Tag Archives: truck
Kia Is Currently Developing A Pickup Truck
Kia ’s chief operating officer Damien Meredith confirmed that Kia will have its own pickup truck, following the footsteps of the Hyundai Santa Cruz concept pickup. The development of the Kia pickup truck is now underway with Meredith saying it will probably debut between 2022 and 2023. This is the same schedule that the Hyundai set for the Santa Cruz.
According to an interview on CarsGuide, the South Korean automaker is planning for a dual-cab, single-cab for the pickup truck. That also includes a dual cab with diesel and petrol options. In Australia, Kia’s executives are confident that this utility vehicle will do well in their market. In a country with a high percentage of sales in the segment, Meredith believed Kia can take a huge chunk of the market there; about 8 to 10 percent market share.
He didn’t reveal anything more about the new Kia pickup but if it will be available to the US market, we doubt very much it will take all its variants with it. Most probably, Kia will only offer the truck with gas engines. The powertrains will be shared with the Santa Cruz, but to distinguish itself from its South Korean cousin, Kia will use a different engine, transmission, and chassis calibration.
The renowned Kia-Hyundai new family of Smartstream will also be likely used in the pickup trucks from both companies.
Both pickup trucks will be compact in size. Kia’s, however, might belong to the smaller segment because Santa Cruz will be sharing its underpinnings with the next-generation Tucson, which is a compact crossover. The Santa Cruz and the upcoming Kia pickup truck will compete in the midsize trucks market, though some may prefer the larger body of the Santa Cruz.
As for the Kia pickup truck, try to imagine it being like the Subaru Baja and the first-generation Ford Ranger. It’ll be nothing like the Honda Ridgeline and Chevrolet Colorado.
Ford Super Duty Trucks Get Power Boost For 2018
Maybe it is time to get our hands on the 2018 Ford F-Series Super Duty Trucks. After all, the American carmaker just boasted superiority in five major areas: horsepower, torque, towing, gooseneck towing, and payload. If that is not superpower to the tune of Marvel’s Avengers, we don’t know what is.
Both its horsepower and torque have been increased by at least 10 units. Packed with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbodiesel, the Super Duty Trucks can produce 450 horsepower, up by 10 from the 2017 line, and 935 pound-feet of torque. The move makes sense because truck manufacturers are now trying to reach the 1,000-mark for their torque.
The diesel option has also been upgraded. The 6.7-liter diesel now includes cylinder heads redesigned for greater strength during heavy loads. The upgrade added optimized fuel and turbo boost calibrations too. There’s a 6.2-liter gasoline engine option or the 6.8-liter V10 as well, but Ford has not revealed any details on this yet. These options will continue on until 2018.
According to Ford, the Super Duty Pickup Trucks has the best conventional hitch towing capacity. It can carry as much as 21,000 pounds and 7,360 pounds of payload.
Then, the 2018 Super Duty lineup has been boosted by an F-450 Crew Cab 4×2 dualie. It boasts of its ability to tow a gooseneck trailer, which has been increased to 34,000 pounds, big thanks to an integrated gooseneck hitch mounts. That capacity is up 1,500 pounds from 2016’s number.
Remember, the F-450 was only offered as a dual-rear-wheel 4×4 with the Power Stroke.
The 2018 Super Duty F-450 4×2 dual-rear-wheel pickup is scheduled to be released this winter in XL, XLT, Lariat and Platinum trim. It is expected to be sold with a price tag of $52,830, though this may differ depending on your distributor.
Toyota Hybrid Pickup Is Still Possible
The recently concluded State Fair of Texas proved to be the perfect venue to introduce and possibly even tease the future of pickup trucks. Japanese automaker Toyota is looking to star in the perfect headline by, as of today, studying the possibility of making a hybrid pickup.
Right now, what we’re sure of is what Ed Laukes, the group’s vice president of marketing, told Automotive News that the new Toyota Tacoma will feature upgraded powertrains. That will be part of the superb performance and marketability of the incoming Tacoma.
But when asked about the possibility of hybrid pickup trucks, Laukes was also quick to answer: there was no reason why hybrid pickup trucks shouldn’t be considered. Remember, there is also the need to meet CAFE standards. CAFE stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy and refers to the regulations in the United States that aims to improve average fuel economy of cars and light trucks.
Even the president of Toyota Canada believes that there is room for hybrid pickup trucks in the future. Earlier this year, Larry Hutchinson said that “we’ve looked at it seriously” even if there’s little to no demand for hybrid trucks today.
Although the statements came from top Toyota officials, these shouldn’t ring true unless a concept is pushed through. Come to think of it, that may even remain as a mere concept since there is a long road between an idea and the presence of the truck in an actual showroom.
And yet, we want to believe that this particular gossip is true for the simple reason that hybrid pickup news has a prolonged stay in the rumor mill. This is one speculation that just won’t go away. You can’t blame people for being pessimistic about this. There is a history of disappointments that started with the Toyota A-BAT concept hybrid pickup in 2008 and the scrapped collaboration with Ford in 2011.
Still, back then, the two biggest automakers in the industry promised to bring into fruition a hybrid pickup truck. Toyota, at least, seems to have confirmed that studies are being made already.
