Auto News 5

Mitsubishi recently allowed us to sample preproduction versions of its forthcoming small crossover, the Outlander Sport. The Sport is slated to go on sale this October with a base price of under $19,000. Mitsu hasn't yet finalized pricing, but we're told to expect fully loaded models to hit showrooms with a sticker price of less than $26,000. And that's with navigation, keyless entry, heated seats, four-wheel drive, a 710-watt sound system, HIDs, and a CVT automatic.

I had the opportunity to drive a BMW 335i coupe and 135i in a three-day span (with a Mitsubishi Lancer in between, to cleanse the palette). It's a tough decision between them, but for me at least, the 135i is smart choice. True, the smaller car's weight and performance advantage is negligible (about 200 pounds and 0.2 seconds, respectively, according to BMW), but so too is the difference in practicality -- the two-door 3-series offers only 0.4 inches more legroom in front and 1.4 inches in back. The deciding factor is their footprint. The trimmed wheelbase makes the 1-series just a bit livelier, and a bit more intimate, though the 335i's longer wheelbase might be a bit better balanced. Of course, the $6000 in savings hardly hurts either.

• The 1940 Packard was the first car to offer factory-installed air-conditioning.
• By 1969, more than half of all new cars sold were equipped with A/C.
• Some brands affixed window decals to promote their air-conditioned automobiles.
• For cars not equipped with factory air, dealer-installed, under-dash units were popular.
• In a 1971 front-page story, the New York Times implicated air-conditioning in the death of the convertible, postulating that: "In the age of air-conditioning, real air has lost its value."
• After the freon used in A/C units was blamed for depleting the ozone layer, automakers were required to switch from R12 to the less harmful R134a refrigerant by 1996.
• Dual-zone automatic climate control allows for separate temperature settings for driver and passenger; some cars have additional zones for rear-seat passengers.
• Volkswagen calls its manual air-conditioning system "Climatic;" automatic A/C is "Climatronic."
• Today, more than 99 percent of all new cars are air-conditioned.
• There's no A/C in base versions of the Chevrolet Aveo; Honda Civic; Hyundai Accent and Elantra; Jeep Wrangler; Kia Forte and Rio; Mazda 3; Mitsubishi Lancer; Nissan Versa; and Toyota Tacoma.
• Testing by Consumer Reports found that using a car's air-conditioner resulted in a more than 3-mpg loss at highway speeds. Driving with the windows open had no measurable effect on fuel economy.

In 1986, Hyundai entered the American marketplace with the subcompact, $4995 Excel, which was based on a Mitsubishi Mirage and was so far below the radar that it was deemed unworthy of mention by a fledgling Automobile Magazine. It wasn't until 1995 that the company sold a U.S.-market car - the new Accent - that was all-Hyundai and didn't have a Mitsubishi engine or underpinnings.