Cars for buyers who want the best - 1993 luxury cars - Special Report - Buyers Guide

Nation's Business, Nov, 1992 by Julie Candler

The $4's standard features include a differential that distributes engine power in varying degrees between front and rear wheels for a feeling of all-around road stability, plus a cellular phone concealed in the center arm rest.

The $4 went on sale in the U.S. last May at $44,155, and within a month, all 300 vehicles were sold.

The Audi V-8 Quattro fairly leaps from the highway with its 4.2-liter, 276-horsepower, 32-valve engine. It has excellent road-holding and maneuvering capabilities. The price is $53,900, plus a $2,100 fueleconomy tax.

BMW. The 14 models from BMW of North America, Inc., range from the 318i ($22,900) to the 850i two-door V-12 ($78,500). In 1996, some production will be transferred from Germany to South Carolina. In the $35,000-and-up category are the models in the 5 and 7 series, plus the 325iC convertibles ($36,320) and the 850i.

For 1993, BMW has added its first V-8, a 4.0-liter, 32-valve engine to power the 740i and 740iL sedans. This past spring, BMW introduced a station wagon, the 525i Touring Sedan ($38,000). With a V-6, 189-horsepower engine, BMW says, the car combines "the driving pleasures of a sports sedan with the utility of a station wagon."

Cadillac. The 1992 Seville Touring Sedan (called the STS and priced at $41,990 for 1993) was so hot when it arrived that it won honors from three car-buff magazines, including designation as "Car of the Year" from Motor Trend.

This front-wheel-drive car boasts the styling and stiffer handling of European cars and has captured a share of the under-50 market of younger, more-affluent buyers. Those who prefer softer, more traditional ride and handling can choose the base-model Seville four-door V-8 at $34,975.

For 1993, Cadillac adds even more zip to the Seville STS with its first new engine in a decade. Called the Northstar, it's an impressive, all-aluminum, 4.6-liter V-8 with four camshafts and 32 valves that produce 290 horsepower. It was first made available on the $59,975 1993 Cadillac Allante luxury sports car. The engine is smoothly matched with a new, stronger transmission, the 4T80-E, an electronically controlled four-speed automatic.

Cadillac also equipped its Eldorado Touring Coupe with a 270-horsepower, 4.6-liter version of the Northstar V-8 (the less-powerful engine avoids a fuel-economy tax). The Eldorado Sport Coupe for 1993 offers an optional package that provides a sportier look, and another package that includes the appearance changes plus the 270-horsepower version of the new Northstar engine.

The base Eldorado retains the 4.9-liter, 16-valve V-8 that has been a Cadillac staple.

The big, rear-wheel-drive Brougham ($36,360) got a substantial makeover for 1993. The top-of-the-line models are renamed the Fleetwood and Fleetwood Brougham. At 225.3 inches, they are longer than their predecessors, which already were the longest cars on the market except for limousines.

Infiniti. This line, from the Infiniti Division of the Japanese Nissan Motor Corp. in U.S.A., ranges from a modest four-cylinder G-20 ($19,100) to the finely engineered Q45 ($44,100, including a fueleconomy tax). The Q45 rates tops in quality studies by J.D. Power and Associates, an automotive marketing and research finn in Agoura Hills, Calif.