News and chewing gum for the eyes

FORD RE-RECALLS 225,000 VEHICLES

Around 225,000 vehicles --- including 185,000 ’92-03 Econoline vans and some ‘92-95 Lincoln Town Cars --- have been re-recalled by Ford to check for possible faulty wiring harnesses installed as part of an earlier recall to address concerns about cruise control deactivation switches. Ford discovered the wiring problem while repairing a vehicle in its own fleet and says no accidents or injuries have been caused by the problem.

The original recall with reference to cruise control switches affected about 10 million vehicles and was due to engine fires linked to the cruise system in trucks, sport utilities and vans. In some cases, homes were destroyed when vehicles burned in attached garages. Vehicles in this latest recall include ‘92-98 Crown Victorias and Mercury Grand Marquis, ‘93-95 Taurus SHOs, ‘93 Broncos and gasoline-powered Super Duty pickups and ’95-97 gasoline-powered Super Duty stripped chassis trucks.

Ford has stated that not all vehicles in the model years listed had the faulty wiring harness installed, and the company will contact affected (US-registered) owners.

In mid-February, Ford also announced it was recalling some 124,000 light trucks (2007-08 Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators) to replace springs in interior side door handles to prevent the door opening in a crash. Also, there is a recall of around 57,000 2006-07 Navigators, Expeditions and Econoline vans with 5.4-litre engines for replacement of fuel rail crossover hoses that may leak.

Meantime, Chrysler has recalled some 386,000 year 2001 and 2002 Dodge Durangos, Dakotas and Ram vans plus 2002 Ram pickups to replace an automatic gearshift component that may fail when worn and result in the vehicles being able to roll when the shifter is in the “park” position.

At the same time, GM has recalled approximately 12,000 year 2001 Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras with 8.1-litre engines for replacement of malfunctioning crankshaft position sensors, which cause the engine to run rough or stall.

America’s latest “240mph” supercar: The Splinter
LOOK AT THE GRAIN, IT’S A WOODY !

Planned to be faster than a Porsche 911 GT3 or Lamborghini Revanton, this is the Splinter --- a concept supercar being glued together by Joe Harmon and crew from North Carolina. Yes, it’s made out of wood, including maple, plywood and MDF, with a veneered chassis and a suspension system that utilizes orange wood. It weighs just 1,134kg --- 240kg less than the Porsche. The Splinter is not intended for production (unlike the largely wood Marco sports cars), but as an engineering exercise to prove the validity of wood, which designer Harmon says “possesses a versatility that makes many types of construction possible, in addition to having a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminium or steel.” With a twin-supercharged aluminium 4.6-litre V8 punching-out a claimed 700bhp, this wedge of timber is designed to hit 240mph and should be ready to roll out later this year

HUMMER HOPES A PICKUP WILL PERK-UP ITS SALES

Hummer dealers are hoping their new H3T pickup, arriving in showrooms this October, will turn the brand’s sales drop of 23 per cent this January into a 20 to 25 per cent increase next year. The mid-size H3T is based on the H3 SUV, but offers a five-foot bed and a five-passenger crew cab. It will come with full-time 4WD and a choice of five-cylinder, V6 or V8 engines and optional five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions. And it will be marketed in Europe. The H3T is “ideal for the customer who works hard and plays harder”, says Hummer general manager Martin Walsh

FIREBIRD JETCAR HONOURS DAYTONA 500

A USAF Thunderstreak fighter bomber is a backdrop to General Motors’ 1954 concept jet turbine car ---- the Firebird 1. On February 17, half a century later, the iconic single-seat car, created by GM’s then design chief Harley Earl to look like a jet fighter, was rolled down Daytona’s International Speedway track to celebrate the 50th running of the Daytona 500 NASCAR stock car race. Each year the race winner gets the Harvey J Earl Trophy, which is topped with a miniature replica of the jet car and this year it was the turn of outsider Ryan Newman to take the chequered flag in the number 12 Dodge Charger for owner Roger Penske. It was a first Daytona 500 win for Penske too, though his cars have won the Indianapolis 500 no fewer than 14 times

