Tag Archives: Crew Cab

Automobiles

Official: Ram 1500 wins Consumer Reports fullsize truck test

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By Damon Lowney

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Vehicles that perform well in road tests by some of the most popular automotive publications, such as Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Automobile, don’t always score well in in Consumer Reports’ more regimented, practical test procedures, so the Ram 1500’s climb to the top of CR‘s scoreboard is a boon for the well-received pickup truck, which CR also put on its “recommended” list.

To start off with, the freshened 2013 Ram 1500 has a lighter, stiffer chassis than before, and the four-wheel-drive Crew Cab that CR bought and tested performed flawlessly and achieved class-leading fuel economy (15 miles per gallon) with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 – the most popular engine choice for the 1500 – and the new eight-speed automatic transmission. The unique-in-its-class rear coil spring setup endowed the truck with “one of the best rides of any pickup,” CR reports. That helped it earn its class-leading road-test score of 78, well ahead of the nearest competition still in production, the Toyota Tundra (69) and the Ford F-150 (68). It’s worth noting, however, that the Chevrolet Avalanche outscores the 1500 by two points (80), but production of that vehicle ends after the current 2013 model year.

About the only things the publication could find wrong with the truck were a heavy tailgate and a high step up into the cabin. Get ready for the next round later this summer when CR is finished testing the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado, which is doing well so far in the publication’s tests.

To see what we think of the 1500, head over to our First Drive review of the Ram 1500 SLT with the Pentastar 3.6-liter V6, and feel free to take a look at the Consumer Reports press release below.

Continue reading Ram 1500 wins Consumer Reports fullsize truck test

Ram 1500 wins Consumer Reports fullsize truck test originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

2014 F-150 SVT Raptor Special Edition to Hit the Dirt this Fall

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By Andrew Wendler

Unlike many “special-edition” vehicles where the “special” stops at the sheet metal, the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor comes straight from the factory with more than enough mechanical brawn to back up its boasts. Even so, Ford says Raptor owners were looking for a tad more exclusivity out of their rides, so it cooked up the Raptor Special Edition for 2014 to keep them happy.

Unlike the recently unveiled Shelby Raptor that includes a healthy dose of horsepower with its cosmetics, and very much like those “special editions” we discussed earlier, Ford’s special-edition package primarily is a styling exercise. Buyers have a choice of either a Ruby Red Metallic or Tuxedo Black Metallic exterior finish, and special box-side graphics that spell out “Raptor” in crazy mud-monster lettering to ensure onlookers make no mistake about who dropped more than 44 large on a pickup truck. But seeing as how such a reminder could be forgotten by its passengers, the Raptor Special Edition adds Brick Red seat bolsters with black inserts and cloth honeycomb highlights, and appliqué accents atop the console, center stack, and on the door panels. Overall the graphics are pretty subtle, especially considering how extroverted the trucks performance is, and that’s a good thing. Nobody wants a replay of the “gutless wonder” sticker and tape performance jobs of the late ’70s and early ’80s. This special-edition Raptor goes on sale this fall, with pricing to be announced closer to then.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

Automobiles

Shelby Pumps Ford F-150 Raptor to 575 hp, Earth’s Crust Braces for Imminent Pummeling [2013 New York Auto Show]

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By Andrew Wendler

Nissan Tama EV

The only surprising thing about Shelby’s recently unveiled take on Ford’s Raptor is that it took them this long to work one over. After all, Shelby has been operating in near-lockstep with Ford for years, unleashing tuned, tweaked, and twisted versions of Blue Oval products in a reliable cadence.

For the princely starting price of $17,995, the gang at Shelby American will poke and prod a production Raptor’s 6.2-liter V-8 to 575 horsepower, a hearty increase over the stock Raptor’s already randy 411. The additional 164 ponies arrive in the pasture largely due to a 2.9-liter supercharger, a “massive” intercooler, and a Shelby/Borla Exhaust system. Both the supercharger and intercooler come from Whipple (it also supplies Ford Racing with many performance components), as does the ECU re-flash. And you don’t need a brand-spanking-new Raptor to bring it in for the Shelby makeover: John Luft, president of Shelby American, told C/D that current owners are welcome to bring their Raptors to its facility.

Originally slated for a production run of only 100 units, the initial response was so strong Shelby American now says production will be capped at 500. “Not a week goes by without someone asking us about doing a truck, so I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised that we received dozens of phone calls within an hour of its New York debut,” says Luft. Interestingly, most buyers are planning on putting their Raptor to work, not shrink-wrapping it and stowing it away as an investment: “The Raptor will probably see more miles than any other Shelby vehicle,” Luft says, “as the overwhelming amount of buyers have made it clear they want to use their Shelby Raptor as a tow vehicle—preferably for their Shelby track car—or for real off-road use.”

