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Blame it on changing customer values, a strong yen or a deep recession in Europe. Blame it on the cost-cutting demands of J. Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua, soaring sticker prices, or environmental activism. Whatever the reason, this year's crop of new vehicle technology is the engineering equivalent of sensible shoes: most of it is aimed at improving the environment, safety or fuel economy.

High-tech gizmos and performance wizardry such as four-wheel steering, active suspensions and all-wheel drive are almost nowhere to be found. Turbochargers have given up the spotlight to child safety scats.

Only a few years ago General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac Motor Car Div. was competing with Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln-Mercury Div. over who had the longest land yacht. In 1994, Cadillac seems eager to fight over who has the biggest air bag. Its "Airbank" system -- claimed to be a first in the automotive industry -- protects all three front-seat passengers, Cadillac says.

If the idea of outside mirrors with individual wipers gives you goosebumps, the next few years are going to be tough to take. Probably the most broad-based new technological feature on the '94s are air-conditioning systems that eliminate chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). It's an impressive environmental achievement, but unless you work for the Sierra Club, it doesn't exactly get the blood moving.

By Jan. 1, most new vehicles sold in the U.S. will no longer use the traditional CFC refrigerants accused of damaging the earth's ozone layer. (Ford and Chrysler Corp. will have CFC units completely phased out by then. GM still will have a few models lagging, as will other automakers.)

Instead, HFC-134a refrigerant will be used. The auto industry is meeting the demand for CFC-free air-conditioning systems two years ahead of government-mandated deadlines. Because the new refrigerants are not as efficient, they require substantially modified AC systems and components to provide performance similar to conventional CFC systems. Even though the behind-the-scenes work to accomplish such a massive changeover is impressive, consumers won't notice any difference.

Even new luxury brands such as the Mercedes-Benz AG C-Class, scheduled to debut in the U.S. in November, are remarkably free of frills.

"Value" is the key word now, instead of "gee whiz." As the need to avoid sticker shock mounts, an era of retro-tech even seems to be creeping into the picture. Chrysler, for instance, offers its new Dodge Neon with an old-fashioned 3-speed automatic transmission rather than a new 4-speed to hold down costs.

Even so, dual air bags -- which were available only on luxury cars a few years ago -- are standard on the little car. With an estimated base price of about $9,000, Neon and Ford's '94 Aspire should establish a new level of safety features on the low-end of the price frontier. Aspire, which is a heavily re-engineered version of the Korean-made Festiva, will feature standard dual air bags as well as optional antilock brakes.

The same approach to technology is true for light trucks. Aside from the new V-10 on Chrysler's full-size pickup and some freshening on interiors and exteriors, most of the new technology is safety related, namely more side-door guard beams, air bags and improved antilock-brake systems. Chrysler's minivans get side-door guard beams and passenger side air bags for instance, and Ford's Mercury Villager finally gets a driver-side air bag. So do GM's APV minivans.

Still hungry for high tech? GM's S-Series trucks are claimed to be the only vehicles in the world whose bodies are powder-coated. The primer-surfacer powder coat is applied over the electro-coat prior to painting. This technology won't make the cover of Car and Driver, but it is said to represent a breakthrough in producing higher-quality vehicles at lower cost. It also eliminates solvent emissions, which are harmful to the environment and a big problem for automakers around the globe.

The conservative streak is especially blatant among the Japanese automakers. Once famous for loading their vehicles with all manner of electronic gimmicks, the strong yen now is forcing the Japanese to strip to the bare essentials in an effort to stay price-competitive in the U.S. Kenichi Sasaki, managing director of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., spoke last summer at the University of Michigan's Management Briefing Seminar about the need to confront "runaway technology and its associated costs."

"We've come to the point as an industry where even entry-level cars are so laden with features, gimmicks and technology that they are priced out of reach of the average consumer," he laments. Nissan actually developed outside mirrors with individual wipers, he admits. "We were creating technology in a vacuum, trying to outdo each other rather than serve our customers better."

But the Japanese are far from the only guilty parties. High-line European marques also are frequently criticized for technological excesses. Loaded with dozens of electric motors that do everything from raise the rear-window sunshade to pull the doors shut, Mercedes' top-line S-class models often are singled out as being far too big, heavy, expensive and technologically extravagant.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:13 AM