John Espino « Banks Blog - diesel performance

Sidewinder Type-R: Ready to Race! or Ready to Race?

by John Espino

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006

Hi Folks,

Some of you might know (and most of you didn’t have a clue) that we actually went out and put some miles on our little red pick-up a couple of weeks ago. “What, you went out and raced without telling me?” you say. Well, the answer is “yes”, I guess. We didn’t really want to make it a big production since she was going into combat for the first time, and in all reality we are still in the testing phase of this grand experiment. I mean we all like being in the spotlight, but who wants to get burnt? I’d kind of say it was like being a great singer and going to a Karaoke contest at a local club, rather than going on American Idol and bombing out on national TV while getting crushed by Simon (not that I ever watch the show… I hear things about it. Really).

Anyways, all in all we actually found out some really great things about our girl that we didn’t know before and are now better off for it. We tuned the truck to perfection during our limited practice sessions, ran a best time of 1.59 around the track and managed to place third in the line up. Good stuff! But then it was time to race… and that’s when the Murphy came on the scene and reminded us that he has some laws up his sleeves. I guess it had to happen since we had four guys from Bosch as part of our pit crew. What was our main problem? Well, I’d have to almost say it was plagues, locusts, toads, broken mirrors and black cats. Let me explain:

* It started out Thursday when Dave Royce’s flight came in late causing him to miss connection flight from Vegas to Bakersfield… all at 1:30 a.m. Friday. So, Dave had to rent a car and drive all the way to the track for a practice session at 7a.m. Can you say no sleep? That’s how you want to be when getting behind the wheel of a new machine.
* Temperatures were higher than we had ever seen at any previous practice session. Fluids (every one of them) were up and the exhaust gas temp was skyrocketing as the guys tried to wring every last drop of power out of the engine.
* It turns out that the turbos are not quite the size we had wanted. Since the turbos are too small the power goes to a certain rpm… then the whole thing hits a wall while power goes spiraling down and the heat rises. Not good, she needs more air.
* POW! One of the turbos blew up Friday as we made some of our best time on any track. Before the splat everything seemed to be working great.
* It wasn’t until 12:25 a.m Saturday morning that the truck was put back together, run and aimed the headlights (this race was a 3 hour night enduro and we have never practice after dark).
* During Saturday’s 9 a.m. session the primary driver, Leno’s main man Bernard Juchli, had an “encounter” with a Shelby Cobra, slashing the side of the truck and destroying the rear tire and rim in the process. Needless to say… practice was over. He did a great job of bringing her in safe and sound.
* With a fresh set of tires all around the truck went out for a second test session under the command of Dave Royce. This guy drives like a cyborg on nano steroids and shifts with superhuman speed. Track times were looking the best yet after some adjustments to calibration and the rear wing. But (and you knew that there had to be one of those) Royce got a penalty for passing a car during a yellow flag. An absurd call, but since the Banks “Bruisers” had already rubbed paint with a guy that morning, we were a “professional team” (give me a break!) and Dave is a well known driver the officials thought they couldn’t take a chance on us. The punishment for our transgressions was a lap and a half sit-out in the penalty box.
* It’s dusk now and just as Bernard heads over to the waiting area the truck goes “clunk” and chugs like a teenager learning to drive a stick shift for the first time. Was something wrong? Was that another sign? I think perhaps, because just as Bernard was signaled to join the race already in progress the truck leaped into action… and then coasted to the side of the road. The driver complained he had no gears…
* The tow truck picked up Bernard and brought him over to the pits, leaving out our pride in a grassy field till the race was over at 10… adding insult to injury.
* And one of the worst parts? Well that had to be from looking at the competition’s lap times. One of the fastest ones out there was a fully raced prepped Viper was running the 2.8 mile course at 2.02. We were running the track at 1.59 during practice and were sure we’d be able to get 1.57 with some new cals. Another lead competitor made 6 pit stops, while we were only scheduled for one. Even with the penalty we would have done great. More pain.
* Oh yeah, during the day a pretty horrible crash occurred during the Shelby Cobra race as a guy who was trying to bring his car back on the track smashed into another guy sending him end-over-end several times. The paramedics worked on the driver for quite some time, but the poor guy didn’t make it. Another sign.
So there you have it. All we needed to complete the day was for the Space Station to fall from orbit onto the truck. At least I can honestly say that the truck was sound and that nothing Banks, GM or Bosch engineered was faulty. As it turns out that a pinion in the quick-change rear-end snapped taking out the bearings and the gears. When it was speced out for us we were told it’d be “just the thing we needed”. I suppose the breaking action was a part of the deal too? Aside from that the truck handled like a dream for being such a big and heavy vehicle, never sliding and holding steady G’s all the way through turns. Some guy who takes action shots of all the races was selling photos of our truck for $70. People loved it, and all were disappointed (even the competition) that the truck didn’t make the race. We have the makings of a hit… we just have to make sure that it’ll hold together.

