VW Amarok - Bikes in Commercials

 Weird how many downvotes you got. I gave you an upvote. This Amarok isn't really any different than a Honda Ridgeline. It's a utility vehicle for 'active-lifestyle' folk. What the hell is wrong with that? You don't see any REI-fleece-wearing dudes try to rally their unibody four- and six-cylinder CUVs in monster truck shows. Just give it all a break. Sheesh. I'm with you. Damn oil companies screwing with the market, all the while getting tax breaks and posting record profits. Screw them.

 As the owner of a 1996 suburban I can say that most american cars (at least GM and Chrysler) are crap. Its the first domestic vehicle I have owned since 1998 and if it wasn't for the room inside I would have much rather gotten an older landcruiser or something. Pre 2005 Toyotas are the shiz and my crappy 95 4runner is leaps and bounds better in quality than any "US" made vehicle (and most of those are made in mexico or Canada). Cars in this country suck. Give me a midsize truck with a small 4cyl diesel that gets 30-40 on the highway. Oh wait, toyota makes one of those too, but they can't bring it into the US because of the insane, literally insane emission standards that the F-Tards in california have forced on the rest of the country. For supposedly being the best country in the world, the powers that be are making sure we won't be that way ever again.

 sngltrkmnd: I am glad someone agrees, and I am not in the LEAST surprised I got downvoted. Just go and check out any photos of trucks on here, and all the 14 year old "experts" making comments like "needs a V8", "you have to do a 350 swap", yada yada. I don't see any of those "straight axle" monsters winning baja rally's or being very useful in everyday driving. I'd rather have a vehicle that maybe can't rock crawl, but at the least can transport my bike/photogear, run A/C and a radio, get 30-35mpg, and still have the cojones to go off the beaten path with some mods (like the old toyotas, diesel landcruisers etc). Thanks for the Upvote!

sortafast: I agree with you. I owned all imports until I bought that (now thankfully sold) 1997 Ford T-bird in my pic gallery..... How can Americans be proud of their auto industry now? (maybe NOW yes, with all the mergers and help from Euro companies, but I mean 80s-90s). The simple fact that my car, with nearly 4 liter V6 had barely more power and much less get-up-n-go than my dad's Toyota Matrix....that's sad.... I will never buy another domestic vehicle, until they start offering things that are on the SAME or higher level as the imports, in terms of quality and price. I have to pretty much pay 2 times as much for an American car, to get the same reliability and quality I get in an equal level Jap/German. (Example: Cadillac vs Lexus, especially in the used market. I could buy a used DTS for like $4500....and have it break... or for the same price, buy a use and perfectly running es300. I'd have to buy a 10K$ DTS to have the same reliability...)

Not sure why...maybe the material standards were lower in American cars. I mean, you don't see many Cavaliers going over 200K km problem free, but my buddy's 99 Civic is still running strong at 340K km.

That's my rant...sorry again! Too much to read! haha

 the efficient european tdi and cdi engines are banned from north america - based on an agreement between the US car lobby and the US government signed after the financial crisis to help the US car companies increase their sales and get back on track.....what a shame!

 plenty of diesels were blocked before the crisis too. I keep praying for the subaru diesel. No luck yet. . .

 I'll stick with my landrover series 2 lightweight

 Actually you guys know nothing about this Aramok. It is NOTHING like the Honda Ridgeline POS or others like it. For one, this Aramok is bad ass. it has an actual truck rear axle instead of crappy ass car suspension. Oh and it has a split body like a real truck, cause it is one, not a unibody ass CUV or whatever crap they are. This Aramok would be comparable to the Nissan Frontier or Toyota Tacoma or even a Chevy Colorado. All great trucks.

 Oh and straight axles can win baja or dakar. look at the bowler wildcat. that thing has solid axles both front and rear and that thing will shred with the best independent suspension baja truck out there and then do some rock crawling on the way home.

