When Driving in Wintry Weather, Not Panicking is Key

Helpful tips to prepare inexperienced drivers for winter’s worst conditions.

Our engineers bring their experiences and knowledge with them to every stage of vehicle testing, from the Milford Proving Ground to the climatic wind tunnel. For engineers like Robb Bolio, that means thinking of their experiences with their kids as well.

Robb, who has been with GM since 1991, underwent a change in perspective when his daughter, Kaely, received her learner’s permit. Through both his background in chassis development and integrated chassis controls and his years of experience as a driver, Robb felt he had lots of wisdom to pass on to his daughter Kaely.

Now that Michigan, like many other areas of the country, is covered with snow, many of Kaely’s driving lessons have centered on how to stay safe and calm in wintry driving conditions.

“Kaely is learning to drive on our Chevy Silverado,” said Robb. “The most important thing that I have taught her is not to panic.”

In winter weather, not panicking is critical. It is important to understand your vehicle and how it will respond on roads made slick by snow and ice. To work on this, Robb has his daughter practice on snowy and icy surfaces so she understands how the truck will feel and how she should respond.

All new GM vehicles in the US are equipped with standard Anti-lock Brakes (ABS), Traction Control (TCS), and Electronic Stability Controls (ESC). These systems maximize the control capability of the vehicle on slippery surfaces such as snow and ice by maintaining steering capability during panic braking or evasive driving maneuvers. Understanding what these systems do and how you should react as a driver are key lessons for new drivers.  Often times when these systems are active there alerts: chimes, noises, and flashing messages on the dashboard. It is important to show drivers – especially new ones – what these signals are trying to tell them.

It’s important to understand the performance differences in front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and all-wheel drive systems. People driving FWD or AWD vehicles often think they are invincible on the roads in snowy and icy conditions. While these systems do provide improved driving traction, they do not provide better stopping capability. Reducing speeds and allowing for longer braking distances can help drivers of all types of vehicles avoid a dangerous situation.

Specifically, it is important not to panic during what we call “stability events” – wheels slipping or sliding while driving over slippery roads. Keep steering the vehicle, don’t pump the brakes, and be sure to leave adequate space between your vehicle and other vehicles on the road.

Other good things you should do to do to make sure your vehicle is ready for winter driving include

• Check tire pressures. Tire pressures drop during cold temperatures.
• Make sure windshield washer solvent is topped off and that fuel tank has plenty of fuel.
• Use remote start to not only make sure cabin is heated but more importantly the coolant temps are adequate for good windshield defrost performance.
• Keep extra warm clothes, gloves and boots in the vehicle.

Ram Named Medium-duty Truck of the Year

March 5, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Work Truck magazine today announced that the Ram 4500/5500 Chassis Cab truck has been named its 2015 Medium-duty Truck of the Year.

The announcement marks the second time in five years that the Class 4 and 5 Ram Chassis Cab has earned the publication’s top honor.

“Fleet managers today are looking for medium-duty trucks that deliver and the Ram 4500/5500 meets that requirement hands down,” said Sherb Brown, publisher of Work Truck magazine. “The truck is tough and functional, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s great to drive. Congratulations to Ram on this well-deserved award.”

The winner of the Medium-duty Truck of the Year award is selected by readers of Work Truck and Heavy Duty Trucking magazines. Those readers are comprised of more than 100,000 operators of medium-duty trucks.

“As a full-line truck manufacturer, the commercial truck market is extremely important to Ram,” said Bob Hegbloom, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ram Brand, FCA - North America. “It’s an honor that the readers of Work Truck and Heavy Duty Trucking magazines have singled-out our Ram Chassis Cab trucks for this award. And we’re pleased to be recognized for delivering the attributes most important to business owners.”

Readers were asked to consider which models best fit their fleet requirements, including application effectiveness, durability, quality, servicing, maintenance and lifecycle costs. Eleven different trucks qualified for this year’s Medium-duty Truck of the Year ballot.

About Work Truck Magazine
Work Truck magazine, published by Bobit Business media, serves the needs of light- and medium-duty truck, van, and SUV fleet managers in commercial, delivery, service, vocational, utility, telecom, and public sector fleets. Visit www.worktruckonline.com for more information.

About Ram Chassis Cab Trucks
Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cab trucks are the pinnacle of capability. Engineered and designed for extreme daily work, the Ram Chassis Cabs are products of a demanding environment and direct customer input.

