The interior has also been twisted a bit by the introduction of two new themes, called Midnight and Sand Blast. Midnight mixes a black interior with dark blue accents on the instrument panel, seats, door panel inserts and center console. Sand Blast, in startling contrast, starts with a taupe interior instead of black. Beyond that, there's a new gauge package and a new 210-watt sound system with an in-dash, six-disc CD changer and audio controls on the steering wheel.
Mechanically, the Eclipse is mostly unchanged. The only exception to that "mostly" is the introduction of a new GTS Performance Package, with engine output bounced to 210 hp (up from the regular 200) and new 17-in. wheels. The extra power comes from a two-stage intake and slight increase in compression ratio.
The Eclipse always sells in big numbers. It ought to continue doing so. And we can't wait for the Evo.
The Guy In ChargeTalking with Jim Skelly of the NHRAWith its merger with NIRA now complete, the National Hot Rod Association and its Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series is poised to become one of the major powers in import racing. And there's no reason to think NHRA won't succeed in import car drag racing in much the same way it has with "traditional" domestic drag racing. For better or worse, the NHRA is drag racing in America for most people.
At 44, Jim Skelly is probably twice the age of most competitors in the series, but he brings 10 years' experience within the NHRA with him to his new job as race director for the Sport Compact Series. That means he's the guy responsible for making sure that all of the NHRA's events in the series actually occur. He may have started as a traditional Stock and Super Stock racer back in his native Pennsylvania, but Skelly said he's been one of the most active evangelists for import racing within the NHRA and he's eager to make the series work in 2002.
Import Tuner: What is it that the Race Director does?Jim Skelly: I oversee the operation of the event, working with the track operator to make sure everything is there. Jeff Giovino from the tech department will act as tech director and he'll be in charge of all the tech at the events. And he's the point person at NHRA for questions pertaining to rules. But with all other aspects of the event, the buck stops with me.
It's my job to make sure there are cars in the lanes and ready to run. I'll work with manufacturers and sponsors and I'll work with the director of marketing on operational issues with them. We do our best to accommodate everyone in the schedule.
IT:Do you see any big differences between the Sport Compact Series and the "traditional" NHRA?JS: Fans and spectators at a Sport Compact event want more extracurricular or lifestyle events. So we're learning about sound-offs and the like. We're not quite sure about bikini contests, that doesn't really fit into the NHRA's family-oriented style. The jury is still out on that. And it's not an issue we can just skirt and ignore. We're investigating how to incorporate a bikini contest in a broadly appealing way.
The NHRA's strong suit is organizational. When we get compliments from racers it's usually for things like the fact that when we say qualifying is going to start at 1:30, it really does start at 1:30. We're very good at putting on drag races, and that's no different in any of our series.