Design engineers at Honda have put new muscle and maneuverability into the ordinary farm wheelbarrow. They've replaced "the wheel" with caterpillar-type tracks to create a first-of its-kind Power Carrier.

"It moves right through mud or snow to handle dozens of chore jobs in and around farm buildings, and out in the field -- such as fencing," says Lucky Kirby, Gardena, Cal., a Honda district sales manager. "It'll climb stairs and you can mount a blade in front to move dirt or snow. Another possible use is to take it along on hunting trips to haul big game out of remote areas inaccessible to regular vehicle traffic."

The new Power Carrier is available with an 8 hp Honda engine or a 5 hp engine. Rated carrying capacity is 771 lbs. for the large model and 536 lbs. for the smaller one.

Steering is accomplished by hand-held levers which brake the tracks. In normal operation, the carrier stops the instant the operator lets go of the hand-held levers. The carrier can be set to move on its own in a straight line at a slow walking speed, allowing material to be loaded into the bed "on the go" without a driver. Forward speed is infinitely adjustable from 0 to about 3.5 mph. The machine also has a "crawl speed" reverse gear.