In segments across the automotive industry, crossovers are becoming the answer for an increasing number of buyers. And you’ve probably heard that before, but our appetite for crossovers has been nearly insatiable. From Toyota‘s wildly styled subcompact crossover to the activity in the super-luxury crossover segment, this buyer’s guide covers it all. Still, don’t count out vans, minivans, and trucks. Also in this guide are trucks such as the Colorado- and Tacoma-challenging Ridgeline plus vans including the ambitious Chrysler Pacifica family-mobile. In a market bursting with activity, let us help you make sense of your choices with basic info, specs, and often five-year retained value percentages on that truck, van, or SUV you’ve been eyeing. Looking for a new car? Try the 2017 New Cars Ultimate Buyer’s Guide. When it’s time to get more in-depth info, don’t miss our industry-leading reviews and our newly redesigned online buyer’s … [Read more...] about 2017 New SUVs, Trucks, and Vans: The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide
2015 heavy duty truck comparison
How Dare We Test Trucks? Well, Somebody Has To – The Lohdown
Truck of the Year has the smallest field of all of our of the Year programs. This year, there were only six trucks and one van in contention for TOTY compared to 19 sport/utility vehicles for Sport/Utility of the Year and 23 cars for Car of the Year. But every single truck and van in our small group came with capabilities unmatched by anything in the car, crossover, or SUV segment. To wit, we had three heavy-duty trucks in the mix. The biggest, the Ford F-450, has a max towing rating of 31,200 pounds. That’s over 15 tons — and 5,200 pounds beyond the limit of a California Class C driver’s license. Also in the mix was Ford‘s new Transit, a replacement for the long-running E-Series van that is available in a stunning array of configurations, including three engines, three roof heights, and three wheelbases. In its most voluminous layout, Transit can carry 15 people or 487.3 cubic feet of cargo. Our Truck of the Year featured three potential game changers. In the … [Read more...] about How Dare We Test Trucks? Well, Somebody Has To – The Lohdown
2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year Contenders
There is arguably no vehicle more distinctly American than the pickup truck. Last year, Yanks bought almost 2.2 million of the work-and-play haulers, ranking them second only to midsize sedans in segment volume in the U.S. Further, three of the four top-selling vehicles in America through October 2014 — the Ford F-150 (1), Chevrolet Silverado (2), and Ram 1500 (4) — were trucks.For the 2015 TOTY competition, we invited seven all-new or significantly updated vehicles to compete for the Golden Calipers. From GM came a tandem of revamped midsize offerings — the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon — and the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickups. From Ford arrived the updated F-450, the full-size Transit van, and, last but certainly not least, the much-hyped aluminum F-150. We put these seven contenders (with 10 variants among them) through a grueling battery of tests as we set out to determine which was most worthy of the calipers. Armed with market … [Read more...] about 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year Contenders
Motor Trend 2014 Truck of the Year Contenders
For the last few years, not that many trucks have qualified for Truck of the Year. We knew it was temporary, and that new trucks would make a comeback. It seems 2014 is the first wave of this revival. Because of that, the 2014 Truck of the Year event represents the largest group of contenders we’ve ever had.There are four categories: ½-tons, heavy-duty trucks, small work vans, and full-size vans. The all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra have new engines, interiors, and styling, plus the all-new High Country model. Ram introduces the EcoDiesel 3.0-liter turbodiesel for the 1500. Toyota’s Tundra has body and cabin refinements, and the 1794 Edition makes its debut. There are two heavy-duties as well, both from Ram, with the new 6.4-liter V-8, suspension changes, and air suspension option as well as a whopping 30,000-pound towing capacity.There are two small vans (more miniature van than minivan): Nissan’s new-for-North America, cargo-only (unless you drive a … [Read more...] about Motor Trend 2014 Truck of the Year Contenders
2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD
Ford F-250 Super Duty, Ram 2500 and the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD/GMC Sierra 2500HD twins. And, while today's automobile shoppers seek fuel economy, safety features, style and technical innovation, big truck buyers are essentially on a quest for one attribute: capability.General Motors recently invited us to Arizona to explore the power, proficiency and potential of its new 2015 Sierra and Silverado HD trucks. After a day of driving and hauling, we walked away with a much better understanding of what makes these 7,500-pound hulks of diesel-consuming machinery appealing.This past September's State Fair of Texas was chosen as the launch venue for GM's model year 2015 heavy-duty trucks. While the vehicles aren't all-new (the chassis was redesigned for the 2011 model year), each debuts with fresh new cabs, upgraded interiors and a host of improvements on the heels of the recent half-ton Silverado/Sierra redesign. GM will continue to offer more than 150 combinations of HD pickup that … [Read more...] about 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD
2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 / 3500 HD
