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1. Charge account bankers the new merchants The Little Cars Ford Pinto Chevrolet Vega AMC Gremlin VW Super Beetle Toyota Corona Datsun PL510 ColorTV Concrete Floor Paints Instant Coffee ae Low priced Flashlights F gt Bathroom Scales lt Men s T Shirts Space saving washer dryer combination Datsun PL510 Chevrolet Vega Toyota Corona Ford Pinto VW Super Beetle AMC Gremlin Mbre and more single people small families and even not so small families have discovered that a bigger car isn t necessarily a better car It certainly isn t better in clogged traffic or in the great American game of find the parking spot Big cars cost more than small ones to buy operate re pair and often to insure A big car may even pollute the air more than a small one Today s methods of testing emissions aren t accurate enough to prove that premise conclusively But it makes sense Assuming roughly equal efficiency for two car engines the Some changes in CU s tests Since U S car manufacturers have designed most of their 1971 models to operate efficiently on the new un leaded or low lead gasolines CU now uses such gasolines whenever specified as usable by the manufacturer General Motors says it s O K to use the new unleaded fuels such as Shell of the Future Amoco 91 and Arco Clear among others in its engines Those fuels are rated at 91 octane by their manufacturers Ford told CU that
2. els have the headlight switch inboard of the wiper and washer switches contrary to the habit pattern built up by millions of drivers Unlike the Datsun s however those two switches on the Vega are well differentiated the headlight switch be ing round and the wiper and washer switches rectangular But we found the headlight dimmer switch too high on the toeboard and hard to reach Except for the fact that some CU drivers found the side view mirror too small we have no other quarrel with the controls The Vega has unusual safety belts Separate buckles secure the lap and shoulder straps but the inboard shoulder belt buckle is attached to the inboard lap belt With that arrangement the lap portion tended to stay over the hips of the wearer instead of riding up dangerously over the abdomen At the same time this simple setup tangled less than do completely separate belts CU s drivers found the belts comfortable With the belts secured drivers could reach all controls Of all the cars in this test group the Vega alone has side harriers built into the doors for crash protection Along with the Datsun the Toyota and the Pinto the Vega has a padded steering wheel hub The Vega s soft suspension insulated occupants from small bumps and road imperfections But on rough roads the car leaped and bounced unpleasantly We judged the lightly loaded ride fair to poor With a full load the ride de teriorated to poor The susp
3. other cars in this test group in virtually every respect We judged the Gremlin s seating com fort fair in front and poor in the rear The front bench seat gives no lateral support it takes real effort to keep yourself from moving on the slippery vinyl seat and being forced away from the steering wheel on a twisting road even with seat belts fastened The Gremlin was the only car in this test group whose head room was inade quate for tall occupants The high seat cushion puts tall and even average sized drivers on intimate terms with the upper windshield frame the headliner and the top of the window opening Long legged drivers complained of insufficient thigh clearance under the steering wheel when operating the clutch and brake pedals The rear seat is well nigh uninhabit able for two adults one adult sitting sideways may be able to endure a brief trip The rear seat does have a folding back that provides a useful luggage plat form A swing up rear window allows loading When we folded the driver s seat forward in our test car the seat top hit the horn button The Gremlin s major instrument panel controls have lighted labels an unusual and useful feature However the side by side headlight and windshield wiper washer knobs are almost identical the wiper washer knoh has a small ear on its edge it s possible to turn off the lights accidentally instead of actuating the washer The heater was difficult to mod
4. absolute basis as CU does we may judge for example that a given subcompact rides quite well for its size and weight and still call its ride fair or worse After all it has to compete with cars that may weigh twice as much and cost three times as much as those in our current test group It s much harder to design good ride into a small car than into a large one One reason is that because of lack of room suspension travel in a small car tends to be shorter You ll have to decide for yourself just how much space and comfort you re willing to sacrifice for low cost greater ma neuverability and easier parking DATSUN PL510 CU last reported on a Datsun in June 1970 We rated it then above the VW Beetle in overall quality This year we rank the Datsun above the other sub compacts including the Super Beetle We found the front bucket seats fair to good in comfort But even average sized drivers complained that leg room in front was a bit skimpy In the four door model the seat backs recline in the two door they don t In the two door an ingenious mech anism slides the seat cushion forward a few inches when you fold down the seat back in spite of that though climbing in and out of the rear seat was awkward And having expended the effort to get into the rear seat you probably wouldn t be very happy there Knee room was in adequate even for average sized adults We judged comfort there fair to poor The Datsun has a
5. disconcerting could be controlled by turning the steering wheel briefly in the opposite direction Response was quick but fairly unpredictable earning the VW a judgment of fair to poor for its emergency handling Our Super Beetle s acceleration or lack of it had us puzzled for several weeks Volkswagen claimed three extra horses for its 1971 model but our test car felt pokier than last year s Our dealer couldn t fix it nor could we using tuneup information available to us Finally we learned from Volkswagen that the original timing instructions sent to the dealers were incorrect We got our Super Beetle running right in time for our formal tests but we wonder how many other incorrectly tuned V s were delivered in the first few months of the 1971 model year The brakes were good as in recent years but they required relatively heavy pedal effort They resisted fade very well No instability CU has come to expect quality work manship in V s Our 1971 Super Beetle didn t disappoint us We discovered just 11 defects most of them minor Our car arrived with tires inflated dangerously high 40 to 42 pounds per square inch One of the new face level vents wouldn t open or close fully The carburetor needed adjustment to keep the engine from stalling during warmup The V F s Frequency of Repair record has worsened slightly but is still better than average AMC GREMLIN The Gremlin proved worse than the
