*Tired of all the SUV bashing of late, a new group called the Sport Utility Vehicle Owners of America ran a full-page ad in USA Today that asked, "What Would Jesus (Rivera) Drive?" Rivera, an SUV owner, likes his truck because it gets him through the snow in winter. "For millions of people like Jesus Rivera, it's all about safety, utility, and versatility," read the ad. "Maybe that's why they call them SUVs." Well, no duh.
Veteran Off-Road Racer Vic Hickey Dies
Vic Hickey, who designed several innovative desert race vehicles at the dawn of the sport, passed away of natural causes in June. He was 84.
A GM engineer, Hickey built several desert racing machines, including the Hurst Baja Boot and the Oldsmobile Banshee. The Boot, which raced in the first Mexican 1000 Rally (which was to become the Baja 1000), was a tube-chassis, four-wheel-drive buggy equipped with a small-block V-8 that was installed backwards, in front of the rear axleshafts. It boasted 9 inches of suspension travel and zero overhang front and rear. With Hollywood stuntman Bud Ekins driving, the Boot won the first Baja 500. Ekins' pal, actor Steve McQueen, later bought the Boot and raced it in Baja.
The Banshee featured a shortened Olds Cutlass body sitting on a tube frame and was powered by a 480hp 455 Olds V-8 mounted in the middle of the car. It was driven by another racing actor, James Garner, and later by Mickey Thompson himself.
Hickey was a versatile engineer, having a hand in everything from Indy race cars to the Lunar Rover. He also lent his name to a number of truck accessories, including rollbars, grilleguards, and nerf bars.
Recalls
If you own one of the following vehicles and haven't been notified by the maker that your vehicle is under recall, get yourself down to your local dealer to find out if the recall affects your 4x4.
*'03 Jeep Grand Cherokee: On certain SUVs, the power-steering gear may contain an improperly formed spacer clip that could become dislodged, resulting in increased steering effort. Dealers will replace the steering gear assemblies.
*'03 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada: Certain SUVs were built with a left-front brake pipe with a circumferential score at a random location along the length of the pipe as the result of manufacturing. If the brake pipe partially or fully fractured, brake pedal travel would immediately increase and front brake performance would be reduced, which could result in a crash. Dealers will replace the left-front brake pipe. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule for this campaign. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 800/222-1020, GMC at 800/462-8782, or Oldsmobile at 800/442-6537.
*'02 Chevrolet TrailBlazer/TrailBlazer EXT, '02 GMC Envoy/Envoy XL, '02 Oldsmobile Bravada: Certain SUVs fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 101, "Control Location, Identification, and Illumination," and No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." These vehicles have an intermittent condition during vehicle start-up in which the instrument panel cluster may not properly power up, disabling most of the displays, telltale lights, and functions. Dealers will reprogram the instrument panel cluster.
*'02-'03 Chevrolet TrailBlazer/TrailBlazer EXT, '02-'03 GMC Envoy/Envoy XL, '02-'03 Oldsmobile Bravada, '03 Hummer H2: Certain SUVs fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 114, "Theft Protection." These vehicles are equipped with a mechanical override that could allow the ignition key to be removed with the shift lever in a position other than Park. In addition, these vehicles have an override that can allow the transmission to be shifted out of Park with the ignition in the Off position. These overrides are not permitted unless the vehicle has a locking steering column. Dealers will eliminate these conditions by disabling the overrides.