Ford rolls out F-150 pickup for police, fire
Honda to recall 50,000 2012 Civics for half-shafts
Only a week after unveiling the newly refreshed 2013 F-150 pickup, Ford has released a look at the version it will make for police and fire departments. You won’t likely see it used for patrol — it will most likely get assigned more mundane tasks — but it can be decked out with lights and siren and comes equipped to handle hardcore police and fire work.
“Our fleet customers have been asking us to create this option for F-Series trucks,” said Ford Government Sales Manager Tony Gratson in a statement. “We’re confident the current and updated 2013 F-150 equipped with the SSV Package will be of particular interest to our government customers with rugged jobs such as law enforcement, firefighting, and national and state park patrols.”
It has features that separate it from your average pickup, including a high- capacity 220-amp alternator to handle lights, siren, radios, computers and other heavy electricity draws.
It will be available in most F-150 versions — SuperCab or SuperCrew cab, rear- or four-wheel drive — and with powertrains including the 5-liter V-8 or 3.5-liter turbocharged V-6 engines.
2012 Honda Civic recalled
Honda has recalled about 50,000 of its new-generation 2012 Civics in the U.S. because driveshafts might separate from the wheels.
The automaker says the driver’s side shaft, also called a half-shaft, between the transmission and wheel might have been put together improperly and could fail, separating it from the constant-velocity joint that connects the shaft to the wheel.
Honda says that if that happens while the car’s in motion, it will lose power and coast to a stop because the engine’s no longer connected to the wheels. If you park the car after a failure, it could roll away if you only put the gear lever in “park” and don’t set the parking brake.
Honda says it knows of no crashes or injuries related to this issue. Recall letters will go out to owners later this month and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the left driveshaft.
Owners can go to www.recalls .honda.com or call 800-999-1009 and select option 4 to check on their car.