6. hard In spite of a rather high ratio rear axle and a smooth shifting four speed transmission accel eration was just adequate in CU s judg ment What s more that high axle ratio made the Pinto buzz and boom at free way speeds Gas mileage was several miles per gallon worse than the Vega s A three speed automatic transmission is optional only with the larger 122 cubic inch engine The combination costs 225 Or you can opt for just the larger engine for 50 The larger engine should provide a welcome increase in acceleration but CU has no information about its gas mileage or noise level The Pinto s all drum brakes proved to be directionally unstable when used very hard We judged their performance fair For 32 you can buy a non power disc front drum rear brake system CU hasn t tested it but we believe it would probably be worthwhile The headlight and wiper washer switches in the Pinto are identical in shape and sit side by side to the left of the steering wheel where they are easy to confuse The headlight dimmer switch is awkwardly high on the toeboard Driver s vision forward is fine except for a serious blind spot formed by the inside mirror The narrow and shallow rear window severely restricts vision to the rear The Pinto incidentally is the first small Ford model in years to have a separate fuel tank under the trunk floor a desirable feature The front three point lap and shoulder belts are comf
7. incorrect idle speed and idle mixture a lean choke optically distorted windshield and inside mirror a rear axle that whined and tires that were out of balance But overall our Yoyota s workmanship was better than that of our domestic subeompacts The Frequency of Repair record for the Corona has been better than average All engine components that need regular service are easy to reach in the Toyota Protruding wheel wells make it hard to climb into the Toyota s tight rear seat FORD PINTO Several notches down our Ratings scale the Ford Pinto and the VW Super Beetle both two door sedans are tied The Pinto is shorter wider and lower than the Vega Inside the front compart ment of the Pinto also is slightly wider than the Vega s but the Pinto s rear shoulder room is 6 5 inches narrower The problem is the high rear wheel housings which intrude way up into the rear passenger compartment The Pinto s front bucket seats are close to the floor and are contoured for side support Unlike the Vega s front seats the Pinto s are thinly padded Front leg room is adequate for most adults even though the wheel wells en croach slightly on foot space We judged front seating comfort fair Because of a high driveshaft tunnel the rear seat is tightly contoured for two passengers Rear knee rooin is adequate for adults only because the low seat cushions force passengers to sit on the point o
8. such fuels are acceptable for all Ford models except those for which premium grade fuel is specified American Motors recommends alternate tankfuls of leaded and un leaded fuel All three of our domestic test cars for this month along with our VW Super Beetle ran satisfactorily on 91 octane fuel Datsun recommends regular grade fuel for the PL510 our test car ran on regular with only mild pinging Toyota recommends premium for the Corona but we successfully used regular in our test car CU also is reducing its maximum allowable brake pedal effort from 200 to 150 pounds The National Bureau of Standards has found that many drivers can t brake harder than 150 pounds For that reason CU will rate a car Not Acceptable if its brakes require more than 150 pounds of pedal effort during our brake tests Starting this year CU s auto testers are measuring brake pedal effort with an electronic transducer designed by our Electronics Division instead of with a hydraulic gauge C O 8 JANUARY 1971 THE LITTLE CARS one that burns more gasoline would emit more pollutants Until last fall the choice in very small cars the class CU calls subcompacts was limited largely to Volkswagen Toyota Datsun and other imports The lone domestic model was American Motors Gremlin and it didn t partic ularly endear itself to CU s test drivers see CONSUMER RE ports July 1970 Now two new domestic subcompacts have appeared
9. the Chevrolet Vega and the Ford Pinto How do those newcomers stack up against Beetle amp Co To find out CU tested a group of six subcompacts Besides the Vega and the Pinto we check tested the 197014 Dat sun PL510 that we had reported on in June 1970 we made a few minor changes to update our car We also bought a Toyota Corona and a VW Super Beetle it has more luggage room than the unsuper Beetle and a different front suspen sion Finally we bought another AMC Gremlin since this year s standard engine is more powerful than last year s Less than 250 separates the Pinto the least expensive car in this group from the Toyota the most expensive and also the most fully equipped The domestic models also are close to the imports in size although the Vega is longer than its competitors and the Pinto and the Gremlin are wider Front seat accommodations are more generous in the domestic cars All six cars in this group are billed as four passenger sedans but adults who sit in the back seats of any of these cars may take strong exception to that claim Before the Vega went on sale a top Chevrolet executive boasted that the quality of construction of the new model would be higher than that of any other domestic car Per haps someday Our Vega suffered from wavy scarred sheet metal sloppy paint and a fairly large number of mechani cal defects So did the Pinto As usual our VW was assem bled and finished exceptiona
