What has twenty-four cylinders, weighs 32,000 pounds and was outlandish enough to command US$12 million in a country where moneys no object for many of its residents?If you think the answer is this Thor24 crew cab semi built by stunt pilot and boat racer Mike Harrah, youd be absolutely right.Over the span of seven years and about US$7 million, Harrah constructed one of the most extreme vehicles let alone truck tractors ever to ply the face of this earth. The power developed by 1,704 cubic inches of displacement comes from a brace of two 12-cylinder Detroit diesel engines, arranged neatly like ducks in a row.There are a dozen 871 superchargers arranged above the blocks to push the beast to create a blistering 3,974 horsepower. It also packs a nitrous boost, allowing the 32,000-pound truck to crest 200 km/h. A quartet of 12-foot drag chutes help to reel in all that speed.Harrahs vision began with a Peterbilt 359 crew cab semi, a truck stretched to 44 feet in length to accommodate his plans. Once the frame was completed, most parts on the bottom side were replaced with chrome-plated or polished aluminum bits. From a visual standpoint, its a good wager there is nothing else in the world like Thor24. As if to put the exclamation point home, flames adorn Thors flanks because of course they do.A bidder at the Global Auto Salon auction, hosted by Worldwide Auctioneers in Riyadh this past weekend, paid a reported US$12 million for this 44-foot-long brute. Keeping in spirit with other custom big rigs, an auxiliary power unit is onboard. The unit is what else? a Hawker jet engine. Your author was on the ground at the Riyadh show, where Bugattis were as common as Corollas. In that context, perhaps Thor24 doesnt seem so outrageous after all. But make no mistake back here in a world that loosely approximates reality, Thor24 is a wonderfully brutish machine that has more road presence than a fleet of Jensen Interceptors.Well have more car stories from Saudi Arabia in the days ahead, including the tale of a man who bought a brace of heavily-patinad 57 Chevys and plans to take them on a 1,600-km road trip. Until then, enjoy these snaps of what is surely the wildest semi in
Origin: 4,000-hp Thor24 custom truck hammers for US$12 million in Saudi Arabia
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Ford recalling 4,300 heavy-duty trucks in Canada because axle may fracture
Ford is recalling 4,316 new heavy-duty trucks in Canada because an axle shaft made from a bad batch of steel may fracture, increasing the risk of a crash in traffic, or of a rollaway in park.A total 28,579 examples of 2019 model year Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups are also affected by the recall in the U.S.On affected vehicles, the electronically locking rear-axle assembly may have been assembled with a passenger-side axle shaft made from a steel not up to Fords specifications, which may fracture.If the vehicle is driving in two-wheel-drive mode when this happens, it could stop or slow the truck in traffic; if stopped without the parking brake applied, the vehicle may be unable to hold park and could move.Ford is advising owners to use the parking brake when the truck is parked until dealers inspect and repair the axle shafts in affected
Origin: Ford recalling 4,300 heavy-duty trucks in Canada because axle may fracture
Toyota recalls almost 4,000 RAV4s in Canada over rear cameras
2019 Toyota RAV4 LimitedDerek McNaughton Toyota is recalling close to 4,000 new RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid vehicles in Canada because the rearview camera display might not turn when the car is put in reverse.Some 3,896 model year 2019 RAV4 vehicles are affected in Canada, along with 14,215 in the U.S., or about 18,000 in total.In affected vehicles, a faulty connector could keep the rearview cameras dashboard display from showing up when the SUV is placed into reverse, increasing the risk of a collision while backing up.The automaker will contact owners of these vehicles beginning in
Origin: Toyota recalls almost 4,000 RAV4s in Canada over rear cameras
VW brand to trim as many as 4,000 jobs amid digital overhaul
A Volkswagen badge on a Golf GTI steering wheel.Nick Tragianis / Driving Volkswagen’s main car brand will let lapse as many as 4,000 general and administrative jobs while adding at least 2,000 IT positions over the next four years, avoiding layoffs at its German factories as it negotiates a major shift toward electrification and self-driving cars. The move, brokered with VW’s powerful unions, includes job guarantees through 2029, the manufacturer said Wednesday in a statement. The brand will rely on partial retirement and attrition to help reach targeted staff reductions as it culls models and focuses on new technologies that require fewer factory workers. With earlier job cuts, VW is on track with a plan announced in March to improve profit by 5.9 billion euros (US$6.7 billion) a year, the unit’s chief operating officer, Ralf Brandstaetter, said in the statement. “We are making the company fit for the digital age in a sustainable way.” The prospect of deeper cutbacks had alarmed VW’s union leaders as manufacturers wrestle with the transformation of sprawling industrial operations. App-based services like ride-sharing and car-sharing are already threatening the industry’s traditional business model of individual car ownership — a trend that may accelerate once self-driving vehicles reach critical mass — and electric cars require fewer parts and workers for assembly. The extended job guarantee is “an important signal,” VW works council chief Bernd Osterloh said in Wolfsburg, near the company’s headquarters. VW signed a broader labor pact in 2016 to cull 30,000 jobs worldwide, with Germany accounting for 23,000, to generate about 3 billion euros in annual savings. The VW car brand, which accounts for about half the group’s global deliveries, employs roughly 110,000 workers in Germany out of a global workforce of 663,000 across the Volkswagen group, the world’s largest automaker. The unit has been pushing to rein in bloated expenses to lift profitability that’s trailing rivals like PSA
Origin: VW brand to trim as many as 4,000 jobs amid digital overhaul
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