Minnesota Team Wins Land Rover's TReK 2003A three-man team from Land Rover Eden Prairie in Minnesota won the 2003 edition of the Land Rover TReK competition. Wayne Pisinski (shown in the photo), Ross Corey, and Ryan Krause scored 630 out of a possible 700 points in events that included an off-road obstacle course, kayaking, orienteering, autocross, running, and biking.
This was the fifth TReK event held since the competition began in 1996. Developed by Land Rover University, Land Rover North America's training unit, TReK was designed as a means to keep Land Rover's retail employees up to date on product and brand knowledge as well as four-wheeling expertise. The competition borrows some of its technical challenges from the Camel Trophy, but stages them in a shorter form.
The teams participating in this year's TReK drove '04 Discoveries, which are fitted with a new 4.6L engine and a manually locking center differential. The event took place on the Forbes Trinchera Ranch near Ft. Garland, Colorado, located in the state's southeast corner.
Military Vehicles At ShowIf you're looking for an excuse to leave the dreary winter weather behind for a visit to sunny Arizona, it doesn't get much better than this: The 13th annual Papago Military Vehicle Show will take place January 17-18 at the Arizona National Guard facility in Phoenix. Hosted by the Guard and the Arizona Military Vehicle Collectors Club, the show will feature fully restored vehicles dating back to World War II. There will also be a swap meet both days, and an auction of donated surplus gear will start the afternoon of the 17th. For more information, go to www.armytrucks.org or call 602/840-5019.
Old- And New-Style F-150s To Be Sold In 2004Are you one of those who have trouble with change? Ford understands. Alongside the all-new '04 F-150, the Blue Oval folks will offer the previous-generation truck, now called the Heritage model, in XL and XLT versions. The Heritage trucks will have V-6 engines and manual transmissions only; the new F-150s will come with V-8s and in five different trim levels.
Prices for the Heritage models start where they did last year, with the base XL starting at $19,125. The new F-150 trucks will cost between $245 and $635 more than comparable '03 models. For example, an '04 XLT SuperCab 4x4 with a 4.6L V-8 engine and automatic transmission will have a base price of $29,550, an increase of $535 over a similarly equipped '03 pickup.
This Just In*At a recent press event for the new Titan and Pathfinder Armada fullsize trucks, Nissan execs were asked if they were planning other variations on the Titan, such as a 31/44- or 1-ton model, or one with a diesel engine. The answer: "Consider this Titan as planting the roots and trunk of the tree." Or, in other words, yes.
*At that same event, the same execs revealed that there will be an Infiniti version of the Pathfinder Armada, which will debut at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show.
*And one more Nissan tidbit: Execs also swore that they were not dropping the compact Pathfinder SUV and that a revised version would be out in a year or so. Our hunch: At about that same time the Pathfinder part of the fullsize SUV's name will go away.
*The New York Times is reporting that Honda will produce a pickup truck based on the same platform that carries the Pilot and Acura MDX SUVs. Anonymous sources within Honda say the truck will be introduced in 2005 and will be aimed at the "personal use" market.
*The Sierra Club is attacking SUVs again, this time through a parody Web site (www.hummerdinger.com) that skewers the Hummer H2 with cartoons, fake news stories, and the club's typical thinly veiled propaganda.