10. the number one cylinder spark plug hole and then using our expensive electronic analyzer Even then when we pulled off and plugged the distributor vacuum line according to instructions the engine raced too fast for us to set the timing Since the manual was of no help we called Ford s engi neers and learned how to adjust the sen sitive antismog deceleration valve at tached to the right side of the carburetor The engineers told us that as the engine breaks in that valve probably would re quire adjustment to prevent the high idle speed we experienced But that valve isn t even mentioned in the manual Unlike most small cars the Pinto has space between its rear bumper and body metal this helps prevent parking scars Ford says it s casy to service but the Pinto s engine sits low and far back a large battery also gets in the way A VOLKSWAGEN SUPER BEETLE The model that Volkswagen calls the Super Beetle feels little different from the many unsuper Beetles CU has tested The interior of the 1971 Super Beetle is just as cramped as the interior of any other Beetle Leg room may feel tight to tall drivers also elbow room was lim ited and the close windshield and in strument panel made front seat occu pants feel claustrophobic Head room however was adequate The front bucket seats were firm and high Tbe seat cushions offered little side support but the seat backs helped hold the torso in place durin
11. 7 43 5 60 13 A78 13 6 00 13 144 418 179 46 193 148 97 140 113 4 R 4 R 4 6 96 90 108 3 90 2 53 3 70 14 5 15 5 14 20 71 20 5 71 19 5 71 9 5 9 5 9 5 20 31 18 35 18 30 a7 28 25 170 130 160 60 35 35 70 75 50 parable model without sunroof 113 2049 B Variable ratio Three speed manual transmission standard not synchro nized for lst gear in the Gremlin Sunroof model price includes 35 for vinyl trim Com m Ford Pinto 2015 94 163 6 3 4 9 52 5 40 5 26 5 2 0 11 0 90 2046 55 45 6 00 13 413 331 98 4 R 3 55 19 21 5 64 13 18 30 25 160 70 Volkswagen Super Beetle 117 2139 96 162 61 5 8 5 1 47 40 22 3 1 11 0 68 1978 42 58 5 60 15 1298 16 97 4 R 3 67 20 21 5 62 17 17 29 150 65 70 AMC Gremlin 2 1 21 35 1 20 2634 58 42 6 00 13 151 5 232 6 R 2 73 13 19 5 72 8 12 24 19 180 55 At full load inflation pressures the tire reserve capacity would be 80 front and 145 rear No fuel specified in owner s manual Toyota suggested premium to CU but CU s car ran satisfactorily on regular Timing was off during this test so average mpg would not be reliable CONSUMER REPORTS 17
12. L LENGTH OVERALL WIDTH ROAD CLEARANCE no load with maximum rated load FRONT SEAT SHOULDER ROOM inches inches inches inches inches inches MAXIMUM FRONT SEAT LEG Room inches REAR SEAT FORE AND AFT SEATING SPACE inches LUGGAGE CAPACITY 2 suiters weekend cases ADVERTISED FUEL TANK CAPACITY gallons TURNING CIRCLE DIAMETER feet STEERING FACTOR Manual WEIGHT AND TIRES CURB WEICHT pounds T PER CENT WEIGHT front rear TIRE SIZE TIRE RESERVE CAPACITY AT MAXIMUM LOAD pounds Front tires 4 Rear tires ENGINE AND PERFORMANCE DISPLACEMENT cubic inches NO OF CYLINDERS amp FUEL REQ D ADVERTISED HORSEPOWER AXLE RATIO ACCELERATION ON LEVEL ROAD 0 60 mph seconds Y mile from rest seconds amp speed at end of 4 mile mph Passing 45 to 65 mph seconds FUEL ECONOMY RANCE OF GAS MILEAGE TO BE EXPECTED IN NORMAL USE mpg TANK MILEAGE OBSERVED ON 300 MILE TEST TRIP mpg BRAKING LEVEL BRAKING FROM 60 MPH Minimum distance controlled stop with no locked wheels feet m FADE TEST Pedal effort for initial 4 g stop pounds effort for 10th repeated stop pounds Four door sedan Sse e FACTS AND FIGURES Datsun Chevrolet Toyota PL510 Vega 2300 Corona 2105 2152 2261 96 97 96 159 170 167 62 66 62 7 4 5 6 8 5 3 8 4 5 50 51 5 50 39 42 5 39 25 26 25 3 2 2 3 244 12 1l 13 34 37 35 0 62 0 94 0 80 0 88 2130 2264 2228 54 46 54 46 5
13. Like the Pinto and the Gremlin the Vega offers many options A slightly more powerful engine is available for 42 A four speed manual transmission 53 probably would make the car peppier around town and more flexi ble on the highway especially since it comes with the higher 2 93 1 rear axle ratio A semiautomatic Torque Drive 111 and a fully automatic Powerglide 168 transmission also are available but both are two speed units performance probably would suf fer with either one You can order many other options including air conditioning 360 As mentioned earlier our Vega s workmanship was sloppy The body showed many small dents file marks waves paint runs and areas where paint was dull Several structural welds were either incomplete or cracked A defec tive weld in the fresh air intake allowed water to leak onto the driver s floormat We also experienced mechanical fail ures some serious A faulty fuel tank cap and dented filler neck caused the car to trail a stream of gasoline during ac celeration or hard right turns A simi lar problem occurred in several 1971 GM cars that CU is testing for forthcom ing reports GM told us a vendor sup plied improperly manufactured caps and they are being corrected But GM has announced no recall The engine knocked audibly on the prescribed 91 octane fuel a possible cause being an engine distributor with excessive wob ble in the shaft To round things of
14. an the VW The extra weight demands a slower steering ratio And that in turn results in clumsy han dling Even worse most of the weight is on the front wheels making for a severe traction problem Slippery roads induce rear wheel spin Backing up an in clined gravel driveway is an exercise in earthmoving We judged the Gremlin s normal handling fair counting heavily against the car was its tendency to hop and skip sideways on rough surfaces The rear window in our Gremlin opens for loading but the liftover is quite high Our high speed emergency handling tests at the track produced more frus tration On fast right hand turns the en gine invariably died out The Gremlin would coast through the turn popping backfiring and making other impolite noises AMC Sixes have been behaving similarly for several years And that s no small fault A loss of power in an emer gency could be dangerous In fast left hand turns which the engine could manage the steering response was fairly slow fairly predictable and very non sporting We judged the high speed han dling fair The Gremlin s engine relatively large and heavy last year is even larger this year As compared to the small four cylinder cars in this group a car with a big Six should have been a smooth quiet performer Yet at 60 mph the Gremlin was every bit as noisy as the imports or the Pinto The source of the problem wasn t so much engine noise as road no
