Autoblog

While the big news story surrounding 2007 sales is that Toyota passed Ford as the No. 2 best-selling automaker in the U.S. last year, there were plenty of interesting battles happening between individual models, as well. The truck segment, though shrinking, is still the most competitive in the U.S. market, and 2007 saw the most serious challenge yet to the domestics' market dominance with the introduction of the 2007 Toyota Tundra.

While the F-Series pickup retained its title of Best-Selling Truck for the 31st year in a row (also the Best-Selling Vehicle in the U.S. for the 26th year in a row), its sales fell 13.2% to 690,589. And to think, the F-Series' best-selling year ever was just three years ago in 2004 when it sold 939,511 units. Give the F-Series credit, however, for retaining its No. 1 position despite a brand new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra on the market. GM's new GMT900 trucks did help the automaker mitigate a similar sales slide, with sales falling only 2.8% to 618,257 for the Silverado and 1.2% to 208,243 for the Sierra in 2007. The Dodge Ram also did well despite the shrinking market, with sales off just 2% at 358,295.

The Toyota Tundra, however, is the story the year...

Follow the jump for more analysis and the raw sales numbers for trucks sold in the U.S. last year.

[Sources: Ford, GM, Chrysler LLC, Toyota, Nissan]

As reported earlier, General Motors plans to cut production in the first quarter of 2008 by 11-percent in an effort to limit excessive dealer inventory. The cut would affect both cars and trucks, but GM announced today that it would be halting production of its pickup plants in Pontiac; Fort Wayne, Indiana and Oshawa, Ontario for two weeks beginning on December 31st of this year. The plants currently build the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. An unfortunate way to bring in the New Year, but if it limits discounts, more power to the General.

[Source: Detroit News]

When the Two-Mode Silverado Hybrid hits the market next fall, it will likely boast best in class fuel economy while still managing to tow 6,100 lbs. While it's not that hard to beat the most miserly of full-size pickups in the MPG dept., doing that without sacrificing very much of the truck's capabilities is what's most impressive about the Silverado Hybrid. GM quotes fuel savings to be 40% better in city driving, with a 25% improvement overall. The hybrid Silverado can also hit 30 mph in electric-only mode for up to one mile depending on battery's state of charge. We teamed up with Pickuptruck.com editor Mike Levine to interview Silverado Program Manager Carl Hillenbrand, and the long-time GM truck man had plenty to say about the general's greenest-ever pickup. Click the video above for more.

You have to watch those PR folk, their inclination to spin the facts can sometimes cause people to see what's not there. Take for instance news released today that the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 both received top five-star side-impact safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. The release states that GM's GMT-900 pickups are now the only full-size pickups with five stars for side-impacts in the industry. This is true, but only because none of the other pickups have been rated yet. If you check the NHTSA's safercar.gov website, which hosts the crash test ratings for every vehicle tested, you'll find that the 2008 Ford F-150, Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan are all listed as "Not Rated" when it comes to side-impact crash tests, and neither are models of each pickup from previous years. So while GM's claim is true, one shouldn't also assume its competition isn't just as safe in a side-impact crash until the NHTSA side-impact crash test proves otherwise.

View the full press release after the jump.

[Source: GM]

Our neighbors to the north have official felt the crunch of the strike here at home, with the Oshawa, Ontario plant closing down production today after it ran out of parts to produce the Chevrolet Impala. Unfortunately, 3,000 workers have had to punch out and head home for the day as a result.

It's expected that another plant in Ontario that produces the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick LaCrosse will have to shut down before the end of the day, while the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra plant is likely to close by the end of the week unless deliveries resume.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

The launch of Toyota's all-new 2007 half-ton Tundra pickup has had its fair share of hiccups, but despite bumps in the road, it appears that the Japanese automaker's half-ton has become the first import pickup to overtake a domestic in year-to-date sales. According to Mike Levine at pickuptruck.com, it appears the GMC Sierra 1500 lost its #4 ranking in half-ton sales to the Tundra based on projections culled from production numbers.

General Motors reports that the Sierra has sold 115,185 units year-to-date. The figure, however, includes 2006 and 2007 models of the Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500 (three-quarter ton), Sierra 3500 (one-ton) and even the 2007 Sierra "Classic" based on the older GMT800 platform. GM doesn't break down the sales numbers for the Sierra by model, so Levine got creative and used production numbers for each model from both 2005 and 2006 to extrapolate what percentage of this year's sales the Sierra 1500 model was likely to be. Assuming the Sierra 1500 represents about two-thirds of all Sierra sales, that would mean GM sold 76,700 units of the truck during the first seven months of 2007. The Tundra, meanwhile, sold 105,990 units, of which 97,290 were the all-new 2007 Tundra. Based on an "apples-to-apples" comparison in sales between half-ton models, it would then seem the 2007 Toyota Tundra easily outsold GMC Sierra 1500 to become the #4 best-selling half-ton pickup in the U.S. Based on projections through the end of the year, the Tundra will likely outsell all GMC Sierra models, as well, making it the #4 best-selling truck of any kind in the U.S. behind the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram.

