The extras you enjoy with a luxury car

Nation's Business, Nov, 1993 by Julie Candler

The turbocharged Bentleys can go from 0 to 60 mph in under seven seconds.

Saab

Saab extends its fuel-efficient Trionic engine management system, previously available on turbo models, to its entire 1994 9000 series. All 9000s are now equipped with heat-absorbent glass that improves comfort by reducing radiant solar heat by about 50 percent. The line starts at $28,725 and extends to $38,690 for the turbocharged Saab 9000 Aero.

$25,000 To $355,000

Alfa Romeo

A more powerful engine and other refinements are added to the Alfa Romeo's 164 luxury sport sedan for 1994. The Italian luxury car is a four-door, five-passenger sedan with front-wheel drive. A new front grille and fog lamps are added to its design, by Pininfarina.

Four valves per cylinder perform in the re-engineered V-6 engine. On the new 164LS model, the engine produces 210 horsepower and can go from 0 to 60 in less than eight seconds.

A four-speed automatic transmission includes an "ice" mode for optimizing traction on slippery surfaces.

The 164 Quadrifoglio (four-leaf clover in Italian) has larger-diameter intake and exhaust systems. Its engine has 230 horsepower. Special sporty suspension is complemented by aerodynamic rocker-panel moldings and a spoiler on the rear deck lid.

Alfa Romeo adds free scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles to its basic three-year warranty

Buick

More muscle is added to most of Buick's lineup, including the four-door Park Avenue Ultra ($29,395). Twenty more horses join the supercharged V-6 that is standard on the Ultra, giving it 225 horsepower.

The big, classy Roadmaster Limited four-door sedans ($24,920) and the eight-seat Roadmaster Estate Wagons ($23,800) get a new LT1 Corvette engine, a 5.7-liter V-8 that produces 260 horsepower, or 80 more than previously. The engine has been clocked at 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds, yet preliminary fuel-economy numbers add a mile per gallon, giving 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

Cadillac

A redesigned Sedan de Ville ($32,990) has a sleeker exterior and a roomier interior and trunk.

Cadillac's rear-wheel-drive limo, the four-door V-8 Fleetwood ($33,990), gets a new standard 5.7-liter GenII V-8 engine, which delivers 260 horsepower.

Chrysler

The squared-off Chrysler Imperial is replaced by the fun-to-drive LHS, a stretched luxury version of the new LH front-wheel-drive, four-door sedans: the Chrysler Concorde, the Dodge Intrepid, and the Eagle Vision.

LHS is marketed as a youthful alternative to upscale imported sport-luxury sedans. Its power stems from a 214-horsepower, 24-valve, 3.5-liter V-6 engine. It is seven inches longer than other LH cars. It features luxury-car standards such as leather seats and power sunroof Its estimated price for 1994 is $30,283.

The New Yorker model uses the same engine and platform, but it is more traditional, with a split bench seat and a gear shift mounted on the steering wheel. Its estimated price for 1994 is $25,386.

Lexus

There is a new engine under the hood of the 1994 ES300, the best-selling of the Lexus models. The new engine is a 24-valve, 3.0-liter V-6 that improves fuel economy while increasing horsepower to 188. The base price is $27,900.