lOB i e Michigan Daily - \kd, etc. gazine - Thday, April ), ( P. B 0 a a The Mic an Daily - Week . 3WE MW 3w tc gAutomobile Review MERCEDES SLK OFFERS SPIRITED RIDE A x It . 0 C @ CARPE DIET By Tosin Akinmusuru For the Daily The first noticeable thing about the Mercedes-Benz SLK 320 is the fact that it's a SLK 320. Last year's model was the SLK 230 Kompressor, which only dished out 195 horsepower. This year's model adds another 20 horse- power to the table. This two-door road- ster is nice, fast and comfortable. Mercedes-Benz gave the SLK a whole new look for the 2001 model year. This new rear-wheel drive road- ster is a lot lower and smoother than before. The rear lights on the car are very pronounced and obvious. The car has more of a complete look. because all of its external parts are painted the same color, including the door handles, outside mirrors and moldings. Turn signal lamps are built into the external rear view mirrors, so that other drivers on the road know what you plan on doing, both in front and behind you. The rear tires are slightly wider than the front tires, providing more power on the road surface. These tires boast five-spoke rims instead of the seven- spoke rims that come with the SLK 230. There is a bigger gas tank and higher levels of crash protection, giv- ing you a longer, safer ride. The SLK 320 comes with a standard six-speed manual shift and an optional five-speed automatic that can be shift- ed like a manual by tapping it side- ways. The model I test-drove included the six-speed manual. This is a nice feature because it gives a smoother, quieter ride at high speeds with a sixth gear. The entire inner steering wheel can be depressed to activate the horn, instead of touch specific horn regions. There is also a feature called Tele Aid that is similar to GM's OnStar system. It connects you to emergency response personnel, roadside assistance, it can also place your car if ever stolen and it can unlock you car if you manage to lock the keys in it. As I sat down in the car, I was real- ly surprised by the comfort of the seats. I expected something more rigid for a roadster, but these were very soft, thick, eight-way power leather seats. With the downward angle of the car, I reached the pedals easily com- pared to the Toyota MR2's straight leg seats. I depressed the clutch, and started the. car. Alas, I found yet another cool modification of the new See MERCEDES, Page 168 no _ - Spring has officially sprung, and if you're still carrying Aunt Martha's Christmas cookies around in your keis- ter, the button on your favorite khakis may be primed for some spring- ing action of its own. And, as warmer weather makes it more difficult to: obscure obesity inside a puffy coat, (should I say a P. Diddy coat?), now might be a good Meredith time to put down Keller the HoHo's and pick up the cel- Keller ery stalks. Is n Summer is com- m s ing, and the beach will be calling. If you're feeling as I am these days, more Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man than Stick Figure, don't hit the pudge-panic button or hire a search and rescue team to find your missing abdominal muscles just yet. Plenty of time is left to get your glutes and your gut back into shape and, of course, back into those favorite khakis. I am not a dietician, nor do I play one on TV. I have, however, read enough empty-promise articles such as "Have Thin Thighs by Thursday" and "How to Look Like a 10-Year-Old Boy When You're a 30-Year-Old Woman" to have a vague sense of modern trends in dieting. Second only to airbrushing, perhaps the most popular method of body-down- sizing these days is a low-to-no carbo- hydrate diet such as the Atkins. Credited for giving Dennis Franz his NYPD street smarts and enviable girlish figure, the premise of this pro-protein plan is relatively simple - meats and cheeses are your edible friends, but bread is merely Satan dressed up in starches. Eat a herd of cattle and the state of Wisconsin and you'll look like Heather Locklear with the IQ of Einstein. But horror of horrors, eat a crouton and you will look like the Love Child of J-Lo and the Pillsbury Dough Boy. (Please note however, that this high-protein diet is not to be confused with the absolutely no-protein diet practiced by the President.) If you find yourself opposed to eating your weight in round steak each day, however, another popular alternative eat- ing plan is the highly touted Zone diet. Made famous by Jennifer Aniston, who used this diet to successfully find inner peace, Brad Pitt's love and her hipbones, in contrast to the Atkins diet, the Zone is not as simple as eating livestock. Engineered in some secret room at NASA, the Zone diet is based on com- plex ratio calculations in order to strike a harmonious balance among consumed proteins, carbohydrates and fats. As long as you maintain this ratio, you will stay in the Zone. So for example, should you eat a vat of Haagen-Dazs, counterbal- ance your carbohydrates with a whale's weight in protein and you'll maintain the Zen of the Zone. For less indulgent followers, however, a typical Zone meal (which I'm not mak- ing up) might actually contain the fol- lowing: a can of tuna, three heads of ice- berg lettuce and a macadamia nut. Can I get a "Mmm. Mmm?" Having recently spent a week in the Zone, however, I would like to offer up r how these cockaman actually work. The Zoi has little to do with a se la and everything to do matics. Unless you happ brained tutor on hand, it forego the food rather 1 division. 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