Letters

Roadster Mania
Hooray for Chrysler! Building the Prowler is a wonderful, daring thing to do (February '96). Too bad the price is going to be in the mid-$30,000s. And I was worried about the lack of V-8 power. One of the main problems with V-6s has been their wimpy, blithering sound, and one of the best things about a V-8 is the muscular throb. Fortunately, according to your write-up, Plymouth has taken care of my worries. However, regardless of the AutoStick tranny, a straight-up stick should be available. Chrysler has a great six-speed available, so why don't they use it? That would also allow a shorter rear gear without sacrificing gas mileage.
Shon RandBowman, Ga.

Chrysler has made the Prowler affordably rear drive by utilizing the LH platform's 3.5-liter V-6 and transaxle mounted remotely at the rear. The Viper's Borg-Warner six-speed to which you refer wouldn't work in this application.-Ed.

When I began driving some 47 years ago, there were lots of cars like the handsome '98 Plymouth Prowler, only they were the real thing and not a $35K simulacrum. Then, as now, Chrysler discriminated against real drivers. Then they called it Fluid Drive, now they call it AutoStick shifter.
Kenneth LynnPompano Beach, Fla.

I greatly enjoyed the articles on the Plymouth Prowler and the BMW Z3 in your February issue. I would like to congratulate Chrysler and BMW for making these concept cars come to life.
Eric BauerKaty, Texas

The Z3 is cobbled together out of the spare-parts bins of other BMWs; it isn't designed as a sports car so much as it is a Frankenstein creation, complete with a computer chip for a brain. Getting into the thing means banging one's head on the unreasonably low but otherwise excellent top. Once mounted, one can't sit erect with the top up, nor see forward with the top down for unwanted obstructions in the middle of one's sightline. The seats can't be reclined because of a bar located behind them. I can't understand what Jeff Karr had in mind when he wrote his article, but a Z3 is suitable only for grammar-school-size kids.
David EllisFredericksburg, Va.

By using some existing parts, BMW was able to build a well-balanced roadster without incurring immense engineering costs. The benefits are tangible for the consumer, who can buy a Z3 for about the same price as a 318i Convertible and choose from an abundant supply of aftermarket hop-up parts. At 6 feet 2 inches, Jeff Karr had room to spare in the Z3, as did other staff members. You must be related to Dale Ellis of the Denver Nuggets.-Ed.

Import Car of the Year
Your January '96 road test of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class piqued my interest in a vehicle I hadn't previously considered purchasing. In the article, the six-cylinder E320 is credited with a 7.9-second 0-60-mph time, which was slower than Mercedes' own two-page ad in the same issue, which claimed 7.6 seconds. Thirty days later, in MT's February issue, the same Mercedes E320 is the Import Car of the Year, and, golly, the honor must have really stoked its adrenaline because now it's so pumped it runs the 0-60-mph test at 7.1 seconds. Was the soon-to-be-crowned king partying with some nitro before his coronation?
Barry KellyBethany Beach, Del.

Our January test numbers were recorded with preproduction models prior to final engine calibrations, hence the faster times than those scored by production cars in the following issue. We've found that manufacturers generally are conservative with their published figures, likely accounting for the times quoted in the Mercedes-Benz ad.-Ed.