Below are some pictures from our outing. You’ll laugh at the destroyed tire and rim. I want to hang it up in my new office and make it into a clock.

PS:
To our Bosch partners who worked so hard in the pits with us… we’ll get ‘em next time. You are always welcome to crew with us!

PSS:
We plan to race June 10th and 11th. Shhhh!

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Tags: Sidewinder Type-R
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M.I.A or Jane, stop this crazy thing!

by John Espino

Monday, April 17th, 2006

Good golly Miss Molly! I realized that I’ve been lax on getting my Blog entries in as of late, but I honestly didn’t think I was that over due! Sorry guys and gals (Umm… and Gale especially!). I looked at the site the other morning and saw the date of my last Blog. Shameful… just plain shameful.

So what have I been doing all this time? What’s my excuse for being so tardy? Well, a bunch of stuff has been going on, and as always I’ve got my hands in every cookie jar. Things have been way too busy lately, which is both good and bad. See, aside from writing for the Blog (which we all know I haven’t done in way too long, so don’t bring that up) I work with the Race Shop, Engineering, Marketing, P.R. and just about any other departments that reside under our roof. Yep, I’m a John of all trades. And even if I’m not directly involved in what goes on in a day my name gets thrown into the mix. Sometimes it’s almost as if I can almost see that bus that’s coming to run me down far off in the distance. But yet I digress…

Anyhow, things have been wilder and busier than a high school party that’s thrown when the parents are gone. Only difference is that there’s a method to the madness… at least I’m hoping there is. Let’s take an account of what’s been brewing since my information blackout, shall we:

* The Type-R was finally completed and ready to rumble… in theory that is. Seems that besides the fact the steering wasn’t up to the task (that’s gunna be a Blog on its own) there was still much to do. Then again, racing is an evolutionary process and every time you take out a car, especially one made from scratch with new technology, you learn something new. The great thing is that it just keeps getting better and better!
* Our off-road endeavors with the Donahoe Ford Powerstroke truck (that’s mostly Pete’s deal, but a bunch of our guys have their hands in the mix making it better and better.) A cool part of this team-up is that everything we’re putting on this truck we currently sell, and some stuff will come soon. There’s no better test bed than a race vehicle.
* Lot’s of TV stuff went on. Had the crew from Xtreme 4X4 over for a whole week filming an episode about building a Duramax engine. I have to tell ya guys… Jessie is a hoot. Not only is she pretty hot, but she can kick your tail too! No wonder everyone’s got a crush on her. Both she and Ian are the real thing, not just bozos in front of a camera.

We also had Sam from Two Guys Garage come over to film an interview and walkthrough of the Banks campus with Gale. Keep your ears unplugged for this one as Gale spills the beans on some of the projects we’ve been working on. The guy just can’t keep a secret!

