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Values snowball for legendary Tucker Sno-Cats, latest toys of the super rich

Here's a fun-sounding vehicle perfect for the cold and snow that's currently gripping much of North America. Tucker — no, not that Tucker — just marked its 75th anniversary making the Sno-Cat, its orange-painted, four-tread snow vehicles that have inspired backcountry skiers, collectors — and increasingly, the super rich. Bloomberg in a recent story writes that demand for the Medford, Ore.-based company's products is soaring on demand from the wealthy, who need a way to get to their backcountry mountain retreats. They're also in demand from collectors and gearheads who also love snow, like two anonymous collectors who are believed to have amassed more than 200 vintage Sno-Cats. The value of vintage models has reportedly tripled in the past five years to well over $100,000 for a fully restored rig. Tucker Sno-Cat Corp. claims to be the world's oldest surviving snow vehicle manufacturer, launched by E.M. Tucker in 1942 out of a desire to design a vehicle for traveling over the kind of deep, soft snow found in the Rogue River Valley of his childhood. It was four Tucker Sno-Cat machines that helped English explorer Vivian Fuchs and his 12-man party make the first 2,158-mile overland crossing of Antarctica in 1957-58. While many of the company's competitors either shuttered or adapted to serving ski resorts with wider, heavier treads, Tucker has stuck to its formula of making lightweight vehicles to travel over deep snow. Many Tuckers use Chrysler's flat six-cylinder engine, or its Dodge Hemi V8 for larger Sno-Cats, mounted rear or centrally, with basic, no-frills aluminum cabins. Sno-Cats all have four articulating tracks that are independently sprung, powered and pivoted at the drive axle. Track options come in three different types: conventional steel grouser belt track, rubber-coated aluminum grouser belt track, and one-piece all-rubber track. Steering is hydraulically controlled by pivoting the front and rear axles for smooth movement over undulating terrain with minimal disturbance of the ground cover. The company today makes 75 to 100 Sno-Cats a year for customers including the U.S. military, oil-drilling crews in cold places like Alaska and North Dakota, and utilities. But demand is so high that it's launched a profitable service reselling and refurbishing old machines. E.M. Tucker's grandson, Jeff McNeil, now head of this division, scours Google Earth for abandoned Sno-Cats rusting in backyards that he might be able to acquire and fix up.

2019 Dodge Durango GT Blacktop | Blacked-out family hauler

We recently spent a day at FCA's Chelsea Proving Grounds here in Michigan, and after we had had a little too much fun driving the new 2019 Dodge Durango Pursuit, we took a ride in the updated Durango GT. New for 2019, the GT gets a new front fascia borrowed from its R/T and SRT brethren. It also gets standard LED fog lamps. The optional performance hood is inspired by the SRT model, with a single air duct and two heat extractors. In the rear. In addition to its updated styling, this tester was equipped with the Blacktop package, which gives the sporty new flair a menacing edge. It had glossy black wheels (20-inchers) and mirrors, and blacked-out badges on the exterior. At the rear, it had dual exhaust with bright tips. Inside, out tester featured carbon fiber accents, paddle shifters and a trailer brake control. The Dodge Durango GT is still powered by the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, producing 295 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. It's available in rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations, and can tow up to 6,200 pounds. It shifts gears via an eight-speed automatic transmission. RWD models get 19 mpg city, 26 highway, and AWD models suffer one mpg across the board. Our brief drive reconfirmed what we already knew about the Durango. It's a fun SUV that feels macho yet comfortable. For a vehicle that size, it really is fun to drive, and Dodge did a great job of making it feel like a lifted Charger. It's got plenty of room for the whole family, but you won't have to check your soul at the door. Have a gander at the video above, and be on the lookout for more videos coming from our day at FCA's proving grounds.Related Video:

Lackluster Dodge Dart sales trigger layoffs

Hidden amidst the overall very positive sales figures that Chrysler released earlier this week were a few disappointments, the biggest of which may be the Dodge Dart. While Dodge sales in general were down 11 percent from a year ago, the Dart's poor figures stood out from the rest - with 4,888 units sold, the Dart was down 37 percent in February.
It comes as little surprise, then, that the automaker has announced layoffs at its assembly plant in Belvidere, IL. According to The Daily Herald, Dodge will temporarily lay off 325 workers "to balance vehicle supply with current sales demand." Put more simply, there are more Darts than buyers at the moment...
We don't think the Dodge Dart is a bad car, but it's playing in a market that offers a few standout sellers, like the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. According to AutoPacific analyst Dave Sullivan, as quoted by The Daily Herald, "great incentives on the Dodge Avenger" are also partly to blame for the Dart's poor showing.