A truck is a motor vehicle for transporting goods. The word "truck" comes from the Greek "trochos", meaning "wheel". In America, the big wheels of wagons were called trucks. When the petrol engine driven trucks came into fashion, these were called "motortrucks". Slowly the word motor in front of truck disappeared.
Some people really do have a twisted sense of imagination, don’t they?
We really don’t have any idea how somebody can dress up a Ford Cargo truck using the iconic Shelby Mustang as in inspiration. The people behind this piece of work, which was on display at the 2011 Fenatran Show in Sao Paulo, Brazil, apparently thought that it would be a fantastic idea to do just that.
So, against seemingly every fiber of sense known to man, they went and dressed up this Cargo 1932 with an orange paint finish and matching black stripes as an ode to the Shelby Mustang. Imagine all the brain cells that were roasted during this build. Of course, a creation like this features more than just a sketchy color scheme; it also needs a special new body kit - check - a dressed up interior - check - and a new suspension set-up - check. Heck, even the rear of the truck was designed to look exactly like the rear of a Shelby!
Speaking of the interior, the people behind this Shelby-inspired Ford Cargo saw fit to add black decoration materials on the interior, as well as a new set of sports seats and a sports steering wheel.
Behind all the questions surrounding Optimus Prime’s bastard cousin of a truck, here’s one thing we do know: When Carroll Shelby started his line of special Mustangs, this wasn’t what he had in mind.
Whether we realize it or not, the health of truckers across our nation is of great importance to our economy and our communities. These men and women spend hours on end delivering products to homes and businesses across the USA, with one in 16 jobs being directly tied to trucking. This leads to poor nutritional habits and a sedentary lifestyle taking a toll on their bodies, leading them to battles with lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, exhaustion, and back problems, to name a few. But if they are not sitting, they aren’t making any money, so what are they to do?
The Man in White.ORG (TMIW) is now addressing this issue in a way that no other organization has done before; they have released a 4-disc, audio book (CD), titled “Truckers’ Road to Health” that educates truckers on their health. Unlike educational tools provided to truckers in the past, this audio book was written by respected medical specialists and broken down into laymen’s terms to make it easily understood by all. Topics covered in the educational audio book were chosen after interviewing hundreds of truckers, leaders in the trucking industry, and medical specialists, and include pulmonary disease, hypertension, cardiac disease, diabetes, nutrition, vision, obesity, back pain, exercising on the road, stress management, sleep apnea, and recommended health screens. Risk factors and preventive measures are discussed, along with proper nutrition, exercise and lifestyle issues. The best part about this audio book is that truckers do not need to stop making money to learn about their health; they can do it while they drive.
The Dodge Durango may not be one of our first candidates as far as tuning programs are concerned - we reserved that right for the Viper - but we certainly aren’t complaining with what Mopar Underground did with this SEMA-bound special edition Dodge Durango Tow Hook.
Immediately, the SUV’s four-coat orange and satin-black color scheme attracted our attention, as did the healthy infusion of styling upgrades done on the SUV. In addition to the fancy pants paint finish, the Durango Tow Hook also gets a piano black split-crosshair grille, a satin-black roof, fascia accents, hood graphics, and a set of 22" twin-spoke forged Superalloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires. The Dodge SUV also has a custom and performance-increasing mandrel bent exhaust system featuring Corsa components and a lowered suspension that cuts the SUV’s ride height by 25 mm.
Meanwhile, the Durango Tow Hook’s interior picks up from where the exterior left off with a variety of high-quality Mopar components, including black, perforated Mopar Katzkin leather seats that come with orange leather trim and orange stitching and piping. The seat inserts are covered with Perforated Barracuda suede covers while suede bolsters with matching orange accent stitching and piping provide visual treats for the seats. The orange treatment continues with a leather trim, stitching, and piping on the center armrest while the door panels come with orange stitching and a silver metal brush trim. The SUV also has a new SRT steering wheel, black chrome trim around the vents, and piano-white trimmed radio/HVAC and center console bezels, completing the entire dress-up for the Durango Tow Hook.
Usually when there is a transmission failure, it is something internal that, after many years of dutiful service, is expected to start breaking down. However, Nissan has announced that some of their best selling trucks and SUVs (2005-2010 Nissan Frontier, Xterra, and Pathfinders) are experiencing radiator leaks that are finding their way into the components of their automatic transmissions. This leak is causing premature wearing of the automatic transmission that warrants replacement often at less than 100,000 miles. The New York Times reports that even after Nissan extended warranties on the effected models by 5 years/50,000 miles (for a total warranty coverage for 80K miles/8 years) owners still reported that "the radiator issues have affected the vehicles transmissions, causing premature failure...Lance Wiggins, Technical Director of the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association points out ’what’s happening is the radiator cooler tanks are rupturing, forcing coolant into the five-speed automatic through the transmission cooler lines." Motor Trend also points out that for many of the owners of these vehicles (particularly the older models) are beyond the extended warranty. If the transmission fails, they will have to put forth a substantial investment for a new one. Nissan says they "would cover transmissions damaged by coolant, as long as they met the extended warranty guidelines." No warranty, no fix.
Although Nissan says "only a small proportion of models are affected," we are perplexed by their actions. They seem to be doing enough to belay a lawsuit, yet don’t seem to be real concerned about maintaining a loyal customer base, which is a real pity because we love the ruggedness and the utility of the Nissan trucks and SUVs.
