Spray-in bedliners saving American military lives

Chris Paukert — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 08:32:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Truck, Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Technology

Spray-in bedliners? They're not just for pickups anymore. The U.S. military has begun working with Line-X and Rhino Linings to coat entire buildings and vehicles in the durable black stuff - including the Pentagon, bulletproof vests, and Humvees. The companies have found alternative uses for their polyurethane coatings before - Disneyland rides, anti-spill ground cover under oil tanks, and so on... but this is the first time we can recall learning of its use for the military.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the 9/11 attacks brought the military to their doors, as the spray-on goo is capable of "reducing the disintegration of bricks or concrete into deadly flying fragments in a bombing or other attack."

Let's hear it for creative repurposing!

[Sources: Detroit Free Press; Appearance Plus]

Spray-in bedliners saving American military lives originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jun 2006 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

2007 Ford Sport Trac takes on Honda Ridgeline

Joel Arellano — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Truck, Ford, Honda

The Honda Ridgeline, the company's first pickup truck, sold nearly 53,000 vehicles last year. Though the numbers were considered disappointing by Honda and much of the press, the total nevertheless concerns Ford Motor Co., since many of those sales were from its segment share.

Now Ford is striking back with the 2007 Ford Sport Trac. The latest version, which is based off the new Explorer, provides greater room, for both interior and cargo space. A V8 engine (which had not been available in previous years) is now an option... the Ridgeline makes do with a V6. Ford has improved the Sport Trac's safety equipment and systems to earn the highest rating for frontal offset impact safety from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as well as all government crash tests. To counter the Ridgeline's lockable trunk built into its truck-bed, the Sport Trac comes with a lockable bed cover as an option.

But the best feature, Ford and analysts points out, is that many truck buyers still don't consider the Ridgeline a 'truck' due to its unibody construction. Says Jim Sanfilippo, an AMCI analyst, "I'm not sure the domestic truck buyer has figured out what the Ridgeline is."

Full details can be found at the link.

[Source: Detroit News, picture by Ford]

2007 Ford Sport Trac takes on Honda Ridgeline originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments