There is a pretty sweet battle going in the American domestic pick-up truck market. At this year’s Auto Show we saw the introduction of the 2014 GM pick-up line including the Sierra and the Silverado. Although Ford does not have plans for a re-design until next year they made a good move by showing of their concept for the new Ford Atlas. This was smart because without unveiling the concept, Ford would have been out of the conversation this year.
Do not forget about Mopar either. We also saw the new Dodge Ram 3500 at the Auto Show. Although the new Ram 1500’s have been on sale since last October, the new 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty trucks do not go on sale until next spring. At least there was really something for all American truck lovers.
The American pick-up battle is so fun to see unfold because the real winner is the consumer. Since pick-up trucks are something that are mostly unique to an American market there is always a duel for bragging rights. Both Ford and GM increased overall sales of pick-up trucks last year and the trend will most likely continue.
On top of bragging rights, investors love seeing the truck market do well because pick-up trucks are some of the largest profit generators. According to sources the average pick-up truck transaction was up 1700 dollars last year. That translates into a lot of mullah.
The competition is really driving technology forward. With everything from turbo chargers to cylinder shut offs to a ‘start-stop’ feature that Dodge is using to shut the truck down when idling. They are claiming this gives their Ram truck 25 miles per gallon on the highway. A far stretch from the 12 MPG we actually saw from the Ram Hemi engine. Chrysler says this is the best fuel economy in the class.
With all this going on every manufacturer is getting in on the action. Like I said before, the real winner here is the consumer, happy shopping!
Which new truck is your favorite this year?