Autoblog

Chrysler thinking about offering air suspension on its Ram pickups?

Zach Bowman — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:28:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Work, Chrysler, Dodge, Rumormill

2011 Ram Truck 3500 HD - Click above for high-res image gallery

Word on the web is that engineers at Ram are dabbling in air-ride suspensions. PickupTrucks.com has pointed out that the company's gargantuan Long-Hauler Pickup Concept rocked an impressive auto-leveling and load-sensing air-suspension package from the people at Kelderman. It's no secret that Ram has been trying to civilize its full-size pickup offerings. The company recently abandoned the traditional rear leaf-spring suspension setup for heavy-duty coil springs, and the addition of an air-ride option would provide even greater versatility.

As PickupTrucks.com points out, air suspensions use pneumatic bladders in place of springs, and an onboard compressor can vary the amount of pressure within each vessel. Lower pressure delivers a comfortable ride, while more pressure can give the vehicle additional ride height and load capacity. As a result, the vehicle can offer a comfortable ride while still being able to handle heavy cargo. It's the same technology found on road tractors and trailers.

The fact that Ram is dabbling in the systems on its concept vehicles leads PickupTrucks.com to believe that we may eventually see air suspensions on the company's heavy-duty hardware. The move would seem to be the perfect compromise between civility and capability.

Chrysler thinking about offering air suspension on its Ram pickups? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chicago 2011: 2011 Ram 3500 HD High Output takes the torque war nuclear

Zach Bowman — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:41:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Truck, Work, Chrysler

2011 Ram 3500 HD High Output - Click above for high-res image gallery

The minds at Chrysler have set out to make sure that buyers who need to tow small planetary bodies on occasion are taken care of with its new high-output 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel engine. The oil-burning mill churns out 23 percent more torque than the old engine, and the final figure now sits at an astronomical 800 pound-feet. There's also 390 horsepower on hand, and combined, those numbers are good enough to help the 3500 HD tow up to 22,700 pounds. The big-daddy Ram also packs a ridiculous gross vehicle rating of 30,000 pounds when equipped with the optional Max Tow package.

Those impressive ratings are partially thanks to the truck's braking system. Chrysler's engineers folded in the largest brakes of any full-size pickup with 14.17-inch rotors up front and 14.09-inch discs out back, and the 3500 HD wears what Chrysler calls the strongest exhaust brake available on any heavy-duty pickup.

Additionally, that meaty Cummins block is said to be good for over 350,000 miles before requiring a major overhaul, and unlike competitors from Ford and General Motors, this beast requires no diesel exhaust fluid to pass emissions. Hit the jump for the full press blast.

Gallery: 2011 Ram 3500 HD High Output

Gallery: 2011 Ram 3500 High Output

Live photos copyright (C)2011 Zach Bowman / AOL

[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading Chicago 2011: 2011 Ram 3500 HD High Output takes the torque war nuclear

Chicago 2011: 2011 Ram 3500 HD High Output takes the torque war nuclear originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Videos: Chevrolet releases new "Duramax & Allison" ad campaign to promote Silverado HD

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Work, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Humor, Diesel

Max and Al see eye-to-eye - Click above to watch the videos after the break

General Motors' advertising department has seen quite a shakeup over the past year. GM chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick may have hand-picked San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein and Partners as his ad agency of choice, but the good ol' boys from Campbell-Ewald still have some tricks up their sleeves for Chevy Trucks.

The world may not completely understand how and why Chevy runs deep (to be fair, we're going to give it some time...), but nobody is going to miss the hidden meaning of GM's new "Max and Al" campaign, which features the recognizable faces of Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, Rules of Engagement) as Max, and Craig Robinson (The Office, Last Comic Standing, Hot Tub Time Machine) as Al.

What hidden meaning, you ask? You'll see it clearly when you watch the videos, naturally, but basically what we have here is a message that GM's Duramax diesel V8 engine and Allison transmission is a time-tested and proven combination that is the thinking man's obvious choice in a segment that also includes Ford's Power Stroke and Ram's Cummins series.