 Its even worse when you've lived various places around the world and have SEEN what's out there. I've lived and worked in a cattle ranch in Australia (as well asand being athat former engineboss/opperator of a team of Unimog fire engines) and frankly there is NOTHING made by US auto makers that can touch a 70-series Land Cruiser. Hell my 89 4runner is built WAY tougher then nearly all "full size american trucks" . Whoever compared the Amorak to a Honda is beyond stupid ... its a truck that's built VERY VERY tough, unlike the ridgeline. Until we get diesels in small trucks over here we'll always be behind. Small cars with diesels too. Hybrids are currently a dead end and a marketing gimmick compared to bioo-fuel (aka vegie diesel) tech ... Ugh aside from living in Oregon I HATE the US and it backwards thinking. No wonder the world hates us, I would...

 Oh and Akuria don't forget Jeep-speed trucks or the Dakar heavy truck class... Toyota is KING the world over for a reason... we just don't get to have their other trucks here because nobody would choose an American truck over one... (its hardly an emissions issue as Euro 10 is a higher standard then CARB, the excuse mist often given is actually the "crash standards" they don't meet which is further BS) hell our own troops gave up their GARBAGE AM General Humvee's for Toyota Hi-lux's... at least the early gen 70-series Cruisers are becoming legal to import into the US now, have been for over ten years in Canada. If inly we in the NW (OR, WA, ID, MT + maybe Nor-Cal. seeing as its pretty much Oregon anyway) could just succeed with BC and Alberta and form CASCADIA and leave the BS behind

 Do you feel better?

 I lived in Spain for a year or so... also visit Europe in general to see family.... I want the trucks from there. Trucks, cars, everything seems to have more attention paid to it, when it comes to esthetics and quality...

Oh well...one can dream Guess I'll ride my bike for now!

 well the AMAROK is the truck that it's most balanced with efficient power and utility, if you think it, you have a 2.0 cilinder ride, which is really economic and efficient, and also you have the TDi (turbodiesel) technology, that haves a BITURBO, so it makes it powerful and efficient... now what i'm saying, the amarok is your ride sorry to hear that some gringos cant have it here in chili we have a lot of amaroks

 The-medic, I could deal with no BC. Just form the state of jefferson, google it. Defend the borders from the wayward neo-libs and greentard cultists, legalize machine guns and diesels, get rid of civil liability for trails and doing stupid things then make someone else pay for them, and hold people accountable for their own stupidity. Would be a utopian paradise. Just got to figure out how to deport all those useless hippies in Ashland and we'd be good to go. I call dibs on minister of defense and head of the office of slapping the crap out of sue happy idiots.

 min. 80% of the people driving a big truck, dont need it at all. go anywhere to europe and if you stay there for a month, chances you wont see a single pickup truck are pretty high. why? because you can get almost everything done without them. does a housewife need a truck for grocery shopping? if you look who is driving those cars, seems like in america they do...

 VAG crew assemble

 There is a saying we have in Australia, 'If you want to go Outback, take a Land Rover. If you want to come back, take a Land cruiser.

 I drive a colorado for work. They suck. It is not reliable, powerful, or intelligently designed My company uses all american vehicles and seldom do they survive the job past 50 thousand miles. Our sister comapany uses all tacomas and they generally as still running well past 200 thousand. No one I work with will ever deny that toyotas are better trucks. Simple as that.

 jimlodd: LOVE IT. haha. Land Rovers are notoriously unreliable, from what I have seen first (A few friends owned some older ones - I am NOT including the amazing old ones used on African Safaris. Those seem to be legendary).

taletotell: I was thinking of buying a colorado, simply because they are less expensive.....then I read reviews, and realized they are.....crap? I guess crap is the word. Maybe not TOTAL shite, at least they are smaller....but....crap.

norcofox: exactly. Its the same with bikes. Does that 13 year old who takes 2 foot drops, need a 4K dh bike? Does the guy who edits one or two photos a month need an i7 quad core mac? America/Canada seem to be fascinated with overkill. Always looking at what is the bare minimum, and then instead of going up a level or two for comfort, they go 10X over what's needed.

