Each is said to have more than 30 hours of handcrafted finishing work. The interior has bridle and walnut leather seats, and the steering wheel, knee bolsters, glovebox door, and grab handles are trimmed in it too. A veneer that resembles the wood used on Holland & Holland firearms is on the instrumental panel, center console, and all four doors. Also resembling H&H gunware is the blue-black chrome metal around the cabin and on the nameplate at the tailgate. The rest of the truck is familiar Range Rover, and so is the price. As Land Rover people say, it's "in excess of $75,000."
4xWeb
This month, 4x4review.com finishes its ultimate 10-bolt buildup. The Web site has covered the complete buildup, starting with a common-sense rebuild. It added 30-spline 4340 Yukon axles and a Detroit Locker last month. This month, 4x4review.com is wrapping up the 10-bolt with an over-the-axle truss, which will significantly strengthen the housing.
Another ongoing tech piece will also be wrapped up this month on 4x4review.com, Sick Steering Solutions. This is the fourth part in a series that has covered the most common steering problems you'll face when building a 4x4. The final installment covers the installation of an AGR Super Box 2 and Super P Series steering pump. Drop by www.4x4review.com to see these articles as well as features and roadtests.
Solution for Late Car Payments
Auto dealer and former Detroit Lions running back Mel Farr has been using a high-tech piece of equipment called an On-Time Device. It prevents a leased car from starting if a customer is late on payments. Attorneys had requested an injunction, but a judge said there was no reason to believe that the device would result in immediate danger to the driver or other motorists. The plaintiffs have asked that the lawsuit be given class-action status, since hundreds of drivers have vehicles with the device.
It works like this: Customers make a payment once a week and get a temporary code. They punch in the code on a keypad in the vehicle to get it to start. If more than a week goes by without a new, valid code, the vehicle won't start.
Farr started using the On-Time devices in order to be able to lease cars to people with bad credit.
Political & Environmental Beat
*The Wilderness Group and other environmental groups are campaigning to ban ATVs, motorcycles, and off-road vehicles in all national parks and a third of the national forests.
*A national study indicated that most Americans are content with the services of the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM received a score of 64 out of 100. However, a recreation roundtable revealed that many people don't know the name of the federal agency that manages the public land they utilize. More often than not, what they thought was the BLM was actually the National Park Service or Forest Service.
*A California senator is attempting to change the name of the Department of Fish and Game to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
*President Clinton has announced his plan. Beginning with '04 cars, the acceptable smog-causing pollution coming from vehicles must decrease 90 percent over 10 years. By model year 2009, new light trucks and sport/utes will also have to meet this requirement. It used to be that light trucks could pollute three to five times more than cars.
*Springfield, Massachusetts, was praised by the Environmental Protection Agency for being the only city, out of the 10 it cited for pollution problems, to make changes.
*History in the making? America Honda Motor Company is in legal battles with a woman who lost control of her '87 Accord in 1992, leading to an accident that crushed the bones in her face. She says there should have been an airbag, even though they weren't federally mandated at that time. Lower courts have ruled in favor of Honda, and now we await the verdict from the U.S. Supreme Court.