The Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, located in the National Automobile Museum (also known as the Harrah Collection) in Reno, recently named eight new inductees. They include:
Mickey Thompson, in a front-engine dragster, circa 1963. Photo courtesy Hot Rod magazine
Mickey Thompson (seen here in a dragster in the early '60s) a true motorsports pioneer who founded SCORE International, the tire company that still bears his name, and popularized stadium off-road racing.
Frank "Scoop" Vessels a longtime desert race competitor whose American Thunder sponsorship program partnered Chevrolet, BFGoodrich, and Mobil Oil in a model of today's contemporary sponsorship/marketing programs.
Walt Lott a founding father of off-road racing who was instrumental in the forming of both SNORE and the HDRA.
Sue Mead a freelance off-roading journalist who's not afraid to get "up close and personal" with some of the world's most grueling events, including the Baja 1000, Camel Trophy, and Dakar Rally.
Dick Landfield an off-road racer-turned-team-owner (Enduro Racing) who developed the idea for the sport's first multitruck team, the Ford Rough Riders.
Gil George a tube-frame chassis builder who formed Funco and is responsible for many buggy design innovations, including long-travel rear suspensions, independent rear suspensions, and disc-brake systems.
Bill Bryan a pioneering off-roader (dating back to the late '50s) who formed several 4WD clubs and was a founding member of the California Association of 4WD Clubs.
Edo Ansaloni one of the first Italian off-roaders who developed a love and appreciation for military Jeeps and gathered like-minded countrymen to form Italy's first national off-road club.
* Bosch has developed a new solenoid-valve diesel fuel injector that can handle high fuel-pressure levels (more than 29,000 psi, according to Automotive News) but will cost less to make than the company's Piezo injectors, currently found in the Grand Cherokee and Ford Super Duty trucks.
* A recent Consumer Reports "Auto Pulse" survey found that, while Americans talk about wanting fuel-efficient vehicles, when it comes down to it, fewer than half would be willing to give up vehicle size, capacity, performance, or range. Some 60 percent of the nearly 2,000 people polled said they were "concerned" or "very concerned" about the environment, but most said gas prices would have to near $4 per gallon before they'd "drastically" curtail their driving. That poll must not have been taken in Southern California, where gas prices are near $4 per gallon and the traffic is as much of a nightmare as ever.
* Bye-bye Ranger? Automotive News reports that product planners at Ford may kill their compact truck due to low demand. The entire small-truck segment has been waning lately (the exception: Toyota's Tacoma), and the long-in-the-tooth Ranger is suffering.
* On the other hand, sales of Ford's '08 Super Duty pickups are "exceeding sales projections," says the industry journal. While the F-250 is the volume leader among Ford's HD trucks, demand has been surprisingly robust for fully optioned F-350s and the new F-450.
* Now, are you sitting down? Ford's profit on highly optioned Super Dutys could reach as high as $17,000, said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Oregon, quoted in the same AN article. Isn't that about what a Ranger costs?
* It's looking more and more like the government will mandate higher fuel-economy standards as a means to combat climate change and tamp down our never-abating thirst for foreign oil. The automakers don't like it and are seeking a fuel-economy bill of their own. According to trade journal Automotive News and other sources, the U.S. Senate is considering a bill that raises Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 35 mpg fleetwide by 2020, about 40 percent higher than the current regulations, which stand at 27.5 mpg for cars, 22.2 for light-duty trucks. That's not the end of it: After 2020, the fuel-economy numbers grow an additional 4 percent per year until 2030. Lobbyists for the automakers understand that the hot topic won't just go away, but they consider this bill too extreme to implement. So they're talking up an alternative, drafted by a Michigan senator, that proposes to raise fuel-economy standards to 36 mpg for cars by 2022 and 30 mpg for trucks by 2025. No matter how the details shake out, be prepared for significant changes to our powertrains over the next decade.