Exterior graphics packages come in three Shelby-fied flavors: faux mud splashes and two stripe packages differentiated only by the hood graphics. The custom Shelby leather interior is designed by Katzkin and is included in the standard package. You can add wheels and tires, light bars, bumpers, and roll bars, and an off-road performance package of unspecified components is in the final stages of development. And it wouldn’t be a Shelby without a badge bearing the signature of Ol’ Shel’ himself and inclusion on the Shelby Registry. Build one for yourself here.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

Automobiles

Official: 2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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Chevrolet has thrown down the next hand in the pickup truck poker wars and revealed at least a couple of potential aces – depending on which numbers matter most to you. The 2014 2014 Silverado 1500 with its 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 gets 335 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, is mated to a six-speed automatic, can tow 11,500 pounds with the optional Max Trailer Package and costs the same as the outgoing Silverado, $24,585 (*including $995 destination fee). Chevy says the Silverado also stands atop the fuel economy charts when comparing any competitor with a V8 engine – and some competitors with V6 engines. The two-wheel drive model returns 16 miles per gallon city, 23 mpg highway, 19 mpg combined in two-wheel drive guise and 16 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined as a four-wheel drive.

For context around those numbers, the most fuel efficient V8-powered 2013 Ford F-150 pickups lose about two mpg in every metric compared to the Silverado, the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost returning 16 city, 18 highway and 22 combined in two-wheel drive. However, that EcoBoost does have 365 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. You can get a Ram 1500 with a 3.6-liter V6 that gets 25 mpg highway, but it has 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. The 2013 Ram with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and its 395 hp and 407 lb-ft drops one mpg in every category to the Silverado. Its tow rating is 200 pounds beyond its nearest competitor, the F-150 with the Max Trailer Tow Package.

Elsewhere, the new Silverado gets a quieter cab with a redesigned interior, a new bed with improved load-management possibilities, disc brakes all around, tweaked steering and suspension, along with free standard scheduled maintenance for two years or 24,000 miles.

It goes on sale later this year with pricing throughout the lineup held constant from the 2013. The Double Cab (which replaces the Extended Cab) will cost $28,610, the Crew Cab going for $32,710, prices inclusive of destination. Two more engines, 4.3-liter and 6.2-liter EcoTec3 V8s, will join the range later on.

Also, if you prefer the slightly different styling of the 2014 GMC Sierra seen below, most of the same performance metrics apply, but pricing is a bit higher – $25,085 for the standard cab, $29,110 for the double cab, and $33,210 for the Crew cab model.

The press releases below have all the chest-thumping details on both models.

Continue reading 2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6

2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Official: 2013 Nissan Frontier gets substantial price drop, better fuel economy

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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With the competition dwindling (or dying) among compact trucks, Nissan is looking to make some minor changes to the 2013 Frontier to snag a few extra sales for its aging pickup. Pricing and fuel economy are probably two of the most important vehicle stats among new-car buyers, and the 2013 Nissan Frontier has made vast improvements in both areas over the 2012 model.

First things first: The MSRP of both the King Cab and Crew Cab models have dropped by $1,270 with new starting prices of $17,990 and $22,030 (*not including the $845 destination charge), respectively. The biggest price drop is seen on the SV Crew Cab 4×2, which dropped $1,450 to its new price of $23,990. The important thing here is that the 2013 Frontier King Cab is now priced just a few hundred dollars more than a regular cab version of the Toyota Tacoma. Nissan is also offering a new SV Value Truck Package that includes all the equipment of the previous SV Premium Utility Package (spray-on bedliner, Utili-Track in-bed cargo system with four adjustable cleats and Bluetooth) and adds in a rearview monitor and dual-zone air conditioning.

Another key change made for 2013 was to the Frontier’s fuel economy. Except for the base-model truck (King Cab, inline-four, manual transmission, two-wheel drive), all other configurations have seen increases in city and/or highway fuel economy to the tune of one or two miles per gallon; the biggest improvement was to the V6 models with the automatic transmission, which saw an improvement of one mpg city and two mpg highway. Nissan accomplished this with better aerodynamics and updated internal engine components to reduce friction. Aero changes include a seal between the cab and bed, a tailgate spoiler and a new front chin spoiler. For more details on the 2013 Frontier – including a full pricing breakdown – scroll down for the official press release.

Continue reading 2013 Nissan Frontier gets substantial price drop, better fuel economy

2013 Nissan Frontier gets substantial price drop, better fuel economy originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog