Automotive Trucks information on net.

With the new model year arriving, small-truck makers are fulfilling buyers' wishes for carlike comforts, and large-truck makers are racing to catch up with demand.

The new light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks coming on the market for model year 1999 reflect the wishes of truck drivers, both those who drive commercially and those who use their trucks as practical personal transportation.

The Polk Co., an automotive market-research firm based in Southfield, Mich., outside Detroit, reported in July that there are now 68.4 million light trucks on the road in the United States and Canada, accounting for more than one-third of the total vehicle count. The company, which compiles an annual "population profile" of vehicles for the automobile industry; also said that in the past 10 years, the number of passenger cars has increased by 4.8 million while the number of trucks has risen by more than 29 million.

The total number of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks sold in 1997 was 7.2 million. This year's sales through July were at 4.6 million, so total sales for 1998 are expected to surpass last year's.

With so many people driving trucks, it's no surprise that manufacturers are relying more and more on driver input in the development of trucks.

Mixed Messages

According to Automotive News, n trade publication, drivers want trucks to be more carlike and cars to be more truck-like.

Pickup-truck drivers want more comfort and convenience options, extended cabs, and doors for access to the cabs. Buyers of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) are indicating that they prefer the carlike ride and handling of vehicles built on the smaller platform of a car rather than that of a truck.

Minivan buyers want a second sliding door on the driver's side, and manufacturers are complying. However, because nearly all minivans in production have front-wheel drive, many businesses that once preferred rear-wheel-drive minivans because of their cargo-carrying ability are now opting for SUVs instead.

In 1997, 6.8 million light trucks-- including pickups, vans, and SUVs-- were sold in the United States, up nearly 4 percent from 1996.

Sales of light trucks will continue to increase, says Lincoln Merrihew, an analyst at the Troy, Mich., location of J.D. Power and Associates, a marketing-information and consulting firm based in Agoura Hills, Calif.

Merrihew believes that the addition of carlike comforts, ride, and handling to light trucks has been an important factor in their sales growth.

Getting "Productive Miles"

In the medium- and heavy-duty-truck market, productivity is the key for buyers. They want trucks that reduce downtime by minimizing maintenance requirements and that are custom-tailored to handle specific tasks. "Productive miles is what original-equipment manufacturers are selling," says Marc Gustafson, president and CEO of Volvo Trucks North America, Inc.

Truck makers have been consulting commercial drivers about features that could help the drivers avoid fatigue and stress and do their jobs as efficiently as possible.

Two recently developed transmissions that can help reduce driver fatigue and training time are the Eaton Fuller AutoShift 10-Speed, from Eaton Corp. in Cleveland, and the Meritor SureShift, from Mentor Automotive, Inc., in Troy

With the Eaton transmission, the clutch is used only for starting or stopping, reducing the driver's workload. When the driver wants more control of shifting, there is a "hold" mode, which maintains the current gear until a new gear is selected with the push of a button.

The Meritor system reduces shifting effort and complexity like an automated transmission but retains the driver's ability to choose manual control.

As with light-duty trucks, the ranks of medium- and heavy-duty trucks are increasing. Major truck-manufacturing companies are forecasting that U.S. sales of Class 8 vehicles-those with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of more than 33,000 pounds-will total 200,000 for 1998. Last year's sales were about 178,500.

With growing backlogs of orders, heavy-duty-truck makers are trying to increase production to meet strong demand.

The Outlook On Prices

Prices for light trucks are expected to remain steady, although manufacturers sometimes increase prices during the model year.

The announced prices for most new-model light-duty 1999 trucks are only 0.5 to 1 percent higher than the prices for comparable 1998 models, and some prices have dropped.

In addition, competition recently has prompted makers of passenger cars to offer incentives such as low finance rates and cash rebates, and such offers are spilling over into the light-duty-truck market.

In the medium- and heavy-duty-truck segment, manufacturers are calling for price increases to offset the bare-bones prices of recent years.

Light-Duty Trucks

Following are new trucks and features in Class 1, up to 6,000 pounds GVW; Class 2, 6,001 to 10,000 pounds; and Class 3, 10,001 to 14,000 pounds.

ACURA

The upscale SLX sport-utility is essentially unchanged for 1999. It has a 3.5liter V-6 engine and "torque on demand" four-wheel-drive, which transfers power to all four wheels with the touch of a button.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:43 AM