Win With Miller
As part of its "Connect With Miller and Win" campaign, Miller Electric will give away a welding or plasma-cutting package valued at over $2,700 to a randomly selected entrant. Three additional winners will each receive an iPod Touch. The Grand Prize welding or plasma-cutting package includes the choice of a Millermatic 211 Auto Set MIG welder, a Diversion 165 TIG welder or a Spectrum 375 X-TREME plasma cutter. The winner will also receive an ArcStation welding workbench, a Performance Series auto-darkening welding helmet, an Arc Armor combo welding jacket, a pair of MIG, TIG, and Metalworker gloves, plus an iPod Touch. Miller eNewsletters, mailed up to eight times annually, provide readers with expert advice that can improve their welding activity, including technical articles, how-to videos, business and management advice, and application stories. You can enter by visiting www.millerwelds.com/connectwithmiller, and sign up for the eNewsletter best suited to you: DIY, PRO, or Instructor.
Super Duty Gets Some Sting
Ford's all new 6.7L Power Stroke turbodiesel, known by the code name "Scorpion" during development, looks like it is going to be quite the improvement over the outgoing Navistar-sourced 6.4L turbodiesel. Ford recently announced that the power rating for the 6.7L, which was developed in-house, will be an impressive 390 horsepower and 735 lb-ft of torque. The 6.2L V-8, which replaces the 5.4L V-8 and 6.8L V-10 modular Triton motors, will split the difference in power rating with 385 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque. A properly equipped F-450 model will be able to tow 24,400 pounds of trailer.
Quick Hits
Ford's 2011 Super Duty will start at $28,995; the diesel option will set you back almost $8,000.
The 2012 Durango-replacement will be based on the Grand Cherokee's unibody platform and might be renamed "Magnum."
Following Ford's lead, the Chevy Colorado and GM Canyon may not be replaced when production ends in 2011.
Rancho Announces Extreme Deal
The Rancho performance shock and suspension brand of Tenneco is sponsoring a consumer promotion: The Rancho "Extreme Deal" program, which will award Visa pre-paid debit cards of up to $500 in value to qualifying entrants. The Rancho "Extreme Deal" promotion will run March 1 through August 31, 2010, and participants will become eligible to win the debit card when they purchase a qualifying Rancho suspension system and four Rancho RS9000XL shocks. Rancho products are covered by a limited lifetime warranty. Rancho RS9000XL shocks are also covered by an exclusive 90-day performance guarantee, an offer that lets enthusiasts try the Rancho product for 90 days. Consumers can return the product within 90 days for a full refund of its purchase price. All completed rebate forms and copied sales receipts must be postmarked by October 1, 2010. Additional restrictions apply and can be found at www.gorancho.com.
Land Use Notes
EPA Sets Tougher Nitrogen Dioxide Standard
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tightened the one-hour standard for measuring emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), but left the annual standard unchanged. The long-term exposure remains at a maximum of 53 parts per billion (ppb), while an acceptable short-term exposure limit is now 100 ppb. Short-term concentrations of NO2 were previously allowed to range from 100 to 200 ppb.
The EPA believes NO2 exposure has been linked to respiratory problems. The primary man-made sources for NO2 are motor vehicles, coal-burning power plants and factories. According to the EPA, all areas of the country currently meet the existing annual air-quality standard, and ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide dropped 41 percent between 1980 and 2006. The agency will now, however, require more monitors along busy roads and in large urban areas by 2013. It will then collect data for several years to determine which areas are not in compliance with the new standard and whether additional steps are necessary to reduce emissions.