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Man spent $75 on a truck that lasted 38 years

Absurd as it is, some buyers today are worried about getting their car to last throughout the term of their seven-year car loan. Minnesota resident Bob Sportel has the opposite issue: his Chevrolet truck seemingly won't die. Sportel needed a cheap ride to get to work when he took a job at a farmer's co-op 38 years ago, so he bought a rusty 1957 Chevy pickup for $75 from a farmer; at the time, the 20-year-old truck was almost as old as Bob was. After nearly four decades of daily driving and an estimated 300,000 miles, Sportel is still driving the truck today. Bolts secure a fender, Bondo secures the lights, what looks like a whole roll of duct tape keeps him sitting on the bench seat instead of in it. For a 58-year-old pickup that's never seen a garage or a new coat of paint – but did get its oil changed four times a year – that's not bad; Sportel thinks his repair bill hasn't got above $1,000 for the entire time he's owned the truck. He still has no plans to get rid of it, saying, "It just becomes a part of you." You can watch his story in the video above. News Source: KARE11.com Chevrolet Truck Classics Videos

2020 Ford Escape hybrids vs other crossover fuel sippers: How they compare on paper

Along with a new generation of Escape, Ford also reintroduced the world to the 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid. And if that weren't enough, Ford is adding a plug-in hybrid version. This is a sign of the times: people are more crossover crazy than ever, but are also seeking ways to use less fuel, whether it's for environmental or purely money-motivated reasons. The Ford hybrids aren't the only fuel-efficient compact crossovers on the market. They will be going head-to-head with conventional hybrids including the 2019 Kia Niro, 2019 Nissan Rogue Hybrid and 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. There are other plug-in hybrids including the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek PHEV, 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and the plug-in version of the 2019 Kia Niro. There are even a couple diesels in the form of the 2019 Chevy Equinox and 2019 GMC Terrain. So we've rounded up the details on all these crossovers to see who leads and lags in criteria such as power, fuel efficiency, space and price. Check out all their details below. 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid View 68 Photos How do their engines and fuel economy compare? Conventional Hybrids and Diesels Let's face it, if you're buying one of these crossovers, one of the things that matters most to you is just how frugal with fuel they are. We'll start off with the conventional hybrids and diesels, and the clear victor is the Kia Niro, which in base FE trim, manages to hit 50 mpg combined. This is thanks to it sharing its powertrain with the Hyundai Ioniq, the Hyundai equivalent of the Toyota Prius. Buyers should take note that only the FE returns such high fuel economy. The LX and EX drop to 49 mpg, and the S Touring and Touring get 43. Even then, the least efficient Niro is the most efficient of the normal hybrids and diesels. It is nearly the least powerful, though, with 139 horsepower. Just behind it is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. It delivers 40 mpg combined, and it has an ace up its sleeve: it comes standard with all-wheel drive. Every other vehicle in this powertrain group has front drive standard, and the Niro isn't available with all-wheel drive at all. If that weren't enough, the RAV4 Hybrid also boasts the most power at 219 horses. While we can't say anything about Escape Hybrid fuel economy, we do know that it will make 198 horsepower, which is close to the class-leading RAV4. The least powerful of these is the Equinox and Terrain, and they return the worst fuel economy at 32 mpg.

GM to sink over $900M into 4 plants, mostly for a new V8

FLINT, Mich. — General Motors says it will spend more than $900 million to update four factories, with the bulk going to an engine plant in Flint, Michigan, to build the next-generation V8 for big pickup trucks and SUVs. Factories in Rochester, New York; Defiance, Ohio; and Bay City, Michigan, also will see investments, some to make V8 engine components as well as parts for future electric vehicles, the company said Friday. The investments won't create any new jobs, but they will preserve about 2,400 hourly and salaried positions positions at the four sites, the company said. The investments “provide job security at these plants for years to come,” Gerald Johnson, GM's manufacturing chief, said in a statement. Much of the money, $579 million, will go to Flint Engine Operations for equipment to build the sixth-generation small-block V8 that will go into the next round of big pickup trucks and SUVs. The plant now employs about 700 people who also will keep making their current product, a diesel engine used in light trucks. GM, like other automakers, is facing stricter government fuel economy standards and pollution limits starting in the 2024 model year. New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to average at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026, up from about 28 mpg, under new Biden administration rules that undo a rollback of standards enacted under former President Donald Trump. That means the new V8 will have to get better mileage and pollute less than the current versions. Although GM wouldn't release details on the new engine, Johnson said during a news conference at the Flint plant that it would be more efficient than the current version. GM has a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035, but Johnson said that's a dozen years out, a period when many customers will still want gas engines. “We know that has a horizon,” he said. “Between here and there, there are a lot of internal combustion customers that we don't want to lose,” he said. In addition to Flint, GM's engine components plant in Bay City, Michigan, will get $216 million to build camshafts and connecting rods, and to machine engine blocks and heads for the new V8 being built in Flint. The plant now employs about 425. The Defiance, Ohio, foundry will get $55 million to build a variety of block castings for the new V8. Included is $8 million for castings to support future electric vehicles, the company said. The plant has about 530 employees.