Of course improvements have been made... Even at 50K miles, we'd be happy
with our Volvo (1993 960 - interference engine) or VW (1999.5 Golf,
Diesel... so you better believe valves would crash if that belt broke!)...
Both have very short belt change intervals... both are around 60K Kms (40K
miles or so).

50K vs 105K Miles, saving money is great isn't it? Timing belt is a costly
job on most cars, I would be glad to never change it at all.... Worst
interval ever, 60K Kms on my VW TDI... this is suppose to be a high mileage
design, why they didn't use a chain or a longer service belt (okay, they do
now... but not in 99 spec cars) boggles my mind and drains my wallet (I do
60K Kms in under 2 years easily).

That's in line with most current models. I don't know if the belts have
improved or the confidence level been raised, but there you have it.

Mike

The tensioner design on your engine was changed during the '98 model
year.  The interval on the old design was 70,000 (still respectable).