Displaying Items By Tag: Gem

The electric truck craze shows no sign of slowing down as a new report is indicating Nissan is eyeing a Titan EV.

Mitsuoka, one of Japan's most eclectic tuners, can't resist the market's shift towards crossovers and SUVs. It alchemized the Toyota RAV4 into retro family hauler that borrows styling cues from 1980s Chevrolet trucks.

Called Buddy, the Americanized RAV4 is the latest in a long line of intriguing creations that put a retro spin on a modern car. Chevrolet's trademarked Bowtie emblem doesn't appear anywhere on the crossover, but the shiny grille and the two-piece rectangular headlights are strongly reminiscent of the third-generation C/K pickup, especially the face-lifted model introduced for the 1981 model year. Mitsuoka also redesigned the hood, made the front end boxier, and added a thick strip of chrome-look trim that reminds us of the C/K's metal front bumper.

The semi-truck or big rig is an effective way of transporting freight across the country. It doesn’t matter what size or type of freight, the semi-truck can handle it.

Unfortunately, it is a mechanical vehicle and things can go wrong. When they do it can be costly and inconvenient to repair, especially if the truck is fully-loaded.

Suzuki showed off a Jimny pickup truck concept at the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon, and it garnered more positive hype for the already beloved new-generation 4x4. But more than a year later, there are no signs that a production version is coming in the immediate future, if at all. So, members of the aftermarket are building their own. Shropshire Quads out of the United Kingdom takes regular Jimny SUVs and converts them into pickups by lifting the vehicle and adding a metal tub to the rear.

Shropshire Quads has been building Jimny pickups for years. The company started doing the conversions on used models but has since grown to add the new Jimny to the operation, as well. Here's how it all started: 

Toyota will develop a heavy-duty fuel-cell truck with its subsidiary Hino Motor as it sees hydrogen technology as a zero-emissions alternative to battery power for large commercial vehicles. The automakers noted that heavy duty trucks "account for about 60 percent of the total CO2 emissions from commercial vehicles operating in Toyota and Hino's home market of Japan."

In a statement, Toyota said the truck, based on Hino's Profia model, would be equipped with two fuel cell stacks developed for the next model of its Mirai fuel cell sedan, along with high-pressure hydrogen tank and lithium ion battery pack. It would have a cruising range of around 370 miles (600 kilometers). The automaker says "steps are being taken, through comprehensive weight reduction, to ensure a sufficient load capacity," which is obviously important for the kind of work these trucks are expected to perform.

Cars like the Bugatti Chiron, BMW M550d, and BMW X5 M50d all feature quad-turbocharged engines but in Bangkok, Thailand, there is a custom Isuzu D-Max pickup truck that has five turbos. That's certainly a good way to one-up some of the car industry's biggest companies.

The United Kingdom has recently been hit with torrential rain, hurricane-force winds, and generally dangerous conditions from a system that has been named Storm Dennis. According to BBC News, more than 200 flood warnings were issued across the country, and one of the longest rivers in the U.K., River Wye, rose to its highest recorded level in some parts. ABC News has video of a confusing moment during all the chaos, when an old-school Nissan Navara with a snorkel tries and fails to wade through a flooded street right in front of rescue workers.

The worker at the end of the video, at 0:22, says it all. Flabbergasted at what the pickup's driver was thinking, he throws his arms up in the air as to say, "What in the world?" The clip is short, but it doesn't take long before the Navara loses control and is swept up in the floodwater. There is no more information about what happened to the truck or how it was rescued, but it was a lucky situation to have the workers at hand.