Commercial Trucks auto news

Report: Silverado Super Bowl ad may have benefited Ford more than Chevy [w/video]

General Motors took dead aim at the Ford F-150 during the Super Bowl by airing a spot for the Chevrolet Silverado. The ad featured a post-apocalyptic scene where only Silverado owners survived the end of the world and Ford customers were left to fade into the fossil record. Interestingly enough, however, the spot may not have had the intended effect of pushing more eyes toward GM products.

According to TheCarConnection.com, the ad may have benefited Ford more than Chevrolet. Kelley Blue Book keeps an eye on which vehicles visitors to the site are interested in, and Ford saw an immediate uptick directly after the GM commercial aired. Ford didn't have a big Super Bowl ad this year.

That wasn't all. Ford continued to see a swell in shopping in the days after the Super Bowl. Interest in the Silverado, meanwhile, rose slightly when the ad aired before leveling off during the remainder of the game and falling shortly thereafter. Interest in the F-150, meanwhile, continued to surge. According to TheCarConnection.com, the F-150 saw a greater boost in shoppers week over week while the Silverado fell off by 25 percent. Turns out Ford shouldn't have been so upset about the spot after all. Click past the jump to see the ad one more time.

Continue reading Silverado Super Bowl ad may have benefited Ford more than Chevy [w/video]

Chicago: 2013 Nissan NV200 goes after Transit Connect's lunch money

Nissan is expanding the company's commercial offerings with its new NV200 Compact Cargo Van. On display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, the NV200 is positioned just below Nissan's mammoth NV Cargo, and should offer buyers a more efficient work vehicle with plenty of interior room.

The NV200 is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a CVT gearbox. Despite its pint-sized powertrain, the van should be able to haul around 1,500 pounds, and its low floor will likely make for easy loading and unloading.

At 186.2 inches long, the NV200 is a full 54.2 inches shorter than its bigger brother while offering 123 cubic feet of cargo area, though Nissan says the NV200 can still accommodate a standard 40x48-inch pallet.

The company hasn't released any pricing details, beyond saying the NV200 will be competitive with other commercial vehicles in this segment. That probably means the 2013 NV200 will land somewhere in the neighborhood of $22,035, which is the MSRP of the Ford Transit Connect.

Continue reading 2013 Nissan NV200 goes after Transit Connect's lunch money

Report: Why haven't you seen many new Chevy Caprice police cars? GM delays.

The sun has long since set on the Ford Crown Victoria and the big sedan's Police Interceptor variants, but many parts of the country still haven't seen the next-generation of pursuit vehicles take to the street. In the case of the Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle, that's because General Motors has hit a delay in providing the Holden-based sedans. According to the DuPont Registry, the delay is two-fold. Shipping from Australia is taking longer than expected, and Chevrolet dealers aren't outfitting the vehicles quickly enough to satiate demand.

The report quotes Deputy Chief Jeff Undestad of the Largo Police Department in Largo, Florida as saying his office waited more than eight months for GM to deliver their Caprice Patrol Vehicles to the dealer. Undestad should consider himself lucky. A neighboring department waited 10 months for its new patrol cars. Chrysler, meanwhile, usually takes two to three months to deliver its police-duty Dodge Charger models.

GM, meanwhile, says that the company is working to address the shipping issues. The company now has a pool of Caprice Patrol Vehicles at port, which should help trim the wait time.

Watch an SVT Raptor be built on Ultimate Factories this weekend [w/video]

There's something inexplicably mesmerizing about watching a factory in action. Seeing the innumerable complex mechanisms mesh in perfect harmony to create the products we know and love is part of what makes shows like National Geographic's Ultimate Factories so interesting. Now the program is headed to Dearborn for a look at how the Ford F-150 Ecoboost and F-150 SVT Raptor come together on the line in crystal-clear HD video. The show will also spend time with both trucks out on the company's proving grounds, which means there's a good chance we'll see the Raptor bashing over various obstacles.

Consider us excited. Last year, the Ford plant in Dearborn produced 344,446 vehicles, making it the third most productive plant in North America behind the Nissan facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico and the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, Mexico.

The show will air on Saturday, February 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern on the National Geographic Channel, but you can get a glimpse of what to expect in the video after the jump.

Continue reading Watch an SVT Raptor be built on Ultimate Factories this weekend [w/video]

Official: Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van

Though the Ford Transit Connect may be a niche player in the North American market, the small van market is big business in Europe. According to Mercedes-Benz, it accounts for some 700,000 units annually, and that's a pie of which Daimler wouldn't mind getting a bigger slice. And so it has announced its new Citan.

Taking its name from a combination of City and Titan, the Citan will slot in below the Vario, Sprinter and Vito in order to meet the needs of workers who need to get around crowded city streets and take their gear with them. Mercedes plans to offer it in a broad range of configurations, lengths and engine options once it hits the market in the fall.

