With desert racing legend Rod Hall at the wheel, Team Hummer's newest member-a race-prepped H3-got its competitive life off to a good start with a Second in Class finish in the 500-mile Best in the Desert "Vegas to Reno" race. Hall entered the truck in the Pure Stock-Mini SUV class, which allows only minor modifications to the truck-shock absorbers, tires, and safety equipment. "The game plan for this race was to shake down the vehicle, fix the bugs, and head to Baja ready for a win," Hall said.
After a year's hiatus, the Explorer Sport Trac is back, and the new model is significantly different from its predecessor. It still shares many of the Explorer's underpinnings, including the SUV's fully independent suspension, but the wheelbase has been stretched nearly 17 inches. The Sport Trac's 4 1/2-foot bed, made from sheet-molded composite inside and out, boasts three built-in storage bins, each with drain plugs should you want to use them to store cold beverages. Two engine choices will be available when the truck goes on sale later this year: a 210hp, 4.0L V-6 that puts out as few emissions as the Escape hybrid; and a 292hp, 4.6L V-8 that will be paired with a new six-speed manual transmission.
The sketch you see below is of the Equator concept SUV shown at the biennial Tokyo Motor Show. Developed by the Ford Asia Pacific & Africa Design Team, this Equator "is an evolutionary advancement to the combination of performance, design, and sports capabilities that characterize all Ford SUVs," says the press material. It's powered by a 3.0L Duratec V-6 and a computer-controlled 4WD system.
The Equator shown above is a design study dating back to the 2000 Detroit auto show. It "paved the way for the design of today's F-Series," says Ford, and features Kevlar bumpers, fenders, and lower body panels, billet aluminum wheels, and 32-inch coilover shocks. Ford auctioned the concept truck in Dallas late last year and donated the proceeds to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief in Texas.
If you don't have the megabucks for a Freightliner or Peterbilt, maybe this'll do: DynoMax has developed Truck Staxx, a kit that transforms your run-of-the-mill exhaust system into upright, 4-inch stacks that run up the back of your cab. Each kit includes everything you need for a complete, do-it-yourself installation, including a splitter tee for turning your wimpy single exhaust into booming duals. Visit www.dynomax.com for more details.
Toyota chose the Frankfurt International Motor Show in Germany to unveil the European-spec version of its all-new '06 RAV4 mini-SUV. The U.S. version should be here about the time you read this. The third-generation RAV is longer and wider than previous models and will be available with an optional third-row seat. While the standard powerplant will be a 166hp, 2.4L I-4, engine options will also include a 268hp, 3.5L V-6. That power rating, by the way, is higher than the output from the 4.7L V-8 Toyota uses in its 4Runner.
New for '06, the limited-edition "Pacific Blue" Hummer H2 SUV and SUT feature the special exterior color and an uplevel premium appearance package that includes body-color grille and fender moldings, brush and taillamp guards, a unique rocker molding with an integrated assist step, 17-inch forged aluminum wheels, carbon-fiber interior accents, and a lower-profile roof-mounted lightbar with integral lamps. Inside is a rear-seat DVD entertainment system with headrest-mounted screens and wireless headphones. Only 875 of these units will be produced, and they'll be priced just north of $65,000.
The Dodge Nitro concept SUV, which debuted at last year's Chicago Auto Show, has been given the green light as an '07 model. Dodge didn't release any details about the production version, but the concept truck was based on the Jeep Liberty platform and powered by the Liberty's 3.7L, 210hp V-6. It's expected the production Nitro will do the same, making it the first time a Jeep platform has been used for another nameplate.