Following in the footsteps of the latest 1500-series Chevrolet Silverado, which won our latest comparison test of light-duty trucks, the bow-tie division’s new-for-2015 Silverado HD now exhibits levels of refinement that heretofore were unheard of in big-rig pickups. • Sign up for the C/D newsletter for reviews, news, and more Our initial drive took place in the mountains above Phoenix, Arizona. The Silverado’s snappier sibling, the 2015 GMC Sierra HD, was along for the ride. But don’t be fooled by the General’s commercials and the GMC’s added tinsel. The two trucks are the same brutes underneath, with mechanicals largely unchanged from those of the previous models, which triumphed in Chevy form in our last comparison test of diesel workhorses. (For our 2015 Silverado HD debut story with a full breakdown of what did actually change, head here.) A Gentle Giant The new Chevy has the chiseled profile of a classic … [Read more...] about 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 / 3500 HD
2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 6.2L 4×4 8-Speed Automatic
The pickup world is abuzz with talk of Ford’s new F-150 and its revolutionary (for a pickup) aluminum body. But the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is no wallflower, having topped a recent comparison test of light-duty trucks. While most of the Chevy’s updates for 2015 are modest, the addition of GM’s new eight-speed automatic transmission to models equipped with the optional 6.2-liter V-8 makes the most of this otherwise traditional rig. Making the Shift Available on the high-end LTZ and High Country trim levels, the Silverado’s optional L86 6.2-liter V-8 is a beast, producing 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque and emitting a classic small-block snarl. It’s also clever, sharing much of its tech (aluminum construction, variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation, direct injection) with the Corvette Stingray’s 460-hp LT1 V-8. Paired with the previous six-speed autobox in a test of a 2014 Silverado 1500 4x4, the L86 launched the … [Read more...] about 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 6.2L 4×4 8-Speed Automatic
2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty Diesel 4×4 Crew Cab
We all know that person who makes a resolution each new year. The one who promises to better himself and become stronger, smarter, and more capable. The Ford F-250 promises much as it enters the 2017 model year. Dearborn’s heavy-duty hauler is all-new from the ground up, and it’s as if it were hellbent on self-improvement. Weight Watchers Even if you live in a cave, off the grid, or within 100 miles of our editor-at-large John Phillips’s Montana desk, you’ve heard that Ford’s heavy-duty truck line now has a body constructed of aluminum, just like the F-150. That allows Ford to trim some fat and replace it with muscle. The F-250 now has a heavier, fully boxed steel frame, an upgraded rear axle, and fortified four-wheel-drive components. It has been some time since we’ve done a full test on the F-250, so drawing an exact weight comparison is difficult. The 2017 F-250 Platinum 4x4 crew cab tested here tipped the scales at 8300 … [Read more...] about 2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty Diesel 4×4 Crew Cab
2015 Ford F-150 Platinum 4×4 3.5L Ecoboost Review [With Video]
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Ford’s F-150 is an important vehicle for Ford and it’s not too much of an exaggeration to say it’s an important vehicle for America. In 2014, the F-150 was not just the most popular truck in America, it was the most popular anything in America, selling more than 740,000 examples. For those that love their numbers, that is more F-150s than everything Hyundai sold in the USA put together.Redesigning the F-150 isn’t just putting Ford’s profits on the line. Hundreds of suppliers and countless employees are worried about Ford’s aluminum gamble.First let’s talk aluminum. There seems to be plenty of confusion about the first “all aluminum pickup.” Here’s the deal: the F-150 is aluminum bodied. If you were worried about how an aluminum frame would hold up, fear not, the F-150’s body rides on a high strength steel frame, which is half the reason for the high towing and payload numbers. The other half is the aluminum body. … [Read more...] about 2015 Ford F-150 Platinum 4×4 3.5L Ecoboost Review [With Video]
2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty Review – Hauling Above The Limit [w/ Video]
![2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty Review – Hauling Above The Limit [w/ Video]](https://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_340,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-Ford-F-350-Exterior3.jpg)
There was a time when a 1/2-ton pickup could haul around 1,000 pounds of payload and a 1-ton truck was good for around 2,000 pounds. Twenty years ago a good tow rating for a 1/2 ton truck was 7,500 pounds and 1-ton trucks were used by ranchers for hauling 14,000 pound cattle trailers around. Today things are different.Now we have a Ford F-150 that can tow over 12,000 pounds and haul 3,300 pounds in the bed without batting an eye. In this world, we have 3/4- and 1-ton trucks boasting towing abilities that would have required a Class 5 medium-duty truck in the 1990s. It’s in this world that the F-350, F-450 and Ram 3500 now exist.These trucks have pushed the envelope, boasting towing capabilities that 99 percent of pickup truck shoppers can’t even legally test. With massive turbodiesel torque figures, Ford and Chrysler’s latest trucks can tow 21,000 pounds more than my plain-old California Class C license allows. With the 2017 Ford Super Duty on the … [Read more...] about 2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty Review – Hauling Above The Limit [w/ Video]