There's a website (www.maxandal.com), a series of videos (which you can find after the break along with the press release) an upcoming online game and even a downloadable app that's said to be coming soon to the iPhone App Store. Oh, and what modern-day marketing campaign would be complete without a FaceBook page and a Twitter account? Not this one, that's for sure.

Check out all the facets of this far-reaching HD pickup advertising campaign and let us know what you think of it. Us? Well, let's just say Chevy's got our stamp of approval so far on this one.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Videos: Chevrolet releases new "Duramax & Allison" ad campaign to promote Silverado HD

Videos: Chevrolet releases new "Duramax & Allison" ad campaign to promote Silverado HD originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy challenges Ford to HD towing contest, gets turned down

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Work, Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Diesel

Numbers like maximum horsepower, torque and tow ratings are the heart and soul of the full-size heavy duty pickup truck segment. No shocker there. But how much reliance can consumers actually put on figures provided by the manufacturer? And, keeping in mind that the average test drive doesn't include hooking up a ten-ton trailer, how might we all get a proper frame of reference when judging one massive diesel beast with another?

Such questions may soon get an answer... other than this one, decided upon just a few weeks back. It seems that General Motors has issued a pretty straightforward challenge to Ford: a towing duel up mountain grades, followed by a comparison of factory-issued exhaust brakes on the way back down. (Sorry, Ram... guess you're not invited out to play.) Seems simple enough, no?

Here are some relevant statistics: Ford's (reflashed) 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8 engine punishes the tarmac with an even 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque. That's class-leading, as GM's 6.6-liter Duramax pumps out 397 horses and 765 pound-feet. Looking at those numbers, Ford wins... right?

Not so fast, says Chevrolet Silverado Marketing Manager Tony Truelove, "Numbers on paper are fine," he said. "Let's go work these trucks in the mountains, and may the best truck win." To which Ford Trucks spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari replied, "We challenge our trucks against the competition in grueling prove-out tests continually, and the customer gives us the results - sales leadership year after year."

That's right, The Blue Oval plainly and unsurprisingly declined Chevrolet's invitation. But the show must go on, and our friends at Pickuptrucks.com promise to be on hand in their very best black-and-white-striped shirts to serve as referees for the main event. Let's get ready to rumble!

Gallery: PickupTrucks.com Heavy-Duty shootout 2010

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Chevy challenges Ford to HD towing contest, gets turned down originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Ford 6.7-liter PowerStroke gets 800 lb-ft as of next week, upgrades available

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Work, Ford, GM, Diesel

2011 Ford Super Duty pickup - Click above for high-res image gallery

Ford has made it official: beginning with next week's production, the 6.7-liter PowerStroke turbo diesel in the 2011 Ford Super Duty pickup will be upgraded to 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque. That's a bump of 10 hp and a jump of 65 lb-ft, enough to leapfrog General Motors' 6.6-liter Duramax by 3 hp and 35 lb-ft. Or, to put more bluntly, enough to run over the Duramax on its way to the top of the heavy duty engine heap.

Further, at the end of August, the Super Duty's frame will be strengthened, upping its payload rating by 550 pounds (to 7,070), which will also increase its fifth-wheel tow rating by 1,000 pounds to 22,600.

Although not much can be done for your tow rating if you bought a Super Duty as soon as it hit the showroom, you can get the power upgrade from your suddenly feeble 635 torques. For one year starting on August 31, 2010, will be able to take their pickups into Ford dealers and get their engines tweaked to the new standard. Since there's no hardware involved, Ford says it should take just 20 minutes to get the reflash job done - learn more with the official press release after the jump.

