Around the Industry - 4WD184 – Part 3

Around the Industry - 4WD184 – Part 3

STOCK RAPTOR COMPLETES MINT 400

The sound of hard rock from satellite radio filled the cabin as the production-based 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor race truck finished the demanding Best in the Desert Mint 400 off-road race recently. Piloted by drivers Greg Foutz and Tim Casey, Ford F-150 Raptor race truck is the only stock truck competing in the Best in the Desert factory stock class for full-sized trucks (Class 1200), making it the first such vehicle to finish a race in this class.

The Ford F-150 Raptor race truck is one of only 19 teams in the limited group – out of a total of 68 – to finish the 2016 Mint 400. Ford uses these races to test its new high-output EcoBoost engine and 10-speed transmission in extreme environments, which obviously proved quite successful. We had an eyebrow raised when the utilization of a 10-speed was announced in the Raptor. However, if it can handle the Mint, that is a very good sign. We hope to be behind the wheel of the next Raptor in the very near future to give you our thoughts.

TOYOTA TUNDRA TICKS OVER ONE MILLION MILES

Have you ever heard the rumour that if you drive a vehicle over a million miles the manufacturer will buy it back? Well, it’s true and that's just what happened to Toyota customer Victor Sheppard. He was so satisfied with his Toyota Tundra, he continued driving it even after he had safely driven one million miles. When Toyota saw the well-kept truck, they asked: What is a Toyota Tundra with more than a million miles worth?

For Toyota’s production engineers and team members, the truck’s longevity offers invaluable insight for future products. For Sheppard, it was worth a new truck. While high-mileage vehicles help validate the quality of the manufacturing processes the company employs, Toyota engineers are interested in how the engine and transmission as well as other components and parts, such as the seats, have held up. And as one of the first Tundra trucks from the San Antonio plant, Toyota’s chief truck engineer from Toyota Technical Center, Mike Sweers, and his team want a chance to get a better look under the hood and everywhere else to learn how the vehicle holds up after so many kilometres of rigorous use.

The disassembly process is expected to take months as engineers examine each part of the engine, chassis, body, and other components. With the knowledge gained, the engineers will apply their findings to future trucks. As for Sheppard, his million-mile truck has been replaced by a new 2016 Tundra.

CAN NISSAN SAVE MITSUBISHI?

Oh how the mighty have fallen! Mitsubishi was once a powerhouse in the automotive world, not to mention the aviation field as the producers of the famous Japanese Mitsubishi Zero fighter. During the 90’s, Mitsubishi dominated the World Rally Championship with the Lancer Evolution and was all but unbeatable in the Dakar Rally. As of late however, Mitsubishi has suffered some serious recall issues that have taken a serious financial toll. In a bid to save the company, Mitsubishi canceled all their iconic performance vehicles to throw all their chips into the Electric Vehicle rage. Despite the i-MiEV one of the most economic EV choices, Nissan, Tesla and others have stolen vital market share. The final nail in the coffin came recently when they were caught lying about the fuel efficiency of their Japanese market vehicles. While VW have the coffers to get them through their little issue with lying, Mitsubishi most definitely do not.

Cue Nissan, more specifically the Nissan-Renault Group, who have moved in to purchase a 34% stake in the Japanese brand. Like Mitsubishi, Nissan were also on the rocks and nearly bankrupt when Carlos Ghosn swooped in and restructured the company to make it profitable once again and be one of the brands that won the EV wars. We have no doubt that Ghosn will save Mitsubishi, however can he bring back Mitsubishi’s glory years of awesome performance cars and quality desert conquering off-roaders? We’ll have to wait and see.