Autoblog

Truck crashing through bar definitely spills a few drinks

Chris Shunk — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:01:00 EST

Patrons at Gordie's Place in Little Canada, Minnesota are lucky to be alive after a driver crashed her pickup into the bar. Six adults were taken to the hospital, including the driver, who apparently suffered a medical condition while behind the wheel.

Two patrons were seriously injured, and after looking at the video, which is posted below, it's incredible that anyone survived the violent impact at all. The truck also ran down a telephone pole before hitting the bar, but as you can see in the video, it did little to slow the pickup.

Continue reading Truck crashing through bar definitely spills a few drinks

Truck crashing through bar definitely spills a few drinks originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zamboni driver arrested for drunk driving?

Zach Bowman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

A Minnesota man recently found himself too intoxicated to safely operate a Zamboni. Witnesses allege the 39-year-old man was weaving across the rink and smacked into the boards after a PeeWee C game. The rink attendant retreated back into the garage as coaches ushered players and fans away from the scene. By the time the driver parked the Zamboni, authorities were waiting for him. He then failed sobriety tests and was taken to police headquarters for a blood-alcohol test, according to The Duluth News Tribune. The wayward Zamboni operator has not been formally charged, though he was convicted of drunk driving once in 2002 and twice in 1999.

Parents took to the ice themselves to smooth out the rough spots so that the PeeWee A league could play their game.

Minnesota law is a bit murky on whether or not the man could be charged with drunk driving. The state has seen convictions for people driving under the influence on both a motorized recliner and a tractor, though the state's Court of Appeals recently ruled one can whirr about on a motorized scooter while three sheets to the wind without raising the ire of local law enforcement officers.

Zamboni driver arrested for drunk driving? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Despite meeting with governor, Ford set to close Minnesota Ranger plant

Chris Paukert — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

2010 Ford Ranger - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to The Detroit News, Ford officials met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty yesterday to discuss the future of the automaker's St. Paul assembly plant. The facility, which builds Ford's Ranger compact pickup has been earmarked for closure for some time, but despite the roundtable session, the Blue Oval says it still plans to shutter its operations.

Pawlenty's administration had been hoping that the signing of a new state law in April allowing the government to offer Ford a series of tax breaks would be enough to keep the Twin Cities operations open, but apparently it wasn't enough - the plant will close, although an end-date remains uncertain.

Closing the plant will also close the book on the aging Ranger, though Ford has confirmed that the model name will live on with other, larger models in foreign markets. Thus far, rumors of a new North American Ranger (and even an on-air slip by Ford president Alan Mulally) have amounted to nothing, and with Ford committed introducing more economical engines to its F-150 full-size pickup, it appears highly unlikely that a U.S. Ranger will receive an encore any time soon.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Report: Despite meeting with governor, Ford set to close Minnesota Ranger plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vikings RB Adrian Peterson flagged for going 109 mph

Jonny Lieberman — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:44:00 EST

Filed under: Celebrities

Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson - or "Purple Jesus" as he's known to Vikings fans - is one of the fastest men in the NFL. Turns out, he's also one of the fastest men on a certain suburban Minnesota freeway, where police clocked him and his (model unknown) BMW going 109 mph in a 55 mph zone. Oops!

For his part, Peterson claims it was just, "A little ticket" and that he was not going as fast as the cops said he was. However, Minneapolis police spokeswoman Molly Anderson said that Peterson was indeed pulled over after police recorded him going 109 mph. Anderson states that Peterson was given a citation and allowed to drive away after what she described as a "routine traffic stop." Must be nice being the savior for an entire state. ~~Go Pack, go!~~

[Source: Associated Press | Image: Hannah Foslien/AP Photo]

Vikings RB Adrian Peterson flagged for going 109 mph originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Police auctioning off motorized La-Z-Boy used in DWI

Michael Harley — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:41:00 EST

Filed under: Auctions, Etc., Government/Legal, Humor

If you've ever had the urge to cruise your neighborhood in a self-propelled La-Z-Boy, your opportunity has arrived. Minnesota resident Dennis Anderson (no relation to the Gravedigger monster truck franchise - we think) has forfeited his notorious motorized, and over-the-top modified, recliner chair involved in his DWI incident and crash recently is going on the eBay auction block later this week.