15. cause of lack of space However small adults and children might find the rear seat comfortable and average sized adults probably would find the seating tolerable for short trips The wheel wells protrude far into the door openings making it hard to climb in or out of the rear seat Although the Toyota s ride was com fortable for this group of cars we judged it fair to poor on our absolute scale Normally smooth roads produced frequent small jerky motions sharp ridges or bumps caused quick upward kicks The ride didn t get much worse on really bad road surfaces And even with a full load in the car the ride re mained fairly well controlled Although quieter than all the other cars in this group except the Vega the Toyota still was fairly noisy The major offenders were wind whistle rear axle whine and engine drone As we mentioned earlier handling was the Toyota s major weakness No serious problems showed up during normal driv ing at low and moderate speeds the car responded fairly quickly and fairly pre dictably We judged normal handling fair to good But the Toyota s emergency handling was judged fair to poor The car still responded fairly quickly but it CONSUMER REPORTS 11 was fairly unpredictable If cornered fast the Toyota tended to plow straight ahead regardless of how sharply the front wheels were turned and at times the rear end unexpectedly lost traction We judged steering effort mod erate t
16. ension bot tomed often and hard even freeway ex pansion joints came through as hard kicks The Vega softly rolled onto its sus pension bumpers when we cornered it moderately but handling remained pre dictable on smooth road surfaces In choppy corners the rear end hopped sideways but the problem was far less severe than in the Pinto or the Gremlin On the road the Vega s steering response felt fairly quick and predictable We judged the Vega s normal handling fair to good In our emergency handling tests at the track the Vega generally held the road well although it jarred and rocked around bumpy corners In hard right hand turns the engine stumbled momen tarily However the steering response felt quick and predictable at high speed We judged the Vega s emergency han dling good Power steering is a 95 extra but the Vega doesn t need it CU feels We judged the manual steering effort moderate during parking low to moder ate when under way Ground clearance was judged unsatis factory With no one in the car a scant five inches separated the exhaust system from the road With a full load clear ance dropped to 3 8 inches During our pre test driving the engine oil pan 0 2 inches higher than the exhaust system struck the road several times that should never happen Our pan was x dented but not punctured Good thing A puncture could have resulted in a loss of engine oil and a ruined engine This is
17. f the shift lever came off the windshield washer hoses blew off the pump and drenched the driver s legs and the steering wheel was almost a quarter turn off center No conventional glove compartment in the Vega The only place to stow odds and ends is in the driver s door pocket The Vega s trunk bristles with sharp hardware that holds the jack and spare The Vegas side view mirror is skimpy compared to the Pinto s hand held TOYOTA CORONA The Toyota Corona available only as a four door sedan shares second place in our Ratings with the Vega Both of these cars are very close to the top rated Dat sun in overall quality in CU s opinion The Toyota would have given the Datsun a good run for top honors in this group It does quite well in acceleration gas mileage and braking and comfort isn t bad for a car of this size But the Toyota s uncertain emergency high speed handling knocked the car out of top contention The interior is hospitable for average sized adults but six footers found the accelerator pedal too close they had to drive with their foot and knee angled to the right The contoured front bucket seats gave good support and their vel vet like nylon trim looked and felt good But the seats were a bit too firm sev eral CU drivers complained of a hard ridge at kidney level Overall we judged front seating comfort fair to good Rear seat comfort was judged fair to poor mainly be
18. f their posterior with their knees high in the air With the driver s seat pushed all the way back as it s likely to be with many drivers the left rear passenger will probably be severely pressed for space The front passenger s seat which does not adjust fore and aft allows the right rear passenger only slightly more room We judged the Pinto s rear seat comfort poor The Pinto s suspension lets you feel the road every bump ridge and pebble We experienced an unending series of short vertical snaps On rough roads the Pinto s rear end dances sideways We judged the ride under light load poor Adding a full load reduced the rear end skittering somewhat but then the suspension bottomed over bumps Still unpleasant and still judged poor Add ing to all the bumps and grinds was a lively stecring wheel that kicked and shook in the driver s hands as the car encountered road irregularities Pinto drivers need shockproof watches Around town the Pinto respouded crisply to its steering as a small car should But on the highway bumps tended to knock the Pinto off course which is why we downgraded the car s normal handling to fair On the smoother surface of our test track the Pinto cor ay ee nered easily and predictably we judged the high speed emergency handling good Steering effort was moderate dur ing parking low to moderate under way The Pinto s standard 98 cubic inch Four had to work
19. fault that we ve often complained of and that a number of cars have eliminated The lights and windshield wiper washer switches are side by side and identically shaped What s more the wiper washer switch is to the left of the light switch contrary to the arrangement U S drivers are ac customed to Turning off your lights on a misty night when you meant to turn off the wiper could be dangerous Also you have to work the heater blower switch mainly by feel the markings are hard to read Other controls are unlikely to cause confusion and they re within easy reach of the fully belted driver The heater and defroster put out plenty of heat With earlier Datsuns we complained that you usually get either too much heat or not enough that there s no comfortable middle setting for most conditions That s still true As to ven tilation the two face level fresh air ducts provided plenty of air in warm weather but when open they carried engine noise into the passenger compartment Forward visibility is fine but the line of vision from the inside mirror isn t parallel to the ground so that your view is cut off too close behind The Datsun s interior is generally smooth Even the horn bar is padded But the latches for the swinging rear windows on the two door model are sharp and hostile when open The three point lap and shoulder belts once adjusted to a specific person are convenient and easy to fasten But loosening t
