The 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel going into Dodge's '07 Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups is not just the strongest engine Cummins has made for Dodge, it's also the cleanest. Cummins announced that the new diesel engine meets the EPA's NOx standards for 2010-a full three years before it's required to do so.
The new heavy-duty Rams, which went on sale in March, were recognized by the EPA and the Department of Energy as the cleanest mass-production diesel-engine pickup trucks on the market. They also represent the first Chrysler group vehicles to utilize Bluetec technology to help clean diesel emissions.
The 2010 EPA standards for NOx and PM met by the Ram trucks represent a more than 90 percent reduction in each pollutant, compared to the 2004 standards.
Despite winning 10 of the 14 total stages that made up the 2007 Dakar Rally, Volkswagen's dominating Touaregs fell victim to late-race problems and weren't able to clinch the overall victory that seemed so certain earlier in the event. VW's highest finisher in the race was American driver Mark Miller and co-driver Ralph Pitchford (shown here), who finished a very respectable fourth overall. The overall win went to Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution driver Stphane Peterhansel, who has won the rally three of the past four years.
Just a few spots down the winner's list were Robby Gordon and his Monster/Toyo-sponsored Hummer, who finished eighth overall and first in the Open Class. This marks the highest finish in the Dakar rally for American drivers competing in an American-made vehicle. Gordon said he has a "long list of notes" he's going to refer to when mounting an effort to not just race, but win overall, Dakar 2008. Toyo has already agreed to sponsor next year's effort.
Earlier this year, Superlift's Off-Road Adventures changed networks. Now it can be seen on the Men's Outdoor & Recreation Channel (MOR), which is distributed by Dish Network, DirecTV, and via select Time Warner cable providers. Additionally, the show can be seen on iDriveTV, also on the Dish Network and carried by various local cable providers. Check your local directory for show times
Well, we flubbed up pretty good in our Apr. '07 issue. First, in our Supercrawl coverage (page 102), we mistakenly reported Brad Lovell as the Modified Class winner, when in fact Brian Errea and Joachim Schwiesow won that class.
Also to appease our reliable reader and the Duke of Distorted Info, Sir Jimmy, who caught our mistake in the trailer story ("Crawler Hauler," page 52): No, our trailer is not over the legal limit at 105 inches wide. In fact it is only 102 and thus still legal for highway use.
Thanks for catching us, guys
Sometimes rumors you find on the Internet are just that, rumors. Sometimes, though, chatter on a message board proves to be true. We picked up a message thread on a 4x4 forum that sounded legit enough to check out, and it turned out to be real.
Lion's Back, arguably Moab's most famous slickrock obstacle, has been closed to the public. According to Teresa Wyatt, administrator for the Moab Chamber of Commerce, the lease on the property that includes Lion's Back has been sold to a private owner, who may develop the land for use as housing. Wyatt did say that the adjacent Hell's Revenge Trail should be unaffected by the closure.
Until now the land lease had been held by the School & Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), a Utah state agency that manages real estate trusts granted to Utah by the U.S. government when it became a state. SITLA can-and does-sell these real estate trusts to private owners, and that's what happened to Lion's Back.
Said Wyatt, "The property lease has been sold, and the new leasers are probably going to close Lion's Back off due to liability issues." According to the message-board posts we've been reading, that has already happened. Rocks have been pushed into place to block access to the trail.
The rumor mill also guessed that the land was going to be developed for condominiums. According to Wyatt, "I don't know about condos, but some type of new housing will be going in, and the property is being looked at for annexation into the city limits."
Now, some chuckleheads on the message boards are already inviting wheelers to run Lion's Back anyway, seeing the blockade as just another obstacle. Please, please don't. Ignoring private property closures only makes the problem worse and gives us all a bad name. Yes, we'll miss Lion's Back, and it's a shame we don't have the right to drive on it anymore. But don't do anything stupid that could jeopardize the other trails we enjoy in Moab and elsewhere.