A year-round farm housed in the back of a pickup truck, efforts to keep manufacturing waste out of landfills, a truck with a built-in smoker, and a data scientist's determination of the ultimate road trip were among the items promoted by automakers recently.

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[naviga:li]Ford has introduced a mobile farming initiative in the Detroit area, aiming to use these resources to educate the city's youth about nutrition and growing food. The Ford Mobile Farm includes a hydroponic garden inside a 40-foot shipping container as well as an F-150 with a garden in the pickup's bed. The program will run year-round with the goal of producing 52 harvests annually. The truck will be used for school visits and is expected to reach 2,250 students in 2018.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]General Motors is expanding its efforts to reduce waste from its manufacturing operations, saying its plants in Canada, Mexico, and South America are now landfill-free. Waste produced at the facilities is recycled, reused, or converted to energy. The efforts include reusing plastic bags from parts shipments in trash containers, establishing composting facilities in kitchens, and cleaning oil-soaked cloths used in painting instead of disposing of them. GM now has 142 sites worldwide that are considered landfill-free.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Nissan says it has taken tailgating to the next level by introducing a truck with a built-in smoker and mobile kitchen. The "Smokin' Titan," a modified 2018 Titan XD, includes features such as a double burner stove, cutting board, sink, and spice rack. The smoker was set apart on a trailer to keep its heat from affecting the truck. The Smokin' Titan was featured at the 2018 Work Truck Show and will be making appearances at a number of other exhibitions during the spring and summer.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Chevrolet recently enlisted the help of data scientist Randy Olson to come up with the perfect family road trip. The resulting 13,389-mile route would require approximately nine days of driving time and visit each of the 48 contiguous states. Olson's map includes the suggested stops of Gillette Castle in East Haddam and Fort Adams in Newport.[/naviga:li]

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