Read an analysis of the great SUV debate
See the latest in high-tech housewares
Look ahead for next year's hot car models
Bring out your wild side with the right motorcycle

Once and Future King of the Road

Books | A critic scores points in the great SUV debate -- but spare us the guilt trip, please.

Sport utility vehicles catch hell for everything: They roll over. They gulp gas. They crumple smaller cars in collisions. They block your view of the road. And yet we love the big, versatile beasts, though our passion may be cooling a bit.

Detroit certainly hasn't lost its ardor. Big SUVs are the most profitable products on the assembly line. To build one, you take the underbody of a four-wheel-drive pickup, add cushy seats and a Bose sound system, then bolt on a body. Voilà! Instead of an $18,000 truck, you have a $30,000-to-$50,000 luxury SUV. It's a bonanza that U.S. automakers have nurtured and sheltered much the way the creature in the movie Aliens protected its eggs.

But our automotive zeitgeist is increasingly challenged by nagging doubts about the SUV. Even President Bush's auto-safety chief, Jeffrey Runge, said recently that he thinks many SUVs are unsafe. Adding fuel to the debate is High and Mighty (PublicAffairs Books, $28), a new book by former New York Times auto-industry reporter Keith Bradsher.

Nuts and bolts

Bradsher tells how Detroit gamed the government's fuel-economy standards and import rules to keep the Japanese from doing to the Chevy Suburban and Ford Explorer what their thrifty sedans did to the late Oldsmobile Cutlass. The automakers lobbied government regulators and Congress to classify SUVs as light trucks, thereby exempting them from fuel-economy standards for cars and subjecting competing imports to a 25% tariff.

As a business story and an account of how the government bungles its regulation of the auto industry, High and Mighty is first-rate. Bradsher's nuts-and-bolts reporting lets you see the players in the SUV saga in a new light -- not to mention the vehicles themselves. Read this book and you'll give every Ford Expedition an even wider berth when it passes your Toyota Camry.

What next?

Bradsher's proposed solutions to the SUV conundrum are a mixed bag. He suggests that automakers could reinvent the station wagon (maybe) or change the minivan's wimpy image (fat chance), to offer more choices for drivers who feel they need extra seats or hauling capacity.

What's more likely is that the SUV fleet will be downsized by the likes of Honda and Toyota, which already offer popular carlike SUVs (the smaller and lower-riding CR-V and RAV4, respectively). But cars will fly before what Bradsher calls "the world's most dangerous vehicles" lose their appeal.

Unfortunately, Bradsher can't resist switching gears from reporter to zealot, demonizing all SUV owners from his bully pulpit. Quoting auto-industry researchers, he describes SUV buyers as "reptiles" motivated by the "jungle instinct for survival." They are "self-centered" men and women who care little for others, he writes, and are less charitable than other Americans. True, Bradsher is reporting what others have said. But one suspects he wouldn't give such opinions so much space unless he agreed.
--Jeffrey R. Kosnett

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High-Tech Housewares

The Cooper Cooler ($90) delivers a cold one in minutes. Add two trays of ice cubes and two cups of cold water to the reservoir, and the toaster-size machine gently spins your can or bottle in an icy bath. A can of beer is cold (and not too foamy) in one minute, and wine is nicely chilled in six. Order from Revolutionary Cooling Systems.

The Orka Miracle Mitt by iSi North America ($20) is combat gear for culinary duty. Waterproof and heat-resistant to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the silicone mitt has a ridged surface on the palm and thumb that allows for a firm grip. Available in stores this spring.

Contek's Bathroom Scale and Electronic Weight Control System ($100) records two years' worth of your daily weight and that of three other users. A digital display shows time, date and indoor temperature -- and logs your weight. If you're afraid eyeglasses will skew the results, you can mount the display at eye level. Available from Frontgate.
--Elizabeth Razzi

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Looking Ahead to Next Year's Hot Models

When Ford's Mustang turns 40 next year, the company will celebrate with a retro redesign aimed at rekindling the excitement that greeted the original. And based on the giddy reaction that greeted the prototype unveiled at this year's Detroit auto extravaganza, the designers have hit their target.

You'll instantly recognize the long hood and short rear deck that have been Mustang mainstays since the '60s, plus such styling cues as hood and door scoops and triple taillights. With its sleek, raked roof, the coupe recalls the 1967 and 1968 Fastbacks. There are also contemporary, high-tech touches: "adaptive" headlamps that turn with the car, and elegant-looking brushed metal on the dashboard and center console. The concept cars shown in Detroit had 4.6-liter V8 engines promising 400 horsepower, but you'll be able to choose a tamer V6 when the cars are produced.

The new 'Stang will reach showrooms in late 2004 as one of the most affordable muscle cars on the market, probably starting at about $17,500 and moving to $35,000 or so for the top-of-the-line convertible.

Among the cars generating the most excitement at this year's Detroit auto show: a reborn Pontiac GTO, which has not been sold since the fuel-strapped days of the '70s. It will arrive around Thanksgiving with rear-wheel drive and a 5.7-liter aluminum-block V8 that's supposed to deliver 340 hp. The GTO unapologetically revives its muscle-car image, right down to the rear spoiler, and 160-mph top speed. It will set you back about $30,000.

One of the new breed of sport wagons, the Dodge Magnum combines a 5.7-liter V8 with an all-wheel-drive option. Seating is slightly raised, cargo room is ample, and, for your tailgate parties, you get a small, removable cooler. The Magnum will be available early next year for less than $35,000.

