Off Roading 101: How To Make The Most Of Your 4x4

It's a sad truth that the vast majority of SUVs never live up to their true potential: Going off road. That's because most people buy SUVs as either minivan replacements (because they have big families and want the space) or they like driving up high and having four-wheel drive for snow.

But if you ever get that itch to take your vehicle out into the mud, there's a couple of things you need to know.

1. First, learn if your vehicle actually go off road. This is a crucial question to have answered. Jeep says all of their vehicle can go off road, but some are better at handling rocks and sand than others. Those ones have a circular badge on the side and say "Trail Rated." Many SUVs, like the Ford Explorer, Land Rover Range Rover, Toyota Land Cruiser, Volkswagen Touareg, and the Toyota FJ Cruiser are perfectly capable of going off the pavement (as well as a host of others we haven't listed here.) That's because they all come with 4 wheel drive -- not all-wheel drive, which isn't as capable in sticky situations.

Read your manual and poke around on Google to see if your car was meant for the great outdoors. If it wasn't, you're out of luck.

2. Find a partner. You need to follow the buddy system when you're out on the trails. It is very easy to go further than you think when you're driving through the wilderness. And the last think you want to do is get stuck, miles from the paved roads, with no way out. And even the best off-roaders get stuck in the muck sometimes.

Luckily, there are a lot of clubs aimed at organizing group offroading outings. Offroaders.com has a list of clubs broken down by state. Jeep offers outings through its Camp Jeep program, where beginners to experts converge with Jeep staffers who help teach you the rules of the wild. And Land Rover also hosts driving schools throughout the year.

3. Bring a tow rope. You'll need a 20- to 30-foot tow rope, in case you get stuck. You can buy specialty ropes, like this one, for emergencies. You should not get a rope with hooks -- the ends should be sewn into loops. And always use the tow hooks on your vehicle to attach the rope. Don't tie it around your bumper -- unless you're trying to make a video for American's Funniest Home Videos and you want to watch your bumper get pulled straight off.

4. Go slow, cowboy. This is the most fun you'll have in a car going less than 5 mph. Watching someone offroading is like watching someone play a videogame -- prety dull. It moves pretty slow. But getting behind the wheel and making the vehicle do crazy things, like climbing over a pile of downed logs, is a total adrenaline rush. No need to go fast.

5. Don't straddle rocks. One sure way to ruin the underside of your truck is to straddle major obstacles. The best way to go over rocks and other objects in your way is to put one of your tires on it and drive over. If you try to pass the rock between the tires, it could get caught and leave you stranded.

There are more tips and tricks you'll learn along the way, but this should be enough to get you started. Have fun!

For an in-depth look at the 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara featured in the video below, check out this gallery:

2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel EPA-Rated at 46-mpg Highway

Chevrolet has announced that the new-for-2014 Cruze diesel will get an EPA-estimated 46 mpg on the highway and 26 mpg in the city. With its 2.0-liter turbo-diesel making 148 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque matched with a six-speed automatic transmission, the diesel joins the base 1.8-liter four and the optional 1.4-liter turbo four already available in the Cruze powertrain lineup. The addition of the diesel is the news; how its fuel economy stacks up against its siblings and the competition, however, is another matter.

Getting 46 mpg on the highway is a laudable achievement for the diesel; the automatic-equipped Cruze Eco gets 39 mpg and the Eco with the six-speed manual gets 42 mpg. Drill a little deeper, though, and the comparisons become less favorable: the automatic Eco matches the diesel’s city rating of 26, while the manual betters it by 2 mpg.

Then there is the matter of dollars and cents. At $25,695, the Cruze diesel is $4010 more than the Cruze Eco with an automatic and $5205 more than the manual. And with diesel fuel currently costing about 40 cents more per gallon than regular unleaded, it’s going to take owners a whole lot of highway driving to recoup the extra cost of the diesel-engine option.