Ram’s halo truck line focuses on delivering best-in-class capability and best-in-class total cost of ownership, a leading purchase reason among business owners. Ram Chassis Cab trucks offer the latest infotainment technology and exclusive upfit solutions, giving Ram Chassis Cab a competitive advantage. The Chassis Cab line goes further to offer an unsurpassed powertrain warranty of five years/100,000 miles.

“Chassis Cab trucks are the foundation of the Ram Commercial brands work-truck lineup,” added Ram Truck Brand President and CEO Hegbloom. “Ram Chassis Cab trucks are hard workers. They offer a best-in-class Gross Combined Weight Rating of 37,500 pounds, best-in-class towing capability of 29,600 pounds, best-in-class frame strength and best-in-class fuel capacity.”

The Ram Commercial Truck brand will continue to expand its presence in the vocation truck segment by enhancing the capabilities of Ram’s Tradesman series of trucks from half-ton to Class 5, establishing a network of 900 commercially focused dealers, expanding commercial and vocational marketing efforts and leveraging Fiat Professional to bring proven commercial vans to North America.

The 2015 Chassis Cab best-in-class capability ratings:

• Best-in-class Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)
• Best-in-class towing (4500 and 5500)
• Best-in-class front Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on 4500 and 5500
• Best-in-class rear frame steel strength of 50,000 psi
• Best-in-class crew cab “curb to curb” turning diameter for 3500,4500 and 5500

Features include a number of industry exclusives:

• Vehicle system interface module (VSIM) is capable of communicating between aftermarket modules and various Chassis Cab control modules
• Electronic stability control (ESC) on all models
• Best-in-class, dual fuel tank capacity of 74 gallons (52-gallon tank plus 22-gallon tank)
• Best-in-class 15,000-mile oil change intervals on Cummins diesel
• Largest-in-class brakes
• Best-in-class dual alternator systems up to 440 amps
• Exclusive backup camera and parking sensors for upfitter positioning
• Unsurpassed powertrain warranty – five years/100,000 miles

Ram Chassis Cab engineers design trucks for upfits and develop unique features to ease installation of multiple systems and bodies without interference or difficult relocation of components, including:

• Industry standard frame lengths of 60, 84, 108 and 120 inches
• No components or lines above the rear frame rails
• Through-the-frame plumbing and electrical
• Diesel exhaust fluid tank (DEF) refill port is conveniently located at the rear of the cab on the driver’s side to ensure easy access at fuel stations

About Ram Truck Brand
Since its launch as a stand-alone division in 2009, the Ram Truck Brand has steadily emerged as an industry leader with one goal: to build the best pickup trucks and commercial vehicles in the industry.

Creating a distinct identity for Ram Trucks has allowed the brand to concentrate on core customers and features they find valuable. Whether focusing on a family that uses a Ram 1500 day in and day out, a hard-working Ram 3500 Heavy Duty owner or a business that depends on its Ram ProMaster commercial van every day for deliveries, Ram has the truck market covered.

In order to be the best, it takes a commitment to innovation, capability, efficiency and durability. Ram Truck invests substantially in its products, infusing them with great looks, refined interiors, durable engines and exclusive features that further enhance their capabilities.

Moving into the 2015 model year, Ram continues to beat the competition in the two most sought-after titles, fuel economy and towing capacity:

• Best-in-class fuel economy with exclusive EcoDiesel – 29 mpg with Ram 1500
• Best-in-class towing capability – 30,000 pounds with Ram 3500 
• Best-in-class payload – 7,390 pounds with Ram 3500
• Best-in-class torque – 865 lb.-ft. with Ram 3500 equipped with Cummins 

Truck customers, from half-ton to commercial, have a demanding range of needs and require their vehicles to provide high levels of capability. Ram trucks are designed to deliver a total package.

How Ford Did It: Building the Class Leading Power Stroke Diesel | Sonju Two Harbors | Two Harbors MN

A clean slate. A blank page. Starting from scratch. Those can be intimidating concepts to many people, but not to the Ford powertrain engineers. When it came time to get to work on the all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke® V8 diesel for the F-Series Super Duty, the stakes were high. This would be the first-ever Ford-designed, Ford-engineered and Ford-built diesel heavy-duty pickup engine. This was an opportunity to design a new engine with more power and higher fuel economy, ensuring it would be capable of meeting stricter emissions requirements for the 2010 model year. Also, improvements were on the way from the competing diesels from General Motors and Dodge. Get it wrong, and it would mean an engine with poor fuel economy and higher emissions. Get it right, and it would save Ford time and money. Gee, no pressure, powertrain engineers….

