Big Three Truck Premieres

Once just a local agricultural fair, the State Fair of Texas, Dallas, has now become the launch platform of choice for automobile manufacturers to present new trucks.

Texas is an immense market for pickup trucks and this year, the Detroit Three were there, along with Toyota, to present world premieres. And for the auto executives that make the trip down, the Texas Fair is surely the easiest assignment they will get each year: people in Texas like full size trucks and buy them as personal vehicles not because they need their capacity but rather because "it's Texas here, y'know". So there's no delicate questions asked about gas consumption, vehicle size or dwindling market share.

Traditionally, American car manufacturers have been able to forget their problems for a few days and enjoy being in a conquered market. But even that notion is challenged now: Toyota is now claiming the title of the most Texan of all pickup truck makers. With its American designed, American engineered and Texas-built all new '07 Tundra, Toyota is making the right moves to lure the Texan truck buyer. In fact, it is the first time that a project like this has been entirely managed outside of Japan for Toyota. While some details about the program won't be released until the Detroit Show in January (final engines, power figures, and a mysterious third cab configuration) preproduction specimens of the Tundra's long bed version and its single cab variant were introduced in Dallas. The short bed / extended cab truck had already been showed in Chicago last February as a so-called prototype.

But, with this third generation of its full size pickup, the question remains about Toyota's ability to finally crack the big truck code and to gain some significant share of that lucrative market segment. Even though Nissan's Mississippi-built Titan seemed to have the right ingredients and some innovative features two years ago, the demand never materialised and the production cadence of the truck had to be drastically reduced this year. And with a manufacturing capacity of 300,000 units (if all goes according to plan) Toyota may not be such an important threat to Ford and GM, each one geared to produce close to a million full size pickups a year.

The main attraction at the Dallas Show was the duel between Ford and GM, both claming dominance at the very top of the pickup truck market: GM introduced the Heavy-Duty version of its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra siblings while Ford presented its redesigned Super-Duty pickup with its new F-450 variant. In pure Texas style, every declaration these manufacturers made and every capacity figure they published were like bullets directly aimed to defeat their opponent. The press was stunned by a cross fire of astounding figures about towing capacity, payload or durability; each manufacturer supported at launch by their own affiliated country music celebrity/spokesperson.

The new Ford Super-Duty is a complete but evolutionary redesign from the last version which was introduced in 1999, when Ford took the decision to split its F-Series trucks platform. From then on, a lighter more nimble chassis, equipped with rack and pinion steering and independent front suspension, has been adopted for the light-duty F-150 trucks while the F-250 and F-350 Super-Duty got a stronger chassis with primitive but reliable live axles at both ends. The new Super-Duty's exterior design is very similar to the former version since most of the sheet metal has been left almost untouched and the doors and glazing have been carried over.

The cargo bed gets an innovative tailgate that comes with a foldable step for easy access. When not in use this device is stowed inside the tailgate. To help climb the step a pole with a grab handle deploys from a channel moulded into the tailgate's inner liner. Because the new F-450 Super-Duty has a towing capacity in excess of ten metric tons, the front end structure was heavily modified to accommodate more cooling capacity. So, to place the bigger stack of radiators behind the garage door-sized grille, the frame members' front sections have been significantly lowered. Thus, the front bumper height is now more compatible with smaller road vehicles. Also for the sake of compatibility and to reduce glare to neighbouring vehicles, the headlights are now a lot lower on the front fascia. A blend of functionality and luxury, the interior design is entirely new. The famous saddle leather of the King Ranch high-end version is now replaced by a red hue more resistant to fading.

At the other end of Main Street the General was pulling out its artillery with the unveiling of its Heavy-Duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Their brand-specific exterior design is very similar to the light-duty trucks they are derived from, that were introduced earlier this summer. But the Heavy-Duty versions can be differentiated from the garden variety Silverado and Sierra by their more massive grilles and hoods. The one-ton 3500 version has optional rear dual wheel axle with special flared fenders. These one-piece cargo box side panels are not made of vulnerable polymer anymore. They are now made with steel, though the very deep draw required excluded stamping as a forming method. Instead GM chose hydro-forming in an innovative application of this technique generally used to shape frame members, and not body panels.

In the shadow of the two pick-up giants Ford and GM, Dodge maintains its own niche by exploring configurations that the big players neglect. Dodge presented a new version of the Ram that combines its exclusive Mega-Cab with a short six foot cargo box that can now be fitted with dual wheels and specific flares. Again, an odd combination not offered elsewhere.

It is not surprising that Dallas has become the perfect venue for manufacturers to launch new trucks. In Texas, they can brag about what these vehicles can do without having to justify their very existence (or relevance) to the market. But one wonders for how much longer Texan buyers can ignore some of the world's wider problems.

By Pascal Boisse