The concept was unveiled at a logistics symposium held at the Mercedes-Benz Design Center in Sindelfingen, and will be presented for the first time in public next September at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show. In the meantime, you can check out the details in the press release after the jump and the renderings in our high-res image gallery below.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van

Video: Mercedes-Benz Actros semi fitted for taxi duty, picks up humorous fares

The new-generation 2012 Actros big rig has already won Truck of the Year - for the fourth time - and Mercedes-Benz figured it would have some letting other truck people know about its semi. It kitted an Actros out in the eggshell hue and black-and-yellow sign that's standard-issue German taxi livery, then sent it to pick up passengers.

The hook? Some of these passengers were waiting outside competing truck companies like MAN and Volvo, and were a little surprised at the arrival of their seven-ton chariot. Follow the jump to see it in action.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz Actros semi fitted for taxi duty, picks up humorous fares

Report: Chinese carmaker blatantly copies Ford F-150

The Ford F-150 has just picked up a doppelganger in China. According to CarNewsChina, Jianghuai Auto Corporation has just unveiled its new 4R3 pickup, and sure enough, the vehicle looks to be a near carbon copy of America's best-selling truck. JAC reportedly wants to provide buyers in China, Africa and South America with a larger, inexpensive work vehicle. While the appearances of the Ford F-Series and 4R3 visuals differ ever so slightly, the similarities far outweigh the incongruities. According to CNC, JAC is a fairly small automaker in the People's Republic that specializes in rebodied Hyundai cars, SUVs and pickups.

Word has it the 4R3 will be powered by a 2.8-liter diesel four-cylinder engine generating just 108 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. There's no word on cost at this point. The JAC 4R3 is set to debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April, though there's no telling how long the vehicle will be on the market before the company gets a call from the lawyers in Dearborn. Head over to CarNewsChina.com for a better look at the F-150 twin.

Video: Ontario seizes pair of taxi cabs for street racing

Two taxi drivers in Toronto recently found themselves on the wrong side of the law after officers stopped the duo for illegal "stunt driving." The drivers had their Chevrolet Impala taxis impounded and their licenses revoked for seven days after officers busted the two street racing early on the evening of January 25. The Toronto police haven't released any details about what spurred the two to show down on Younge Street, Canada's longest, or the drivers' ages. In addition, their employers are keeping their mouths shut about whether or not the duo will continue to have jobs after their mandatory license suspension lifts in a week.

According to our neighbors to the north, Younge Street once had a bustling street racing scene. Regardless of whether these two were settling an old score or just horsing around, running light to light near the crowded Dundas Square area is a recipe for disaster. Hit the jump to check out a video of the news report for yourself.

Continue reading Ontario seizes pair of taxi cabs for street racing

Video: Ontario siezes pair of taxi cabs for street racing

Two taxi drivers in Toronto recently found themselves on the wrong side of the law after officers stopped the duo for illegal "stunt driving." The drivers had their Chevrolet Impala taxis impounded and their licenses revoked for seven days after officers busted the two street racing early on the evening of January 25. The Toronto police haven't released any details about what spurred the two to show down on Younge Street, the city's longest, or the drivers' ages. In addition, their employers are keeping their mouths shut about whether or not the duo will continue to have jobs after their mandatory license suspension lifts in a week.

According to our neighbors to the north, Younge Street once had a bustling street racing scene. Regardless of whether these two were settling an old score or just horsing around, running light to light near the crowded Dundas Square area is a recipe for disaster. Hit the jump to check out a video of the news report for yourself.

Continue reading Ontario siezes pair of taxi cabs for street racing

Official: Ram piles on the trimmings with new Laramie Limited for Chicago

Ram is set to introduce a new top-of-the-line pickup at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show next month. The Ram Laramie Limited treats buyers to all the niceties we've come to expect from the so-called "ultrapremium" truck segment. Leather seats with contrasting piping, piano-black trim, LED ambient lighting and unique gauges are all part of the package, as are deep berber carpet floor mats. Look for the Ram Laramie Limited to bow with navigation, remote start, a backup camera, power adjustable pedals, along with heated steering wheel and seats. Even rear passengers will stay toasty thanks to seat heaters of their very own.

Chrysler says the Ram Laramie Limited is a more understated alternative to the brash Laramie Longhorn. As such, the newest line addition comes packing somewhat more conservative exterior badges. That means the usual Hemi, Cummins and Ram hardware has been scrapped. Ram hasn't completely turned its back on bling, however. The new Laramie Limited rides on 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. The vehicle will be available in 1500, 2500 HD and 3500 HD configurations when in launches in the second quarter of 2012. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Ram piles on the trimmings with new Laramie Limited for Chicago