RPM

BY TORI TELLEM

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE MANUFACTURERS RPM

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

In the News

Q If you’re a fan of both Land Rover vehicles and horses, you best sit down, because your day is made. The automaker and the U.S. Equestrian Federation have launched a bunch of equestrian-themed doodads and wearables. The horse package includes a custom horse cooler and mudflaps (we’ll take “odd bedfellows for $500”), for a $5,000 price tag. Q Not truck related, but shoutout to Toyota for sticking a manual transmission into its 2023 Supra. Q Ground has been broken for the expansion of Navistar’s 110,000-square-foot powertrain plant in Huntsville, Alabama. Q The next generation of EarthCruiser Overland Vehicles EXP, FX, and CORE will use the Class 4 Isuzu NPR Series platform. Q Rocket Auto did some surveying and learned 80.6 percent of drivers said backup camera was the No. 1 feature they’d pay more for. Similar number for millennials wanting a USB fastcharging outlet. Q $383 million is what Toyota will invest in four of its U.S. manufacturing plants for producing fourcylinders (a hybrid electric is one such type). Q If you’re craving a convertible Land Rover, Heritage Customs out of the Netherlands is doing it to the Defender 90. Q Or perhaps you’re craving this: Expedition Motor Company’s newest version of its Wolf Gelandewagen is the ’22 1991 250GD. The G-wagen total restomod features a 0M602 diesel engine with Mercedes-Benz five-speed 722.6 automatic transmission and original gear-shift lever from an S-Class. Write that check in the amount of $120,000.

Is It True? Your Government at Work

• Ford is working on tank-turn tech for the electric F-150 Lightning? • Did Klaus Zyciora, the head of Volkswagen Group Design, post a rendering of an ID. Buzz pickup on Instagram because ... it’s actually happening? • Someone in the Middle East spent almost $10 million at auction to get the license plate AA8? • Dodge Hornet EV SUV? • A crash on Interstate 70 in Missouri on 4/20 ended with 500 pounds of packaged marijuana strewn about the highway? • Hot Wheels live action movie? • One of the names on the list to design NASA’s moon-stalking crewed Lunar Terrain Vehicle? Nissan North America. That’s for its know-how on things like autonomousdriving tech. • The Department of Energy has given $4.09 million to Borg-Warner to develop a cost-effective, advanced direct-current fast charger for EV-related infrastructure. • DARPA has awarded Federal Intel Federal “the opportunity to develop advanced simulation solutions for off-road autonomous ground vehicles,” according to Intel Labs. It’s for the Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency–Simulation (RACER-Sim) program that intends to “create the next generation of off-road simulation platforms to significantly reduce the development cost and bridge the gap between simulation and the real world.” • The U.S. Postal Service bought thousands of trucks for its fleet, but now it’s being sued by the United Auto Workers and environmental groups (and also states that include California). The issue? USPS bought gas-powered trucks, not just EVs, and allegedly signed the contract before an environmental review.

What’s Happening in the Industry

Q Advance Auto Parts is now joined at the hip to the L.A. Dodgers, signing a multiyear agreement to become the team’s official auto parts retailer. Who among us doesn’t wonder hourly what would be the official car battery of baseball? (For the Dodgers, it’s DieHard, so end your wonderment.) Q onX Offroad is doubling down on efforts to help improve and conserve public land access nationwide and will do so in various ways, including through grants, partnering with off-road organizations, and raising awareness with the public and policymakers about off-road access. Q Tread Lightly! and Nissan are working together to promote responsible off-road and outdoor recreation. Examples of this include dealing with damaged and closed roads in the Delta National Forest. Q Tread Lightly! again: Quadratec’s new 50 Cleanups in 50 States Stewardship Grant Fund is in partnership with Tread Lightly!. According to Quadratec, “The ‘50-for-50’ program will fully support one stewardship project in each state over the next 24 months that enhances or improves off-road or public land access. The ‘50-for-50’ stewardship grant fund will help project managers pay for equipment, fees, volunteer support, food, fuel, signage, and other miscellaneous costs.”

“HAVING TO TELL CUSTOMERS THEY’RE FACING WEEKS OF DELAY BEFORE THEY GET THE CONVERTERS AND CAN USE THEIR VEHICLE [AGAIN] HAS BEEN THE HARDEST PART OF MY JOB IN MY 19 YEARS HERE.” —ADAM HANER, HELFMAN MOTORS IN HOUSTON, TO AUTOMOTIVE NEWS ABOUT THE MASSIVE INCREASE IN CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT, NOT TO MENTION WAIT LISTS AND INCREASING COST OF MATERIALS FOR THE REPLACEMENT

2023 NISSAN PATHFINDER ROCK CREEK

The buzzwords are in full swing here for this new Pathfinder in the lineup: “off-road–inspired,” “buyers seeking a higher level of fun and adventure,” and “has both the style and hardware.” Translation: Tuned suspension with 5⁄8-inch lift, all-terrain rubber, and a slight bump in performance numbers over the regular Pathfinder—295 horses (versus 284) and 270 lb-ft of torque (compared to 259). The fine print on those numbers? “When using premium fuel, due to revised fuel mapping.” The ’Creek is available in four-by form only.

2023 GMC Canyon AT4X and Yukon Denali Ultimate

The AT4X trim from the ’22 GMC Sierra is headed for the ’23 GMC Canyon. Details were still somewhat of a secret as Four Wheeler went to press, but rocker protection and 17-inch “beadlockcapable” wheels are expected.

Meanwhile, the all-new Yukon Denali Ultimate is the vehicle for you if 1. You’re dying for a neverbefore-existed premium trim and/or 2. You’re always griping to everyone about the hassles associated with using your hands to change lanes and tow. As in, Super Cruise technology is available for automatic lane changes and hands-free towing (prepare for a giant asterisk that denotes the list of perfect-storm conditions needed to actually use those conveniences). You’ll also get a lot of numbers: 6.2L V-8 or 3.0L Duramax with 10-speed automatic transmission, 22-inch ultra-bright machined wheels, 16-way power seats, and 18-speaker Bose system, among other goods.