Thanks to Mike for doing the legwork and crunching the numbers.

[Source: pickuptruck.com]

We told you Monday that GM was considering cutting truck production at its Pontiac Assembly Center, and today it became official. Production of full-size GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado pickups will be cut from 54.5 an hour to 45 an hour starting in September.

The plant employs 2,800 hourly workers and 300 temporary workers. GM spokesman Tom Wickham said Tuesday that an undetermined number of those temps would be the first to lose their jobs. The Detroit News was estimating about 500 total workers could be affected.

Wickham said the cuts were necessary due to a decline in full-size and heavy-duty truck sales. He also said there were no plans to throttle production at GM's other truck plants.

[Source: The Associated Press via Yahoo News]

Stick with us on this one, because the names might be a bit confusing. Because of less-than-expected demand for its full-size pickups, and despite heavy incentives, GM is considering cutting 500 workers at its Pontiac plant. And you didn't even know Pontiac had a full-size pickup in its lineup! Well, it doesn't, obviously. The General is expected to lay off those 500 workers from its Pontiac Assembly Center. That is, the Pontiac, Michigan plant where they build the recently redesigned Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. As good as they may be, they haven't exactly taken off in the marketplace. Although one could make the argument that no full-size truck is faring particularly well in this sales climate.

GM officials should be meeting as we speak to make a decision about the fate of 100 full-time workers and about 400 temporary employees. The actual layoffs would probably happen in September if approved. The full-time employees will likely be relocated, if possible. The temps, as is usual, wouldn't get any severance pay or benefits. By eliminating those positions, production would drop by about 17 percent.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Mark your calendars, because we're calling today a watershed moment for the advancement of diesel's acceptance in the U.S. General Motors has just announced a new 4.5L V8 Duramax turbo-diesel powerplant it plans to use in the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra half-ton pickups, as well as the HUMMER H2. The new oil burner is expected to produce at least 310 horsepower and 520 ft-lbs. of torque. It features dual-overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, a variable-vane turbocharger and aluminum cylinder heads with integrated manifolding that helps keep the overall package small enough to fit in the same space as the automaker's small-block gas V8s.

That's right, just imagine the possibilities. Wherever GM uses a small-block V8 gas engine, it could potentially use the 4.5L V8 Duramax diesel. In a few years we could be driving diesel Impalas, diesel Camaros, maybe even a diesel Corvette! To quote GM's press release, the engine's small size gives it "the flexibility to introduce this engine in a wide variety of vehicle applications should there be future market demand." Indeed.

GM estimates that the engine will improve fuel efficiency by 25%, reduce CO2 emissions by 13% and decrease particulate and NOx emissions by at least 90% in its GMT900 pickups and the HUMMER H2. Whoever said the HUMMER H2 was on its way out will likely be proven incorrect after this engine debuts. Scheduled to be built at the GM Tonawanda engine plant outside Buffalo, NY, the 4.5L V8 Duramax diesel will be 50-state emissions compliant and meet 2010 diesel emissions standards, as well. GM claims its new diesel will also have NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) levels approaching those of today's current gas V8s, though we'll have to wait and see if that wish comes true. That wait should end in a couple of years, as the automaker states the engine will be available in Silverado, Sierra and H2 models built after 2009.

UPDATE: Pickuptruck.com's Mike Levine has learned from GM that despite sharing its name with the older 6.6L Duramax diesel that was developed in partnership with Isuzu, the new 4.5L Duramax was developed completely in-house by GM.

Check out GM's full press release after the jump for more details.

[Source: GM]

We must admit that we were a bit surprised that MotorWeek's award for "Best Car of the Year" went to the Honda Fit. But, we suppose that it, uh, fits. We know, that was way too easy - feel free to mock us in the comments, we can take it. Here is the complete list of winners:

• Best of the Year: Honda Fit
• Best Small Car: wait for it... Honda Fit
• Best Family Sedan: Saturn Aura
• Best Minivan: Hyundai Entourage/Kia Sedona
• Best Convertible: Volkswagen Eos
• Best Luxury Sedan: Lexus LS
• Best Sports Sedan: Infiniti G35
• Best Performance Car: Ford Shelby GT500
• Best Small Utility: Honda CR-V
• Best Large Utility: Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon
• Best Crossover Utility: GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook
• Best Pickup Truck: Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra
• Best Eco-Friendly: Toyota Motor Corporation
• Best Dream Machine: Jaguar XKR, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Porsche 911 Turbo

We can't say that we agree with many of these choices, but we didn't choose them, MotorWeek's editors did. We just typed them for your benefit, 'cause we're cool like that.