I mean, simply comparing the VW in the video, and then the Chevy Avalanche.... same style of vehicle....but you just know that EVEN IF GM decided to make a diesel option of an Avalanche style truck, it would be a friggin 6.0L diesel, with the capacity to rip a small neighbourhood off its foundation....you know, just incase you decide to put an extra cooler in the bed, next to your tent and lawn chairs when you go away this weekend, and need the extra power for that...

 adam-mitchell: VAG crew, huh? I don't see myself as a pu$$y. I simply don't see the need to spend more money on gas, to put MY money in the pockets of already wealthy fat, old, white guys and oil rich arab sheiks. I want something that won't destroy my wallet, but that actually has a solid value and is efficient (speaking from the simple "physics" side; being able to generate the same power with half the engine size, etc). I don't like useless trucks. Doesn't mean I am some granola crunching hippie, with dreadlocks. I own guns (legally), I go hunting and shooting, I enjoy muscle cars (Since i know they aren't daily drivers, but rather a "toy" or "hobby", like our bikes etc), I listen to metal, I think tattoos are badass and would love to be a tattoo artist, etc.

Wanting a smaller vehicle, and for the governments here to provide more options for their citizens, does NOT make anyone a Vag. Sorry dude, don't agree

 hahahahahahahaha woah doubledeuce, VAG mean Volkswagen Audi Group... I wasn't calling you a vagina, it's just a phrase for lovers of euro cars, i didn't aim it at anyone anyway, i listen to hardcore, i enjoy muscle cars, i'm 18 in a few weeks and booking in for my first tattoo (big lover of actual art work tattoos not some scabby "MAM" or summut)
I want a smaller car too, i wasn't trying to insult you mate... As I said, VAG means VW/Audi Group

 (i'm a dub fan so...)

 FAIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLL on my end. hahahaha *hides in shame for the next decade*

I seriously thought you meant VAG..... I then thought "wait...they say that overseas in the Uk too? Call people a "vag"?"

VAG as in the Group...yea, awesome! I would LOVE a 4motion Tiguan 2.0T for everyday use .... too expensive though

 that is an unfortunate acronym

 You are so lucky in the USA and Canada, cheap petrol (gas) and diesel plus so many more trucks, pick-us and SUV's to choose from. Why the hell would you want the European stuff? I live in Wales and all the good stuff is not imported so we have to go to a specialist importer and then it's left hand drive!

 @ christiankay: The drive side is a curse that only Britain can fix (by switching ) You can take a train across the channel and pick up a ton of stuff we can't get. And cheap too if the Euro keeps slipping. The trip for you would be the same as me going to New Jersey to get a car, which is not all that unusual.

 LOL Come on England....join us...... left hand drive...mwahahah

Sure, we have a choice os trucks here Christian....they all suck. lol. You can have all the chevy's, just send me one or two Hiluxes

Also...cheap by your standards. THe price in Canada went up like 25% just over 6 months..its crazy!

taletotell is right, with the Euro going down due to instability, you can snag some good deals with your punds/quid, and just get some stuff from mainland EU.

Don't knock what you have. I REALLY want some of the vehicles you have. When I visit family in Eastern Europe, I see all these wickedly cool vehicles that i SERIOUSLY consider importing to Canada. (Golf Country MK 2, etc)

 Christiankay: yeah relative to the ROW (rest of the world) but as I know all too well, we don't get most of the vehicles that make that petroleum worth burning... If I could have brought my HZJ-75 Landcruiser home with me from OZ I'd be the happiest driver on the road around here. I love my Hilux but... I wish I had access to REAL G-wagens and solid axle crew-cab diesel Hi-lux's but instead I'm surrounded by GM and FORD garbage (and not GOOD Ford garbage like a Focus RS or an old COSSY ) that won't see 300k miles of life.

Having been a long time builder of watter cooled VW's I have ALOT of love for them. I WISH we could get the Amorak and REALLY wish we could find even a Syncro MKII Golf. My folks BOTH drive VW's (mom has a diesel Jetta Sport wagon...sick, dad drives a built-by me 82 Caddy -a rabbit pickup - with a 1.8 8V "herron head" very sick and a real head turner) and probably always will. I'm getting ready to build a MKI Rabbit this year so I can take the Toyota out of daily driver status and make it a better expedition/rafting truck.

 I have an 08 4runner and i love it. Goes anywhere.... I have been through mud puddles up past the headlights in 2wd.