Chevy wants you to pay no attention to that Cruze Eco behind the curtain, and would instead like you to consider the Volkswagen Jetta TDI as the bow-tie diesel’s real competition. The Jetta costs about $700 less than the compression-ignition Cruze, but the Chevy comes with more standard features, including MyLink infotainment, larger 17-inch aluminum wheels, leather seats, and a two-year maintenance plan. Chevrolet also offers a powertrain warranty that is the same in years (five) but better in miles (100,000 versus the VW’s 60,000). On the fuel-economy front, the Jetta gets ratings of 30/42; that puts the Cruze up by 4 mpg on the highway but down 4 mpg in the city.

The Cruze diesel will go on sale this spring in “high-indexing diesel cities” such as Baltimore and Milwaukee. Later this fall, it will be available nationwide and in Canada. While we’re always glad to see a new choice in the world of compression ignition, we’re still not sure how Chevy’s new diesel is going to find its place in the market. With diesel sales up in 2012 by more than 25 percent according to some estimates, Chevy is hoping the Cruze can get in on some of that oil-burning action.

Classic SUVs next big thing for car collectors

Hagerty Insurance seems to think vintage SUVs are going to be the next big trend in car collecting. The agency has already seen prices begin to tick upward at auction, with the number of classic SUVs insured by the company growing some 65 percent since 2008. That's about twice the pace of the overall market. All told, Toyota Land Cruisers have seen the largest jump with a swell of 202 percent, though 1970s and 1980s Jeep models are up by a more than respectable 93 percent as well. Like wise, Ford Bronco and International Scout SUVs are up by 86 and 85 percent, respectively.

Hagerty attributes the increase with the overall rise in the popularity of the SUV in general. As modern machines become more in vogue, so do their predecessors by extension. While these old bruisers haven't spent much time in the lime light at classic car auctions, Hagerty says recent events in Scottsdale featured 11 vintage Toyota Land Cruiser models, one of which sold for $88,000. That's quite a price for a 1981 FJ-40. You can read the full press release below.

VINTAGE SUV'S QUICKLY BECOMING HOT COMMODITY AMONG COLLECTORS

Hagerty Observes Significant Shift in Allure of Vintage Sport Utility Vehicles

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (April 11, 2013) – Once considered out of place at prominent classic vehicle auctions, vintage SUVs are rapidly gaining in popularity among collectors. During a series of collector car auctions in Scottsdale earlier this year, 11 vintage Toyota Land Cruisers sold, with the best example – a 1981 Mustard Yellow FJ-40 – selling for $88,000.

The recent public sales are not an outlier according to Hagerty Insurance, host to the largest database of classic cars in the world – this has been a growing trend for the past five years. Hagerty reports the niche segment of vintage SUVs has grown 65% since 2008, nearly twice the percentage rate of the company's overall book of business, which has risen 37% during the same period.

While vintage Toyota Land Cruisers (202%) appear to be the fastest rising choice among vintage SUVs, other models showing significant movement include 1970s and '80s Jeeps (93%), Ford Broncos (86%) and International Scouts (85%) from the 1960s and '70s.

"With so many young collectors opting for modern SUVs as their daily drivers, we're seeing a shift in perception of what makes a vehicle cool," says McKeel Hagerty, President and CEO of Hagerty, the world's leading provider of classic car insurance. "Broncos, Land Rovers and other similar vehicles from the '60s and '70s were, for the most part, once seen as utilitarian. But vintage SUVs are becoming more and more collectible, and it appears that trend will continue. This is a great time to get into this segment of the collector car market."

In addition to growth in Hagerty's database, sales analysis of more than 15 major auction houses, recently conducted by the Hagerty Institute, offers further evidence of a budding trend of increased SUV sales and values. Over the last five years, the number of vintage SUV's offered at auction is up 150 percent, and the value of these vehicles has risen 31 percent.

Based in Traverse City, Michigan, Hagerty is the world's leading insurance provider for classic vehicles and host to the largest network of classic car owners. Hagerty offers insurance for classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and motorcycle safety equipment, tractors, automotive tools and spare parts, and even "automobilia" (any historic or collectible item linked with motor vehicles). Hagerty also offers overseas shipping/touring insurance coverage, commercial coverage and club liability coverage. For more information, call (800) 922-4050 or visit www.hagerty.com.