20. g cornering The seat back reclines in three positions but the latch was hard to reach and operate especially while driving We judged front seat comfort fair Rear seat comfort was poor in our judgment Knee room and head room were inadequate for adults The rear bench seat was firm and upright and the seat back was short Access to the rear seat was difficult the opening behind the folded front seat back is so narrow that there s little foot space to step into The Super Beetle holds about twice as much luggage in front as an unsuper model To open the front hood you first have to reach into the glove compart ment where the hood release is then go around to the front and push the out side release catch Not the most conven ient arrangement And if you decide to load your shopping onto the rear seat you have to fold down the front seat back and then stretch uncomfortably Our V W s heating and ventilation sys tem is improved over last year s with the addition of a blower for face level air But windshield demisting is still not so effective as the hot water heat systems in many other small cars Temperature control and distribution of heat also leave much to be desired As in earlier models the center of the instrument panel has two vertical rows of round knobs three in the left row four in the right At best that arrange ment makes for lots of fumbling At worst it could result in your turning off the head
21. he shoulder belt usually involves getting out of the car a nuisance Some drivers also com plained that the shoulder belt rubbed lightly against their neck or left ear In sum the shoulder portion of the belt is unlikely to be used The rear belts were adjusted so short that large pas sengers couldn t fasten them We had to lift out the rear seat cushion and unbolt the belt anchors to lengthen the belts The Datsun s fuel tank is in the trunk behind the rear seat In that location it s well protected against collision damage but if it should puncture fuel could leak CONSUMER REPORTS 9 down into the cabin posing a fire hazard Yor a very small car the Datsun rode quite comfortably We judged the ride fair under light load fair to poor with a full load The ride felt busy but not harsh over large bumps the ride was well controlled Noise was a problem The four cylinder engine buzzed and during gentle acceleration at fairly high speeds made a strange rattlesnake like noise The rear suspension clunked over sharp bumps Road and wind noise was high With its manual steering the Datsun s steering effort on the road was low to moderate parking though required moderate effort We judged normal han dling to be good Although the car was sensitive to crosswinds on the freeway it maintained directional stability over choppy road surfaces better than any of these other cars except the VW The Datsun s high s
22. ise and wind noise The three speed manual transmission on our Gremlin had a floor shift First gear still isn t synchronized That means agonizing crunches going into first gear unless the car is almost fully stopped The shift linkage felt notchy but it worked The clutch chattered severely and the clutch pedal travel was unusu ally long and stiff The Gremlin s own i E s Our Gremlin was supposed to have a glove compartment lid but it came without one er s manual specified alternate tanks of leaded and unleaded gas Mileage was low for this group about nine miles per gallon lower than the Vega s The Gremlin s front weight bias didn t help the braking Preventing the rear wheels from locking took considerable skill and allowing them to lock made our Gremlin directionally unstable Our shortest stop from 60 mph was 180 feet the longest in this test group Brake fade was noticeable but not severe Moderate stops induced brake chatter We judged the Gremlin s brakes fair overall No disc brake option is offered Power assist is available but CU recommends that you avoid it Power assist would make it even more difficult to avoid lock ing the rear wheels prematurely Among other options is a 200 automatic trans mission and a 400 air conditioner Our Gremlin suffered from 23 assem bly defects and early failures That s a few fewer than average but some of the defects in our car were se
23. le ratio as measured on CU s test car 0 60 mph and 14 mile runs are taken with engine idling at start and trausmission gears selected for optimum performance 45 65 mph passing test is with accelerator pedal floored and transmission shifting automatically or gears used to maximum advantage Times are given to nearest 0 5 second FUEL ECONOMY Ranye represents the ex tremes to be expected between short range stop and go and open road trips at more con stant speeds The mileage observed on CU s 300 mile test trip is comparable among test cars in any one group but since weather conditions vary should not be compared to mileage figures for another month s group Miles per gallon to nearest gallon BRAKING Minimum distance stops are shortest distance to nearest 10 feet achieved in several attempts with car stop ping without locking any wheels within a 12 foot lane Actual distances apply only to CU s test conditions and road surface but the relative ranking should remain the same Fade test consists of 10 moderate stops re peated at 4 mile intervals Difference in pedal effort between first and 10th stops rep resent degree of fade Pedal effort is to near est 5 pounds Maximum acceptable brake pedal effort is 150 pounds MFR S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE for 2 door sedan with standard 4 speed manual transmission except as noted and with AM radio and other options as noted DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE OVERAL
