In the scope of a contractor’s daily labors, pickup trucks are often just another tool and don’t draw that much excitement. But with wish-list new features and upgrades on the horizon, the latest generation of pickups offer plenty to rev up work-truck buyers.
If you are considering updating your fleet in the months ahead, it is worth taking a look at some of the ways major brands are revitalizing their lineups.
Reinventing Ram
Topping the list of interesting new models is the thoroughly redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 pickup. Extensive styling and feature updates aside, work-truck buyers will benefit from what’s said to be the strongest-ever frame to be put under the half-ton Ram.
同样，将98％的高强度钢用于框架，再加上其他地方的铝和复合材料的明智使用，使整个包装比即将离开的型号轻225 lb。对于商业卡车所有者而言，这种减轻体重的实际好处是增加有效载荷和拖曳等级。
具体而言，2019年RAM最多可运载2300磅的货物，并配备了适当的拖车，最高可达12,750磅。
One of two engines will be moving all that freight down the road: a 305-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 and a 395-horsepower, 5.7-liter Hemi V8. Both come mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
V6上的标准配音是一种新的燃油，轻度混合系统，称为Etorque，在V8上是可选的。该系统代替了传统交流发电机和起动器，同时在需要时提供额外的扭矩。最后，该设置提供了一个自动的停止启动功能，旨在减少燃油消耗。
其他重点包括改善空气动力学,我ncluding clever features such as a front air dam that automatically lowers at speeds above 35 mph, and active grille shutters, taller bed sides and an integrated tailgate spoiler—all designed to help boost the truck’s overall fuel economy.
The new Ram crew-cab models are also four inches longer, making for roomier interiors, with rear seats that fold to create a flat load floor.
但是，当您确实在经销商的地块上查看RAM 1500时，请记住，制造商将继续为上一代提供2018年的上一代，为谨慎的承包商提供更多经济的选择。
Fortified Ford
There is also big news from the folks behind the Blue Oval. Ford engineers have given F-150 buyers a sixth engine choice in the form of an optional 3.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel V-6. This engine features a fuel-saving automatic start-stop feature similar to the one found on the Ram 1500. This engine option is backed up by Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission.
According to the manufacturer, this power-train setup has an output of 250 horsepower and a whopping 440 ft-lb of torque, an impressive number that outclasses the F-150’s available 5.0-liter gasoline V8. While EPA ratings on this new diesel power train are not yet available, Ford sources tell ENR that buyers can expect at least 30 miles per gallon on the highway, which would make it the most fuel-efficient full-size pickup on the market today. This power train can haul 2,020 lb of cargo and tow trailers up to 11,400 lb.
不t content to abandon the midsize-pickup segment to its U.S. and Japanese rivals, the 2019 Ford Ranger returns to give trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado and Toyota Tacoma a run for their money. The last Ranger—once the dominant midsize pickup—was dropped back in 2011.
This new version, which uses considerably more steel than its larger, all-aluminum F-150 sibling, will be more of a “lifestyle” version of the Ranger sold in other global markets and now updated for American tastes.
根据福特,唯一的战俘er train expected to be offered is the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder, which in other applications produces horsepower numbers on par with other manufacturers’ V6 engines, paired with the 10-speed automatic transmission. Ford is promising class-leading towing capability, which would put it somewhere around the 8,000-lb mark.
当这款新的游侠在2018年底开始滚下组装线时，IT和最近重新设计的F-150和F-250/F-350 Super Duty将再次使福特成为商业卡车市场的全线球员。
Century of Chevy
Marking the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet trucks, General Motors has announced the upcoming fourth-generation Silverado, the No. 2 best-selling pickup in the U.S.
When it begins production in Michigan, Indiana and Mexico at the end of 2018, the Silverado will sport new bodywork that’s both visually and aerodynamically sleeker. In an effort to boost fuel economy, the pickup will feature more lightweight materials, including aluminum doors, hood and tailgate. That said, the truck-maker emphasizes that, elsewhere in the new model, it is sticking with good old-fashioned steel.
为这一新的Silverado提供动力将是三种不同的引擎之一：3.0升内联六缸Duramax涡轮柴油和5.3升和6.2升汽油V8。为了追求改进的燃油行驶里程，新的Silverado V8将采用更新的气缸停用技术，即动态燃料管理，在道路和负载条件允许的情况下，可以关闭多达六个气缸。与柴油和较大的汽油发动机配合的新的10速自动变速箱也应有助于提高燃油经济性。
Commercial buyers are not likely to overlook the business end of any pickup, and the new Silverado’s cargo bed will be made of higher-grade steel. Reportedly deeper and seven inches wider, the cargo bed has roughly 20% more volume than those of competing models. Beds also feature a dozen tie-downs and can be had with integrated, lockable cargo boxes.
Equally important to commercial customers will be the 2019 return of Chevrolet’s Silverado 4500HD and 5500HD models, which were dropped from the lineup after GM’s 2009 bankruptcy. Power for these new heavy-duty models is said to come from the proven Duramax diesel engine backed by an Allison transmission.
Add the popular Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups and GM will soon have a broad portfolio of new or recently redesigned pickups to suit the needs of a wide range of commercial buyers.