Detroit was the place for Infiniti to show off its Triant concept car, with its long hood and remote-controlled gullwing doors. You also get all-wheel drive, an adjustable-height suspension for going off-road and a hatchback. Plus, the Triant will feature voice controls -- if it's ever built.
--Mark Solheim

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Hog Wild

You won't feel like a wuss at a Hells Angels rally riding one of these cruiser-class bikes.

Paul Garson sizes up a hog like a gemologist appraising a fat, sparkling diamond. But instead of color, cut and clarity, he weighs torque, top speed and testosterone. And he draws on knowledge assimilated over nearly a decade of editing the magazines VQ (V-Twin) and Hot Bike. His latest book, Born to Be Wild: A History of the American Bike and Biker (Simon & Schuster, $26), is out in April.

Why do motorcycles tickle our neurons? It sure isn't good gas mileage. Says Garson: "You're out there holding on to 400 pieces of metal with a hundred horsepower, flying through the air with nothing around you and no cocoon of metal to protect you from the elements or the outside world. So your sensory apparatus becomes heightened in self-preservation, and that releases endorphins. You feel the adrenaline, and you feel more alive."

And, apparently, more of us want that buzz. Harley-Davidson sales quadrupled over the past decade to top a quarter million last year. That success has attracted more big motorcycle models and spawned the resurrection of the Indian and Triumph Bonneville. These bikes are broadly defined as cruisers, or heavy and pricey two-wheelers with engines that start at 500 cubic centimeters.

But not all models warrant their big sticker prices. Garson spies a night-black Indian Chief Springfield at a dealer near his Los Angeles home. (Indians once ranked with Harleys as iconic U.S. motorcycles, but their first incarnation ended in 1953. The brand was revived four years ago.) Garson stops to swap shoptalk with a salesman about its engine -- a 1,638cc power plant that's bigger than most Harley engines. Big, yes, but Garson and other critics think the new tribe is not faithful to the original -- at least not faithful enough to justify the model's high cost (the Chief Springfield sells for about $21,500).

At another dealership, Garson points out Kawasaki's 1500 Drifter with a 1,470cc engine. "This bike looks more like the original Indian than the new Indian does," says Garson. One caveat: The Indian bikes, new and old, are air-cooled. The Drifter has a modern, liquid-cooled engine. The Kawasaki's engine is smaller than the Indian's, but the bike costs only about $11,000, making it a great value.

To help you sort through the expanding cruiser family, here are Garson's top picks. Each has enough power and panache to ensure that you won't feel like you're riding a Vespa to a Hells Angels rally.

The stepchild

Until about a decade ago, die-hard bikers derided cruisers built in Japan as being weak Harley wannabes. But the attack on the clones died down after such builders as Yamaha (and the venerable Honda) began rolling out models that make distinct visual statements and use more advanced technology than most American bikes.

Yamaha has managed to worm its way into the family fold with its power and futuristic features, such as the colossal exhaust pipe on the 2003 Road Star Warrior. The bike runs on a two-cylinder, aluminum V-twin engine.

The European cousin

For generations, Italian builder Ducati was content to turn out sports bikes to win races. Now Ducati is crafting Monsters for weekend road warriors. These cycles' sporty and stylish lines are like the exchange student in college who used to get all the dates. While the saddle thrusts you into an athletic-looking posture, the adjustable handlebars do not pull you so far forward that your chin almost touches the gas tank, as on a sports bike.

"It has a great price, exceptional handling and a banshee cry that stirs the spirit," says Garson. The 2003 Monster 800 i.e. combines a fuel-injected, L-twin engine with a light trellis frame, morphing the muscle of a traditional cruiser with the better handling of a sports bike.

Ducati has just 172 authorized U.S. dealers. Garson recommends that you buy a Ducati only if there is a seller near you. "The relationship with your dealer is second in importance only to that with your spouse."

The Ducati Monster 800 i.e. has a 73-hp, 803cc engine. Price: $8,700.

The rich uncle

Like a two-wheeled SUV, this cruiser is furnished with touring-bike amenities to smooth out the ride, from anti-lock brakes to heated seats and handgrips. (That's right, a little heater warms the grips and the saddle.

Garson says that BMW bikes boast the most comfortable riding position. You lean forward just enough to rest on the handlebars but not so much that you strain your muscles. And the R 1200 CL's two-cylinder, boxer motor offers the smoothest -- and slowest -- acceleration of this quintet.

While BMWs have a reputation for rarely needing maintenance, Garson suggests that you spring for an extended warranty. If this bike falls over while you're washing it, you could have a big repair bill.

The prodigal son

In the late 1960s, the British builder Triumph had a runaway success with the Bonneville, which was fondly nicknamed the Trumpet by riders. But financial woes forced the company to halt production in 1983. A new British company started making Triumphs in 1991, and two years ago, the Bonneville model was revived. Garson says the 2003 Bonneville America is a dead ringer for the original -- the first motorcycle he ever coveted -- but better built. The steel bike weighs only 497 pounds and runs on a parallel twin motor.

Riding a Triumph, says Garson, signals that the owner wants to express his individuality by owning a less-common cruiser that has both historical and curb appeal.

The patriarch | Harley-Davidson's 2003 FXST Softail

Harley-Davidson owes its king-of-the-road status to the sound and fury of its V-twin engine, which releases a signature growl and provides its "visceral get-up-and-grunt right from the get-go when you hit the throttle," says Garson.

The FXST Softail flaunts the famous V-twin, which has been updated with a twin cam to smooth out the ride. The engine is air-cooled, leaving its fins rakishly exposed.

The Softail derives its name from the design of its frame. The reclining saddle is close to the ground, so you can sit like a 1950s rebel while still feeling comfortable, thanks to the suspension springs hidden under the transmission.

The Softail has a 58-horsepower, 1,450cc engine. Price (in black): $13,720.
--Sean O'Neill

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