Tag Archives: Desert Storm

Automobiles

Auctions: eBay Find of the Day: 1987 Glenfrome Facet hides its Land Rover identity well

Leave a comment

By Seyth Miersma

1987 Glenfrome Facet - Dramatically rebodied Land Rover Range Rover - eBay photo

Filed under:

You’ll get to keep your Car Guy membership card even if you haven’t heard of Glenfrome of England. The company was founded in the 1970s and made some noise in the 1980s with rebodied Land Rover Range Rover creations that were, to be charitable, weird as hell. The mid-Eighties marked out a high-water point for the coachbuilders, as Glenfrome turned out six-door limos, open-backed and stair-equipped versions for reviewing military exercises (no kidding) and the utterly inscrutable Glenfrome Facet that you see before you.

Nothing makes sense about this eBay Motors listing for a 1987 Glenfrome Facet Convertible. Nothing. Its styling suggests the historically and biologically impossible progeny of a Lamborghini LM002, an Isuzu Amigo and a Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. Its pedigree suggests that it should be in the deepest reaches of some Saudi’s car warehouse, not parked in a driveway in South Carolina. And its rose metallic paint over burgundy leather interior does not conceptually jive with the Desert Storm tribute on its spare tire cover. Based on the pictures here, we’re guessing that the digital camera employed is from roughly the same vintage as the vehicle, too.

Rather than fight it, however, we’ve decided to treasure the uniqueness of finding this “Crown Prince of Saudi” Range Rover redo up for sale right here in the US. Though far from vouching for the provenance of the Facet, we suspect that this vehicle is so rare and weird that is must, almost certainly, be the real deal. Whether or not that likely validity makes it worth $52,000 (the current Buy It Now price on the listing) is another story entirely. Caveat Emptor.

eBay Find of the Day: 1987 Glenfrome Facet hides its Land Rover identity well originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Quick Spin: 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Supercrew

Leave a comment

By Michael Harley

Filed under:

I’m not normally a pickup kind of guy, but the 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor won me over nearly instantly. The street-legal trophy truck – there is really no other way to accurately describe it – is big, brawny and incredibly capable. Let’s just say it’s every bit the monster it visually portrays. I spent a week pretending I was one of Ford’s Baja 1000 drivers, but lacking desert sand, I headed into the local mountains where a mild winter storm had dropped a couple inches of fresh snow on my favorite off-road park. The Ford was, for the most part, practically unstoppable.

Ford offers its SVT Raptor package on Supercab and Supercrew platforms with the five-foot, five-inch bed. The Supercrew I tested rides on a 144-inch wheelbase (about a foot longer than the Supercab). In addition to its cosmetic differences when compared to the standard F-150 – there isn’t a young boy on the planet who doesn’t think the matte black Ford grille is cool – the Raptor has a 73.6-inch track – nearly seven inches wider than the track on the standard F-150.

After upgrading the F-150 SVT Raptor significantly for the 2012 model year, there are only a few changes for 2013. The list includes standard high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, Hill Descent Control, forged beadlock-capable wheels, and the new matte Terrain color (aka “Desert Storm“) option seen on my test model.

Driving Notes

  • The SVT Raptor grabs plenty of attention whether driving through a grocery store parking lot or bounding down the highway. Physically massive, it is amusing to watch other drivers move out of its way – nobody even considered cutting me off. Opinions were split on the new Terrain color. People either liked it or hated it. I liked it, as it hid dirt impressively well and it was a nice contrast to the trim and optional graphics without being overly loud like the Race Red or Blue Flame.
  • Nobody will question the power coming from the big-bore 6.2-liter V8. Its exhaust note is frightening, but so is its fuel consumption. I missed the EPA‘s ratings by a long shot, never seeing double digits around town. In fact, I found it challenging to hit 13 miles per gallon on the open highway. The six-speed transmission is sturdy and only about average when it comes to smoothness, though it never skipped a beat.
  • The commanding view, comfortable seats, spacious cab and kitchen-like storage space made the Supercrew very popular with passengers. The additional row of three-passenger seating, easily accessible through the second set of full-size doors, seemed to provide more legroom than an airport shuttle Lincoln Town Car. I found the backup camera a lifesaver, as I often had no idea what those LT315/70R17 All-Terrain tires were rolling over. The Raptor needs an all-around camera system (and, why can’t the excellent front-facing camera work during parking maneuvers?)
  • Off-road, the Raptor was …read more
    Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
News, Politics, Government

'Stormin' Norman' Gen. Schwarzkopf to be buried at West Point

Leave a comment

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the no-nonsense Desert Storm commander famously nicknamed “Stormin’ Norman,” will be buried at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

A memorial service for Schwarzkopf will be held at the academy’s chapel Thursday afternoon and his remains will be buried afterward at the cemetery on the grounds of the storied military institution.