How would they do it?

The focus was on a highly efficient combustion system, since the combustion system is really the heart of the engine, determining the engine’s ability to use air. Because the Super Duty is a work truck designed to haul heavy loads, horsepower and torque had to be the top priorities for the new Power Stroke.

When Ford Engineer Joshua Styron, Ph.D., began work on the combustion system of the new 6.7-liter engine, he believed that careful attention to the design of the pistons – and precise placement of the fuel injectors and glow plugs – could result in an engine that delivered more power, higher fuel economy and lower emissions than the engine it was replacing. “Combustion systems with the best air utilization extract the most heat from the fuel, produce less soot and NOx, and minimize the energy required to pump fresh air into the engine,” said Joshua.

At the SAE World Congress (April 12-14, 2011), Joshua presents a technical paper detailing how he and his team worked to develop and test the super-efficient combustion system – pistons, fuel injectors and glow plugs – for the award-winning new Power Stroke. At this year's Congress, Ford engineers are presenting no fewer than 38 papers during the three-day conference, covering a range of topics including engine design, fuel economy, safety, lighting and aerodynamics.

Joshua said the engineering brief for the 6.7-liter stressed performance. “Four hundred horsepower was the target. Early in the development program, fuel economy was viewed as much less important to this customer than power and torque. But we believed we could deliver a good combination of both – 400 horsepower along with fuel economy that was not only significantly better than the old 6.4, but higher than our competitors’ engines, too.”

Joshua and his team used computer simulations to evaluate piston bowl shapes, precise placement of the fuel spray within the combustion chamber, glow plug positioning and other factors. Following consultations with diesel engine experts at the Ford Dunton Technical Center in Great Britain and the Ford Research Lab in Aachen, Germany, Joshua's team built two single-cylinder prototype engines. A comprehensive test plan was developed to optimize each layout and finally choose the one best performer.

The winning design features a chamfered re-entrant bowl, fine-tuned injector targeting and optimum air swirl that is matched to a super-efficient spray pattern.

“This design provides the best mixing of fuel and air in a heavy-duty truck engine,” said Joshua. When the first running prototypes of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke were built, the combustion chamber design was exactly the same as the one chosen from the single-cylinder test engine.

As you can see, making fuel economy a priority on the new Power Stroke was the right move. With oil selling for more than $100 per barrel and diesel fuel at more than $4 a gallon in most parts of the country, Ford Super Duty customers will save money every time they fill up.

“Ford Super Duty customers now have the most powerful and fuel-efficient diesel pickup engine money can buy,” said Joshua.

The New Ford Focus RS is Going Global, Including the U.S. | Sonju Two Harbors | Two Harbors MN

By Cole Quinnell

It may be the most anticipated model ever to arrive in the U.S., but it’s not an import car. When the new Ford Focus RS is offered for sale, it will be available in major markets around the world, including the U.S.¹

The Focus RS brings it, with the performance that this segment expects, starting with the 2.3L EcoBoost® engine that will produce well in excess of 315 horsepower.  This engine will be coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. But the car is more than brute power. The engineering team developed a new Ford Performance all-wheel-drive system to take handling and traction to the next level. That includes dynamic torque vectoring to maximize traction and corner handling, while minimizing understeer.

The chassis includes performance-refined spring rated, bushings and sway bars. Unique two-mode shocks offer a firmer setting for track use, and the electric power-assisted steering has been tuned to deliver connected and responsive steering with outstanding feel.

For the best off-the-line performance, the driver can select launch control. This lets the car be launched in first gear at full throttle and the system manages the torque through the all-wheel-drive system providing maximum acceleration for the available traction.

The exterior appearance details of the Focus RS create a performance image that the car lives up to with a unique front grille, front fascia, 19-inch wheels and stance. In fact, key elements of the design provide additional performance, including a rear diffuser, front spoiler and rear spoiler, which contribute to zero lift overall for optimum high-speed handling. The large front opening enables more airflow for engine cooling, and brake ducts are incorporated into the frontend design.

The interior appointments include heavily-bolstered, partial-leather covered Recaro sport seats, a new steering wheel with a race-inspired, flat-bottom steering wheel and a series of additional gauges above the center console that show turbocharger boost pressure, oil temperature and oil pressure. The RS design theme can be seen in the seat stitching, floor mats and interior trim, and the RS logo is incorporated into the seats, steering wheel and door scuff plates.

