Spring 2009. That's when Global Vehicles plans to introduce/import the Mahindra vehicle lineup to the United States: a two- and four-door pickup and an SUV (and special editions of each). The brand is manufactured in India and will make its debut in the states in automotive form. Mahindra can already be found in the U.S. as a tractor.
The fullsize SUV (105.5-inch wheelbase) and the pickups (119.7-inch wheelbase) will have an inline-four, common-rail diesel and a six-speed automatic transmission. The suspension will be independent at the front and have coils and a solid axle out back. The SUV will have seating for seven.
What makes the Mahindra even more interesting is its place in the Jeep family tree. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. collaborated with Willlys-Overland to assemble Jeep-like vehicles. Another tidbit: In 2005, Mahindra introduced the common-rail injection to its diesel engine, the first Indian manufacturer to do so.
'08 Super Duty Sets A Record
There are road tests and then there are road tests. The official name for the event was Bold Endures: America's Toughest Road Test, but that doesn't even give you a glimpse into the cool factor (yes, cool, despite the fact that it's a marketing campaign). The new Super Duty's record was based on a continuous 150,000-mile journey with the largest trailer towed by a heavy-duty pickup.
The trip took the team of drivers through 49 states and seven Canadian provinces, averaging 1,145 miles each day with the 40-foot, 18,000-pound, triple-axle trailer. Elevations ranged from 100 feet below sea level to 9,000 feet above it. To get the nitty-gritty on the testing and to check out some Webisodes, go to www.insidesuperduty.com.
Coconuts As Biodiesel = A+
If you believe the children are our future, then you'll find what some engineering students at Brigham Young University did no big shock. On a trip to Tonga (located about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii), they showed locals how to turn coconut oil into biodiesel. A special BYU class called Global Projects in Engineering and Technology put students in real-world situations as part of the course, and a company called Motu Biofuels was born. Students spent a semester studying coconuts (OK, their chemical breakdown and economics). Once in Tonga, they trained the locals on how to use a biodiesel reactor and demonstrated the goods in an engine. In a (coco)nutshell, the process is to grate, dry, and press the meat of a coconut to extract the oil, then mix in methanol and sodium hydroxide . . . and then some other steps that we don't think will be on the test.
Google's New Mapping Feature-Stalker Friendly!
You've undoubtedly wasted time playing with Google Earth-now you can throw away a day with Street View. It allows you to poke around at street level in 360 degrees! As of now, there are maps for San Francisco, Denver, New York, Miami, and Las Vegas, but more metro areas are coming. Go to Google maps, then click on Street View to get your Big Brother on.
Did you know...
Of the close to 400,000 Isuzu-built Class 3-5 diesel trucks sold in North America since 1984, more than 83 percent are still registered and in service, according to Isuzu.
Vetoed
Last month we told you Montana was trying to give people using biodiesel/biodiesel blend tax credits. The governor has vetoed the proposed bill.
DOD's New Fuel
O2Biodiesel is made up of 28 percent renewable sources, including biodiesel and ethanol, and was developed for the Department of Defense. The DOD is said to be the largest consumer of diesel and distillate fuels in the United States, according to O2Diesel, and "The ability to rapidly deploy the fuel with limited to no change in fueling structure is a good example of how CleanTech fuel technologies can easily be adopted and implemented by large-fleet consumers of diesel fuel," said Alan Rae, O2Diesel's CEO. For now, the fuel will go through military-spec testing involving heat, humidity, cold, handling, and storage.
E-Vehicles
Brought To You By Auto NationHey, not everyone can rattle off which cars, trucks, and SUVs are hybrid or run on diesel, E85, or gas. That's why AutoNation has launched the E-Vehicle program, which makes it easy to ID vehicles that get at least 28 mpg or 10 percent better fuel economy than the average for their class. Cars and trucks that are listed on www.autonation.com that meet these qualities will get a green-leaf logo. E-Vehicles will also be called out with a yellow leaf denoting flex-fuel or ethanol. The Web site says a diesel Mercedes-Benz is among the most in-demand.