By the time you read this the snag may be smoothed out, but for a week in late February, Navistar stopped shipping its new, twin-turbocharged 6.4L Power Stroke diesel engines to Ford for the '08 Super Duty pickups. Industry reports estimated the stoppage cost Ford some 4,000 diesel trucks.
The issue between Ford and Navistar is money. In a nutshell, Ford refused to pay Navistar, its longtime diesel engine supplier, the full price Navistar wanted for the new Power Strokes (over $7,600). Why? Ford said it was having to pay huge warranty costs because of problems with the previous 6.0L 'Stroke, and didn't want to pay full boat for the new engine as a way of recouping the repair costs. Navistar, in response, stopped shipping engines to Ford's Kentucky assembly plant.
In early March, a Michigan judge stepped in and hammered out an agreement under which Navistar would resume engine shipments and Ford would pay for the engines in full, while lawyers figured out how to handle the 6.0L's warranty costs. Ford dealers, meanwhile, anxiously awaited Super Duty deliveries, knowing that GM and Dodge are also bringing new heavy-duty pickups (with new clean-burning diesels) to market.
As if Ford didn't have enough to worry about, Toyota reports that the early sales of the all-new Tundra fullsize pickup "exceeded expectations." Now, this news was based on sales of "close to" 600 pickups in the U.S. during the month of February. But Toyota likes the trend, especially since February was a short month and the truck didn't go on sale until February 5. Toyota won't know until later in the spring just how well Tundra will stack up next to its domestic competition, since the full model mix of body styles (including the big CrewMax) wasn't expected in dealer showrooms until April or May.
Speaking of big-dog trucks, GM announced that a new six-speed Hydra-Matic transmission, the 6L90, will be standard equipment on '07 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups outfitted with the 6.0L Vortec gas V-8. (The Allison 1000 is bolted to the 6.6L Duramax diesel.) The new trans has a wider gear spread than the 4L80 it replaces, allowing for a lower, 4.03:1 First gear and two Overdrives. According to GM, those two top gears reduce engine speeds at 60 mph by about 19 percent-or 400 rpm-reducing engine wear and fuel consumption.
BFGoodrich Tires, working with Tread Lightly! and the United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA), has expanded its Outstanding Trails program for 2007. This year, the Whipsaw Trail in British Columbia has been added to its list of five other Outstanding Trails: the Redbird State Riding Area in Indiana; the Rubicon Trail in northern California (shown); various trails around Tillamook, Oregon; Poughkeepsie Gulch in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado; and "All Day Sucker" at Flat Nasty in Missouri's Ozark Mountains.
Launched in 2006, the Outstanding Trails program is "dedicated to the responsible use and preservation of off-road trails while aiding in trail conservation efforts," says BFG. During the June-through-October program, the tire maker will host events at these trails to "highlight the uniqueness of each location as well as educate off-road enthusiasts on the responsible use of each trail." BFGoodrich will also present a grant to a selected off-road club at each trail event to help aid with costs associated with the trail's conservation efforts.
Celebrating our 30th anniversary has unearthed all sorts of surprises (and we don't mean just incriminating photos of previous editors). A trend from the '70s and '80s-4xFreaks-has reemerged.
Reader Marty Erickson e-mailed us with the news that he had recently purchased Garfield's Ride, a Chevy Vega-bodied freak that ran in the magazine back in 1982. "It sat in the original owner's garage for about 23 years. It's missing the winch and the rubber guard around the undercarriage. It has some rust around the front window like all Vegas did, but all in all it was in very good shape, considering Indiana salts the roads in the winter."
Marty ended his e-mail with, "I would like to know whatever happened to all the Freaky 4x4s!" We're not sure we share his enthusiasm, but if any of you out there still have your classic freaks, or are currently building or 'wheeling one, let us know. You may be on to something here...