Pickup Trucks The Best-Selling Vehicles Of 2003The news agency Reuters is reporting that, through July 2003, the three best-selling vehicles in the U.S. are all fullsize pickup trucks. Ford's F-150 is again the number-one seller with 471,884 units sold. Trailing behind it is Chevy's Silverado with 394,108 units sold, while Third Place goes to the Dodge Ram at 258,656 units. Ford may not want to spend a lot of time cheering, though, as its numbers represent a 1.6-percent downturn from sales in the same period last year. On the other hand, the Silverado's numbers are up 3.6 percent, while the Ram's have climbed 13 percent.
More trucks make an appearance on Reuters' top-20-bestsellers list: At number six is the Ford Explorer, number 12 is Chevy's TrailBlazer, the Ford Ranger is at 15, and the GMC Sierra pickup, Chevrolet Tahoe, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Ford Expedition take numbers 17 through 20, respectively.
CalendarAttention promoters, club officers, racing sanctioning bodies, and anyone else planning a 4x4 event: Please send us your calendar of 2004 listings. Because of press lead times, we need your info at least three months in advance of the event. Don't miss out on free national publicity for your special happening! Send all events listings to: Calendar, 4-Wheel & Off-Road, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048; or e-mail them to 4wheeloffroad@primedia.com.
Nov. 22 Stoddard 250 desert race, Barstow, CA. Information: Mojave Desert Racing, 626/442-9320, www.mdrracing.com.
Nov. 29 Patriot Jeepers Post Turkey Day Jeep Run, Massachusetts. Information: Patriot Jeepers, 508/757-3134, www.patriotjeepers.com.
Dec. 5-7 Las Vegas 200 off-road race, Las Vegas, NV. Information: Best in the Desert, 702/457-5775, www.bitd.com.
Dec. 6 1st Annual Redline Wheelin Toy Run, Elbe Hills ORV, near Elbe, WA. Information: 360/432-9059, e-mail larimertitus@aol.com
Dec. 14 5th Annual Toys for Tots Parade and Christmas Party, Chicago, IL. Information, Great Lakes Jeep Thing, www.gljt.org.
Dec. 20 4x4 Safety Clinic, Hungry Valley SVRA, Gorman, CA. Information: 818/370-3582, www.4x4quest.com.
Political & Environmental Watch*The Bureau of Land Management has handed down a decision banning cross-country travel on BLM lands in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Vehicles must stay on the roads and trails. There are exceptions: You can drive to a campsite within 300 feet of existing roads and trails, provided you located the site in a "non-motorized fashion." And emergency vehicles-fire, law enforcement, search and rescue and military-can travel cross-country when necessary. The decision does not affect travel on roads or trails.
*Our friends at the SEMA Action Network (SAN) have reported that Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) plans to introduce legislation to designate 250,000 acres of Idaho's Boulder White-Cloud Mountain Range as wilderness. At present time, the scope of the bill would be limited to the single mountain range. Although Idaho has nearly 12 million acres of land eligible for wilderness designation, there has been little action to formalize the status.
*San also reports that the National Park Service (NPS) has proposed closing the Salt Creek Canyon trail in Utah's Canyonlands National Park to motorized vehicles due to the large number of vehicles that break down or become stuck (thus requiring NPS assistance), and to protect a significant number of nearby archeological sites. Access to the off-road trail has been the subject of a lawsuit and previous NPS management plans.