Pickup Trucks Inventories Rising, Manufacturers are Worried

It seems like US carmakers are beginning to worry about the rising inventory of their big pickup trucks. For example, General Motors has an inventory of 122 days (or 4 months) of its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra according to a report from Reuters, or 50% higher than the typical industry inventory of 80 days.

But GM isn’t the only automaker in distress. Chrysler, Toyota and Ford also are behind their projected sales, with 93 days inventory for the first two makers and 79 days for the third respectively.

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Ford Says F-150 Orders with EcoBoost V6 on the Rise

With gas prices on the rise again, an increasing number of Ford F-150 buyers looking to save some (let’s not get carried away here…) cash at the pump without compromising on power are turning to the company’s new EcoBoost turbocharged V6 engine. According to Ford, demand for the EcoBoost engine in the F-150 has increased each month since production began in January. In March, one in every four (25%) models sold in the States was equipped with the force-fed V6, increasing to around 35 percent in April. Read more »

Steam Whistle Brewery’s “Retro Electro” Injects Some Green Cred into Some Detroit Old Iron

When I say, “Electric Pickup,” you no doubt think of either the Ssangyong Actyon Sports-derived Phoenix SUT or one of those toy-like, Chinese-built neighborhood electric vehicles. What you may not think of is a bright green 1958 Chevy Apache owed by Canada’s Steam Whistle Brewery and recharged via wind power.

No, this isn’t a late April Fool’s Day joke: this is serious. And being green is serious business for Steam Whistle, which – among other things – uses renewable energy, recycles damn-near everything and supports various environmental causes as a sideline to its beer brewing enterprise.

Brewery manager Mike Kiraly came up with the idea of electrifying the ol’ girl and even uses it as his daily driver. He explains his brainwave: “What if we could take a sexy vintage ride, save it from the metal scrap heap and outfit it with a zero-tailpipe-emissions engine. Old-school style combined with a modern conscience.”

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Ford Expands Airbag-Related F-150 Recall to another 1.2 Million Units

Ford has issued a massive recall action for its top-selling U.S. model, the F-150 pickup truck, of which around 1.2 million units are involved. The move comes after Ford agreed in February to recall more than 150,000 F-150 vehicles built between 2004 and 2006 for possible airbag faults. Read more »

Oops Video: Brand New 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 Limited Edition Rear-Ended by Ford F-150

If we didn’t know better, we’d say that Ford is trying to wipe out the competition with its F-150 pickup truck, or as some may know it, the Ferd F-Teehthousand. The latest victim of the F-150 after the memorable stomping of a Ferrari F-150 is a brand new 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8, which judging by the bodykit, stripes, alloy wheels and badges, is the 392 limited edition with the 470-horsepower V8 Hemi.

The driver of the Dodge’s muscle car was waiting for the light when a Ford F-150 decided to give the Challenger an unnecessary -and quite painful- rear-end makeover. Follow the break to watch the clip.

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Ford Recalling F-Series Trucks, Edge and Lincoln MKX Over Fire Hazard

Nearly 15,000 Ford trucks and crossovers are being recalled in the States because of problems with electrical systems that can short and create a fire. The recall concerns certain 2011MY Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550 and Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles.

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Automakers Developing Significantly Lighter Trucks to Meet New Fuel Economy Standards

Reuters is reporting that major automakers are tirelessly working on reducing the weight of future generation pickup trucks, in order to meet stricter fuel economy standards without sacrificing key abilities, such as power, payload capacity or towing capability.

Until 2016, when the new mandates take effect, manufacturers must reach an average fleet economy of 35.5 mpg (6.63 lt/100 km), while light trucks will have to return around 30 mpg or 7.84 lt/100 km. Given that around 50 per cent of vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first 11 months of the year were light trucks, it’s clear that the likes of Ford and GM have to act fast.

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SEMA Preshow: Ford Teases Customized F-Series Trucks

The onslaught of Ford's SEMA Show tuning products continues, this time with a sneak peek of the firm's F-Series truck proposals that will make their way to the Las Vegas Convention Center on November 2. Show-goers will have the chance to see customized versions of both the F-150 and Super Duty models.

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