Three Nissan Midnight Edition Trucks Unveiled During The Solar Eclipse
A trio of pickup trucks that have been fitted with the Nissan Midnight Edition pack were unveiled. This came just in time for the solar eclipse that took place on Monday. The three pickup trucks that received the treatment were the midsize Nissan Frontier, the full-sized Titan, and the heavy-duty Titan XD.
These are all going to be 2018 models, but will reach Nissan dealerships later this year. The Midnight Edition will be offered in three colors only—black, gray, or white.
Nissan Frontier Midnight Edition
The Midnight Edition for the Nissan Frontier will be applied on the four-door Frontier SV crew-cab model, which comes with Nissan’s 261-horsepower 4.0-liter V-6 engine. The dark trims can be seen on the body-color bumper, the blacked-out grille, side steps, door handles, the 18-inch wheels, and the rearview-mirror caps. The package is not available for the truck’s six-speed manual transmission.
Titan and Titan XD Midnight Edition
The Midnight Edition package is available both for the SV or SL trims of the Titan and Titan XD models. However, the package for the Titan will require owners to add the torquey turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8 diesel engine.
Both models, through the Midnight Edition package, will have body-color bumper covers that complement the trucks’ 20-inch wheels, black grille, rearview mirror caps, door handles, and side steps. The Titan and the Titan XD will also have black headlights and fog lights with charcoal interior trim. The Titan XD, particularly, will be fitted with black painted fender vents.
There is no pricing information yet for the Midnight Edition trucks that will be released as 2018 models. For the current 2017 models, the diesel XD will cost $4,800 more on the SV crew cab while owners would be required to pay $5,250 for the same configuration on the SL crew cab.
More details on the prices are expected to be released soon.
3 Awesome Stuff About the Mercedes-Benz Concept X-Class Pickup
October 25, 2016 marked the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Concept X-Class in Stockholm, Sweden. The concept Mercedes pickup truck is a preview of the X-Class production model due next year.
1. Mercedes-Benz Design Language
While the concept X-Class carries with it the platform of the Nissan Navara, it makes itself stand out from the Navara’s shadow by incorporating the artsy signature design language of Mercedes-Benz.
2. Comes in Two Flavors
Mercedes unveiled two concept models of its pickup truck in Stockholm, namely the “stylish explorer” and the “powerful adventurer.”
The first variant embodies the mix of luxury and the practical features of a pickup truck. The vehicle is painted pearly white, giving it an opulent look. The snout of the X-Class is somehow similar to the styling of the current Mercedes SUVs, particularly the GLC.
The second variant has the same elements but it further elevates itself from the other by its more muscular form. The auto is finished in pea-green color and its features are jacked up by its 1.9-meter ride height, tires measuring 35 x 11.5, twin louvre grills, and extended carbon wheel arches. Moreover, it is fitted with an electric winch with metal hook in front.
3. V6-Powered
Mercedes revealed that the X-Class will have a V6 power unit. The engine is matched to a 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive system. When it comes to hauling things, the pickup can tow up to 3.5 tons and carry around 1.1 ton.
Mercedes-Benz Concept X-Class Official Photos
Check out the photos of the Mercedes-Benz Concept X-Class concept in all its glory in the gallery below:
Other Features
So far, Mercedes is silent about the technology that the X-Class pickup truck will have. However, it is safe to assume that it will most probably mirror the ones found in the latest C-Class, SUVs and vans in its market release.
2016 Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition Gets Unique Body Panel
Chevrolet has revealed the 2016 Silverado Rally Edition at the Texas Motor Speedway, and we can’t help but be wowed by its unique body panel, including a power dome hood.
The move sees Chevrolet extending its Silverado ’s line of special editions, which offers more truck options than any other brand. Sandor Piszar, Chevrolet truck marketing director, said that their 2015 special editions clearly resonated well with new and younger buyers.
The brand’s total truck sales increased by 27 percent in 2015, which was double the increase for the total truck market.
The Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition differs from the standard truck because of its matte black graphics package and large wheels. Although Chevrolet didn’t reveal much about the details of the Rally Edition, it did say that the changes were largely inspired by trends in street-performance trucks.
The Rally Edition comes in a monochromatic color scheme with black accents and bold hood and body stripes. It has blacked-out wheels, which can be had in either 20- or 22-inch sizes.
If you will go and check Chevrolet’s “build your own” website, you’ll find that the Rally Special Edition will come packing these features—22-inch wheels, a spray-on bedliner, 4-inch round black side steps, black graphics, box-side decals, and front and rear black bowties. That package will cost $4,995.
For those of you who want the Rally Edition, you will have to choose the 2016 Silverado 1500 in LT trim with the Z71 package. That will give you the 4WD pickup with 4.3-liter EcoTec3 V-6 with an option of either Extended Cab or Crew Cab. This will set you back by $46,965.
Meanwhile, while you decide on whether or not to get the Rally Edition, you can vote for your favorite special edition team as Chevrolet partnered their special edition trucks with a different Chevrolet Racing driver. Head on over to Chevy Trucks’ Twitter account to cast your votes.
