■
NADA APPOINTS NEW BLACK DIRECTORS
In a move to diversify its ranks, the National Automobile
Dealers Association (NADA) elected two African Americans
to its board of directors. Carl Barnett Sr., presi­
dent of Gulf Freeway Pontiac-GMC in Houston,
Texas, and Larry T. Brown, president ot Landmark
Ford in Niles, 111., and Ottawa Ford-Lincoln-Mer-
cury in Ottawa, 111., join the 53-member board.
They are the first African Americans to occupy
positions on NADA’s board, representing 19,500
First of
Four Reviews
dealers across the U.S.
Barnett, involved in the auto
industry for more than 30
years, opened his dealership
in 1991. He was Black En­
Surf ^ rnett’
terprise magazine’s 1996 A utom obile
by Blair S. Walker
Dealer of the Year.
Brown, an auto dealer since 1985, pre­
viously served as president and chairman
of the National Association of M in o rity
Automobile Dealers (NAMAD).
his is our first encounter with
M itsu b ish i’s restyled flagship
T
D iam ante LS and, three m onths
nto our relationship, we’ve found the
:ham pagne-colored D iam ante full of
surprises — m ost pleasant.
You m ight assume M itsubishi ships
the D iam ante sedan directly from Japan,
as was the case w ith an earlier model that sold from 1 ) 1-
96, T h e revamped version, however, is assembled in Adelaide,
Australia. T he new D iam ante, which has a 3.5-liter V6 Aus­
tralian-m ade engine, is sold in Australia as the Verada Xi-
T his 210-horsepower V6 com bines w ith the D iam antes
four-speed autom atic transmission to produce spirited ac­
celeration. T he perform ance from 0 to 40 m ph is com pa­
rable to that o f a V8. Yet fuel mileage is good at 18 m pg in
the city and 24 m pg on the highway.
At 70 m ph, the D iam ante tachom eter displays a relaxed
2 ’ 00 rpm. T here’s no doubt you're traveling at that speed
becausean inordinate am ount o f w ind noise enters the cabin
for a car with a sticker of
50
AFRICAN AMERICANS O N WHEELS
r
8 Entering and exiting the vehicle is relatively easy, thanks to the
D iam ante’s four-door layout and adequate rear leg room .
Outwardly, the Diam ante has a distinctive style, with attractive
lines alone its flanks.
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■
T h e rear o f the car, w ith its large tail lights, however, appears to
T h e rid e is com fortable and sm ooth. T h e D iam ante s suspen­
sion absorbs bum ps well. A fair am ount ot pedal pressure is needed
m bring the car to a quick stop. Perhaps the D iam ante could use
beefier tires, as theYokohama brand don t offer adequate lateral per­
voices
aiming that SUVs are m ore likely to cause severe damage in collisions
lim 8
_________ I
in v o Ivine tw o passenger
By Monda Webb
6
formance.
Interestingly, D iam ante s en ­
gine is made in Australia; the
transmission is built in Japan.
Unfortunately, we started to
notice a com munications break­
SPECIFICATIONS
dow n betw een those com po-
..$33,050
nents. W hen it was time to crank
Base price...................
up the Diamante in temperatures
„.
,
......... $37,129
at 45 degrees or lower, any m od­
Pnce as tested................................................
.210 horsepower, 3.5-liter V6
erate acceleration would cause the
Engjne..
four-speed autom atic transm is­
Transmission.........................................4-speed automatic
sion to m om entarily slip out of
EPA mileage.......................................18 d ty/24 highway
gear, allowing the engine to rev
.. 4,261
freely. This situation corrected it­
Mileage to date................................................
self after a mile or two ot driving,
after everything warmed up.
S till, it’s a d isc o n c e rtin g
bobble in a near-luxury sedan priced at nearly $40,000, with more
$37,129.
O u r 1998 D iam ante
LS had a $3,500 luxury
group option, allowing us
to enjoy added touches,
such as steering-w heel
m ounted radio controls,
a decent Infinity sound
system with a C D player,
adjustable power seats, a
power trunk and fuel-lid
release. T h e last item
caused several moments of
embarrassed fum bling at
a gas station. T he fuel-lid
release isn’t located on the
\Y/.,k„l
bottom left o f the driver’s seat, as it is in many vehicles.We had
to refer to the owner's m anual to find the b u tto n which was
partially hidden in a recessed area on the drivers door
T he luxury group also included a useful digital readout on
the D iam ante’s center console that shows how tar the car can
travel with its fuel load, elapsed travel time, instant fuel nule-
ACDelco Honors
Whitney Houston
In te rn a ­
tional auto
p a rts s u p ­
p lier A C D elco , a u n it of
General Motors, has awarded
$5,000 to the W hitney Hous­
ton Foundation for C hildren
as part o f its co m m it­
ment to recognizing the
o u ts ta n d in g ac c o m ­
plishm ents o f African
A m ericans. T h e com ­
pany awarded its Pin­
nacle Award for Life­
tim e Achievement to
the singer/actress at
its six th a n n u a l
T rum pet Awards in
Atlanta.
ACDelco was also
a sponsor o f African
Americans O n Wheels
second A nn u al G o ld en
W heels Awards.
r
“ It seem s as if more
“Yes. There's no question people are buying sport-util­
■No. I think SUVs are
that
the
rates
should
be
being stereotyped. Insur­
ity vehicles and insurance
ance ra te s sho uld be raised. The drivers of these companies are just jumping
vehicles
are
more
aggres­
based on a person s driv­
on the bandwagon, looking
ing record, and not on the sive. They should be put in to capture a dollar. No. they
a
different
category
than
an
type of vehicle they drive.
shouldn't raise the rates.”
average-sized vehicle."
Monica Davis
Baltimore, Md
Jim Akers
Kansas City, Kan.
David Robinson
Compton, Calif
“No. There's no reason
for an increase. Just be­
cause I'm in a larger truck,
does not mean I'm more
prone to be in an accident."
Drucella Perkins
Sikeston, Mo
“I own a Trooper and a
Lexus and I tend to drive a
bit more aggressively in my
truck. I think that insurance
rates should be raised if
you live in the city and you
drive at least 80 percent of
the tim e.'
Calvin Smith
Washington, DC.
than 4,000 miles on the odometer.
M aintenance has been routine. T h e oil change at 3,000 miles
costs $27. But we can only w onder it this car will need more
service soon.
afrk an ami rkanson wheels