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Video: Volvo Trucks’ president Claes Nilsson delivers the right hook

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Work, Volvo

Claes Nilsson, Volvo Trucks CEO

We’d like to think that most executives stand behind their products, especially cars and trucks where people’s lives are on the line. But Claes Nilsson has taken the principle one step further.

In this brief video clip, the president of Volvo Trucks doesn’t just stand idly by and watch the new Volvo FMX being put to the test. He stands on top of it as it is suspended from a crane at the port of Gothenburg, Sweden. It’s a sight to see, and aptly illustrates the point that Volvo trucks are built to withstand more than their design brief. See the one-take stunt for yourself in the video below, and be sure to watch the new “making of” video as well.

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Volvo Trucks’ president Claes Nilsson delivers the right hook originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Volvo Trucks’ president Claes Nilsson delivers the right hook

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Work, Volvo

Claes Nilsson, Volvo Trucks CEO

We’d like to think that most executives stand behind their products, especially cars and trucks where people’s lives are on the line. But Claes Nilsson has taken the principle one step further.

Continue reading Volvo Trucks’ president Claes Nilsson delivers the right hook

Volvo Trucks’ president Claes Nilsson delivers the right hook originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks to get diesel engines

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

Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon teaser

The market for midsize pickup trucks has all but been abandoned in the US, but General Motors is about to shake the market up with the all-new (to the US) Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Launching next year, GM already told us that its new trucks would be a “fuel-efficient alternative” to fullsize trucks, and aside from the smaller size, Automotive News says that these trucks will accomplish this with a diesel engine.

According to the AN report, the next-gen Colorado and Canyon will offer a small, four-cylinder Duramax turbo diesel with a displacement of either 2.5 or 2.8 liters – both engines are currently used in this truck for other markets. This would allow GM to join the Cummins-powered Nissan Titan and Ram 1500 EcoDiesel as the only non-HD trucks in the US to offer diesel. The article goes on to say that the diesel versions of the Colorado and Canyon would launch about a year after the trucks go into production in fall of 2014.

Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks to get diesel engines originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read This: The fascinating forgotten civil defense history of Mister Softee trucks

Filed under: Classics, Truck, Work, Ford, Specialty, Read This

Mister Softee truck

Hemmings came across an interesting article from the Throwin’ Wrenches blog about the intersection of ice cream, cars and civic duty in America’s late 1950s. In particular, it focuses on the Mister Softee trucks, which criss-crossed neighborhoods of the eastern US serving ice cream. Looking past the ultra-durable vehicles used – heavy-duty Ford-based chassis, for what it’s worth – the article delves into some deeper national-security territory.

See, Mister Softee truck owners were voluntary members of the Civil Defense, thanks to all the useful stuff (potable water, generators, freezers and fridges) that the machines carried with them for serving ice cream. Click over to Throwin’ Wrenches for the full run down of how Mister Softee would have stepped in to help fight if the Cold War ever turned a little hotter.

The fascinating forgotten civil defense history of Mister Softee trucks originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford books $1.2B profit in second quarter on strength of trucks

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials

Ford logo

Ford is rolling along nicely, with a positive second-quarter sales report and a $2.3 billion profit in North America. The Dearborn, Michigan-based manufacturer captured $1.2 billion globally from April to June, with a $177 million profit in Asia. Even in Europe, the land of doom and gloom for automakers not named Mazda, Ford saw some success as it lowered its expected full-year loss from $2 billion to $1.8 billion. The company lost $348 million in Europe during the second quarter, which, believe it or not, represents a $56-million improvement over 2012.

According to the report on CNBC, Ford enjoyed a three-percent increase in pre-market trading thanks to the news. The strong demand for the F-150 propelled growth in the US market, while Ford’s 47-percent increase in Asian sales can be attributed to the new EcoSport crossover and Kuga (Ford Escape in the US) arriving in the somewhat fragile Chinese market.

Pre-tax profits for Ford are expected to be in the neighborhood of $8 billion by the end of the year, with sales the US, Europe, and China all looking up. The company also shifted $4.78 billion of asset-backed debt in the form of bonds, according to a report by Bloomberg. This move came amidst rumors of the Federal Reserve cutting back on its $85-billion-per-month bond purchases. Ford wasn’t alone among automakers looking to sell off debt, though, as Mercedes-Benz and Nissan shifted around $1 billion each in bonds relating to auto loans.

Ford books $1.2B profit in second quarter on strength of trucks originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: UPS testing plastic trucks that cut weight by 1,000 pounds [w/video]

Filed under: Etc., Videos

plastic UPS truck

UPS tests composite delivery truck – Click above to watch the video after the jump

UPS is known for its amazing level of efficiency, and that reputation could soon extend to fuel savings thanks to a prototype dubbed CV-23. The delivery company has ordered five of these prototypes to be tested through the end of 2011, but this is no ordinary next-generation package hauler.

