Coolest Reading Places
In The Jungle
Richard Reese is doing missionary work in Sarawat, Thailand, and asked us to send him some issues to read in his spare time. His friend Robert Schwarz sent us this photo of Richard enjoying the mags while driving supplies to his village. Note the snow chains on the Toyota's tires. Now that's some serious mudding.
In Uniform
Sergeant Jay Ehmann sent us this photo of a World War II-era Sherman tank he and his buddies stumbled across while motoring around the Iraqi desert. "Where it came from and what it's doing here is a mystery," Sgt. Ehmann wrote.
This Just In
* Sales of fullsize trucks and SUVs may be in a tailspin thanks to pricey gas, but compact truck sales are rising, according to a report from Ward's Auto World via Sema. Leading the way are GM's midsize Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, which were showing sales gains of 40 and 65 percent, respectively, even before GM began its "you pay what we pay" discount. The new incentives boosted the truck's sales even further.
* Speaking of the General's employee-discount promotion, it worked. According to Automotive News, GM posted nearly a 47 percent sales gain in June, compared with the same month a year ago. Dealerships sold more than half a million units during the month, more than double Ford's sales. Trucks were the biggest movers, as pickup and SUV sales grew nearly 76 percent over the same period in 2004.
* Ford is recalling some 180,000 trucks and SUVs powered by the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel to solve an electrical problem that is causing those engines to stall. Vehicles subject to the recall include '04-'05 Excursions and F-250 through F-550 Super Dutys.
* SUVs are getting safer, according to the government. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration isn't completely satisfied with the rollover resistance offered by today's trucks. Yet it did point out that after its 2005 rollover tests, 24 SUVs achieved four-star rollover resistance ratings. Four years ago, when the NHTSA first rated trucks for rollover resistance, only one got four stars, and that was a Pontiac Aztek-not exactly a truck in our eyes.
Environmental & Political Watch
* Look for new CAFE mileage standards from the federal government that will classify trucks by size, not by weight. According to Automotive News, this may mean small trucks will have to meet tougher fuel economy standards than big ones. A source from Toyota, quoted in the trade paper, said the classifications will be based on "a calculation that involves wheelbase and track width to determine the area bounded by a vehicle's four wheels."
* The U.S. Senate is pushing a bill that would require aftermarket tires to be as fuel efficient as those offered as original equipment on cars and trucks. Our friends at SEMA, however, got a provision into the bill that would exempt limited production tires (15,000 or fewer annually), deep-tread snow tires, and tires manufactured for use on off-road vehicles from the scope of the law and subsequent regulation.
* Other news from SEMA: Following in the footsteps of the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service (NPS) has begun a nationwide review of off-highway vehicle (OHV) use and regulations within the National Park System. Operating under an executive order from the 1970s, NPS regulates OHV use on a specific park-by-park basis factoring in environmental impacts and public input. NPS officials have indicated that it will be a couple of years before new regulations and policies are established. Officials have stated that the current review is at the most basic level including defining what a road is and what qualifies as an OHV.
* Also from SEMA: The Forests Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on a bill (H.R. 233) to declare 300,000 acres in five Northern California counties as wilderness. However, despite assurances from the bill's sponsor that there was broad local support to designate wilderness in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Napa counties, a number of witnesses testified against the bill, including Don Amador, western representative for BlueRibbon Coalition; Sam Aanestad, California State Senator; and Chuck Blackburn, supervisor, Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. Amador stressed the fact that the U.S. Forest Service is still in the process of inventorying roads and trails in the area and no assurances could be given that the bill would not close existing OHV routes, since many legal roads and trails may not yet be published on Forest Service maps. Sen. Aanestad and Supervisor Blackburn opposed the legislation because it could further deplete the economy of the region, which used to be largely based on timber harvesting. Under guidelines established by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), chairman of the House Resources Committee, any legislation to create federal wilderness areas must have broad local support before it will be considered. That does not seem to be the case following the hearing.