* Our relationship with Bosch has grown quite a bit. Not only have we been working together on the race program, but we have actively been pushing the advantages of today’s diesel technology. Not only did we worked on the DCX Tech Fair I wrote about (when I was actively writing), but we assisted with a Cummins Tech Fair in Indiana (where Don Alexander and I gave a presentation on performance diesel and gave rides in our Ram All-Terrain) and a pretty big event at the Irwindale Speedway. That event at Irwindale featured a mix of 14 diesel cars and trucks available for the press to drive, our fleet of street and race vehicles on display and a staff of folks there to answer questions on what was what and why it was great. The staff included Banks personal (yours truly among the lot), Bosch reps (from the top on down), and GM and Chrysler guys. Check back soon for more info on that event.
* Now I don’t know if I’m suppose to tell you or not, but we’ve been working with GM on more than just the Duramax race program. We are considered now by GM as an official performance engine builder and have been awarded the exclusive rights to develop and sell the Duramax engine. That means the good ‘ol glory days of the Banks engine business are coming back as we’re making waves already with our upcoming marine version plans of the engine, as well as performance builds. The Duramax isn’t the only one we’re fooling with; we’re also working on the Ecotec family of engines. Both of these ventures will be written in future Blogs (I promise!).

Ok, there it is. I know I’ve forgotten a few things, but I’m sure they’ll bite me sooner or later. So, am I forgiven? I’ll do my best to keep you guys up to speed, and do so without getting busted for letting too much out the door. Hang in there and stay tuned, because there’s a bunch of cool things happening at the “house of power” that’ll knock your socks off!

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More SEMA wrap-up

by John Espino

Monday, November 7th, 2005

Well, being that I worked the booth most of the time I didn’t get to wander around like I had wanted to. I did meet some great folks who had great questions about our products… and even their own vehicles. One guy came to me a little frustrated and confused saying that the guys in the GM booth couldn’t answer any of his questions on the changes to this year’s iteration of the Duramax LLY or LBZ, and get this… they told him to go ask Banks because they know more about it than they did. Wow, it’s nice to be recognized by your peers. Turns out they were right and the gent and I went over the changes from the cooling system to the block. He left pretty satisfied.

And speaking of GM, boy did they have some hot cars. The had several small Ecotec powered vehicles that caused a good deal of drool. The Saturn Sky and the Pontiac Solstice were on hand, and anyone who won’t admit they want on is either dead or a liar. Talk about a wide demographic… folks 16 to 65 are going to want one. They showed off two Solstice vehicles (Solstie? Solticeses?), one bone stock and one as a turbocharged coupe. What a killer platform! That thing’ll be a track eating, tire-burning drift monster next year. You’ll see.

The Ford booth had something I had never seen at the SEMA show before: a dyno that had a supercharged Mustang on it. The cool part was that anyone could put their business card in a pot and see if they were the lucky ones to be called to do a drag strip simulation on the dyno. This happened every hour… and sounded sweet! What a great way to get attention. We also had a few trucks in their with our power products on them. One of them even won a beast of show from Ford.

Chrysler’s both was good, but nothing too much to write home about. They did have a tricked out version of their new Neon replacement, but that thing’ll take a while to get accepted. They did have some mean looking Vipers, which usually make things go up a notch.

Believe it or not we actually had a system on a Honda. Rub your eyes and read that again… a Honda and it was in their booth no less. It was on a tricked out version of their “I can do anything” truck-thing, the Ridgeline. Boy did that look and sound good! Hope it goes into production soon (hint).

Well… I’ve jabbered on enough. I will say this about what I was able to see: the show seemed more professional this year. For years the show pushed the T and A factor to the acceptable limits, but that wasn’t the case this year. Well, that is except for the tire and wheel section. Don’t get me wrong… I love beautiful women, but it kind of gets in the way of doing business when you feel too bashful or distracted to see the product.

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Tags: SEMA
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The notes from SEMA: Day 1 or Crazy Town

by John Espino

Tuesday, November 1st, 2005

Guess what I’m doing? Gambling? Nope. Checking out the wom… um… sights? Nah! You got it: sitting in my hotel room on a Halloween night in Vegas watching the cinematic great “Catwoman”. Man… isn’t life great? How on Earth did I miss this gem? I mean, this has got to be one the finest films of our time. Who cares about the words of attractive females dressed as doctors, Indian maidens and showgirls when you’ve got something with such a gripping storyline?

