If heated seats have long been on your list when shopping for a new vehicle, Saab and Volvo were good bets. Now, a growing list of makes now offer the feature with the Cadillac Catera having them in the back seat.
Cadillac and Saab this year have taken seat design to a new level. Cadillac will offer an adaptive seat in its Seville Touring Sedan. Under its leather facing, the seat has 10 separately controlled air bladders, each connected to an air compressor.
Once the driver is seated, a computer measures the pressure on each of the bladders against a stored ideal pressure pattern and then adjusts the bladders accordingly.
As you drive, adjustments are made every four minutes, or, if you prefer, there is an override switch for more or less lumbar support.
In its 9-5, Saab will offer ventilated driver and passenger seats. The seats cool using thin fans in the backrest and lower cushion to draw warm, humid air away from the occupants through tiny openings in the leather upholstery.
Saab says driver comfort can be a safety issue. Just as heated seats “allow for better driver alertness and comfort in cold weather, ventilated seats also allow the driver to remain focused on driving in the heat,” according to Saab’s sales pitch.
What else is new for ’98?
– Saab offers a weather band on all of its radios, allowing drivers to tune to the closest National Weather Service station with the push of a button.
Cadillac will offer a radio with the European Radio Data System program that not only sends encoded messages showing the station or show being heard on the radio display, but also can scan for music choice and provide updated traffic reports or emergency warnings even if a CD is playing.
– Computerized navigation systems are making their way into vehicles.
The Lexus LS400 and GS400 sedans will offer this video display system, which will include touch screen controls for the navigation, radio and ventilation systems.
– Chrysler is offering a new aluminum V-6.
Based on last year’s iron model, the engine will produce more horsepower and torque, be lighter, more efficient and quieter.
Among its technical highlights are a computer-modeled cooling system that allows narrower water jackets (less weight, faster warmups); a three-chain camshaft drive that eliminates timing-belt maintenance; and a struc=turally loaded oil pan for more stiffness and less engine noise.
The 2.7-liter twin cam engine was computer-designed, the first paperless engine design from Chrysler.
– Mercedes has switched from its traditional inline 6 to a V-6, which has three valves per cylinder–two spark plugs, which don’t fire at the same time, and one exhaust valve. Mercedes says the new design allows for better efficiency, less pollution and smoother performance.
– General Motors is adding its OnStar help system to more makes and models.
With OnStar, motorists are in constant contact with a Detroit office that can aid in directions, repairs and emergencies. The system links the vehicle’s cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System and the car’s electronics to provide emergency assistance if the air bags deploy or if the vehicle is stolen. Using GPS, operators can immediately notify police of the location of the vehicle.
– BMW has added head protection for the driver and front passenger in its 5- and 7-Series.
– The Mercedes-Benz Electronic Stability Program keeps you from sliding sideways in fast or icy turns. ESP uses sensors along with anti-lock brake electronics to determine a disparity between where you are pointing the car and where it is going. In milliseconds the system takes corrective action. Cadillac is adding a similar system to its cars.
– Cadillac’s Northstar V-8 engines offer a limp-home feature, allowing you to drive your overheated car to a garage without ruining the engine.
If a conventional car were to develop a hole in a radiator hose, it would lose its engine coolant and begin overheating. The engine block or cylinder head could become hot enough to warp, destroying the costly engine. The Northstar uses electronics to block cylinder warpage by cooling the engine with fresh air.
– What’s missing for ’98?
The spare tire along with the jack and tools needed to change the tire. The new Chevrolet Corvette is the first production car to come with neither spare nor jack. The Corvette is equipped with Goodyear Eagle F1-GS Extended Mobility Tires designed to run up to 200 miles at 55 miles per hour with no air pressure.
The new tires use a thicker, stiffer sidewall designed to support the car even without air. You may not even know it if the tire is punctured, so the Corvette comes with a tire-pressure monitoring system to warn of a drop in pressure.
For those with other and older makes, Michelin has announced the MXV4 ZP replacement tire that fits many makes and models and can run up to 50 miles at 55 m.p.h. with no air pressure.