To recap, this masterpiece of motorized furniture isn't your average run-of-the-mill family room napper. This particular innovative and highly customized chair is fitted with a nitrous-boosted lawnmower engine good for a top speed in the neighborhood of 20 mph (it is fitted with a parachute... apparently in case you happen to drive off a cliff). Dual headlights help guide you home from the late nights at the bar, while an integrated stereo sound system will make you everyone's envy at the stop lights (maybe from the curb, as we don't think it is technically street legal).

While Mr. Anderson got off with two years of probation for his antics, his prized possession is sadly being liquidated - sans reserve price - thanks to a Minnesota law allowing police to auction vehicles seized in drunk-driving cases. So, what do you think it will go for?

[Source: Engadget]

REPORT: Police auctioning off motorized La-Z-Boy used in DWI originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Evergreener: Long-running Ford Ranger augments safety features for 2010

Chris Paukert — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:03:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Safety, Ford

Click on the image above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford Ranger

Despite dwindling sales in a dwindling segment, Ford's Ranger refuses to pack up. For 2010, the compact pickup looks unchanged on the outside, but beneath the skin it gains some new electronic gubbins to help make it more competitive.

In the main, the trucklet soldiers on into its next model year with a larger complement of standard safety equipment. Traction and stability control (AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control in Blue Oval-speak) will be built into every 2010 Ranger, along with new side airbags designed to protect the head and torso.

The rest of the package continues essentially unaltered, with Ford continuing to wave the Ranger's banner as America's most fuel-efficient pickup (the base 2.3-liter four-cylinder nets 21 miles-per-gallon in the city and 26 mpg on the highway).

Rumors have persisted that the Ranger might be euthanized ahead of its Twin Cities production plant's scheduled closing in 2011 - and indeed, just yesterday word came down that the truck's assembly lines will be idled for an additional two weeks due to slow sales. But the added investment in safety equipment for 2010 would seem to indicate that the Ranger is likely to soldier on until the plant's scheduled closing date. Click on the jump for Ford's official press release.

Gallery: 2010 Ford Ranger

[Sources: Ford Motor Company; Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Continue reading Evergreener: Long-running Ford Ranger augments safety features for 2010

Evergreener: Long-running Ford Ranger augments safety features for 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Ranger on the ropes

Dan Roth — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:32:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

We posted some conjecture about the Ranger not too long ago, with some Photochops to illustrate possible ways Ford could keep its smallest pickup alive. Automotive News has looked in to their crystal ball and determined that the future of the Ranger is murky, at best. The first bad sign is that the St. Paul, MN Ranger plant is slated to be closed in 2008. With no place to build the Ranger, it would seem to have one foot in the grave, along with the rest of the segment, not counting the evergreen Toyota Tacoma (which is not particularly small anymore). All is not lost, however. As we offered, there are existing platforms that would lend themselves to truckification, as well as actual trucks in different markets.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Continue reading Ford Ranger on the ropes

Ford Ranger on the ropes originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two steps forward for Ford, one step way back for two Ford plants

John Neff — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:04:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

Mark Fields revealed last week during his update speech detailing Ford's progress with its "Way Forward Plan" that two Blue Oval plants will be idled in 2008. The two plants affected include the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul, MN and the Norfolk Assembly Plant in Virginia.

One word can sum up why these plants were chosen to be idled: inflexibility. Both were built in 1925 around the time dirt was invented. Though the Norfolk plant assembles the F-150, the best selling vehicle in history that's on pace to sell a record 900,000 units for the third year in a row, Ford realized that flexible manufacturing at fewer plant sites could maintain its full-size truck production. The Twin Cities plant, however, was betrayed by its own product - the Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series small pickups. Ranger sales are down 15.9 in the first quarter and the aged trucks haven't received a major redesign since 1992 (MY1993).

The idling (read: closing) will affect 4,318 hourly and salaried workers. Ford did say that it would reveal its plans surrounding a Ranger replacement closer to the time the Twin Cities plant goes dark in 2008.

Follow the jump for some additional stats and a history of production for each plant.

[Source: Ford]
[Photo: AP Photo/Janet Hostetter]

Continue reading Two steps forward for Ford, one step way back for two Ford plants

Two steps forward for Ford, one step way back for two Ford plants originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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