The CV-23 weighs about a thousand pounds less than the typical UPS truck, thanks to the fact that it is made with composite materials instead of metal. The lightweight materials could help UPS deliver up to 40 percent better fuel economy than the current UPS fleet truck. Those kinds of fuel economy gains can pay huge dividends in rural areas where trucks are required to drive large distances. And since the body panels are plastic, bumpers, panels and other parts can be replaced easily.

Hit the jump to watch video of the CV-23 as it is tested by UPS management. If the company is sufficiently impressed, the guys and gals in brown could order more trucks, potentially saving 84 million gallons of fuel per year. We’re guessing drivers will want to see some crash test data before seeing what brown plastic can do for them, but otherwise, this seems like a pretty good idea.

Continue reading UPS testing plastic trucks that cut weight by 1,000 pounds [w/video]

UPS testing plastic trucks that cut weight by 1,000 pounds [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 May 2011 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ram Trucks will not offer hybrid pickup to consumers

Filed under: Hybrid, Truck, Chrysler, Dodge

Ram 1500 pickup truck

Have you been waiting for Chrysler’s long-promised Ram hybrid pickup truck? Bad news: Speaking to PluginCars.com, Ram Trucks CEO Fred Diaz firmly put that notion on ice when he bluntly said, “Truckers don’t want to buy hybrids.”

We’re not sure truck buyers are so much anti-hybrid as they are unwilling to cough up the necessary bucks to bring meaningful hybrid technology to their pickups. Either way, General Motors’ full-size hybrid trucks have failed to set the market on fire, and there’s little indication Chrysler’s would either, unless the automaker were to offer them at an extremely favorable price point. That seems unlikely.

For now, it seems that the only hybrid pickup trucks Ram will offer are the recently announced plug-in models that were developed using federal stimulus funds via a $48 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant and a separate $5 million grant from the Canadian government. A total of 140 PHEV Ram trucks will be offered to fleet customers within the next several months.

The good news for mileage-conscious pickup truck buyers is that Diaz suggested other technologies from Fiat are likely to make their way to the Ram Trucks division at some point. Multiair and light-duty diesels sound like a good starting point…

[Source: PluginCars.com]

Report: Ram Trucks will not offer hybrid pickup to consumers originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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America’s best-selling cars and trucks of 2010 are…

Filed under: Car Buying

shaking on a new car

We know… the suspense was killing us, too. We’ll spare you the sleepless nights and get right to the list of America’s best-selling cars and trucks for 2010:

1. Ford F-Series (528,349 +27.7%)	6. Honda Civic (260,218 +0.8%)
2. Chevrolet Silverado (370,135 +16.9%)	7. Nissan Altima (229,263 +12.6%)
3. Toyota Camry (327,804 -7.5%)	8. Ford Fusion (219,219 +21.3%)
4. Honda Accord (311,381 +8.1%)	9. Honda CR-V (203,714 +7.2%)
5. Toyota Corolla (266,082 -9.8%)	10. Dodge Ram (199,652 +13%)

As you can see, the Ford F-Series was the best-selling nameplate in 2010 for the 34th straight year, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado. The Toyota Camry, which managed to edge out the Silverado for second place in 2009, came in as the third-best-seller in 2010, its numbers down by about 7.5 percent from 2009. Also down were sales of the fifth-place Corolla (by nearly 10 percent).

We’re just speculating here, but we’d guess there’s one rather obvious reason Team Toyota’s sales figures have fallen, and it’s spelled R-E-C-A-L-L. Even so, those are still mighty impressive numbers, particularly in light of the amount of bad ink the Japanese automaker has endured this year. Every other vehicle in the top ten was up in sales, with the two Ford models earning gains of over 20 percent each. For reference, click here to see last year’s list of best-sellers.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

America’s best-selling cars and trucks of 2010 are… originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What are Canada’s 10 worst selling cars and trucks? Glad you asked…

Filed under: Car Buying, Canada

Nissan Armada

Canada’s 10 worst selling new vehicles of 2010 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The end of the year is typically ripe with all sorts of best and worst lists. Canadian automotive website Wheels.ca has provided us with a look at the car buying habits of our friends to the north. The list of Canada’s 10 worst selling new vehicles for 2010 is not exactly filled with surprises, but the actual sales volume for each model is quite interesting. Can you guess how many Lexus GS models left the lots of Canadian dealers in all of 2010? Just 215. That number is only good enough to earn the Lexus 5th place on the list.

Click through the gallery below to see how 2010 played out for 10 cars, trucks, wagons and SUVs on sales lots north of the border. Top tip, Ben!

Gallery: Canada’s 10 Worst Selling New Cars in 2010

Canada's 10 Worst Selling New Cars in 2010: Number 10 - Nissan Armada

[Source: Wheels.ca]

What are Canada’s 10 worst selling cars and trucks? Glad you asked… originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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