24. lights when you want to squirt the windshield Forward vision suffers somewhat be cause of the low inside mirror and the CONSUMER REPORTS 13 rounded upper corners of the wind shield Wide rear quarter panels restrict vision to the right rear and the high seat backs with integral head re straints interfere with vision to the rear for the short driver The lap and shoulder portions of the seat belts adjust separately at the buckle which snaps into a fixed socket on the floor tunnel Adjustment isn t easy and sometimes the lap belt tends to work loose The belts are hard to reach on their storage hooks on the door pillars but once adjusted and fastened they feel comfortable and permit easy reach of all controls except the heater floor vents The top of the V W s forward mounted fuel tank forms the floor of part of the trunk and the overflow line runs unpro tected through the trunk Damage from luggage is unlikely but a separate tank under the car would be safer Our Super Beetle rode better than have our earlier Beetles thanks to a re designed front suspension But it was still among the worst riding cars in this test group With a light load ride mo tions were quick and choppy on most road surfaces and the car tended to rock quickly from side to side on uneven roads We judged the ride fair to poor under light load The ride deteriorated when the car was loaded to capacity Motions became larger and more unc
25. lly neatly and the Datsun and the Toyota weren t far behind The Gremlin was about average compared with the cars CU has tested recently Small car safety How safe are such small cars That question comes up often but meaningful answers are still in short supply A preliminary report on a large scale accident study by the State of New York concludes that the likelihood of severe in jury or death increases as car weight goes down Apparently also small sedans become involved in more one car accidents and more rollovers than larger cars However those statistics are colored by the fact that a great proportion of the sub compacts in those studies were pre 1968 Volkswagen Beetles Because of their design those Beetles tend to spin out and roll over more easily than many other small cars Of course other factors besides size and weight affect safety For example the occupant of a small car who is wear ing both shoulder and lap belts may be better protected than an unbelted occupant of a larger car Side barriers such as those built into the doors of the Vega also may help to offset a lack of weight In the absence of more complete research data CU s auto testers have no hesitation about riding in any of the cars in this test group But if you do you may want to purchase a heavier car just for your peace of mind Remember too that you may give up more than crash protection when you buy a subcompact Comparing all cars on an
26. n t likely to be dangerous since the emergency flasher normally is used only when the car is stopped A fully belted driver can reach all switches and controls Driver vision generally is good how ever the rear view mirror interferes slightly with forward visibility and the wide rear quarter panel cuts off much of the view to the right rear The hard rear window molding poses a threat to the heads of rear seat passengers but otherwise the Toyota s interior is reason ably smooth As in the Datsun the three point lap and shoulder belts in the Toyota are conyenient to hook up but adjusting the shoulder strap is so inconvenient as to discourage its use Also as in the Dat sun the shoulder belt in the Toyota tended to rub lightly on the neck or left ear of some drivers 12 JANUARY 1971 The top of the Toyota s gas tank also forms the trunk floor an arrangement that CU considers less safe than a sepa rate tank under the floor Our Toyota made a very good first im pression the finish inside and out was neat except for dull paint on the driver s door But the under the skin problems detracted from the car s apparent good workmanship Though we found only 20 defects some were unpleasant After a few hundred miles the engine starter re fused to disengage At one point the oil pressure warning light came on and stayed AY dees it was only a defec tive sending unit The car arrived with incorrect ignition timing
27. n t the car of choice for rutted roads Still another clearance problem has come up with early Vegas those built before the GM strike Threaded studs ex tending below the rear shock absorbers don t clear the machinery in many auto mated car washes according to a car wash trade association The standard Vega has economy gear ing that allows the engine to turn un usually slowly at highway speeds That results in low engine noise while cruis ing and theoretically reduced engine wear But the engine proved quite harsh and noisy when revved up in the lower gears and the exhaust rapped loudly With our standard three speed man ual transmission and rear axle ratio 2 53 1 the Vega felt sluggish around town On the open road and at the test track however the Vega performed ade quately Second gear was useful for passing up to 75 mph Gas mileage proved even better than advertised and better overall than that of the other cars in this test group On our 300 mile trip we recorded a com mendable 28 miles per gallon of low lead 91 octane fuel We judged the Vega s nonpower disc front drum rear brakes fair to good Al though the brakes faded considerably during our repeated stops pedal effort never approached our 150 pound maxi mum limit and the car never swerved We recorded a stopping distance of 130 feet from 60 mph without locking any wheels a feat matched by only one other CU test car a 1969 Simca 1204
28. n A coupe is also available but the manufacturer s published dimensions in dicate that the sedan is roomier The Vega s bucket front seats are of soft full foam construction rather than the more usual metal springs covered by foam or cotton padding We judged their comfort fair to good Although the seats aren t contoured they support the driver and front seat passenger at the sides by al lowing them to sink back into the foam This type of seat can accommodate peo ple of widely varying size but the non perforated vinyl upholstery tends to make occupants feel hot and sticky in the summer The driver sits low with his legs stretched out fairly straight The ac celerator pedal felt too far forward in relation to the other pedals and the steering wheel a complaint we have had with many recent Chevrolet models The Vega s rear seat isn t as roomy as the ads would have you believe But two adults could ride there fairly painlessly for a short time The front passenger s seat is fixed in a compromise position it can t be adjusted The rear passenger behind that seat has reasonable leg room the front seat passenger has ade quate leg room but the instrument panel crowds him Though the rear seat is soft the cushions are low forcing passengers to sit with their knees high The seat back is fairly erect but we found the head room adequate For some reason that CU cannot com prehend some of Chevrolet s 1971 mod
