Cummins engines not exclusive to Dodge Ram anymore! It’s back to school, back to work week and everything smells like Autumn already.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that past two weeks were calm and unexciting in auto industry. There were so many of them that we had to make new segment in this article just to cover everything.
In this Writing Fridays we also have some interesting news, but the biggest one will definitely shake Ram fans all over the United States of America.
Also: giant ice creams, obscure BMW pickup truck and when the value version of the truck isn’t really that cheap.
Value versions of F-150 now with SuperCrew and Sport packages
Ford F-Series might rule the USA’s market right now but that sure won’t stop them from expanding their list of offered truck versions of their best-seller.
At it’s lowest end of F-150 lineup, for base SXT trim level, Ford will be offering more affordable version of the SuperCrew body style, with four doors, something that was until now only reserved for upscale models of the truck. The STX SuperCrew will be available from $33,145, but potential buyers will get the option of choosing either 5.5 or 6.5-foot bed and 5.0-liter V8 or 3.7-liter V6 engine. SuperCrew STX body has 20-inch wheels, same body color and bumpers, black billet grille and box decals.
Now, some people might question how affordable truck can start from $33,000, and they might be right. This is high price for base version of the truck, but having in mind all of the included options and four-doors crew cab, this model at least has price that could be understandable, since XLT models are even more expensive.
If four-door body style isn’t what your are looking for, Ford decided to introduce another new version of F-150, STX Sport package. It’s the base-level truck with 20-inch wheels, black exterior accents, decals and black and gray cloth seats.
Shorts
In the newest strike against its biggest rivals, Ford and Dodge, at the end of August GM announced that both 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and 2014 GMC Sierra passed new NHTS crash tests with flying colors. These trucks are the first pickups to get maximum marks on the new tests, which were updated in 2011.
Jeep is bragging with high MPG rating for their 2014 Cherokee. Representatives of the company claim that it can achieve 22 miles per gallon in city and 31 MPG on highway. Even if it proves true in normal driving conditions, that front will be still more discussed, we assume.
Again with recalls. Nissan may be forced to recall 1000,000 Pathfinder and Infinity JX35 crossover utility vehicles. Drivers are reporting various problems with transmission and sudden loss of power. Even though there are no indications that this would be reason enough for mass recall of these vehicles, Nissan confirmed that it is working on a fix.
It was earlier reported that Honda Ridgeline will be replaced with new model in 2016, but before official retirement, Honda will release Special Edition of the vehicle stuck in the category between pickup and SUV. It will start at $37,505, but the question is, at that price level, will Americans still say “pass”?
Toyota is also ready to say goodbye to its FJ Cruiser model, announcing that 2014 will be the last model year of this tribute to classic Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser. Although not much was said by Japanese automaker, poor sales and constant decline of sale numbers, might be the biggest reason for this decision.
In the end, we are giving you a photo of Jeep Wrangler Polar limited edition. New Wrangler will debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany and it will be produced for European market.
Diesel Mania!
Diesel engines are obviously trending in the United States right now. Earlier we mentioned Dodge Ram 1500′s new EcoDiesel, but now there are three new entries in the company of this non-heavy duty truck: Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon and Nissan Titan.
The new vision from General Motors is all about smaller sized, more fuel efficient trucks and they think their Chevy Colorado and its counterpart GMC Canyon would lead in that category starting next year. They will both have four-cylinder Duramax turbo diesel engine in either 2.5 or 2.8 liter versions. These engines might be new for American market, but they already proved good in the rest of the world. GM is hoping they will attract drivers on US soil, too. They will be formally unveiled this fall and will go on sale next year.
2014 Nissan Titan got much of the attention after it was recently announced that it will be produced with Cummins Turbo Diesel engine. Once exclusive only to Dodge Ram trucks (since 1989) this change in business philosophy from Indiana-based manufacturer Cummins shocked all Ram fans across US.
From now on, there will be versions of 2015 Nissan Titan that will come with 5.0-liter V8 engine, fulfilling long standing need of drivers for more torque and better performance, as Nissan representatives said. The engine promises to generate more than 300 horsepower and over a 500 pound-feet of torque, which is more than what Ram is offering with it’s 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6. Even with this impressive feats, the main talk about Nissan Titan pickup was regarding it’s great fuel economy.
Be it as it may, Titan is way behind Ram in terms of sales, and there is a lot else to be done to jump over that hurdle.
Still, Ram fans have reasons to be worried.
After these surprising news, another Japanese car manufacturer announced that it is looking to put diesel engine into their pickup truck – Cummins, too. Just few days ago, Toyota representatives said that they are seriously thinking about possibility of adding Cummins turbo diesel to the Tundra’s engine options.
There is still a good dose of uncertainty since Toyota is thinking about another option, but if they decided to go with Cummins they would go in Nissan’s footsteps and completely shatter exclusive partnership that Ram had with Cummins. Toyota, on other hand, as do many experts agree, with diesel engine can only improve their current position on the market.
Weird trucking world
If you spent 24 hours per day looking for trucks, like our web-site does, you are bound to catch some interesting rides.
For exemple, there is this BMW 1600-2 coupe that one owner made into a pickup truck. This pickup truck from 1970 might look nice, but we are not sure about its practicality. It’s engine doesn’t hold much power – it was taken from another BMW and can produce only about 170 hp.
This improvised pickup truck also doesn’t have traditional lift-gate and instead offers more of a El Camino design. Opinion are divided with some praising the weird creation, while other calling it “abomination of sorts”, but if you consider yourself being in the first group than you might be happy to know that it’s currently on sale for $14,700 .
We are prone to believe that there isn’t a single soul on this planet that doesn’t like ice cream trucks. The one that was produced by Skoda UK for marketing purposes follows that rule, because it will amaze both the kids looking for free ice cream and the adult drivers always happy to see another great lifted ride. The truck is 21 foot tall with 5 foot monster truck wheels and it’s main purpose was to promote the launch of the 2013 Skoda Octavia vRS. You can see whole commercial here: