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California Releasing Fuel Efficient Tire Program
 The California Energy Commission have created a Fuel Efficient Tire program aimed at creating a independent rating system for the rolling resistance of passenger and light weight truck tires sold or are available in California. Aimed at pressuring tire manufacturer representatives and tire industry association personnel into developing lighter less resistant tires, the proposed rating system would rank tires from lowest to highest regarding their "Rolling Resistance Force". The California Energy Commission said "All tires with an RRF within 15% of the lowest RRF reported tire for that combined tire size designation and load rating will be rated 'fuel efficient tire" and "The foundation of a government administered product rating system is a comprehensive database providing reliable test results and objective information accessible to everyone. A solid analytical basis combined with full disclosure and transparency inspires the confidence required for a rating system to be successful". That's all groovy as long as the commission or tire manufacturers don't press an additional tax per tire for the rating system but that already is pretty evident.
Source: Modern Tire Dealer
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California Passes New Tire Inflation Law
 The state of California have passed a new law beginning July 1, 2010 that will require nearly 40,000 automotive servicing shops to check tire pressure of vehicles during each visit and correct the tire pressure by adding air if necessary. The law does not require body shops, car washes, glass repair shops or parts stores to check tire pressures.
Now here's the weak part. The shops effected, which are service locations, smog checking stations, oil changing stations, etc, will be notified by the state on how much they should charge for the tire pressure check. California's Air Resources Board defended their new law stating it would "save 75 million gallons of fuel per year, while also eliminating 700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses".
Source: Consumer Reports
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Tire Industry Hurt Too, Goodyear Laying Off 5,000 Workers
 With the automotive industry being hit hard this past year and truck sales in the tank, everyone in the automotive field is effected including the tire industry. Tire behemoth, Goodyear, posted a $330 million dollar loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to a $55 million dollar profit made the same quarter one year earlier. This loss has resulted in a restructuring plan for the company, aiming to cut operating costs by $700 million and in the process lay off approximately 5,000 workers. The slash comes as a second round of cuts, the first being 4,000 jobs lost in 2008.
Source: Autonews via Autoblog
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Fuel Saving Tips Revisited, Save Dollars And Cents Using These TechniquesMore in: Chevrolet, Chrysler, Diesel, Dodge, Engine, Ford, Fuel, General Motors, GMC, Hummer, Hybrid, Nissan, SUV, Toyota | Comments | Permalink | 105,892 Views
 With gas prices about to hit a national average of $5 dollars per gallon, achieving better fuel economy numbers on your truck or SUV has never been more important to consumers in history than right now. Over the past couple of months here at Truckblog, I have posted a handful of articles relating to fuel saving information, aftermarket products, and tips to help increase your fuel economy. The following is a list of those blogs so you can check them out and start saving today.
• Fuel Saving Tips, Read Them Here
• GasBuddy.com Shows You Cheapest Gas Spots
• New Traffic Signals Help Increase Your Gas Milage
• How-To Install An OilGuard Filtration System
• Jiffy-Tite Quick-Connect Fluid Fittings Make Checking Fluids Easier
• New Fuel Saving Tires Hit Market
• How-To Get Better Gas Mileage Explained
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Friday Beerblog: Pre-Runner Race Truck Makes You Scream For An ''Oh Shit'' HandleMore in: Beerblog, Chevrolet, CORR, Dodge, Ford, Hummer, Off-Road, Racing, Safety, Suspension, Toyota | Comments | Permalink | 146,939 Views
 Ever since I was a child (some of you can stop laughing now), I have had a fascination for pre-runner desert racing trucks and although I know the sport pretty well, the following video would make me scream for an "oh shit" handle. Driven by Marty Coyne, father of Travis Coyne whom we interviewed last year at Championship Off-Road Racing, managed to save the race truck from rolling over after jumping dozens of feet into the air and landing sideways. Check out the video inside.Full Story... 