 4runner FTW! Got me a 95 with the 22re. Bomb proof, reliable, easy to work on, goes anywhere I would care to go, gets ok mileage and is infinitely better built than my suburban. Guess which one gets driven every where?

 Word, my 89 (1st gen, 22RE) with over 300K on the clock is tighter and more rattle free then my dad's 98 Jeep XJ with 83K on the clock. It's gutless (that'll be remedied by the new 4.88 gears I'm about to drop in the Diff's) but it'll go ANYWHERE (I'm currently running 33x10.50 BFG AT's) AND the fiance and I can sleep in the back of it. Now if I could afford to drop a Jap/Euro spec. 1KZ-Te (3.0L I-4 Turbo Diesel) in it I'd be so happy I'd never want for more. The lack of small diesel's in the US is a MAJOR mistake. Hybrids have potential, but to completely overlook one of the best combustion cycles on the planet is just plain foolish. Thank Mercedes, Volvo and even Toyota Diesel's from the 80's for convincing all my moronic countrymen that "diesel's are smoky, loud and slow". Funny, my mom's TDi Jetta Wagon is FAR from gutless and the Amorak uses the same motor. I will forever be a Toyota and VW man for a reason: they just WORK and they do it all without worrying whether you can update your Facebook status while driving. Seriously, American auto makers seem bound bet and determined to make people feel like they're watching TV, sitting on their couches at home rather then build quality, simplistic vehicles. Something that really has me stumped is that as the worlds finite resources are being diminished, we keep making CARS bigger and bigger with more and more useless gadgets instead of making things simpler and more reliable. Now if we were talking about a vehicle you were driving across the country day in and day out then OK, but why in the HELL do you need a TV in your car to run down to the store and back??? Personally I think it should be illegal for women to drive big suv's and I think that US auto makers should be banned from making them seeing as they're total pieces of shit all around (OK Dodge knows how to make one, but WHY??? who actually NEEDS one of these road hogs??? And let's not confuse NEED with WANT either aye...)

 OK, The-Medic, Exactly! Hybrids are OK I guess, but small diesels is where we should be at. Clean, low emission, high torque/high mileage, smaller displacement diesels. 2.7 TDI in the last Hiluxes I looked into (that was in 2008 I think), and just over 3.0 in "Large utility" trucks. My buddy had a Renault Clio 1.3 Tdi..... 5 of us packed in there, and it still rolled like a champ! Now, I know that's a bit tiny, but more engines like VW's 1.9TDI from the MKiii generation golf/jetta, or the new TDI they have going now... More options like that, in small SUV's, small trucks, etc. Not everyone needs a Monster Chevy 6.0L etc.

 In fact very few people need a big engine. Very few. If people who didn't need the big beasts didn't drive them then the cost of gas would come down since demand would go down and suddenly guys who did need them could afford to drive them and still buy food!

 One problem is that the uneducated are "wowed" by horsepower figures and have NO idea that it takes TORQUE to move an object... reminds me of my VW days when the Honda guys couldn't keep up. An 9000rpm red-line is neat on a track, but a nice flat torque curve starting at 1500rpm will truly "move you" aye... Another problem is that people seem to buy for those 1% moments, rather then what they TRULY need in 99% of their driving... Hence the solo soccer mom with that one tiny kid in the back. That is one of the most maddeningly STUPID things I've ever seen. Always comes down to "well I want my kid to be safe" which translates to: "I'd rather kill someone else's kid when I stop paying attention and inevitably get into a wreck doing my make-up" As a Paramedic/former Firefighter for 13+ years I can tell you I've rolled up to that scene WAY too many times. I can't stress this enough people, DRIVING IS A PRIVLAGE, NOT A RIGHT and a car is more dangerous then a loaded handgun... FAR more idiots own a car, even in the US.

