Toronados, Turbos & TV

While Washington talked safety last week, Detroit showed off some stylish new and future wares.

Oldsmobile introduced its racy, 375-h.p. Toronado, first U.S. car with front-wheel drive since the Cord phased out in 1937. Some foreign automakers, notably France's Citroen, also market front-wheel cars. According to Olds engineers, front-wheel drive offers more traction and stability than conventional rear drive; it also eliminates the hump on the floor (because the transmission and differential are up front). Other engineers contend that front-wheel cars tend to oversteer, and that the added weight forward causes greater wear on brakes. The Toronado, a two-door, six-passenger hardtop that is four inches shorter than Oldsmobile's 215-in. Starfire, will come to market in mid-October. Price in Detroit: about $4,500--in the same range as Ford's Thunderbird and Buick's Riviera.

Further away from production (perhaps seven years) but potentially more important is Chevrolet's prototype of a turbine-powered truck, the Turbo Titan III. Its engine is lighter, quieter and longer-lasting (350,000 miles v. 250,000) than conventional diesels, but fuel bills are costlier. Among its many innovations: "dial steering" by which a driver guides his truck with two small wheels mounted on a panel in front of him, similar to the "wrist-twist" system now being tested by Mercury. Chrysler Corp. is field-testing turbine cars but is undecided whether to market them.

Lest G.M. steal last week's whole show, Ford announced that it will immediately begin offering rear-seat portable television sets as optional equipment on all cars. Manufactured by Ford's Philco subsidiary, the 9-in. sets will sell for $169.95, can be plugged into the cigarette lighter or powered by a battery pack that costs an additional $29.95.

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