy time with the Sie- kick,Ifound the. engine to, deli- ver ail the power I needed, when ,I aeoded it. All Sidekicks corne with sitan- dard five-speed manual or a three-speed automatic. I prefer- red the flve-speed as it shiftod smocthfly and allowed the. full pwer cf the engin. te corne throghgiviag the vehicle good acceleration. The. autornatic, on the other. hand, teaded tobe alttlesIugg;- leh off the. ine. Once rolling, h automatic performed well, shift- ing upor down when noeded. Ride quality lusemething the four-door Sidekick lias over the two-doer medel. Tii. 97-inch wheolbase makes for a firrn but pneaant ride. The 86-inch whoel- ba.makes the. drive a little stiff. 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