click above to view more high-res images of the Dacia Logan Pickup
You often hear us lament about the lack of a truly small, inexpensive truck for sale in the U.S. market except the aging Ford Ranger, and they don’t come much tinier or cheaper than the new Renault/Dacia Logan Pickup, which will start at €7,250 ($10,689 USD) when it goes on sale in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey this year before expanding into other markets, though not the U.S. The Logan line already includes a sedan, a wagon and even a van, and the new Pickup gives Dacia a vehicle that will likely appeal to both consumer and commercial tradesmen alike. It can carry 800kg (1,763 lbs.) in its bed, accommodate items up to 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) in length, and stow 300 liters (10.6 cubic feet) of stuff behind its seats. Engine choices include a 1.6L gas motor making 90 hp and 94 pound feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, as well as two versions of a 1.5L dCi diesel producing either 70 hp and 118 pound feet of torque or 85 hp and 148 pound feet of torque from 1,900 rpm. The cabin, of course, is spartan and looks as if it were hewn from a single giant piece of plastic, but it gets the job done with no frills.
What say you, is there a market for the Logamino in the U.S., or did the return of the Subaru Brat in the form of the Legacy Baja quench our thirst for such vehicles? Don’t think too hard about it as it’s not going to happen, but we’re having fun imagining the shenanigans we could have with this Romanian export.
Gallery: Dacia Logan Pickup
[Source: Dacia]
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Volkswagen doesn’t make amphibious cars, but it may want to consider them in the future. On Saturday, a trucker hauling a load of new VWs from San Diego to Los Angeles drove off a pier and into the ocean.
Local authorities say the driver apparently “suffered from some kind of medical emergency”, causing him to black out and lose control of the truck. The cab careened into the San Diego Bay at a National City marine terminal, plunging into the water. The trailer stayed on the pier, but three cars fell into the bay.
The teamster regained consciousness underwater, escaped from the tractor and swam some 13 feet to the surface where he was evacuated in reportedly good condition to a local hospital.
[Source: 10News.com]
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Daimler is joining throngs of other automakers, including Navistar, Nissan and Volvo, to establish India as one of the largest builders of commercial trucks in the world. Its newest venture involves a partnership between Daimler AG and India’s Hero Group (great name!), with Daimler investing some $420 million for a 60-percent stake in the India-based manufacturer. The venture will involve the creation of light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks in one of the world’s burgeoning production centers that’s still got a lot left to build, and although company officials at both corps remained mum on details, expect things to be firmed up in the first quarter of 2008.
[Source: Economic Times via Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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You may recall that Navistar supplies Ford with diesel engines for its Super Duty trucks. You may also recall that the last two diesel engines used in Ford’s Super Duty pickups (the current 6.4L Power Stroke and last generation’s 6.0L) have had some quality problems. The 6.0L Power Stroke was known for problems stemming from defective fuel injectors, while the newer 6.4L has had one recall related to high exhaust temperatures that could ignite diesel fuel in the particulate filter, causing an impressive light show out the tailpipe. Because of their strained relationship on account of these engines, Ford and Navistar are likely to part ways in the near future.
So what do you do when your biggest client dumps you? You walk across town and strike a deal with its competitor. General Motors announced this morning that it has entered into a “non-binding memorandum of understanding” (read: gentleman’s handshake) with International Truck and Engine Corporation to sell its medium-duty truck business to the Navistar owned-and-operated subsidiary. Thus, Navistar will eventually take over building and selling the GMC TopKick and Chevy Kodiak trucks. That’s right, while Ironhide will remain a GMC vehicle, he’ll no longer be owned by GM.
To be fair, Navistar was undoubtedly forced to produce the last two Power Stroke diesels for Ford in a hurry to meet rising emissions standards, which likely contributed to the problems that both engines have had. Apparently that doesn’t bother GM, as we expect the TopKick and Kodiak will likely eschew their Duramax turbodiesels for International diesel engines after the deal is done.
[Source: GM]
Continue reading Navistar set to buy GM’s medium duty trucks
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If a G-Class Mercedes stirs dispassionate responses, there may still be a Mercedes for you. While the Gelandewagen is no joke in its own right, Daimler’s own ultimate terra bully would roll right over it. Unimogs have been around for about fifty years, and were originally designed as go-anywhere, do-anything work trucks. The U500 Black Edition Unimog is still akin to a vehicular Chuck Norris, but luxed-up to the point that you’d hate to mar the blingy pedals with muddy boots.
England’s BigLorryBlog had a chance to bruise the earth with one of these, and found it an object of workmen’s desire. The U500 they sampled was not outfitted with any hard labor devices, so the ride was a bit bouncy, but nobody was complaining from the leather clad driver’s perch with its own suspension. At €250,000, it’s not cheap, but the good stuff never is. Here’s what you say when someone questions your buying decision: “Buy the best, cry once. Now get outta my way before I make your Paseo scrap.”
Thanks for the tip, Dan!