Hagerty also provides online Valuation Tools and publishes Hagerty Price Guide, which are the premier price and value guides for post-war collectible automobiles. For more information please visit www.hagerty.com/valuationtools.

Ford Introduces 'Video Snacks' to Ford Owners to Help Them Learn New Features

SYNC with MyFord Touch: Navigation/ Setting Route

Does complex in-car technology make your head spin? Ford Motor Company thinks they have found a way for you to master the features in their vehicles. More than 100 short how-to videos, called “video snacks,” are supposed to help Ford owners become more familiar with the features their new car offers.

According to a Ford press release, the video snacks are a part of a new Vehicle Orientation program that starts this week in Ford dealerships nationwide. At the end of the car-buying process, customers go over a list of features in their new vehicle that they’d like to learn about with their salesperson. That list is then emailed to the customer with links to video snacks that they can watch any time at Fordowner.com. The video snacks are also available on YouTube at Ford’s Know Your Vehicle channel.

"We know that just because a cool feature is available doesn't necessarily mean it is being recognized or used by the consumer," said Andrew Ashman, Ford and Lincoln consumer experience manager. "Our goal is to simplify and enhance the sales experience by providing customers with the resources they need when they need them so that they can fully enjoy all the benefits their vehicle has to offer them."

In an interview with Ford’s employee site, @Ford Online, Laura Fraga, manager, Marketing Communications, Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD), says, “Despite the fact that we are leaders in in-vehicle technology, our quality scores seem to indicate that many times people just either don’t know a feature exists or they don’t know how to use it.”

One of the features widely criticized is Ford’s infotainment system, MyFord Touch. The most recent 2012 U.S. Initial Quality Study, which looks at problems new owners have faced within 90 days of their new-vehicle purchase, found that owner complaints regarding hands-free communication systems have increased 137 percent over the last four years. In the 2010 survey, Ford ranked fifth in this study, and in the 2012 study Ford is struggling at 27 out of 34 automotive bands.

What do you think? Would you use videos to learn about your new car's features, or would you prefer to figure it out on your own?"

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Ford Mustang Reaches Two Big Milestones In One Day

Ford marked one milestone with another Wednesday afternoon.

Forty-nine years after the Ford Mustang made its debut at the New York Auto Show, the assembly plant where the sports car is now produced moved its 1 millionth Mustang off the production line.

About 25 miles southwest of Detroit, the Flat Rock Assembly Plant has been home to the Mustang's production for the past nine years. It has produced an average of 304 Mustangs per day.

On Wednesday, employees gathered around as the longest-tenured employee at the plant, planning and logistics manager Ed Salna, made a right turn off the end of the production line in a ruby red 2014 Mustang convertible and revved the engine at 1:45 p.m.

"I remember when Ford Motor Company wanted to end the Mustang," said UAW vice president Jimmy Settles, on hand for the spectacle. "I also remember when it was $99 down and $99 a month."

That bargain price helped Mustang beat expectations when it launched in April 1964. Ford initially produced it at its Rouge factory in Dearborn, Mich., and the company was soon selling more Mustangs than it could make. By early 1965, Ford expanded production to Metuchen, N.J., and San Jose, Calif. Combine sales figures from all of its plants, and Ford has sold more than 8.5 million Mustangs.

Sports cars have been a tougher sell lately. The recent recession forced customers – when they bought cars at all – to buy more practical vehicles and eschew the possibility of purchases based on fun.

Sales still haven't recovered. This year, Ford has sold 17,320 Mustangs through March, a 14 percent decrease over the same time period last year. It also trails the Chevy Camaro, which has also seen a similar sales decline, by 1,878 units so far this year.

But Wednesday, sales figures weren't on the mind of the employees at Flat Rock, who will see their ranks swell with 1,400 new jobs as Ford adds a second shift to start production of its hot-selling Fusion sedan later this year.

The 1 millionth car looked like a celebrity, as several hundred employees gathered in a half-moon around the car, held their cell phones up over the assembled crowd, and snapped pictures.

Their moment to appreciate their handiwork was short-lived. At 1:50 p.m., a voice came on the loudspeaker inside the plant and said, "Everybody please report back to your work stations. The conveyor re-starts at 1:55."