Automotive Trends

2019 is turning out to be the year of the truck. In addition to Ford reintroducing the beloved Ranger, both GM and FCA are debuting fully redesigned full size trucks for the same model year. This doesn’t happen often: 2004 saw the debut of the Nissan Titan with the Ford F-150 and prior to that 1967 Ford and GM had ground up redesigns of their trucks. Chevrolet teased us in December with a private reveal of its new TrailBoss trim level, but pulled the wraps off the rest of the eight (yes, eight!) trim levels at NAIAS. The pickup wars are strong, so Chevy introduces a power tailgate, inside bed storage compartments, wider bed, and storage bins in the rear seatback. The truck manages to shed about 450 pounds with the use of high strength steel and aluminum for the doors, tailgate and hood, but notably not an aluminum cargo box – for better or worse – like the Ford F-150. The big news really is the powertrain, which includes revised versions of the 5.3L and 6.2L V8s. Diesel lovers will rejoice at the inclusion of an 3.0L inline six Duramax. The 6.2L and 3.0L both are paired to a new 10-speed automatic. No power ratings are announced yet (nor pricing), but being a light duty diesel the fuel economy numbers will be just as important to the success of this diesel against the 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel in the Ram and the F-150’s new Powerstroke. The truck wars are heating up, and regardless of which brand comes out on top, customers will be the real winners.

Nissan has pulled back the cover on the first major redesign to its full-size Titan pickup truck. Rather than reveal the entire Titan lineup, Nissan focused our attention on a model that is sure to set the truck apart. The Titan XD straddles what Nissan calls the ‘white space’ in the truck market. Nissan observed that there are no V8 diesel pickup trucks in the light duty market; if one wants a V8 diesel they must upgrade to a heavy duty truck such as a Ford Super Duty, Chevrolet Silverado HD, or GMC Sierra HD. Keep in mind both the Ram 1500 3.0-liter diesel and heavy duty 6.7-liter diesel models are b0th six cylinders. To fill that white space, the Titan XD offers a 5.0-liter V8 turbo diesel developed by Cummins. This segment busting diesel provides 310 horsepower and a staggering 555 lb-ft of torque that is transferred through a 6-speed Aisin automatic transmission. All of this innovation is hidden below all-new sheet metal that unfortunately looks alarmingly like a last generation Ford F-150. While Ford has its aluminum bodied F-150, Ram has a range extending V6 diesel and General Motors has the not quite full-size Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, it appears that Nissan may have found a large niche in the truck market with the Titan XD.

      If we were keeping a list of long-in-the-tooth vehicles most in need of a refresh, the Jeep Grand Cherokee would not be on it. After all, it debuted as a 2011 model and impressed everyone enough to earn the distinction of being the most awarded SUV ever. So we were a bit surprised when Jeep rolled out a refreshed Grand Cherokee lineup for 2014 at their Monday morning press conference. Not that we’re complaining. With new features like an 8-speed automatic and a modern 3.0-liter diesel joining the powertrain lineup, the Jeep marketers can now advertise the dickens out of a 30 mpg highway rating. The changes don’t stop there as the front and rear receive noticeable improvements in the form of new lighting elements with LEDs, a shorter and higher grille, new foglights and wheel designs plus a host of interior refinements. The most significant of which is the 8.4” center screen and 7” screen in the middle of the gauge cluster. They can be programmed to display just about anything and work very well. SRT fans won’t feel left out either, since their 2014 Jeep is benefiting from most of the cosmetic tweaks and the 8-speed automatic comes along to dramatically boost real-world passing times and fuel efficiency. There is also a one button Launch Control system to make sure your stop light drag races go off without a hitch. Look for these in showrooms in the Fall. Read more…

Room and Range

     If your personal version of suburban bliss includes substantially more than the American average of 1.8 children then the 5-passenger Mercedes ML just isn’t going to cut it. You’ll need the 7-passenger capability of that German Suburban known as the GL. And if every fuel stop along the family vacation route turns into a 45-minute chicken nugget munching, souvenir buying, potty break free-for-all then Mercedes’ latest diesel engine and its 550-mile range is the choice most likely to maintain your sanity. Luckily, there is just such a combination, and the Mercedes GL350 BlueTEC offers the room and range needed to be the perfect family hauler. Read more…

 Diesel Power and 28-MPG

      Much the same as many ground breakers, the first generation Volkswagen Touareg sought to set the world on fire with its 5.0-liter 310hp and 553 lb-ft of torque V10 turbodiesel. But it didn’t. The price of entry was too high, $64,565, and then of course there is the fact that most American’s don’t like diesels, unless it’s under the hood of a Golf or Jetta. No matter, because Volkswagen is trying again. Read more…

      Senior Editor Jason Muxlow seeks a vehicle that returns great fuel efficiency and yet will haul along all the trappings of life. He finds the 2011 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC. Read more…

      Editors Gernand and Muxlow take a little road trip to get a gauge for just how fuel efficient the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI can be. Tune in to the Automotive Trends Garage Episode 2 for final details on how the Touareg fared.

Debunking the Diesel Stereotype

      Diesels have intrigued me from the time I was old enough to make basic automotive observations. Much to my delight, on family road trips my parent’s diesel 1978 Olds Custom Cruiser would fill up alongside the big-rig trucks. This fascination was bolstered by an uncle who owned a yellow diesel Rabbit in the ’80s followed by a diesel Ford Tempo, complete with the secondary battery mounted in the trunk. When it came time to find a light duty long distance tow vehicle I purchased a ’92 Chevrolet C2500 Silverado with a 6.5L turbo diesel. For all of their actual and perceived faults, each of these vehicles were compelling in some significant way. And yet diesels remain merely a niche in America’s automotive market. What is the reason for this? Is this simply due to undeserved stereotypes that won’t die, or a deficiency in the vehicles themselves? Read more…

Eat My Soot-Free Ammonia-Treated Exhaust!

       Talk about your one-up! Starting this week Ford will step out from behind that shadow the General was casting with its 6.6L Duramax V8. Ford’s new 6.7L V8 PowerStroke turbodiesel says I’ll see your 397-hp and 765 lb-ft of torque, and raise you to 400-hp and 800 lb-ft of torque. Ah, horsepower wars at their finest! Read more…