What Will They Think of Next?
About the only feature above and beyond the normal stuff we had encountered so far was a small, but angrily attention-getting blinking light, basically the same symbol as used for slippery roads on road signs. This introduction took place a few days earlier a few blocks from the palatial Truck Trend offices when we purposely went around a street corner a bit sideways in order to get a feel for the vehicle. And, yes, it was raining then, too.
Most everything has both a...
Most everything has both a bright and a dark side. Being able to tow 6000 pounds in relative safety with a half-ton pickup is great. To have fuel costs comparable to an 18-wheeler’s when doing so isn’t. While equipped with everything needed for towing, this Lariat is better off used sparingly for pulling trailers.
So, in an unfamiliar vehicle, while merrily sliding along around a bend in pouring rain, this panic light on the dash goes off. Yikes! We lost oil pressure. Or at the very least the engine had decided to lose all its coolant midway through the turn. Or the tranny just puked its guts through a hole in the pan. Luckily, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, while we had concentrated our attention on vehicle dynamics in an effort to learn the pickup’s traits, this obnoxious blinking light scared the crap out of us when all it was really saying was that we were going a little sideways. Well, DUH! We already knew that. So what’s next? A dash light that confirms that the wipers are on?!?
Getting Up in the World
Ascending the infamous Cajon grade along I-15 proved beyond a doubt that the 300-plus horses emitting from the three-valve V-8 were plenty capable of hauling this vehicle combination up long grades, at least when whipped hard enough by the pedal on the right. Available power was far beyond adequate on a section so foggy that 20 mph was going way too fast, and even when using only the foglights had us wondering where the appropriately named fog line was hiding out. Did we mention that it was a dark and stormy night?
As daylight eventually saw fit to greet us, there was more time to ponder the spacious interior and its accoutrements. Frankly, what else could you amuse yourself with while on the I-40 between Barstow and Needles? Counting gas stations certainly isn’t going to cut it, as there aren’t any.