… AND NEWMAN WINS FOR DODGE AND PENSKE

Ryan Newman “doughnuts” the Roger Penske Dodge Charger to celebrate his win at the 2008 Daytona 500 on February 17. Team-mate Kurt Busch finished second

US CAR INDUSTRY WILL STRUGGLE THIS YEAR,
BUT THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Total vehicle sales in the United States are expected to drop to around 15.5 million units this year --- eight per cent less than the annual average since the year 2000 --- as the industry struggles with car buyers’ belt-tightening, and threats of impending recession. In announcing General Motors’ heavy full-year worldwide loss of $38.7 billion for 2007, chief executive Rick Wagoner forecast that market volume should return in the US next year, but added that the greatest improvement was expected in the following two years.

Some 74,000 workers in the North American division of GM are to be offered voluntary redundancy as part of a desperate restructuring plan.

Much of GM’s full-year loss was expected due to tax changes and charges, but the $722 million loss in the last quarter was much worse than analysts had predicted. Auto analyst Bradley Rubin of BNP Paribas said “It’s going to be difficult for GM to make a profit in 2008 in spite of all the restructuring they’ve already done.” Howard Wheeldon, of BGC Partners, has the view that it could be four years before the corporation achieves sustainable financial health.

FIERO FERRARIS? THEY’RE “FAMILY” CARS!

Italian police have raided a Mafia factory in Palermo, Sicily, and seized 21 fake Ferrari 348GTs made from mid-eighties Pontiac Fieros and Toyota MR2s in a massive operation that stretched to Milan, Asti, Rome, Taranto and Crotone. They recovered 14 examples in addition to seven under construction in the factory.

Whereas Fiero-based Ferrari copy-cars are seen to be legally saleable in the US and UK, the Italian authorities have seen the phenomenon as a racket and busted the factory owners, claiming the cars were dangerous.

Although buyers were aware the cars were imitations rather than genuine, the sellers were making a huge profit, buying the Pontiacs or Toyotas for 3,000 euros and selling the “Ferraris” for between 20,000 and 50,000 euros.

BOYD CODDINGTON --- RODDING LEGEND

The man The New York Times has called “indisputably the best-known and arguably the most influential professional builder in the field” --- legendary hot rod creator Boyd Coddington died on February 27, aged 63. Coddington began building cars in his garage at the age of 13, later produced a streamlined ’33 Ford coupe that won the prestigious Al Slonaker award and went on to receive the award for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster on seven occasions. He also twice won the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award.

Boyd Coddington created the American Hot Rod TV show seen on the Discovery Channel both sides of the Atlantic from 2004 onwards, introducing West Coast rodding to the uninitiated.

TONY ROLT --- 4WD PIONEER

One of the most successful British racing drivers of the 1950s, famed WW2 escapee, and builder of the four-wheel-drive transmission systems used on STP Indianapolis 500 cars in the ‘60s, Tony Rolt, has died aged 89. Tony Rolt started racing in 1936 driving in the Belgian Spa 24-Hours and went on to win all manner of races, including the 1953 Le Mans 24-hour sports car race in a C-Type Jaguar with Duncan Hamilton.

Rolt’s wartime escapades really began with his capture at Calais in 1940 and he was involved in no fewer than six escape attempts with varying degrees of success, including the famous Colditz Castle project to build a two-seat glider --- a viable plan which he was largely responsible for. After the war, Rolt returned to motor racing, notably with sports cars, but then turned his hand to the development of 4WD cars with Harry Ferguson, including in 1961 the only all-wheel-drive car ever to win a Formula One race (with Stirling Moss at the wheel).

In 1964 Tony Rolt’s design was used by Andy Granatelli’s STP Novi Indy 500 cars, and later the transmissions were incorporated in other cars produced by the likes of Lotus and Shelby. As FF Developments, Rolts company produced 4WD transmissions for the Chrysler V8-powered Jensen FF sports coupe and later partnered Ford, GM and Chrysler in 4WD development. In 1994 the business was sold to Ricardo.

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(With thanks to Classic American Magazine, from where most of these dates have been taken)