The next generation of Toyota's fullsize pickup has grown 10 inches longer, 5 inches taller, and 4 inches wider, sizing it up to F-150 and Silverado stature. An optional 5.7L V-8 and six-speed automatic will bring its maximum towing capacity above 10,000 pounds. Not all details have been revealed; for instance, we don't know the output of that 5.7 or any structural info on the truck's chassis beyond being told it has "30 percent higher tensile strength steel." We do know the truck will be available in base, SR5, and Limited trim levels, and with three cab configurations, most likely regular, Access, and Double, since Toyota's info about seating makes reference to "two-row models." Tundra will hit the dealerships in "early 2007," says the maker.
We were skeptical of rumors that Ford was planning an extended version of its refreshed Expedition. After all, didn't FoMoCo kill the Excursion due to low sales and public condemnation of its outsized dimensions? Well, we were wrong. The '07 Expedition and its upscale cousin will include EL (Ford) and L (Lincoln) models with 24 extra cubic feet of cargo space behind the third seat row. Both SUVs will have stiffer chassis and redesigned suspensions (including a new independent rear) for improved ride and handling, and the 300hp Triton 5.4L V-8 will be mated to a new six-speed transmission. The Lincoln goes on sale in the summer, followed by the Expedition in the fall.
GM continued rolling out variations of its new GMT900 truck platform by revealing the '07 Avalanche in Chicago. Early models (probably available as you read this) will be powered by 5.3L, 310hp V-8s equipped with GM's cylinder-deactivating Active Fuel Management technology; later in the year an all-aluminum, 6.0L, 355hp V-8 with Active Fuel Management and variable valve timing will be optional. A Z71 off-road package will also come on stream later in the year. Avalanche still features GM's versatile Midgate rear bulkhead, which opens the back of the truck's cab to accommodate lengthy cargo.
Dodge chose not to unveil a production-model pickup in Chicago; instead, we got the Rampage, a Dakota-size, Hemi-powered concept truck that features an Avalanche-like midgate (Chrysler, surprisingly, uses the same term as GM but doesn't capitalize the "m" like GM does) that opens the back of the cab for cargo storage. The rear seats and front passenger seat fold into the floor using the Stow 'n Go technology found in Dodge's minivans. Even more interesting, the Rampage features unibody construction, front-wheel drive and an independent rear suspension, a layout similar to Honda's Ridgeline. "The Dodge Rampage concept vehicle offers a new vision for the American pickup truck," said the press materials. Well, only if you consider borrowing major design elements from other makers "new."
Interviewed by Automotive News at the Chicago show, Frank Klegon, the Chrysler group's executive vice president for product development, described the Gladiator concept pickup (intro'd in Detroit in 2005) as "pretty hot." "I like the Gladiator," Klegon told the trade journal. "I think it is real cool. That [concept] was built on a product base, it has a platform, and that has a much better chance of seeing the light of day than something that doesn't. It is a pretty interesting execution." The "product base" and "platform" Klegon was referring to was the redesigned '07 Wrangler.
First Led Zeppelin music, now the Muppets. All the '60s and '70s cultural touchstones are turning into marketing gimmicks. Dang. Anyway, Ford used the Chicago show to promote its energy-saving vehicles and brought in Kermit the Frog as spokes-Muppet for the "green" benefits of the Escape hybrid SUV. Ford also announced a partnership with VeraSun Energy, a renewable energy company, in the formation of a Midwest Ethanol Corridor. The effort will expand the availability of E85, a gasoline/ethanol blend, in Illinois and Missouri, with other states to follow. "The potential of E85 is huge," said Anne Stevens, Ford's executive vice president and COO of the Americas at the Chicago show. "Corn grown in Illinois is used to produce about 40 percent of the country's ethanol. The Illinois Corn Growers Association says investment by the ethanol industry in Illinois already exceeds $1 billion, and it's creating thousands of jobs." Ford has four '06 models that can run on the fuel blend, including the F-150, and has plans to build some 250,000 E85-capable vehicles this year. Ford also intends to build that many hybrid vehicles annually by 2010, when half the Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln models will be available with hybrid powertrains.