This Just In
* Bye-bye CDs? Frank Homann, vice president of cockpit modules for Siemens VDO, predicted at a recent SAE conference the music disc players will be phased out of vehicles by 2015, replaced by portable digital music players, song-playing cell phones, and other devices, according to Ward's Auto. Other industry execs disagreed, saying "semi-computer-literate baby boomers"-those of us who wouldn't know how to run an iPod if our lives depended on it-will keep the easy-to-use CDs around for a long time.
* Camshafts in some 20 of Toyota's new 5.7L V-8-found in the Tundra-have snapped, reports Automotive News. That's 20 out of about 30,000 built, and Toyota is blaming the problem on faulty metallurgy in an early batch of cams from an outside supplier. The problem is most likely solved now, and Toyota will replace the entire engine if a customer reports the problem.
* Leave it to GM Vice Chairman (and notoriously plainspoken) Bob Lutz to take some of the wind out of GM's recent enthusiasm for diesel. "There's a lot of hype on diesels right now," Lutz said, according to Automotive News. "It's not going to be a 50-state solution. It's going to be minus California and minus what other states adopt California standards."
* Does this give credence to Lutz's comments? AN reports Jeep put fairly hefty incentives on its diesel-powered Grand Cherokees over the summer, offering as much as $3,500 off the sticker price. A Jeep rep said the rebate will help "narrow the gap" between the price of diesel and gas versions, though AN says a fully loaded diesel Grand costs $45,845, about as much as a $45,045 Hemi version.
Environmental & Political Watch
* Can chicken fat become a synthetic fuel? SEMA reports Tyson Foods (you've probably seen its frozen chicken and other meat products at the grocery store) and Syntroleum Companies recently announced the formation of Dynamic Fuels LLC to build the first commercial synthetic fuels plant in the U.S. This follows Tyson's formation of a renewable energy group in 2006 to explore ways to commercialize its supply of fat into biofuels as well as ways to generate energy from "poultry litter and other byproducts." Weird as that may sound, it seems like a far better long-term strategy to turn bio-waste products into fuel than to use food, like corn, that could be put to better use-like keeping people from starving.
* Working with Minnesota off-road enthusiasts, SEMA helped defeat a bill that sought to restrict modified 4x4 trucks to minimally maintained roads and to the area specifically designated for their use. The legislation defined 4x4 trucks as four-wheeled motor vehicles manufactured to operate on public roads and subsequently modified with special tires, suspension, or other equipment.
* SEMA-sponsored legislation to permit vehicles with modified exhaust systems that do not emit in excess of 95 decibels as measured by a standardized SAE test was approved by the Montana State Legislature and sent to the governor for his signature. SEMA has also helped to enact an objectively measured 95-decibel limit in California, Washington, and Maine.
* The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to create a 106,000-acre wilderness area in Washington's Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The SEMA-opposed bill would close existing roads and trails. SEMA supports an alternative approach that would set aside 13,000 acres to allow the continued use of these routes. Congressional Democrats have also introduced legislation called "America's Red Rock Wilderness Act" to set aside 9.4 million acres of land in Utah as wilderness. The land is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and is located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and other areas. The goal of the legislation is to prevent road building, mining and drilling operations, and off-road vehicle use. For example, the bill threatens to close nearly 700 miles of legal, designated off-road trails in the San Rafael Swell. The SEMA-opposed legislation was introduced by lawmakers from Illinois and New York and lacks the support of the Utah Congressional delegation.
Department Of Corrections
An error in the "Way Cheap Suspension Guide" (Aug. '07 issue) incorrectly listed the phone number for Off Road Designs. If you're interested in the company's shackles, please call 970.945.7777. We apologize for the mistake and assure you the people responsible for the error have been flogged. That'll teach 'em.