 Taletotell: you're spot on for the most part mate. Problem is, in the US, Diesel is what powers Over the Road trucks (aka "big rigs" and that's why diesel is so comparitivly expensive... our food is delivered on diesel, hell EVERYTHING that builds this country is run off diesel or shipped using it... it's just so sad that were sweeping the best engines under the carpet here aye. But yeah, great points mate. You're right on the money. I wish you were wrong, but you aren't and it all goes hand in hand with the attempt to eliminate the "middle class" aye. It's starting to look like the last days of Rome around here in some parts.

 something neat is coming out from subaru. A new type of hybrid that uses electric motors as a power assist to keep revs down mounted on the drive shaft (meaning rear-wheel drive electric). If done right it should increase torque a ton and even give the hybrid some towing capacity! A full sized engine, plus an electric motor working at the same time instead of one or the other. I look forward to seeing it.

 www.motorauthority.com/news/1035949_more-details-for-2009-subaru-hybrid-tourer-concept

 I am so happy to see that there are many intelligent people on pinkbike! I was starting to think it was becoming the days of Barbaric pillaging on here, at times. Barbarians always burned libraries and use brute force to command respect. Sort of like all those 14 year olds on here that comment "That's g@y" or whatever. Happy to see this has become a solid discussion!

As for the arguments, as you said Medic, 9K rpm honda's with some track built k20a2 engine are all fun on a course/track day, but on the street, they are inefficient, since you REALLY have to push them hard to get that edge, hence costing you in that nice and pricey premium gas! (I see guys all the time, trying to do that here. My friend had a mazda6 with the 3.0L v6 (overkill, but that was his choice - I had a 2.3 and it was fine), and he would have some tuner pull up next to him at a light. To try and show off, the guy would try to be the first off the line, and to cut us off.... and he never could. You'd hear his little civic wailing, Vtec kicking in, and my friend's torque would just win out every time. (NOT racing, just aggressive city driving/merging etc. Trying NOT to allow the idiots to cut you off).

Same goes for the comment on the elimination of the middle class, and all this oil lobby/gas promotion (vs diesel) in America. It all ties together. People tend to think that "Oh, Gad prices are just that way, because ________ (excuse they heard on Fox "news")", when in reality, its a very well orchestrated "play" so to speak. Each character knows what they want, and they all help one another etc.

If it truly were a free market, with no manipulation, we would be leap years ahead. There was a quote somewhere that, if the world used all the money it spends on war and war development, and put it towards R&D, we would in the year 2030, technology wise.

sad.

 Word... Good stuff guys. And thanks Doubleduce. This site is an odd conglomerate (kind of a given with the nature of the internet in general and the HUGE number of riders who use this site. It's SO VERY different from the old days (in good and bad ways, but I still am a member of NSMB.com for a reason aye ) but in general, I find that even through all the moronic groms (and that's not totaly fair as there are lots of GREAT young/er guys/gals on here who are wise beyond their years and very great guys/gals), the "strictly XC and trail" guys, the old dudes who just discovered the sport and are now experts simply because they're older etc... There are LOTS of great people here (and even in those categories I so blatantly stereotyped, again,.there are some great folks. Unfortunately with that sheer volume I mentioned these people are actually the exception, not the rule to the average user type and so you end up having to spend an inordinate ammount of time reading posts and "getting to know people as well as you can on the net. I myself am sure I come off as a blow hard "I was there creating the beginings of this sport" kinda guy with a big mouth (hell, I'm a Red-headed Aries and in fact I WAS around building at the very begining but still...) I know that i need to close my mouth and open my ears/eyes more, but we are who we are and our bad habbits will eventualy shine through aye . In keeping with my "Science IS my religion" type of views, I try to learn something new every day and keep that knowledge for a multitude of reasons and for that purpose this site is great. While the XC/Trail segment is something I'm not likely to really get into it (my "XC Bike" is a large 200? Spec. Ps with a 40mm stem and 2.35" tires and I'm happy to ride anywhere on it if I have to go up or flat out for miles on end without a nice pitch to get me moving aye) doesn't mean that I might not learn something that I can apply to my own riding from their perspective...