Anyway, we’re here and so far so good. Our new booth is better than it looked on paper. A two story structure that blows away anything we’ve done in the past. I’ll post some photos tomorrow when the background isn’t so full of empty crates and union workers “working”. Nothing else really to report yet since the fun starts tomorrow.

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Tags: SEMA
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Wild Kingdom or Fuzzy Memories: Take 1

by John Espino

Tuesday, October 4th, 2005

Ok… let me start off by saying that one of the things I wanted to do when we first started out with this “blog” thing was to kinda open the vault into the company and the cool stuff we’re doing and planning. A novel idea in theory, but when you do actually do that you let the cat out of the bag on things you really shouldn’t. Products and projects wouldn’t quite have the same effect if everybody knew about them, and then sometimes you end up sounding like a commercial… which is far from what we want to do.

So, what do you do when you’re supposed to write stuff? Ah, the answer I’ve come up with is to reach into your mind and pull out the first thing your fingers squish. Hence you have my latest offering which won’t make sense at first, but will later… maybe even leaking into another blog here and there.

One of my best fuzzy memories growing up was watching the incredibly kid-friendly Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. The reason I say “fuzzy” is because it was a long time ago and remembering it is like watching an old UHF television channel: no matter what you did to those rabbit ears the picture always had snow and occasional lapses in viewing pleasure. It’s not like trying to watch ON-TV or Select TV on channel 22 or 52 (first cable stations for those of you too wee in years to remember). I mean with those you could spend hours just staring at a green, red, blue and yellow swirl of squiggly lines just to see a leg or something. Hours into it you may even see a clear picture, only to have it replaces with the color blob. Oh, but those few moments of victory over “the Man” provided bragging rights at school the next day.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Wild Kingdom! What a great show! For those of you who never watched this wonder each show was introduced by the host, Marlin Perkins, in his office. The office was filled with books and maps and souvenirs brought back from what could have been great adventures and expeditions to parts unknown. Sometimes he’d have an animal guest in the office, a monkey or tiger, which added to the fascination. The introduction usually started with an explanation of what we were going to see during the 30 minutes of adventure with the host pointing to a zone on a globe. Sometimes it was something adorable like watching cubs play around, but mostly we were treated the raw, savage rules of the jungle where the Alpha Male ruled his territory. The cool thing is that they would trank and tag an animal and follow it when it woke up to see how it interacted with the rest of the jungle world…. always watched and never being seen. Kinda like jungle ninja. By doing this they learned all kinds of valuable info.

So where am I going with this little portion of my childhood? One can put to good use what I learned from that show in the world of automotive progress and design The funny thing is that the sometimes from where I am I feel as if I am on that TV safari… observing the alpha male pound his chest and roar to show his supremacy, or seeing the bloody battle to see who rules the pride. Examples: at an auto show listening to folks in the crowd, or better yet the most dangerous place on the net… the “forums”. I mean, where else can you see nature’s wildest beasts tear into each other with such venom and fury? Have an opinion or a question and who takes the lead of the thread: none other than the Alpha Male. What’s better is when there is a challenger or two… and then the fur flies as they claw, bite and ram each other into oblivion. The funny thing is that the loudest, I mean “strongest” Alpha Male is usually wrong with his stance, but he is the leader of his land none the less.

Next time you’re bored and hankering for action, put on your adventure gear and let your fingers guide you to some of the best fights in the animal kingdom by surfing your favorite forums. It’s a jungle out there.

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Vacation… all I ever wanted? or “Dude, where’s my car?”

by John Espino

Monday, August 15th, 2005

(Please note: there is a car story here… really.)

The word “vacation” has never been one that has meant much to me. Growing up time-off from school or work was an opportunity for my loving family to work on the house, an exercise in perpetual futility. Tear down a wall, build it back up. Paint the inside, outside, walls, parakeet and dog. Backyard flat? Hell, the kids can dig that fish pond. Oh, and it needs to be 4-ft. deep. I’m not really complaining… just unlocking the door so you can understand my malfunction. To me a vacation is really just a time to get things done, even if it is work related, and really not to lounge on a deck or vegetate. Not that something like that is wrong mind you… I’m just damaged in my way of thinking compared to most of the human race. Thanks for another thing, Mom and Dad.

