1999 Park Avenue...Continued

Buick's successful 3800 Series II V6s continue to power the Park Avenue. Except for oil and filter changes, both the normally-aspirated and the supercharged powerplants are virtually 100,000-mile maintenance free. Park Avenue's naturally aspirated Series II delivers 205 horsepower at 5200 rpm while Park Avenue Ultra's supercharged Series II produces an impressive 240 horsepower at 5200 rpm.

Both benefit from a new TurboHydramatic 4T65E transaxle which provides added capacity, more electronic control and a larger torque converter. These are the best automatics in the world, and are used by many upscale customers, including Volvo in theirnew luxury S80.

Customer benefits are enhanced driving smoothness and optimum fuel efficiency. Even though the new models are larger, projected fuel economy is unchanged from the previous models: 19 mpg city and 29 highway for Park Avenue and 18/27 for the supercharged Ultra.

Park Avenue technical advancements include a higher-capacity four-wheel-disc anti-lock brake system, magnetic variable effortrack-and-pinion power steering, several aluminumsuspension components, fixed-lens halogen headlamps and a more damage-resistant radio antenna embedded in the rear window.

An example of the robust design is a one-piece cast magnesium cross-car beam that serves as a body structural member as well as the primary instrument-panel mounting support. Squeaks and rattles in the instrument panel are much less likely because the beam eliminates numerous individual brackets. Magnesium is an exceptional material having high strength and stiffness with very low weight.

Among other enhancements is a new multiplexing technology that reduces the number of wires that go into a door by 75 percent, which translates into reduced complexity, less bulk for ease of packaging and improved reliability. This was introduced by Lexus, and will become more common in the future.