Latest news with #pickups
WIRED
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- WIRED
The Ford Ranger Plug-In Hybrid Has Arrived in Rugged Style
Fitness for purpose. Take a deftly aimed power tool to all the marketing flim-flam, and you can't go far wrong with that mantra. There's no messing around when it comes to a pick-up truck, a vehicle that has a clear job to do, and in most cases does it admirably. Except that even this segment isn't immune to mission creep, and these hardy vehicles are now expected to double as workhorse and acceptable all-round family transport. The Ford F-150 may typify the breed, but outside of the US the Ranger has been in active duty for more than 40 years. A global player since 2011, it sells in 180 territories worldwide, and is particularly dominant in the European pick-up market. But get this, 80 percent of the Rangers sold in the UK last year were in Wildtrak spec, the version that swaddles the hard plastics in leather and ladles on the decals. It's—deep breath—a genuine lifestyle vehicle, beloved by the sort of buyers who actually do stuff rather than just think about it. Now, at last, there's an electrified version, though we're talking hybrid rather than the whole enchilada. Ford sells the fully electric Lightning in the US, where it's locked in battle with Tesla's Cybertruck (though neither is setting the sales chart aflame), but this is the closest Brits are going to get for the foreseeable at least. Only Chinese maker Maxus sells an electric pick-up in the UK, a vehicle we wouldn't recommend, and Toyota's indestructible Hi-Lux makes do with a mild hybrid setup. This makes the Ranger PHEV a significant new arrival. It shares its platform hardware with the VW Amarok, and is manufactured in Ford's Silverton plant in South Africa. Until now, engine options have been limited to a 2.0-liter petrol or 3.0-liter diesel. The new car uses Ford's excellent 2.3-liter 'Ecoboost' turbo petrol unit (as previously seen in the Focus and Mustang), bolstered by a 75-kW (100-bhp) electric motor, packaged within the bell-housing of the 10-speed automatic transmission. Pick-Up Philosophy It's fed by an 11.8-kWh battery (usable) that sits under the Ranger's load bed. Despite its compact size, that still necessitated modifications to the vehicle's ladder frame chassis, resulting in a 20-millimeter bulge. (It has a 1-metric-ton payload and can accommodate a Euro pallet between the wheelhouses.) An electronically controlled clutch engages and disengages the e-motor and combustion engine, switching between petrol, hybrid, and electric propulsion. Visual differences are limited to a second filler flap on the near-side rear wing, with a lightning bolt logo on it, which hides the charging port for the battery. On a 7-kW wall charger, it takes about 2.5 hours to charge. Here's how it works. EV Auto is the default setting, blending electric and petrol power in a way best suited to everyday use, or if you're towing or lugging a heavy load. EV Now does what it says: This is for electric driving only, Ford claiming a range of around 26 miles (WLTP). EV Later allows the driver to store electric energy, particularly useful if you're heading into the city or a zero-emission zone. Finally, there's EV Charge, which sees the petrol engine charge the high-voltage battery, though it won't top it up by all that much. In addition to those, the PHEV maintains the driving modes used in extant Ranger models: Normal, Eco, Slippery, Tow/Haul, Mud/Ruts, and Sand. This new Ranger variant is clearly messing with the sacred strictures of the pick-up philosophy.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Larry DiMarzio decided to start a pickup line that would change the face of guitar music in the 1970s
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The surname 'DiMarzio' is now inextricably linked to the DiMarzio brand, one of the world's leading electric guitar pickup firms. Larry DiMarzio, the man behind it all, started his career as a guitar repairman in New York in the early 1970s, before his keen ears and business acumen noticed that there was a gap in the market: pickups that delivered even greater tone. 'I started working at the Guitar Lab around '71 or '72,' he tells Guitarist. 'I was going to work at a professional guitar shop around the corner of 48th Street [in New York City] and I suddenly had access to tons of guitars that were coming through the shop for repair. Or I'd go down to Manny's, pick up a Stratocaster, and say, 'This is like a dead tuna,' you know?' As DiMarzio asserts, 'Pickups seemed to be the way to compensate for the shortcomings of new guitars. When I first started working on pickups, the first pickup that got built was a Strat pickup just because I had Strats at the time.' Lo and behold, DiMarzio created the now-iconic FS-1 pickup, a replacement for the stock Fender Strat bridge pickup – and some pretty well-known guitarists flocked to it, including early adopter David Gilmour. Later, Earl Slick, Ace Frehley, Al Di Meola, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons all became associated with the fledgling DiMarzio brand. 'I had this fabulous old Telecaster. It was very acoustic and it rang beautifully. But it wasn't the sound that I was hearing on Eric Clapton records,' DiMarzio replies when asked how the idea for the FS-1 pickup came about. 'Being in the city with a lot of professional players, you quickly learn that – like the pros did – you could figure out hardware that worked in certain ways. 'The first solution that I came up with was, of course, to increase the output of the Stratocaster pickup. But I also EQ'd it in a different way. If you're playing in clubs, there are common problems, so what rapidly happened was – and as you said, which was spot on, I was a guitar repairman – people came in and wanted them, which eventually led to me opening my own shop.' Another of DiMarzio's inventions was the Super Distortion humbucker pickup, designed to perfectly fit into the standard Gibson humbucker mounting – creating a more-than-worthy opponent for run-of-the-mill 'buckers. For more Larry DiMarzio, plus new interviews with Bob Mould and Scott Gorham, pick up issue 525 of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.