 ...Basically Pinkbike is a great resource for all kind of things including meeting cool "web-acquaintances" and who knows... I live in a great riding Mecca so on occasion I get lucky and actually get to ride with folks I've met here and really, even after all the fancy Photos and movies, the reviews of bikes I'll never be able to afford (but still love to read about aye.) etc... getting to get out on the trail with new and old friends and seeing the faces on people when they have a truly GREAT run, wherever it might be, is really "what it's all about aye" and for that reason, my truck is always available for shuttling and I'm always welcome to meet up with anyone who's traveling through if they want to ride... After 24 years of mountain biking (and 29 years of riding) I've found that even people I didn't think I liked became great friends after a day of riding and all the associated trials and tribulations that arise, people show their true selves and friendships develop and that to me is an awesome thing. Example: I had a dude break his leg BAD one time up on Mt. hood in the middle of a rip down the VERY LONG rip of the Glade trail. Thing is, we'd met outside of riding and I really didn't get on with the dude and was kinda not to stoked to ride with him... BUT, being a paramedic and a wilderness EMT I felt it was my job to make sure we got him out safe and so we rigged up a litter and some traction out of some sticks and rocks and duct-tape and we his bike and another to "roll him out"... so after 3 hours of this guy in excruciting pain and me trying to just make him feel better and calm him down he turned out to be a great friend that I still ride with (and got into rafting too, one of my other big loves.)

 Taletotell: Check out Porsche's new "918" concept rig. And like you're saying, a small diesel engine running a generator at a steady RPM and powering 4 electric motors (one at each corner) has IMMENSE potential. Especially given how AWFUL for the environment modern battery technology is, this out to be the way we're looking. People seem to forget that a battery is a THING just like gasoline is and the materials needed to produce the large batteries that things like the Prius run on are indeed a VERY FINITE resource. The Lithium used is found in fewer places on earth then oil is and the process for retrieving it is pretty shocking. It always makes me laugh when you see these sanctimonious people driving Prius's with bumper stickers about how green they are etc. and I'm sitting in a 23 year-old vehicle that's still on the road. Also, nobody ever seems to consider how plug-in-hybrids/EV's GET THAT ELECTRICITY... Power plants can be EXTREMELY polluting so increasing the electrical grids needs means greater polution from said power plants. I always love driving up the Colombia River Gorge and seeing those giant wind turbines spinning away... Bringing it back to my original point, a small diesel run like an implement power source (meaning not revving in relation to the car's accelerator, but just spinning along at 1000rpm unless the electricity need dictates an increase) and powering 4-wheel electric motors would be UNREAL in the power department because of the way electric motors make their torque from 0 Rpm... you could have a very small battery to be used as a capacitor of sorts (an electric "gas tank" if you will) and to allow for regenerative braking power to be reintroduced into the car's "energy grid".

 ...In Australia, out on the cattle station, we had these really rudimentary diesel pump motors to get water pressure to feed the water tanks up the line and at higher elevations. We could run those motors for like 4 days from sun up to sun down on like 3 gallons of fuel. It'd also be awesome for 4wd's because instead of lockers/axles, you could have MASSIVE clearance with big long-travel A-arms and the ability to individually power each wheel exactly how they needed to be to get up/over things. Caterpillar already is making large heavy equipment that uses this technology and it's unbelievable how much the fuel economy goes up in those giant tractors... They're a Portland Company and I've gotten to see them in action, they're amazing.

 OH and Doubleduce: Almost forgot (yeah seriously, after all that blathering there's more... sorry )
You sir are spot on about the track habits of those cars... An S2000 can be SO much fun on a track (especially when they're either turbo or super-charged so they have good torque for slow corners) What you're really seeing with your 2.3 motor is that your lowered front end weight and better Front/Rear weight distribution give you more neutral handling and that means you can carry more speed through corners. Plus Those 2.3 Turbo's (once you get good about smooth throtle application to quell the torque steer) have a GREAT torque band and a quite snappy. It's like Audi's have been forever, the V6 might put out SLIGHTLY more power, but the Turbo motors have better power spreads and torque curves and can be tweaked easier without cracking the block AND they're substantially lighter over the front wheels so they handle better. I grew up racing an 83 VW Rabbit with a nice little 1.8 16V screamer in it wiht big valves and a great torque band PLUS it weighed like 1400lbs on the start line and i could go into corners and brake WAY deeper then guys in Ferrari's and 911's (I'd get blown away on the straights but in the corners I was untouchable...) Always LOVED seeing those guys faces and I zinged by them into the corner

 VOLKSWAGEN das auto. germans kill it

 That's just cause you can GET all those awesome vehicles that we need so desperatly in the US. Fiat Panda (and the 4x4 version Toyota HZJ-75 Troupy but instead we just get bloated road hogging machines we don't need cause it'd be "unamerican" for us to be conciencous about our consumption. but yeah, the bikes sure do looks sexy too.

 looks like a beaver o.O

 I think it gets run over.

 what, you've never heard of a fish geiser before? pretty common

 i think its just grass guys...