[Source: BigLorryBlog]
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Fiat’s new car-derived utility truck, the Fiorino Mk IV, has been revealed in all its Chiclet-colored glory. These small car-based working vehicles are just right for businesses that don’t need the heft of the ubiquitous pickup-based cargo van here in the states, or larger Continental vehicles like the Sprinter. Horsepower will be around 75 whether buyers choose the 1.4 liter gasoline or 1.3 liter turbodiesel, plenty to haul all those tiny die-cast Eiffel towers down from port to the Champs Élysées. Continuing on the French tip, it’s worth noting that the Fiorino was co-developed with PSA, which means there’s also Peugeot and Citroen variants of the little van. If you don’t want people to laugh at you when you tell them what you drive, you’d be best to stick with the new Fiat, though. The Citroen is named Nemo, ever so cute. Peugeot picked a moniker that sounds possibly lewd: Bipper. Call it whatever, the Fiorino blends utility, more style than you’d expect in a commercial vehicle, and a comfortable interior with carlike dynamics. Coming soon on the heels of the Fiorino will be the announcement of the “Adventure” package, which will outfit the small wagon for duty on less-improved roads in rural areas. The closest thing we’ve got to this in the States is the HHR Panel, cool in its own right, but alas, no feisty Italian.
[Source: Jalopnik]
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click above image to view more pics of the Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually
With a strong OEM presence at SEMA, automakers are forced to bring The Badass to the masses. Toyota has apparently been overrun with requests from customers for some form of diesel motivation in its Tundra pickup and the automaker has responded… sort of… with the Tundra Dually Diesel. Toyota utilized two Tundra CrewMax pickups that were joined at the hip to lengthen the frame and add an additional foot to the bed. Although the majority of the Tundra Dually Diesel is bespoke show material, the drivetrain has been pulled straight from a Hino medium duty truck, with the only exception being a custom split driveshaft.
The crown jewel of the Dually is a JO8E 8.0-liter inline six turbodiesel, making around 300 HP and 600 lb.-ft. of torque. Shoehorning that kind of mill into the tight confines of the Tundra proved to be a challenge. The body had to be lifted off the frame by three inches and after some hacking and chopping of the firewall, they were finally able to fit the 1,500 pound engine into the bay. Between fitting the oil burner into the snout and mating it to a five-speed Allison tranny, the interior accoutrements have suffered - the HVAC controls are nonfunctional and the massive stick is there to provide additional leverage when shifting gears.
Mike Levine has a great write up covering all the details of the Tundra Dually Diesel, which is worth a read. And even though this mutha’ runs, don’t expect a production version to make it to dealers any time soon.
We’ve added Toyota’s press release after the jump.
Gallery: Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually Project Vehicle
Continue reading SEMA 2007: Toyota Tundra Dually Diesel
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And you thought U.S. automakers were guilty of the world’s worst badge engineerings jobs! It’s bad enough that both Citroen and Peugeot took the Mitsubishi Outlander and made the C-Crosser and 4007 clones, but here we have two new compact commercial vans from these companies that are virtually identical. Just pick which logo you’d like on the misshapen schnoz and you’re good to go. The Citroen Nemo and Peugeot Blipper (seriously?) are actually pretty interesting to look at. These purpose built mini vans will do the work of a Chevy HHR Panel in Europe and get much better gas mileage to boot. Either vehicle can be ordered with a 75 HP 1.4L gas or 70 HP 1.4L HDi diesel engine, so they certainly can’t go as fast or haul as much as what we Yanks are used to, but European commercial customers will likely find them more than adequate. And they can haul thanks to a 1,345 lb. payload rating and useable cargo space that amounts to 66 cubic feet. The front passenger seat can also be stored beneath the floor to increase the cargo room to 107 cubic feet. Just don’t come to us asking which one you should buy.
[Source: Citroen and Peugeot]
Gallery: Citroen Nemo
Gallery: Peugeot Bipper
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Click image for commercial-grade photo gallery
Chrysler has just released details on its commercial-grade Dodge Grand Caravan Cargo Van, which has tradesmen, small business owners, and other small fleet customers in its crosshairs (pun fully intended). Since it’s a work vehicle, the second and third row seats have been eliminated. This creates 143.8 cubic feet of storage capacity in back, and to keep it from getting instantly trashed, the cargo floor is covered with an industrial-grade material. The interior trim for the second- and third-row seating areas can also be deleted completely, as the working man’s Grand Caravan is designed to be a blank slate that upfitters can customize for role-specific duties.
The forward compartment is equipped with YES Essentials fabric seats, a decent stereo, the to-be-expected variety of cupholders, power outlets, and storage areas, and a rubberized floor capable of withstanding daily punishment. Powered by Chrysler’s 175-horsepower 3.3L flex-fuel V6, the Grand Caravan Cargo Van sports a 17/24 city/highway EPA rating. 16-inch steelies and a heavy-duty suspension are standard, and both the dual sliders and rear hatch are manually operated. While a panelized version isn’t currently offered, the existing rear glass is tinted dark for maximum privacy, so you’ll have to moosh your face right up against it to see what goodies your local bakery’s hauling back there.
[Source: Chrysler LLC]
Gallery: 2008 Dodge Caravan Cargo Van
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