Anyway, now that I am an adult and away from that interesting “experiment” I am expected (by my wife and friends) to take a “real” vacation, but I’d have to say that my definition of the actual action is a bit… skewed. A couple of weeks ago I was flying home from a “glorious” vacation with my wife and two year old son and I was thinking… why isn’t this plane going faster? I mean… doesn’t this thing have afterburners, warp drive or something that’ll push this tug through the air faster? I’m very satisfied that we got to go, but it really needed to be over sooner! No, seriously! I won’t bother saying where we went, because you’ll say “what the heck are you whining about?”… so the lips are sealed. I won’t even hint except to say that I found out, according to the doctor I visited afterwards, that I am allergic to the sun. I always knew I was a creature of the night, now I guess I can prove it. Thank goodness I brought work related stuff along. While my wife took her turn at trying to subdue the savage caged beast my child had morphed into on the flight home, I began to drift into thought about the new vehicle that was waiting for me back at the office (See, I told you there was a car in here).

Our good friends at Bosch sent us a sent us a shiny, new BMW 535D diesel equipped with an “M” package. Now for you folks not in the know, this is a BMW 5-series body with the beefed up suspension and all the bells and whistles powered by an in-line 3.0 liter six turbo diesel. Ah, but it doesn’t just have one turbo… it has two! See, saying “turbos diesel” just isn’t very good grammar. Anyway, the turbos are not equal in size as you’d expect in a normal twin set-up, but are instead sequential in nature: one little and one big. Kinda like Fat Man and Little Boy, but with explosive performance in mind. The tiny sucker spools up like mad to get you launched (low-end stage), then the large one wakes up forcing more gravity on your unsuspecting body (mid-range stage) and then all the exhaust flow is diverted to the large one, totally taking charge and continuing the thrust until you run out of road or nerves (top-end stage). All of this switching around is seamless. And when I say launch… well put it this way: the off the line power is so good that when you stab the throttle it feels like someone is in the seat behind you pulling you back by both ears. If not for all the electronics that BMW packs into this bullet, the take-off would resemble a greased pig running on an ice skating rink. Everything you ever wanted in a turbocharged car to be is right there… without sacrificing luxury and style, and it’s a diesel! Only problem: it’s not available in the United States.

So what’s the point of Bosch loaning this bad boy to us? Aside from the opportunity to harvest our drool and palm sweat for some sinister plan is the opportunity to lead by example. One of the things that both Banks and Bosch believe is that diesel should be the performance option on cars and trucks. Really, think about it. The torque is right there off the line in loads, no matter the engine size. Power? Without question. Economy? More than enough to shake a stick at. Compare the two comparably sized BMW engines, gas and diesel, and look at the specs. When you’re done rubbing your eyes tell me that we’re wrong? By the way… there is no smoke and less noise than you’d ever imagine. You literally have to tell people that it’s a diesel when it is running.

Ok, so how do we get these kinds of engines into our cars here in the States? The answer is to create awareness, and that will create demand. That’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re doing demonstrations for the magazine folks so that they can write about it in a more mainstream way than this. And if this is the first time you ever heard of this car then think about the fact that your buddy hasn’t either. What about his buddy… or wife even? Now that you know about how diesels have changed and that there are no compromises how could you not want one powering your favorite make of vehicle? Are you going to show this blog to your buddy? Will he tell his? Seeeeee, it’s working already. And when news about this hits bigger type magazines… maybe the wife will want one?

Hmmm… I wonder what plans my wife has for our next vacation? Hopefully it’s someplace dark with an internet connection. I’ve got things to do.

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Tags: BMW 5-series, Bosch
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Alpha Booster or H1: Sith Lord

by John Espino

Thursday, August 11th, 2005

There are certain vehicles that are automatically associated with certain people. Let’s try a few:
Batman
James Bond
Steve McQueen
The Green Hornet

Get the idea? Now tell me what comes to mind when I say Arnold Schwarzenegger? Hmmm… it has to be a Hummer, the really big kind. Everyone knows that association, even my grandmother. Well, maybe she isn’t the best example, but you get the idea.

