Tag: frame

Report: Toyota reaffirms commitment to body-on-frame SUVs

Filed under: SUV, Toyota, Off-Road

2014 Toyota 4Runner front three-quarter

Toyota sold 121,055 Highlander CUVs in 2012, according to Automotive News. By comparison, it sold 78,457 examples of four different body-on-frame, truck-based SUVs (4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Sequoia and Land Cruiser). One could argue then, that the traditional SUVs aren’t pulling their weight from a sales perspective. Yet that isn’t stopping Toyota from reaffirming its commitment to a segment that has seen its former champions – Ford, General Motors and Chrysler – abandon it with alarming speed. Ford and GM still offer body-on frame utilities, but only in the very largest offerings, catering to seven or even eight passengers. Everything outside of the Expedition or Tahoe rides now on a unibody.

Toyota’s decision to stick with the technology is good news if you’re in the market for smaller SUVs that are still capable of heading well off the beaten path. Outside of the Jeep Wrangler, Grand Cherokee (a unibody) and perhaps Nissan Xterra, there’s not much in terms of capable SUVs between $20,000 and $50,000. As the Toyota brand’s US head, Bill Fay, says, “Clearly, the trend has shifted, but there is still an owner base that is interested in these vehicles.”

We don’t doubt Fay on that, but it may also be somewhat telling that Toyota’s SUV lineup is aging, and we haven’t seen or heard much about replacement models in the pipeline. Admittedly, the 4Runner (pictured) has been facelifted for 2014, but it’s mostly cosmetic in nature. Despite Toyota’s posturing, we still expect its body-on-frame lineup to thin in the coming years as sales dwindle and escalating fuel-economy standards make business cases even tougher. Here’s hoping that Toyota manages to keep at least one rough-and-tumble SUV in its lineup in the coming years.

Toyota reaffirms commitment to body-on-frame SUVs originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: World’s Most Expensive Motorcycle has frame made from gold

Filed under: Videos, Motorcycle, Design/Style

World's most expensive motorcycle?

This motorcycle embraces two very different dynamics. On the one hand, it’s quite possibly the most expensive motorcycle ever built, with some experts speculating that the frame alone is worth $1 million. On the other hand, it looks old and beaten up, like a steampunk MadMax.

Designed by an extremely wealthy Turkish motorcycle fan, Tarhan Telli, the basics are include an 1801cc V-Twin with 125 horsepower, a six-speed transmission and a 700-pound curb weight. But what makes it special, aside from the frame that’s made entirely from gold, is the artistry. As Motorcycle explains, Telli wanted high-end materials, like the gold, but wasn’t looking for something shouty, opting for worn materials with interesting patinas. So, basically, he commissioned a bike with a frame made from gold, but didn’t want it to be too loud, so he went to further lengths to obscure the gold finish. This may be the world’s biggest humblebrag.

Telli has approached the Guinness Book of World Records to get his one-off creation certified as the world’s most expensive motorcycle. He isn’t revealing what it cost him to build, but if he spent a million bucks on the frame, we’d expect the entire bike might be a few times that. Scroll down for the video.

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World’s Most Expensive Motorcycle has frame made from gold originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 28 Jul 2013 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: GM SUVs to continue with full frame, Granite still on the table

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

The Sport Utility Vehicle is dead. Long live the Sport Utility Vehicle.

We all know by now that the SUV, considered the Official Car of the 1990s and early 00s, has mostly fallen out of favor. But that doesn’t mean we should expect the large, body-on-frame behemoths – with the exception of impractical niche models like those from Hummer – to completely disappear from automaker showrooms any time soon.

Instead, the market may just right-size itself back to a more natural mix, with those users who really do need the off-road and towing capabilities of a proper SUV sticking with their ‘utes and the rest of the population switching to crossovers. With that in mind, Automotive News reports that the redesigned GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe, due in 2013 or 2014, will likely stick to their truck-based roots. No surprise.

Nor should we be shocked by the revelation that the GMC Granite, which was first shown at the Detroit Auto Show early in 2010, is still in the works. In today’s market conditions, an entirely truck-based lineup makes very little fiscal sense, but we’d imagine that General Motors’ Lambda triplets will remain the automaker’s volume sellers.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Report: GM SUVs to continue with full frame, Granite still on the table originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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