The new Ford Focus RS is one of 12 new performance vehicles that we are bringing to market now through 2020. That includes the all-new Ford GT² shown for the first time at the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The Ford Focus RS will be among these new models, and they will join the existing lineup of Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Shelby® GT350R³ Mustang and F-150 Raptor. ⁴
Stay tuned for more information on the new Ford Focus RS.

Sonju Exclusive Value Package | Sonju Two Harbors | Two Harbors MN

SONJU has developed the following Online Value Package for our Exclusive Internet Customers. This valuable package provides you with:

• 110% PRICE PROTECTION GUARANTEE *.
• We have 8 franchises to choose from including CHEVY-FORD-DODGE at one location, no need to drive from place to place to compare them all
• Highly trained and fully certified sales/service and parts staff
• Complimentary service shuttle (10-mile radius).
• Complimentary vehicle delivery to your home or office when you buy a vehicle
• MONTHLY DRAWINGS with great prizes, just for coming in to the dealership.
• SATURDAY SERVICE to conveniently take care of your vehicle.
• VIP lounge access with wireless Internet, cable TV, fresh coffee, popcorn and toys for your little ones
• SONJU Café – open every day serving delicious food (daily specials!)
• Do you like the outdoors? We have something for you too - Check out our POLARIS selection of 4wheelers and sleds!
               

                          Check out our New Inventory and Pre-Owned Inventory

*We will pay 110% of the difference in price should you find the same year, make & model vehicle with identical equipment and options for less, from any other area dealer. The vehicle must be in stock, ready for delivery, and available for purchase by Sonju Two Harbors. Must provide proof of buyer's guide.

WWII JWWII Jeep 'found in crate' set to cross Greenwich auction block

By Jeffrey N. Ross
Posted May 30th 2013 5:44PM Via: www.autoblog.com

1945 Ford GPW auction Photos - too see more photos



Fans of old military vehicles might want to pay extra close attention to the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance coming up this weekend. Crossing the Bonhams auction block on Sunday are a pair of seemingly flawless World War II Jeeps, which are both expected to fetch serious dollars. Lot Number 305 at the auction is a 1945 Ford GPW Jeep that has been fully restored, which is expected to command between $35,000 and $45,000. Shortly after the Ford GPW, a potentially more interesting 1944 Willys MB (shown above) will be auctioned off, but Hemmings raises some red flags about this Jeep. First, it is claiming to have been "discovered in its original crate about 30 years ago," but there is no proof or documentation of any sort. Also, it is claiming to be all original, but it was given a paint job "shortly after it was discovered." Even with these questionable descriptions, this Willys could reach between $20,000 and $30,000. Head over to Bonhams' site and Hemmings for more information on both WW2-era Jeeps. Related Gallery1945 Ford GPW auction News Source: Bonhams [1], [2] via Hemmings Category: Classics, Auctions, Jeep, Military Tags: bonhams, ford gpw, ford jeep, greenwich concours delegance, jeep, military jeep, military vehicle, willys jeep, willys mb, willys mb jeep, world war ii, ww2, wwii

2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Supercrew -
By Michael Harley
Posted Mar 15th 2013 3:00PM
See full story on Autoblog  http://aol.it/XX8mZz

I'm not normally a pickup kind of guy, but the 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor won me over nearly instantly. The street-legal trophy truck – there is really no other way to accurately describe it – is big, brawny and incredibly capable. Let's just say it's every bit the monster it visually portrays. I spent a week pretending I was one of Ford's Baja 1000 drivers, but lacking desert sand, I headed into the local mountains where a mild winter storm had dropped a couple inches of fresh snow on my favorite off-road park. The Ford was, for the most part, practically unstoppable.Ford offers its SVT Raptor package on Supercab and Supercrew platforms with the five-foot, five-inch bed. The Supercrew I tested rides on a 144-inch wheelbase (about a foot longer than the Supercab). In addition to its cosmetic differences when compared to the standard F-150 – there isn't a young boy on the planet who doesn't think the matte black Ford grille is cool – the Raptor has a 73.6-inch track – nearly seven inches wider than the track on the standard F-150.After upgrading the F-150 SVT Raptor significantly for the 2012 model year, there are only a few changes for 2013. The list includes standard high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, Hill Descent Control, forged beadlock-capable wheels, and the new matte Terrain color (aka "Desert Storm") option seen on my test model.