29. n could change this picture The AMC Gremlin we feel combines the worst in heavy and light cars It s basically a compact car shorn of its rear It doesn t feel nimble as does the Datsun or the Pinto Nor are the Gremlin s accommodations hospitable The Gremlin excels only in straight line acceleration and that at the cost of fuel economy One problem with all three domestic cars is their low body styling which makes entry and exit difficult The VV though taller is hard to enter because of limited foot clear ance The Datsun and the Toyota are better in this respect and might be preferable for older people Incidentally four door cars generally are easier to enter in tight quarters the door being shorter can be opened wider For 1971 all U S cars little cars included have only a 12 000 mile or 12 month warranty So do the Datsun and the Toyota VW alone has a 24 000 mile or 24 month war ranty and free 6000 mile diagnostic inspections Other small imports available in this country incdude the Austin America the Fiat 850 and 124 the Opel Kadett the Renault 10 the Sima 1204 CU has tested all those cars in recent years We doubt that any of them would rank ahead of the better cars in this month s group In future months we plan to test the U S compacts the AMC Hornet the Chevrolet Nova the Dodge Dart the Mer cury Comet We will also report on the new for 1971 Datsun 1200 the Toyota Corolla the Dodge Colt
30. ngs shared by most small cars The Vega and the Toyota were the quietest among a gen erally noisy group of cars They also shared with the Datsun a comparatively smooth ride The Vega performed well despite its economy gearing and it handled reasonably well Its brakes stopped the Vega straight and short every time The Toyota accelerated well but the manufacturer s specifi cation of premium grade fuel may increase its operating costs Its vague feel and excessive plowing during high speed cornering were the Toyota s major vices The Ford Pinto and the VW Super Beetle in CU s judg ment are about equal in overall quality but below the Vega and the Toyota The Pinto and the VW differ greatly in character and feel The Pinto is low the VW high The Pinto danced around too much on rough roads Those same rough roads didn t ruffle the VW But the VW was more sen sitive to crosswinds and its high speed emergency handling was queasy and uncertain while the Pinto s we felt was quick and predictable The Pinto s brakes were unstable and grabbed when hot the W s though heavy stopped the car straight and true The VW was slightly noisier than the Pinto and its acceleration especially in passing situations was worse If you like the Pinto you probably wouldn t like the VW and vice versa VW has been the lowest cost new car to own because of its high resale value and good Fre quency of Repair record but strong competitio
31. o high during parking and mod erate while driving power assist is not available With its comparatively large and pow erful four cylinder engine the Toyota accelerated as well as the Datsun that is to say briskly Like most four cylinder engines CU has tested the Toyota s buzzed and droned annoyingly at 60 mph or faster The four speed manual transmission generally shifted smoothly although CU s drivers felt it was too easy to slide into the reverse gear slot when making a quick downshift from fourth to third The gear ratios CU felt are well spaced Third gear is us able up to about 70 mph during passing An optional three speed automatic lists at 155 The Corona owner s manual lists no fuel requirements surprising in view of the current concern with leaded fuels and octane numbers The importer told us the car is supposed to use premium Our test car pinged slightly on regular grade fuel of 94 octane but not enough to hurt the engine The Corona s dise front drum rear brakes were good in CU s judgment With the standard equipment power booster braking was easy enough Re sistance to fade was good The brakes didn t pull or grab All the Toyota s switches have similar round knobs but their placement saves the day The light switch is to the left of the steering wheel and the wiper washer switch is to the right The emergency flasher switch is under the light switch but confusing the two is
32. omfortable The car pitched and snapped even on average secondary roads Rear seat passengers fared the worst We judged the loaded ride poor The Super Beetle was noisy Most of The Super Beetle s trunk is much larger than the nonsuper V W s thanks to a new front suspension and a bulge in the hood 14 JANUARY 1971 the racket came from the rear mounted engine Road noise also was unpleasant but there wasn t much wind noise Again thanks to its new front suspen sion the Super Beetle s handling has improved over that of last year s Beetle We judged the Super Beetle s steering and handling fair to good during normal driving Steering response was quick and predictable The car wasn t uncomfort ably hard to steer during parking and normal driving But the steering became quite heavy during hard turns CU s drivers had a time of it trying to stay in their lane at high speeds when the car was buffetted by gusty crosswinds In emergency maneuvers the Super Beetle eventually reached a point of in stability The car normally tends to turn a bit less sharply than you d expect from the angle of the front wheels en gineets call that understeer During hard cornering the VW s understeer some times became severe the car tended to plow straight ahead even with the wheels turned On the other hand the car sometimes switched to oversteer with the rear end swinging wider than was intended The oversteer though
