Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[<i>Four Wheeler</i> crowns Ultimate Factory 4x4... who wins?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/15/four-wheeler-crowns-ultimate-factory-4x4-who-wins/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/15/four-wheeler-crowns-ultimate-factory-4x4-who-wins/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/15/four-wheeler-crowns-ultimate-factory-4x4-who-wins/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Ultimate Factory 4x4

Nearly every automaker doing business in the SUV or pickup truck segments offers a package designed to improve the off-road capabilities of its wares. But, of course, not all such factory kits are created equal. How, then, to separate the wheat from the chaff? Gather each of them up and put them through their paces, naturally.

The folks from Four Wheeler and PickupTrucks.com joined forces to run just such a comparison test, with the winner named the Ultimate Factory 4x4. A total of seven vehicles showed up to the fight: the 2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2012 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X and Xterra PRO-4X, 2012 Ram Power Wagon, and 2012 Toyota 4Runner Trail and Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series.

With the contestants in place, the whole crew put each vehicle through a battery of tests that included skidpad and acceleration measurements, a hillclimb, a rocky stairstep course and a rock garden. Considering the nature of the beasts, on-road ride and comfort were not part of the routine.

So, which four-wheeler ended up on top? Click here to read the results, and don't act like you're surprised by the victor.

Four Wheeler crowns Ultimate Factory 4x4... who wins? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>4runnerF-150 SVT Raptorfactory off-roadfordfour wheelerfrontierjeepnissanoff roadpower wagonramtacomatoyotaultimate factory 4x4wranglerxterraThu, 15 Nov 2012 11:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20380104/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/11/15/four-wheeler-crowns-ultimate-factory-4x4-who-wins/20380104/article-detail.xml 20380104 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/11/ultimate-factory-4x4_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/11/ultimate-factory-4x4.jpg <![CDATA[Yamaha Tesseract four-wheeled motorcycle in development? [w/video]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/27/yamaha-tesseract-four-wheeled-motorcycle-in-development/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/27/yamaha-tesseract-four-wheeled-motorcycle-in-development/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/27/yamaha-tesseract-four-wheeled-motorcycle-in-development/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Yamaha Tesseract Concept
Yamaha Tesseract Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Yamaha Tesseract from the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show is still one of our favorite concept vehicles ever created... both for the sheer lunacy of its appearance and ingeniousness of its design. If you happen to agree with our judgement, we have some good news: recent patent filings indicate that Yamaha may actually intend to build something like this for production.

There are some differences worth noting that separate the machine described in the patent documents from the actual Tesseract concept, notably the use of a parallel twin engine instead of a V-twin and dual shafts driving the rear wheels instead of chains. It's that latter item that makes us think Yamaha might actually be developing this machine, as those conceptual chains would be a nightmare to keep sorted and matched in real life.

Before you get too excited, though, now would be a good time to remind you that a vehicle like the Tesseract would never be sold in the United States... at least not for road use. Because it has four wheels, the Tesseract would be classified as an automobile (though it is most definitely a motorcycle in every meaningful sense), and that means it would need to pass crash and safety testing. Suffice it to say there's no chance in purgatory that the machine would make it through that nightmarish legislative process.

Still, we can dream. And we can also gaze at the pretty pictures in our image gallery and even watch a rendered video of the concept in action. Find it after the break.

Continue reading Yamaha Tesseract four-wheeled motorcycle in development? [w/video]

Yamaha Tesseract four-wheeled motorcycle in development? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>four wheelerfour-wheeled motorcycleleaning carquad motorcycletesseractyamahayamaha tesseractyamaha tesseract conceptFri, 27 May 2011 08:57:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19951477/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/05/27/yamaha-tesseract-four-wheeled-motorcycle-in-development/19951477/article-detail.xml 19951477 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/05/yamahatesseractconceptlead_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/05/yamahatesseractconceptlead.jpg <![CDATA[Ford F-150 SVT Raptor named <i>Four Wheeler</i> 2011 Pickup Truck of the Year]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/10/ford-f-150-svt-raptor-named-2011-pickup-truck-of-the-year/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/10/ford-f-150-svt-raptor-named-2011-pickup-truck-of-the-year/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/10/ford-f-150-svt-raptor-named-2011-pickup-truck-of-the-year/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2
2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2 - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's good to know that there's still some sense left in the world. The minds at Four Wheeler have announced that of all the excellent pickup trucks for sale right now, the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2 is king of the heap. The magazine has officially crowned the big Blue Oval as its Truck of the Year, saying that the go-fast off-roader is every four-wheel-drive enthusiast's dream machine straight from the factory. After our stints behind the wheel of the Raptor, we're inclined to agree.

Four Wheeler has been choosing a truck of the year since 1989, and to classify, a model must be new or significantly revised compared to its predecessor. This year, the magazine lined up the Raptor alongside the Ford Super Duty Power Stroke Lariat FX4 and the Chevrolet 2500 Silverado Z71, but it was the Ford's bird of prey that came out on top. You can check out the full report in the March 2011 issue of Four Wheeler, which is set to hit the stands in January, logically.


Gallery: 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2: Review

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.22010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.22010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.22010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.22010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips and Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL

[Source: Four Wheeler]

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor named Four Wheeler 2011 Pickup Truck of the Year originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>f-150f-150 svt raptorfordford f-150ford f-150 svt raptorford f-150 svt raptor 6.2four wheelerfour wheeler magazinefour wheeler truck of the yearRaptor 6.2Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19755521/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/12/10/ford-f-150-svt-raptor-named-2011-pickup-truck-of-the-year/19755521/article-detail.xml 19755521 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/12/raptor-630_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/12/raptor-630.jpg <![CDATA[Hard times means some Icelanders can't keep on truckin']]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/04/hard-times-means-some-icelanders-cant-keep-on-truckin/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/04/hard-times-means-some-icelanders-cant-keep-on-truckin/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/04/hard-times-means-some-icelanders-cant-keep-on-truckin/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



In Iceland, the leviathan you see in the picture above is called a "jeep." Here in the U.S., it would be called a massively tricked out F-350 Super Duty, or probably just "monster truck." The 6,000 members of Iceland's 4x4 club use them to explore the barely reachable sections of the island nation, trusting 4-foot-high studded tires and a bevy of custom modifications to get them back to civilization.

The problem is that Icelanders are having their own currency issues, with a free-fall even worse than the dollar's being just the start. When gas is almost $8 per gallon, that puts a fill-up somewhere around the $500 mark. And that puts a hurting on everything -- especially when you have to spend even more money getting your truck hauled out of the ice it just fell through. Not that any of this really stops them, because, well, there isn't much else to do in Iceland. So follow the link and check out the trucks in the slideshow. It's big-wheel badness.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Hard times means some Icelanders can't keep on truckin' originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 May 2008 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>four wheel drivefour wheelerFourWheelDriveFourWheelericelandicelandicmonster truckmonster truck 4x4monster trucksMonsterTruckMonsterTruck4x4MonsterTrucksoff roadingOffRoadingSun, 04 May 2008 16:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1184882/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/05/04/hard-times-means-some-icelanders-cant-keep-on-truckin/1184882/article-detail.xml 1184882 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/icelandic_truckers_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/icelandic_truckers.jpg -1 2