Ok, so the Hummer is the ultimate off-road monster everyone can easily think of. Fine, but has anyone ever raved about its speedy performance? Nope. Fact is it is widely known that it has the charging speed of a cow with two broken legs. Long has that been the downfall of this famous “look at me” vehicle- but not anymore. The GM gods have blessed the latest H1 Alpha with the Duramax diesel powerplant and it now shines because of their good graces. But (and there’s always a “but” folks), it still is a little slow because it’s so dog gone… portly.

That was the case before we seduced one unsuspecting H1 to the Dark Side of the Force. Enter Darth H1: Sith Lord (I’m a geek… what can I say?). See, we decided to equip one with our Six-Gun Tuner and infuse it with more power. Evil? Maybe, but you can’t argue that it wasn’t a necessary one. The H1 wants to go fast. It wants to be freed from its shackles, and we just happen to have the keys. Since it can’t hop on a treadmill and shed unwanted weight it needs more power to move all its girth. That power output is now nearly comparable to that of a Banks equipped Duramax truck. And that’s a good thing, because when was the last time you ever heard a full-sized Hummer chirp all four tires?

How could it get any better? Glad you asked. After tearing up the street we decided it was time to put the power at the command of the “pilot’s” fingertips with our new Banks iQ (check out our website for details). Functionality meets 21st century electronics in this device… and it looks bitchen in this ride.

Only question now is what path will this titan tread: the light or the dark side? Hmmm… I say let’s go out and crush things!

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Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Running After the Ice Cream Man, or Picking up the Sidewinder

by John Espino

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Remember when you were a kid and you heard that sound? You know, the sound that could motivate the dead to rise and you to drop whatever you were doing and run like hell screaming with whatever coins you could find clinched into your tiny hands? It was a melody that seemed to carry through the air even from miles away and could interrupt anything that was going on in your life at the time making you swing your head it the direction it was coming from. Yeah… that sound: the Ice Cream Man’s theme. It wasn’t the same theme every time and there were different vehicles, some yellow and some white… but they all had the same wonderful junk. Where else could you get an ice cream with gumballs for eyes for one hand and a giant Pixie Stick for the other hand? Ah, the rush.

Anyway, I can honestly say that vision is the only thing I could use to describe the excitement that quickly spread at the Bosch Technical Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan when Jim and I arrived to pick up the Sidewinder after the DCX Tech Fair. As we fired up the engine its sound traveled through the plant like the Ice Cream Man’s theme, pulling people from their desks and stations. We had a long drive ahead of us traveling from Michigan to Chicago so we let the Sidewinder warm up for a while, and the crowd grew. The Bosch folks were genuinely excited to see the truck. Good. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see the people who are responsible for some of the most advanced automotive systems on the planet impressed to see our “little engine that could.” These folks are our peers, and partners in our upcoming Duramax race efforts. For them to be that thrilled says a lot about what we do, and what we can accomplish together.

Wait till the Type-R is done. We might have a riot on our hands.

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Tags: Banks Sidewinder
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Time Travel or Power Tour Epilogue

by John Espino

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

And so here is yet another late entry in my log of blogs. Let’s set the clock back… back… back… to June 8th…

… So this is my first time flying Southwest… and I have to tell you it ain’t bad. Oh, I’m sure that if it was packed like my flight to Milwaukee I would have much more to say. But hey, airlines don’t always smash as many folks as they can into a tiny plane like it was a dare or something like that… do they? The thing I thought was funny was that there are no assigned seats on Southwest, and it was every person for themselves. What a hoot it was to see everyone running to be first in line. I even got caught up in the rush. Hah… that little old lady never knew what hit her.

