Bathtubs on Wheels

For the thrill-seeking car driver whose appetite for concrete and asphalt has become jaded, modern technology provides a variety of alternatives. First came the dune buggy, which can bounce merrily across rolling beaches. Then the snowmobile made its appearance, giving drivers breathtaking access to wintry fields and drifts. Now the all-terrain vehicle is here--a snug, rugged buggy that resembles a bathtub on wheels and can jounce, swim or crawl over just about any obstacle that nature has to offer.

Last week there was an unmistakable sign that the versatile new conveyance has really arrived: the first major race exclusively for all-terrain vehicles was held in New Hampshire's normally non-negotiable Ossipee Mountains. Staged by the National All-Terrain Vehicle Association, the event was run over a treacherous 17-mile course. The first ten miles consisted of logging trails thickly overgrown with branches and undercut with creeks, rockslides and oozing beds of mud. After that, every last trace of trail was obliterated. The drivers were forced to slash their way down a seemingly impenetrable slope of mountain. As much as anything, the race was designed to test the vehicle's mettle. Said Dick Advey, director of Action Age Inc.: "Americans are so performance-conscious that it would be impossible to have any kind of vehicle in this country and not have it raced. That is what snowmobiles had to do, and these new vehicles can do so much more that racing is a natural showcase."

Given the impossible conditions, the new jalopies performed admirably. Of 17 vehicles entered, 14 managed to bulldoze across the finish line. The individual trophy went to Dexter Shultz, an American Airlines flight engineer who clumped over a log barricade to finish first in his ATV Manufacturing Co. Attex model in 36 min. flat (last-place time was 1 hr. 22 min.). Shultz averaged nearly 30 m.p.h. over unspeakable terrain. He came from behind to whip Advey, who drove one of his company's 8-h.p. Scramblers.

But the moral victor was Larry Malo, general manager of Marine Gear Division, who limped home in sixth place on five (out of six) flat tires. If nothing else, his steadfast performance demonstrated the indestructibility of the new machines. Conceived as hybrids of the dune buggy, the snowmobile and the military amphibious carrier, the all-terrain vehicles are 7 ft. long, weigh between 400 Ibs. and 500 Ibs. and cost about $1,500. At least twelve companies are now manufacturing models that run on 7-h.p. to 20-h.p. engines for up to five hours without refueling. They can cruise as fast as 35 m.p.h. on the open road, traverse ice, sand, mud and rocks at 15 m.p.h., and make better than three knots in water. Their fiber-glass bodies can absorb excruciating punishment, and their oversize (11-in. by 20-in.) tires, inflated to only 2 Ibs. per sq. in. of pressure, can withstand virtually any shock.

Enthusiastic boosters of the all-terrain vehicle whimsically suggest that it could even be the answer to the nation's jammed highways. When traffic slows to a stop, the driver need merely turn his wheel, move off the road and convert his grueling commuter ride into an exciting cross-country trip.

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