 Or ice...

 Husky360 is on the right track, it's simply ice breaking up!

 I think it's ice....

 its ice

 Good work men! We should be a detective team

 ice.

 phewwww... thank god it's just ice

 holy sh*t they got an emuchuck on tape!
thanks for pointing that out for me guys

 protectionism. not your fault. and I think Canada's choices are worse.

 we actually have cars built right here in Canada called the ZENN (Zero Emissions No Noise)...it's made in Quebec....Cost approx $12,000...but get this,,,it's illegal to sell in Canada but it's legal in the USA and all over the World !!!...we really do have a stupid government...


www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri2BG2qOvCg

 Whats funny - we cant sell those cars in canada, but we will sell our oil rights to american companies so they can take that oil and then sell it back to us :S. But a Canadian company appears that is producing zero emmissions car and we wont have anything to do with it. FastDHR i totally agree with you about our goverment.

 I love it, too. I don't need a Trail-Rated Jeep or a TRD Hilux. Just gimme a pickup bed for muddy bikes and some interior space, with the frugality of a diesel. I'd happily drive this thing.

 This is the car that VW uses as their Dakar Rally Support Car. (The toughest rally in the world) They have won 3 times in a row. It only took one.

 *Support vehicle....

 Yeah sorry, it was late and I'm sick. After spelling it wrong 4 times I decided to just go with car. Haha

 No worries man, that was directed at Rideonjon, who missed the point. Chase car/vehicle, who cares haha.

 i think its fair to critique oil company lobbying and massive self-interested entities such as OPEC and the (small) variety of massive multinational oil companies which are both willing and able to profiteer from unethical business practice on a massive scale. However, almost all such industries are highly unethical in practice. One thing I think we should all take issue with is the fact that oil companies can misuse power, that they shouldn't have to begin, to play god with human technological progress. IE: they stifle R&D and marketing for more efficient fuel and 'clean' fuel sources. I strongly feel that if it weren't for the geopolitical and financial cluster-f*ck of dependency that petroleum as a key resource breeds, we would have had greatly accelerated developments in energy technology over the past several decades. Boils down to this I guess: we could not live without petroleum in this day and age, but that doesn't make abuse of power, unethical business practice and favoring 'personal' (company) profit over the advancement of the entire human race.

 Have you seen said companies budgets? Find me a company pouring more money into alternative energy sources R&D than any of the large oil companies and I'll buy your dinner! We have a free market in the U.S., the beauty of Capitalism is that when when there is a clear better option than the status quo, the market will handle it itself!

 hcole, the need to design and create more efficient, more useful, less extravagant/luxurious vehicles has been known to the US auto industry for at least 40 years. Don't apologize for them by saying they have a huge budget now. If they had got onto this issue when it was known, there would have been no need to balloon the budget last-minute.

Auto mfrs are not ecologically responsible -- they are responsible only to deliver profits to the shareholders and the officers, directors, executives who pay themselves handsomely. Stop playing PR on pinkbike. This isn't a PR platform.

US automakers always threaten the US Congress with "we'll close plants and you'll lose jobs" whenever enviro standards are discussed. John Dingell of Michigan was famous for his "Dingell-grams" that he would send to US EPA staff, using all kinds of economic blackmail to avoid environmental stewardship responsibilities.