Schwarzkopf commanded the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein‘s forces out of Kuwait in 1991. He was 78 when he died in Tampa on Dec. 27 of complications from pneumonia.

Schwarzkopf graduated from West Point in 1956 and later served two tours in Vietnam, first as an adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army’s Americal Division. While many disillusioned career officers left the military after the war, Schwarzkopf stayed to helped usher in institutional reforms. He was named commander in chief of U.S. Central Command at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base in 1988.

The general’s “Stormin’ Norman” nickname became popular in the lead-up to Operation Desert Storm, the six-week aerial campaign that climaxed with a massive ground offensive Feb. 24-28, 1991. Iraqis were routed from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.

Schwarzkopf spent his retirement years in Tampa. While he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000, Schwarzkopf maintained a low profile in the public debate over the second Gulf War against Iraq.

Schwarzkopf will be buried near his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police. The academy cemetery also holds the remains of such notable military figures as Gen. William Westmoreland, Lt. Col. George Custer and 1st Lt. Laura Walker, who became the first female graduate killed in action when she died in 2005 in Afghanistan.

Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Army veteran's kind last act comforts grieving family

Leave a comment

After watching their son survive a pair of military stints in Kuwait and Afghanistan, Andrew Steiner‘s parents were devastated when he was killed helping the victims of a minor Brown County traffic crash last month. But Douglas and Nicole Steiner took solace in one fact: Steiner died the way he lived, helping other people.

Andrew Steiner, a 26-year-old U.S. Army reservist, was driving to Howard just after midnight Jan. 27 when he and a friend came upon the scene of a minor crash. As they checked on the vehicles’ occupants, another vehicle slammed into the wreckage, launching Steiner over an overpass railing about 30 feet away.

He was hospitalized with broken bones and severed arteries, injuries that eventually took his life, according to a Green Bay Press-Gazette report.

“Andy was just doing what Andy does,” Douglas Steiner said. “He cares.”

Andrew Steiner‘s funeral Friday featured a full military send-off, with fellow members of his reserve unit, Desert Storm veterans and members of the Patriot Guard paying their respects and recalling his work overseas.

The military presence, along with warm messages on Steiner’s Facebook page, brought comfort to the family, his parents said.

“These days, you hear about young people dying from drugs, alcohol, suicide,” Douglas Steiner said. “Andy was trying to do something good, because he had a warm heart. And people who didn’t even know him have been giving us warm thoughts. I think that helps.”

Andrew Steiner and his friend, Matt Miller, were driving to meet Steiner’s parents when they came upon the crash scene. They nearly crashed into one of the disabled vehicles themselves, Miller said.

Steiner turned on his truck’s flashers to warn oncoming motorists, and then he and Miller got out to check on the vehicle occupants. No one was seriously hurt, but both vehicles were absolutely dark and nearly invisible. Two vehicles that whizzed by narrowly missed them, but a third crashed into one of the disabled vehicles, shoving it into the two men.

“It’s sad that the other cars that were zipping through didn’t stop,” Douglas Steiner said.

“Especially after almost hitting me,” Miller said.

Miller suffered a bruised hip, but Steiner’s injuries were clearly life-threatening.

“It was a rough week . watching him battle to try to stay alive, where one minute he seems OK and the next he’s going downhill again,” Douglas Steiner said. “It got worse and worse.”

Andrew Steiner had enlisted in the reserves in 2006, two years after he graduated from high school. He was recently promoted to sergeant.

While his death left his family and friends devastated, Steiner’s parents took comfort that their son’s last act was one of compassion.

“We’re proud of him,” Douglas Steiner said. “The fact is, Andy is deceased because he was trying to do something good. I wouldn’t look at this any different than if Andy was overseas and his life was taken there.”

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News