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Friday Beerblog: ''Da Hulk'' Crazy Lifted Holden UTE Pickup Truck
 I don't know where the guys at Jalopnik find this crap, but it's really amazing. As seen in the photographs, the vehicle is a Holden UTE sport truck, which are sold in Australia. Lifted on huge Mickey Thompson Baja Claws and packed with a 6.0 liter V8 engine, "Da Hulk" as it's called, also has what seems to be hydraulic cross over steering, a full Dana 60 front axle, leaf springs, a Westin Bull Bar, six Lightforce HID off road lights, flared fenders, chrome side steps, and roll bar. Mudding anyone?Full Story...
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Re-Cap Of Last Week: Biggest StoriesMore in: Roundup, Chevrolet, Concepts, Diesel, Dodge, Ford, General Motors, GMC, Hummer, New Products, Off-Road, Safety, Suspension, Toyota | Comments | Permalink | 162,002 Views
Every Monday morning we give you a re-cap of last weeks festivities, from automotive manufacturer announcements to the hottest (and sometimes worst) products available. Below is a list of last weeks top stories:
• Super Bowl XLII, The Commercials
• VOTE: Favorite Automotive Super Bowl Commercials
• Production Long Travel Suspension Ford F-150 Coming
• Roush Edition Chevrolet Silverado ''Roushcharged'' Found
• Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually Special Project Called CrewMaximus
• Ford Invests In Plants To Build Diesel Engines, For F150?
• 2009 Hummer H3T Pictures Revealed Early-Oopsies
• Video Of Pure Insanity: Extreme Sports Choreograph
• Tire Manufacturers Duke It Out With Feds Over Tire Monitor Systems
• Rize Industries Launches 2003 To 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 And 3500 Lift Kits
• 2009 Hummer H3T Video Exposed
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Failed Tires OK'd for Explorers
 The Detroit News said today, "Ford Motor Co. approved replacement tires for its Explorer sport-utility vehicle that made it just as likely to roll over as the originals Ford blamed for more than 200 deaths. Ford's test results of replacement tires, introduced as evidence last month in an Explorer trial in Mississippi, may support hundreds of pending lawsuits..."
Full Story...
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Single Rear Tire Duallys?
 Michelin's new X One XTE tire is all the rage right now for the trucking industry due to fuel and weight savings. These massive 17-inch wide tires are being used by 18-wheelers to replace their existing dual tire configuration, making an 18-wheeler a 10-wheeler. We can only wonder, will we start to see single rear tire dually trucks in the future? Bring on those fat boys!
Full Story...
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Truckblog Adds Truck Hownd Products
 Today Truckblog added featured truck aftermarket products to the site from Truck Hownd, the ultimate pickup truck & SUV product guide. Located below the search boxes, products from Truck Hownd are displayed with a brief description of each product. Click those links to view more information about the product, rate it, or build a list of your favorites. It's pretty cool, and the search feature helps you find anything for your ride! Like the Truckblog blog/news service, Truck Hownd is free for enthusiasts to browse, and free for manufacturers to add their own products. Be sure to check out the New Products and Hot Products pages, plus the other Hownd sites that include Fitness Hownd, iPod Hownd, and Coffee Hownd.
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Mammoth Tires in Short Supply
 What kind of tire costs $30,000 each, is twelve feet in height, and only lasts six months? Well, according to Goodyear, all their monster tractor tires are spoken for... through 2006. This gigantic problem caused Walker Machinery Co. in Belle, West Virginia, to cancel the sale of their four 200-ton dump trucks at $3 million a pop.
"The shortage is due to a rise in equipment orders, an increase in worldwide mining because of increased mineral prices and growth in China and other Asian counties."
Full Story... –
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Tired of freezing your ass off at the top of a snowy mountain in sub-human temperatures, forced to put on those 20 pound chains to get to your cabin before sundown? Evidently the folks over at Southwest Spectra in Albuquerque, New Mexico have. So they came up with the female-friendly "Spikes Spiders" as an alternative to chains or cables.
Friday was 
Last night was a major milestone for my truck. After much anticipation and many close close calls from the wonderful Houston drivers out there (Ya'll know who you are) I finally got hit for the fourth time last night. Houston weather has not been great as of late and yesterday was no exception as it was raining most of the day however, from what I can tell the weather, as much as ignorance was not a factor in this accident.