Take your PR and stuff it, bro.

 hcole, have you ever heard of nations such as venezuela, nigeria, libya, iraq, ect? this is a serious question! there are a lot of pseudo-analysis/activists who are willing to spew out crap about the man....but when it comes to industries with such an obscene amount of political and economic influence (well...petroleum is the only REAL example here), yeah, i think just about everyone should have a damn problem with their set of industry "ethics" and practices. Last I checked, "love it or leave it" was considered outdated and one can openly critique what they view as wholly immoral. Now you tell me they fund R&D for clean energy...because their budget is obscenely f*cking huge. The same damn way that you'll find Phillip Morris funding some of the biggest "anti-smoking" campaigns. Now I didn't say most effective, just biggest! Big oil can maintain control of their market by throwing the environmentally conscious agencies and individuals a bone. Their version of R&D consists of throwing excess cash (that isn't being turned into horrifically large bonuses and raises for their CEO's and boards of directors) at labs and institutions and publicly advertising their "commitment" to clean energy...all the while lobbying for less restrictions on emissions and extraction and more restrictions regarding imports and subsidies for clean transportation tech, not to mention that so long as they have such a powerful lobby and hand in the global market, we will be pretty damn much unable to make any large scale infrastructural switch to accommodate clean energy! You know why? But you know what, if it half-assed works for now, why the f*ck should we change it? Hell, no reason trying to find something sustainable or efficient if it can turn a buck now!

 The big picture is: Excess production diesel gets shipped from the US to Europe, gas viceversa. This is how to cope with limited refinery capacities and maximise profit.

"Clean" directinjection diesel, like in an Amarok, combustion process is producing very fine and very hazardous exhaust.

A small diesel is extremely maintenance intensive and expensive to run especially since environmental law make complex electronically controlled automatic transmissions mandatory. A clean and simple normaly aspirated gasengine has none of these problems. VW small diesel last around 100kMiles.

1l of gas has about 15% less energy than 1l of diesel. This gives a seeming economic edge of diesel over regular gas when there is in fact N O N E.

The formfactor for small pickups is clear: S-10, Tacoma, Colorado, etc: Chaindriven 4 cyl, 5 speed manual, ladderframe, rear rigid axle. Silverado is one up in complexity and comfort - consumergrade but definitely not a durable worktruck. 1ts are done by Land Rover and Toyota.

 Wakaba. You're an idiot

 This is the car that VW uses as their Dakar Rally Support Car. (The toughest rally in the world) They have won 3 times in a row. This is no SUV with the back cut off.

 we got it.... stop repeating you self... its still a VW

 Google VW Taro.

 With all the hate going on in here I wanted to make sure of it.

 Rode off the pickup better than this guy ------> www.pinkbike.com/video/54929

 yah and needs gas like a tank. but who cares. every idiot needs a pickup and even every woman needs
a pickup to go grocery shopping in america...right?!

...just saying.

 I don't know any F150s that get 30mpg though. I like this truck, and wish they'd bring it to the States. (Riding jeans though? nish nish)

 well, at least you could throw the VW in the back of the F-150 when it breaks somewhere down the trail...

 naturally occurring fish geiser

 First car!?

 You realise they're upwards of 40 grand here in Aus?
First car i seriously doubt it

 Daddy, it's the wrong colour. I can't believe this, it's so unfair.

 Dude life is unfair, you can drive at 16 and dont need issuance in aus. If he can get that as his first car then why should we care ?

 Why my first car is a landrover series 2 lightweight?
And yes I pay for everything my self.

 Mines a 1989 Subaru Legacy tdi with 3wd at the min. Bitches cant get enough....

 Your retarded if you think you can drive without insurance. Most states you cant drive unsupervised until your 18..., with the minimum being 17

 In 4 years time

 *and the base model

 Sorry my bad thats what i was lead to believe by an australian, my point is that we live i a capitalist world were if you (or your parents) have the money you can by pretty much anything. That just how it is.

 Magic!!

 that rider has some crazy bike control to keep it up without being on the bike

 there was a camouflaged dwarf holding the wheel...

 Jammed it under a horizontal bar at end of bed.

 sorry worm ,my shit phone negged you -_-
Was ment to be positive

 apology accepted, lucky though, I was just about to send the dwarf around...

 All while riding in the Midlands or Wales?
'Merrica! F&^% yeah!

 My Nissan Navara does just fine, you're just doing it wrong

 And swap helmets mid ride -_-

 I think you mean LR3.

 Is that the same Craig Lee Scott that was the best 20 inches street trials rider i ever seen?

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjjpndoAJYI
Insane video...

 Yes it is!!

 Bed extender FTW