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty

Photos by Rex Roy / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

[Sources: Ford, Detroit News]

Continue reading Official: Ford 6.7-liter PowerStroke gets 800 lb-ft as of next week, upgrades available

Official: Ford 6.7-liter PowerStroke gets 800 lb-ft as of next week, upgrades available originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM discovers flaw with HD pickup hill-hold assist, fast-tracks fix

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:03:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Safety, Technology, Work, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

Last week, PickupTrucks.com held one of its periodic load lugger shootouts where it brings together the heavy haulers from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to see which pickup truck is the top dog. After running acceleration tests at Milan dragway, editor Mike Levine and the crew moved the fleet of nine trucks to the GM Proving Ground in Milford, MI. During towing evaluations on the 7.2 percent hill, Levine discovered an issue on the Chevy Silverado 2500 while the gas-engined 3/4 ton truck was towing 10,000 pound trailers up the hill.

The GM trucks incorporate a hill-hold feature into the stability control system. Hill-hold is supposed to detect when the vehicle is on an incline with the brakes applied. When the driver releases the brake pedal, the valves in the stability control unit retain the pressure in the brake lines for up to 1.5 seconds. Once the timer expires or the driver applies the accelerator, the valves release the brake pressure.

During testing, Levine discovered that the system was not holding the pressure on the 7.2 percent hill for any of the GM trucks and notified the engineers on hand. Oddly, a later test found that the system was working properly on the steeper 16 percent grade. GM engineers investigated the issue with engineers from system supplier TRW and found an incorrect calibration value in the control software for the accelerometer used to detect inclines. This prevented the system from correctly detecting the smaller hill.

The code was corrected and updated software began rolling out to the production line this past Monday, July 19. The same software update is also going out to dealers so that trucks in stock on lots and in for service can also be updated. GM is still considering whether to issue a recall or a technical service bulletin for trucks that have already been delivered to customers.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com, TRW]

GM discovers flaw with HD pickup hill-hold assist, fast-tracks fix originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GMC Sierra Denali 3500 debuts at Pickup Shootout

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:27:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Work, GMC, Diesel, Luxury

2011 GMC Sierra Denali 3500 - Click above to enlarge

You want the heaviest of heavy-duty pickup trucks and you want to drive in the lap of luxury. If that sounds like you, have we got some great news to share. The 2011 GMC Sierra Denali 3500 pickup truck is now officially official, and the first such unit is currently being tested in tandem by the heavy haulin' folks at PickupTrucks.com and our very own Sam Abuelsamid.

Best of all, come August 16, you'll know exactly the big bruiser Denali compares with its peers. A total of nine Heavy Duty pickup trucks are currently being compared out in Detroit, including multiple models from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.

While we're waiting for all that data to drop, we can at least consider what differentiates a regular Professional Grade GMC pickup from a Denali: Chrome, and lots of it... from the grille to the door handles to the giant badges; 18- or 20-inch polished forged aluminum wheels and an interior swathed in leather and brushed aluminum trim. Other niceties include power-adjustable pedals, a Bose audio system, 12-way power seats, heated steering wheel and heated and cooled seats. Unfortunately, the exterior will only be available in three colors: Black, Stealth Gray and White.

Feel free to brush up on all the details in the original press release from May after the break, and check out the first image of the GMC Sierra Denali 3500 above.

[Sources: GMC, PickupTrucks.com]

Continue reading GMC Sierra Denali 3500 debuts at Pickup Shootout

GMC Sierra Denali 3500 debuts at Pickup Shootout originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: GM suspends production at Flint HD pickup plant over part issue

Sam Abuelsamid — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:37:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Recalls, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

2011 GM HD Trucks - Click above for high-res image gallery

Just weeks after starting production of the new 2011 heavy-duty pickup trucks at the Flint, MI assembly plant, General Motors suspended work last Thursday to replace a defective component. Engineers found a problem with the unidentified part during routine testing and immediately found a replacement. Three shifts of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD production were canceled on Thursday and Friday, but assembly is scheduled to resume on Monday morning.

Trucks that have already been built and shipped to dealers over the past four weeks will also be retrofitted before customer delivery. In July, GM will also add production of light-duty pickups at Flint.