Well, if someone were to ask me if the Power Tour was worth it I’d have to answer “hell ya”! Where else could you go where there is a sea of pure power on four wheels, with some of the friendliest folks around? I mean it, not a jerk among them. The best part was that they were totally accepting of us and our vehicles, and let’s face it… we were the invaders. When you think of “hot rods” you don’t really think of a 4X4 with a diesel engine in it, but truth be told the times are a changing. Our mini fleet were hot rods in every way: they were over kill, flashy and could spin the tires till the rubber became molten shards of rage. The difference between our versions and the traditional idea of a hot rod is that you can haul lumber, groceries, a TV and the family… all at stupid speed. Yeah! Of course, if you’re not careful in ours you may eventually run over a Chrysler Crossfire or something (whistles innocently).

There’s something else I learned on my travels: some of the states we went through aren’t allergy friendly. Chicago and Milwaukee both looked as if there was a horrible simultaneous accident on every street involving chicken trucks. I’ve never see so much junk floating through the air for so long! Sneezing for days… what a drag.

And now here we are in the futuristic time of the present…

Anyhow, it’s good to be home and back at the grind. Hopefully I can get caught up with my blogs dazzling you all with wisdom, insight and dumb laughs.

… one can only hope.

timetravel_blog

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Tags: Power Tour
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Bosch DCX Tech Fair or “Drive Sample Vehicles Like You Stole Them!”

by John Espino

Friday, June 24th, 2005

I know… it’s been a while since I’ve written, but I’ve got a good excuse. No, really… I do. See, I went on the Hot Rod Power Tour and before that, Bosch’s DCX Tech Fair. Vehicles, meetings, logistics, details and way too many “what ifs” make Johnny a dull boy. It’s as if I’ve been a cross between the proverbial one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest spliced with a chicken with its head cut off. Sort of a one-legged chicken-man with no head trying to kick some butt if you will. See the problem?

Anyway, after all the pre-event preparation, my first tour of duty was the tech fair that I mentioned earlier. The DCX in the title stands for Daimler-Chrysler (what’s the “X” for?) and it was held at the Pontiac Silverdome’s parking lot which is just around the corner from the Chrysler’s headquarters and support buildings in Michigan. Our partners and friends at Bosch put this little shindig together to showcase some of their technology that’s available to O.E. manufacturers for use in the build of their vehicles. A big part of it was Bosch’s diesel systems and a ride and drive in some of the most advanced diesel powered passenger vehicles available today (most of which aren’t sold here in the states). So, why show something that I can’t buy here? Simple, it’s one way to get the automakers thinking out of the box and forget the yucky memories of the bag of crud Olds engine that resonates in so many of their minds. These vehicles are quiet, get great mileage, have enough power to accelerate the vehicle so quick that you feel like you were punched in the kidneys… and make you smile like a little school girl about it. Slick and guiltless power that is on tap whenever you want it… from a diesel, and all with the creature comforts that one has come to expect from today’s modern automobiles. Vehicles as small as the .8 liter Smart (yes… that’s not a typo) to sexy sequentially-turbocharged BMW 5 Series were all on tap for a romp through the course in the parking lot.

Joining the troops on the field was our Sidewinder All-Terrain Dodge Ram, which was really just for display. Or was it? Seems that the folks who visited the Bosch event all wanted to do one thing first before they drove the cars… drive the big red truck. So, who am I to disappoint executives who we’re trying to impress? “Let’s go for a ride” I’d say, and indeed they did take it out for a drive… like it was stolen. I felt like I was in the movie Smokey and the Bandit riding along with power the mad fiends at the wheel. Tire smoke, squeals and the deep tone of the exhaust were what I experienced with every test drive along with the foreground sliding from left to right. One crazed individual even started to drift the truck! For a raised truck with off-road tires it took every bit of punishment, and triple dog-dared them to do something worse. At the end of each ride the driver spilled out of the truck with that kind of grin that tells you they got more than they bargained for, and loved it. Of course the other cars were next on the list of conquests.

Did we convince them? I hope so, because while our Ram is a kind of super truck, the other samples there were no slouches, all of which were stock production. We need vehicles like these, so the power hungry tenant in all our brains can get along with the conservative tree hugger who resides there. Who’d imagine that Felix and Oscar could ever get the chance to live in peace and harmony.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that the Sidewinder Dakota was there on display as well. “Did anyone get to drive it?” you ask. Ahhhhh, no… not so much.