We’ve been watching the Bugatti versus SSC battle closely with their back and forth efforts of one-upmanship fueling our need for speed. The record for the fastest vehicle on Earth is a hefty goal to attain, but soybean farmer, Brent Hajek, is working on a different kind of record. You see, Hajek also has a passion for speed and his company, Hajek Motorsports, has taken on the challenge of breaking the land speed record for diesel and biodiesel trucks. Not only did they take on the challenge, but they succeeded wholeheartedly with two land speed records.
Hajek Motorsports has joined the record breakers of the world by achieving these land speed records with a Ford F-250 SuperDuty. First, the F-250 SuperDuty got up to 171.123mph, hitting the new record for B Production Diesel Trucks. Then the F-250, running on bio-diesel fuel, smashed the existing 130.614 unlimited bio-diesel land speed record by getting up to 182mph.
The 2011 Ford F-250 SuperDuty is powered by a 6.7L Powerstroke V8 turbo diesel engine delivering 400 HP and 800 lb-ft of torque. The truck used for the record was mostly stock, but it did get some changes to the high pressure fuel pump, fuel injectors, and turbochargers for more fuel flow. The compression ratio was also modified.
In the rough and tumble world of pick-up trucks, the constant development for the baddest, meanest, and most powerful off-roader is a constant race for automakers determined to build the most imposing of them all and find the one that can be called the kingpin of all-utility vehicles. At the International Motor Show in Buenos Aires, Chevrolet introduced their latest offering to the fold, the Colorado Rally Concept. Next the concept will be making its way to Franfurt for its European premiere.
Based on the Colorado line of pick-ups that are considered one of the most popular in the world, the Colorado Rally Concept is the latest iteration concept that shows the new direction Chevrolet is undertaking for their next-generation off-roaders, particularly those that have rally racing in their future.
"Chevrolet has built trucks right from the start and they are an essential part of our brand. Through its purposeful design, refinement and uncompromising capability, the Colorado Rally Concept creatively reinterprets our proud heritage," said Wayne Brannon, President and Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe.
More details on the Chevrolet Colorado Rally Concept after the jump.
The boys from Top Gear USA were back this week and they are starting to pick up a little bit of speed in terms of entertainment value. The discussions still tend to be a little too rehearsed, but we didn’t want to turn off the television as soon as they started talking. Well, except for when Adam opened his mouth, but we’re used to that.
The main focus this week was trying to figure out which truck was the best in America. After spending the entire first episode trying to convince us all that pick-up trucks could be convinced by two-door models, this was a welcome change. Other segments included battling it out between the Local Motors’ Rally Fighter and an airboat, and a trip around the Top Gear test track with actor/comedian Bill Engvall.
Hit the jump to check out the full details on Top Gear USA: Season 2 Episode 3.
Top Gear USA is back for its second season and, after watching the first two episodes of The Car Show, we were hoping it would start off with a bang. Unfortunately, it was more like a muffled beep.
The only segment in the first episode of the season was a series of challenges trying to convince viewers that pick-up trucks could be replaced by two-door models. The guys ended up choosing a Ford Maverick, a BMW 335E, and a Mazda Miata as their specimens. The challenges were a bit eventful and a little humorous, but overall a bit disappointing.
Maybe Top Gear USA was trying to move away from the mirror image segments from the original Top Gear, but this path was not the right one. We just hope that the next episode adds a bit more oomph because, for the first episode of the season, we thought more could have been done to convince viewers that this was the car show to watch.
Ford has announced that they will be looking to recall over 26,715 models due to faulty components in the brake and tail lights. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), "The multi-function switch was shipped with a sub-component (slider) that may experience deformation. A multi-function switch with a deformed slider may malfunction causing the turn signal, tail lights, hazard warning signal flashers and/or brake lights not to activate."
This is not the first time Ford pickups have undergone a serious recall. In 2010, 23,688 4-cylinder models were recalled due to a potential fire hazard. That recall centered on potential chafing of fuel lines. The Ranger was also subject to a recall in 2010 when over 2,300 manual transmission vehicles were recalled due to a faulty parking brake hydraulic actuator causing "..unintended movement which may cause a crash."
Past history aside, Ford’s newest recall is affecting a variety of vehicle including the 2002-2005 Excursion, the 2002-2007 F-250-F-550, and the 2011 Ford Ranger.
If you just so happen to own one of the vehicles on the list, head on over to your local Ford dealer where the part will be replaced with a more robust unit. The recall is expected to begin on August 15th, 2011.
The monster truck phenomenon began sometime in the 70s when modified pickup trucks were becoming the rage and rampant testosterone was causing men to fight the "Who’s bigger" battle. It wasn’t until about 1981 that these same trucks were used to crush the smaller, weaker vehicles, and the culture took off from there. Now, monster truck events are everywhere and the battle for the bigger, badder truck still rages on.
In order to reign supreme in an event that has about as much drama as a pro-wrestling smackdown, owners of these massive modified trucks have to pay to play. A full monster truck build can run up to $250,000 with about $150,000 per year for spare parts. Since these 12,000lb trucks make a name for themselves by smashing the competition, an additional $250,000 is needed per year for repairs and maintenance.
Cost isn’t the only issue either. A full eight man crew spends 18-20 hours spanned out in three days constructing the track for the trucks to race on. Then the weaker vehicles, such as cars, vans, buses, ambulances, and even airplanes, are hunted down to serve as prey for the massive trucks. About 3,000 vehicles per year are found in local junkyards and returned after each event.
With such painstaking lengths taken to ensure a successful and entertaining experience, it’s no wonder that Monster Truck Jams run rampant in so parts of the country.
Check out the rest of the infographic to get a more detailed breakdown of a Monster truck’s numbers and remember to check back with us for the next installment in our Car Infographics series.