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 GM HD Trucks

Report: GM suspends production at Flint HD pickup plant over part issue originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty technical deep dive

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Technology, Work, Chevrolet, GM, Diesel

2011 GM HD Truck New Technology - Click above for high-res image gallery

At first glance, the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup trucks don't appear to have changed much compared to their 2010 counterparts. But don't let their familiar faces fool you, because virtually all of the greasy bits have been substantially upgraded or replaced entirely. Like the competitive heavy-duty trucks from Ford and Dodge, General Motors offers its trucks in a huge array of configurations with varying passenger, payload and towing capacities and an array of gasoline and diesel engines.

We drove seven different variants over two days in the Allegheny mountains of western Maryland along with the latest models from Dodge and Ford for comparison's sake. While the sales volume in the heavy-duty truck segment is smaller than it was at its peak a few years ago, it is still hugely profitable and comprises about 25 to 30 percent of all pickup sales. Follow the jump to learn more about what General Motors' truck engineering team has done to help ensure those dollars keep rolling in.

Gallery: 2011 GM HD Trucks New Technology

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty technical deep dive

First Drive: 2011 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty technical deep dive originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM announces best-in-class towing, payload figures for heavy-duty Silverado, Sierra

Zach Bowman — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:37:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Work, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD - Click above for high-res image gallery

General Motors has just announced the hauling capacities for the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickups. The new trucks can now pull up to 21,700 pounds in fifth-wheel configuration and lug around 6,635 pounds worth of payload, thereby making them the new best-in class champions. The traditional tow rating sits at 17,000 pounds. What did GM change to give the trucks their new credentials? The company says that it extensively tested the trucks' systems, including the engine, transmission and brakes at the new gross combined vehicle weight and found that the thing could handle the abuse.

Both the Silverado HD and the Sierra HD now come with tougher bed rails, though. GM specified a new high-strength steel that can take more of a beating compared to last year's pieces. The new tow ratings best the next closest competitor, the 2011 Ford F-350, by 1,000 pounds on the conventional towing front and a more modest 100 pounds under fifth-wheel conditions.

How did we ever live in a world where pickup trucks couldn't tow three Bentley Continental GT coupes and a gooseneck car trailer? Hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD at Chicago Auto Show

[Source: GM]

Continue reading GM announces best-in-class towing, payload figures for heavy-duty Silverado, Sierra

GM announces best-in-class towing, payload figures for heavy-duty Silverado, Sierra originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 May 2010 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chicago 2010: Hybrid chassis shows differences between old and new Silverado HD

Drew Phillips — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Truck, Work, Chevrolet

Old and new Chevrolet Silverado HD chassis combined - Click above for high-res image gallery

No, Chevrolet's new Silverado HD will not be available as a hybrid. The hybrid we're talking about is this chassis on display at the Chicago Auto Show that is constructed of both the previous generation and the new 2011 Silverado HD. The combined chassis is split right down the middle and shows just how much the 2011 model has been improved from the previous model.

Starting with the front suspension, the 2011 Silverado HD receives beefier upper and lower control arms along with larger torsion bars and steering gear. The front axle can now handle up to 6,000 pounds of gross weight, which means that every HD model can bear the weight of a snow plow. Moving through the rest of the display, you can see the all new frame that utilizes 11 fully boxed assemblies that make sure of higher strength steel. The result is that the new chassis has five times more torsional strength than it did before and 92 percent better bending resistance.

At the rear, the Silverado HD benefits from a new, larger asymmetrical leaf spring design that offers improved handling and load capabilities. General Motors is quick to point out that the truck's maximum 6,335-pound payload and 20,000-pound towing capacity (using a fifth-wheel hitch) are both better than the Dodge Ram 3500 HD and the Ford F350 Super Duty.

Finally, the Silverado HD has been upgraded with 14-inch brake rotors both front and rear, a heavy-duty trailer hitch and a 36-gallon fuel tank that, when combined with the improved fuel economy, allows for 680 highway miles on a single tank. You can see the differences in detail in the high-res gallery below, or click here for even more details and photos of the 2011 Silverado HD.

Gallery: Old and new Silverado HD chassis combined

Chicago 2010: Hybrid chassis shows differences between old and new Silverado HD originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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