The Trucks Of SEMAThe Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show has become much more than a gathering of the latest aftermarket performance parts. It's also a place where manufacturers-both OE and aftermarket-show off their latest concept vehicles. Here are a few of the highlights.
New Crate Motors From GM and FordEngine choices just keep growing. At the recent SEMA show, GM and Ford displayed new crate motor additions to their performance-parts lineups.
The General announced it would make an automotive variant of its high-output HP3 Vortec 8100 marine V-8. Based on the 8100 truck engine, the 496ci HP3 will have a cast-iron block and heads; hypereutectic cast-aluminum pistons; a high-lift, high-duration hydraulic roller cam; and port fuel injection fed by a 75mm throttle body and a new fuel rail, a combo that increases fuel pressure by 30 percent over the stock Vortec 8100. The 9.1:1 motor will produce 525 hp at 5,400 rpm and 560 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm on 87-octane unleaded fuel. An electronic control module, throttle-control hardware, and accessory drive components will be available in kit form. This motor will be available for sale through the GM Performance Parts catalog "late in 2003," says GM.
From the Blue Oval folks comes a 5.0L Cammer crate motor, also available in late 2003. The all-aluminum, overhead-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder engine is based on the 4.6L modular V-8 used in SVT Cobra Mustangs, though it has been bored to hit the 5.0 displacement number. Other revisions include forged pistons, reinforcement webbing in the crankcase area, higher-lift cams, ported heads with an 11.0:1 compression ratio, higher-flow fuel injectors, and a cast-magnesium, variable-geometry intake manifold. The motor will produce 425-430 hp at 6,700 rpm, and 370 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm.
This Just In...*Kia's Sorento won two awards at the annual Northwest Automotive Press Association MudFest. The MudFest is an event in which Pacific Northwest auto journos flog an assortment of SUVs through on- and off-road courses, and the Sorento came away with prizes for the "Best SUV under $25,000" and "Best Overall SUV Value."
*One other Kia newsbit: Our favorite concept vehicle name at this year's SEMA show was the "Cinco Swim," given to a Rio Cinco station wagon modified to be the "ultimate car for the ultimate surfer."
*With tire underinflation such a hot issue in the wake of the Firestone/Explorer mess, the NHTSA will require automakers (as of Sept. 2003) to put brightly colored stickers with tire inflation information on the driver-side door pillar or on the edge of the door. More tire safety information will also be printed in the vehicle's owner's manual. Tire companies, too, will have to make some changes, as the agency wants them to more clearly label tires with bigger identification numbers on both sides of the tire, making it easier for consumers to i.d. tires that are subject to recall.
*We liked the Quadrasteer option in the GM trucks we drove on 4x4 of the Year, but the General is having a hard time moving the spendy ($4,495) option, says Automotive News. So it's going to increase its advertising and offer a rebate on Q-steer-fitted trucks.
*We hinted at it in a previous issue, and now it's official: Jeep will offer a diesel-powered Liberty in 2004. The engine-a 2.8L turbodiesel-is expected to provide 30 percent better fuel economy than a comparable gasoline engine. DC is offering the mill in hopes of improving Americans' acceptance of diesel engines, since the U.S. could reduce its oil use by 800 million gallons and carbon dioxide emissions by 8 million tons annually if we bought diesels at the same rate as Europeans, said Dieter Zetsche, DC's president and CEO.