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SEMA Preview: Street Scene Equipment F-150

Custom truck lovers, it doesn't matter that the whole world might seem to be against you, you will not be forgotten at this year's SEMA. Performance West will be bringing a hotted up F-150 and F-350, and now Street Scene Equipment rumbles onto the stage with it's own entrant, a juiced up 2009 F-150 Lariat. The SSE job appears to be a little more subdued than the Performance West numbers, but that might just be down to the lack of racing stripes. The Lariat will of course be dropped, because you can't even call it a tuning job if the truck is more than an inch above the ground. After that, the exterior gets new front and rear bumpers and skirts, new mirrors, a bed cap, a tailgate wing, and some of DuPont 's Hot Hues to make it all shiny, among other things. Inside will be the standard rolling theater treatment: headrest video monitors and a "high-end infotainment system" from Audio Innovations. In keeping with the restrained theme, engine mods looks to be limited to an Air Raid intake and a new exhaust. Subtle ain't such a bad thing, though -- we gotta admit we're digging that grille.
posted : 10/13/2008 @10:46:14 PM
What the...? Volkswagen considering Beetle-based pickup?

Of all the wild-ass rumors we hear on a weekly daily hourly basis, this one has that special air of cow manure. According to Automotive News, Volkswagen is considering a pickup truck for the U.S. based off the second generation Beetle, which is due out around the turn of the decade. The rationale behind this implausible idea stems from VW's goal to boost annual vehicle sales in the U.S. from its current 230,000 units to 1 million vehicle sales per year by 2018. Other derivatives of the new new Beetle could also include a crossover and a wagon. Although the recently revealed VW Pickup Concept is only bound for markets outside the U.S. and Europe, a compelling case can be made for a light-duty truck for occasional haulers here in the States. But we somehow doubt that the U.S. consumers could warm up to a Beetle-based truck – nostalgia can only go so far.
posted : 10/13/2008 @9:16:40 PM
Volkswagen pickup concept to debut next weekPickup truck sales have tanked here in the States, but in emerging markets, affordable haulers are still in demand. VW has announced that those markets would get a sneak peak at the concept version of its upcoming pickup truck offering at next week's Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover, Germany. Our friend Mike Levine over at Pickuptrucks.com says that while VW calls the upcoming truck a one ton, it's more like a mid-sizer. Since the spy pics we showed you back in April were of a Toyota HiLux body sitting atop VW internals, we'd tend to agree with that statement. Names on the table for VW's upcoming truck are the Robust and Taro II, and it's to be built in Pacheco, Argentina beginning next year. The Robust was not designed for the US market, so Stateside VW fans will have to cut the back out of a Touareg if they need an open truck bed.
posted : 9/24/2008 @10:41:18 PM
SEMA Preview: Mopar bringing Dodge Ram R/T concept

With gas prices still leaving people numb, the Dodge Ram R/T probably won't get the reception Chrysler wants – but that doesn't mean the automaker won't give it some good car show loving: Mopar is bringing a 'roided up version of the truck to this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The blue bruiser gets the 5.7-liter HEMI with 390 horsepower, good for enough giddy up to shoot to the truck to 60 mph in under six seconds. The body gets more of the Mr. Olympia treatment: a bulging hood with dual intakes over a deep air dam, a bed cover with a spoiler, a lowered suspension over 22-inch wheels for that "Don't mess!" aggression, and obligatory racing stripes. We like the sound of all that. Come November 4, let the posedown begin.
posted : 9/23/2008 @10:44:48 PM
Mexico confiscates trucks crossing border for cheap dieselThinking with their wallets, and avoiding $4.59/gallon fuel prices, truck owners in the States have been sneaking across the Mexican border to fill up with low-cost diesel (in Mexico, the fuel averages just $2.20/gallon). While filling a primary fuel tank isn't illegal, Mexico prohibits additional fuel tanks (aka auxiliary tanks) to be filled and moved across the border, so many truck owners with long-range tanks are finding themselves breaking Mexican federal law. Truck owners are getting stopped on the Mexican side of the border and their trucks are confiscated while authorities run tests to determine the origin of the fuel. If found in violation, owners face stiff fines. The Mexican Consulate is offering a blanket warning for all truck owners equipped with secondary fuel tanks to not drive those vehicles into Mexico. Not only do those owners risk truck confiscation, but the Mexican fuel is not formulated to U.S. ultra-low-sulfur regulations meaning emissions components will likely be damaged.
posted : 8/11/2008 @7:18:53 PM
First Drive: HUMMER H3T