33. ortable But the belts which lack retractors tend to fall out the door and are clumsy to retrieve The rear seat belts are hard to find and fasten Quality of workmanship in our Pinto was shoddy with numerous interior and exterior flaws The carburetor needed extensive adjustment All told we counted 30 defects Ford has been using a tantalizing sales pitch in its Pinto advertising A brochure describes the many do it your self service and repair jobs that the owner can perform himself thanks to the Pinto s simple mechanical design The car even comes with a small key shaped gadget that serves as a screw driver ruler feeler gauge and spark plug gapping tool Ford offers special tool kits and a do it yourself service manual The begin ner s kit costs 29 the master tool kit 45 and the manual 2 CU bought the kits and the manual and opened our Pinto s hood Then the fun started The engine in our Pinto was tucked way back in the engine compartment and was partially obscured by the large battery A large air cleaner makes the carburetor practically inaccessible but the service manual urges leaving it in place for accurate carburetor adjust ments Lots of luck Checking the ignition timing is basic to any tuneup We pored over the man ual and the engine in vain for a clue as to which of the four timing marks to set opposite the pointer We finally found the proper mark by feeling for top dead center through
34. peed emergency han dling also was good Steering response in both normal and emergency driving was fairly quick and predictable The Datsun accelerated quickly But it was too easy with the four speed man ual transmission to slip into the reverse gate instead of third gear For those who prefer a three speed automatic transmis sion the Datsun has one for 170 We judged the nonpower disc front drum rear brakes good They required moderate effort to use faded only slightly and recovered from fade quickly Our Datsun proved to be assembled with better than average care We un covered only 16 minor problems We couldn t turn on the heat because of a loose heater cable and a defroster duct was disconnected Defective locks and window regulators body flaws and rat tles and buzzes also required repairs But all in all not a bad showing The PL510 s Frequency of Repair rec ord has been better than average The Datsun s trunk the roomiest in this group has flat smooth sides and floor 10 JANUARY 1971 CHEVROLET VEGA The Chevrolet Vega and the Toyota Corona discussed next follow close be hind the Datsun in our Ratings order However the Vega has an entirely dif ferent personality While the Datsun buzzed and boomed at parkway speeds the Vega gobbled up the highway with less fuss However in city driving the Datsun s forte the Vega seemed listless and flat Our test Vega was a basic two door seda
35. rious The steering interlock jammed locking the transmission in reverse The exhaust sys tem leaked and the brakes pulled to the left The clutch linkage squawked the transmission gears whined and their synchronizers made a filing noise the front suspension clunked the front seat springs creaked wind roared past the poorly fitted doors x P The Gremlin s rear seat is large enough for children or for adult contortionists Three winners two runners up and a loser The Datsun PL510 comes out on top of this group of sub compacts because it did more things better than any of its competitors But we wouldn t call the Datsun a much better car than the Chevrolet Vega or the Toyota Corona If you know of a Chevrolet or Toyota dealer with a good reputation for service you might do well to pick the dealer rather than the car Datsun Toyota and VW have established an exten sive dealer network in the U S Parts availability may still be a problem with the imports The Datsun PL510 comes as a two or four door sedan and as a station wagon the Chev rolet Vega comes as a two door sedan as a coupe and as a station wagon the Toyota Corona is available only as a four door sedan In ride handling seating comfort braking acceleration and fuel economy the Datsun was at or near the top of the group The Daisun s major shortcomings were noisiness and CONSUMER REPORTS 15 fussiness at freeway speeds But those are shortcomi
36. the Plymouth Cricket and the basic Volkswagen Beetle 1780 not in cluding dealer preparation I can tell you right now what repairs will come to About ninety dollars We carry one hundred dollars deductible MFR S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE Includes Federal tax and suggested dealer prepara tion charge but not local taxes freight and handling or optional extras except as noted Import prices at East Coast port of entry DIMENSIONS External and internal dimen sions as measured by CU Road clearance is distance from level road surface to lowest part of car likely to strike road Rear fore and aft seating space is measured with the front seat leg room set at 40 inclies or at maximum whichever is smaller Turning circle is diameter of the path of the outer most tip of front bumper with wheels turned full left Steering factor is number of turns of steering wheel for right angle turn of 30 foot radius WEIGHT AND TIRES Curb weight is weight of CU s test car full of gas oil and water 16 JANUARY 1971 Facts and Figures Guide Tire reserve capacity is number of pounds left in reserve over the rated capacity after car has been loaded to its maximum rated load with tires inflated to normal inflation pressures A minus number indicates tires are overloaded they should either be in flated to higher pressure or oversized tires should be used ENGINE AND PERFORMANCE Engine data as furnished by manufacturers Ax
37. ulate mainly because it tended to delay its response The vacuum operated wind shield wipers and manually operated washers worked adequately but we would have preferred the electric ver sions 21 extra The driver s view could be better When the inside mirror is adjusted low for best vision to the rear it forms a forward blind spot large enough to hide a car approaching from a side street The wide rear quarter panels result in a large blind area to the right rear We judged the three point lap and shoulder belts convenient and easy to use But unlike the belts in the other cars Te Ee tested for this report the Gremlins made the driver strain to crank the win dow or release the parking brake The Gremlin s occupants had to en dure unusually large ride motions In fact the suspeusion seemed to magnify the bumps instead of absorbing them Little harshness came through to the occupants and the suspension rarely bottomed But the car jumped and jig gled and rattled on broken pavement giving a feeling of loose shaky coustruc tion With a full load the ride motions smoothed out but the suspension bot tomed frequently And ground clearance shrank to less than that of the Vega 3 6 inches at the muffler We judged the Gremlin s lightly loaded ride fair to poor its fully loaded ride got a judge ment of poor The Gremlin is by far the heaviest car in this test group more than 650 pounds heavier th

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