If HUMMER had a theme song, it'd probably be the Allman Brothers' Whipping Post -- the one that goes "Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel, like I been tied to the whipping post..." The brand has been the go-to effigy when something needs to burn on the altar of eco desecration. But HUMMER doesn't have a theme song, it has the tagline "Like No Other." It also has a new pick-em-up truck we had the chance to drive recently in the High Sierras: the H3T.
posted : 8/9/2008 @5:16:06 PM

2009 Ford F-150 officially tows 11,300 pounds

The pickup truck market may have run out of steam, but the 2009 Ford F-150 can haul an 11,300-lb trailer full of coal if the need ever arises. The next F-150 will keep its light duty pickup towing title when it hits showroom floors in the fall after being delayed a bit. Its official pulling power has increased a full 300 lbs, which is 500 lbs more than the second place Tundra and 1,600 lbs more than the new 2009 Dodge Ram. What's more amazing is that the F-150 achieves this feat with less horsepower and torque than those models: just 310 horsepower and 365 ft-lbs of torque according to Pickuptrucks.com. To pull that much weight you'll need a very specific model: the Supercab 4x2 with the 5.4L V8 and Heavy Duty Payload package.

On Sunday our buddy Mike Levine from Pickuptrucks.com discovered that the online F-150 owner guide noted that towing capacity for the truck had increased to 11,400 lbs. Ford has since acknowledged that the owner guide was wrong and the 11,300 lb number has not been eclipsed. Given that the '09 F-150 is still the tow king at 11,300 lbs, we doubt owners will miss the extra hundred libbies. If they do, their local Ford dealer would be happy to sell them a Super Duty.

posted : 8/8/2008 @8:34:32 PM
Spy Shots: VW "Robust" pickupThe Volkswagen pickup codenamed "Robust" has been caught testing again, this time in the U.S. They aren't too different from these spy shots, both sets showing that VW is not going for any kind of flash with its newest pickup. At one point, the regular cab version was speculated to have buttresses, but we'd be surprised if there was that much difference between it and the dual cab. This hauler is about nothing other than good, solid -- and probably cheap -- transportation. Even the name "Robust" will be changed by the time it's introduced, probably to something like Plain White Pickup.
posted : 8/7/2008 @7:26:22 PM

Get your 2009 Dodge Rams with zero-percent financing

The 2009 Dodge Ram appears to be a top-notch competitor in the light truck market, but that won't keep the soon-to-be-released model from feeling the pinch of high gas prices. Chrysler told dealers in a July 8th conference call that the new Ram would be launched with 0-percent financing... for 72 months. To put this into perspective, an all-new $30,000 vehicle with 7-percent financing would translate into a $511 per month car payment over 72 months. With 0-percent financing, the payment would be only $417, for a savings of nearly $7,000.

When the 2009 Dodge Ram was unveiled to the public at the Detroit Auto Show, it was looked at as a potential savior for the Pentastar. Only seven months later and two months before its scheduled to go on sale, It's going to be launched with the same financing as the slow-selling outgoing model. Ouch.

posted : 7/12/2008 @5:00:44 PM
Mike Levine attempts to fit himself in the Dodge RamBox

The 2009 Dodge Ram is still a couple months from hitting the showroom floor, but we got a chance to check it out during a visit to the Chelsea proving grounds at the Chrysler media event. While we can't tell you how the new Dodge Ram drives, we are pleased to give you details of the revolutionary RamBox. We wanted to tell you how much we could fit into the bed mounted storage, but all we had was Mike Levine from Pickuptrucks.com. Follow the jump to view Mike as he tries to jam himself into one very confined space. Mike's a skinny guy, so he comes a lot closer to squeezing into the RamBox than you might think.
more ...
posted : 6/30/2008 @7:24:46 PM
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