Thursday, August 17, 2006
Three crew cab trucks introduced
Three crew cab trucks were recently introduced, starting what may be a new trend toward lightweight trucks with extra seating capacity. Traditionally, crew cabs were reserved for the one-tonners, but Chrysler, Ford and Nissan may change that thinking.
Chrysler Corporation introduced the Dakota Quad Cab, available in the last quarter of 1999 as a model year 2000 vehicle. The new truck features four full-size doors to provide easy backseat access. The slightly shorter bed offsets the larger cab, so the 131-inch wheelbase truck is the same overall length as the Dakota Club Cab. Two-wheel-drive (2WD) and four-wheel-drive (4WD) versions are available, with both part-time and fulltime 4WD system options.
The Magnum 3.9L V-6 and 5.9L V-8 engines are still available, along with an all-new Magnum 235-hp 4.7L V-8 that replaces the old 5.2-liter engine. A new 45RFE four-speed automatic transmission is standard with the 4.7-liter engine, and the truck is rated to tow a maximum of 6,200 pounds.
On the Ford side, the company's popular crew cab option has been added to the light-duty F-150 truck series. Like the Dakota, the F-150 crew cab is the same overall length as the F-150 SuperCab due to the new truck's slightly shorter 5 1/2-foot box. The crew cab features 12 inches more interior space than the current SuperCab model.
Ford offers the new crew cab truck with the standard Triton 4.6L V-8 and optional 5.4L V-8, along with the existing 4R100 automatic transmission, driveline, chassis and braking systems as the company's other models with a gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr) less than 8,500 pounds.
Nissan's Frontier crew cab compact truck is scheduled to go on sale in May 1999 as a 2000 model. The Frontier seats up to five adults, and is powered by a standard 170-hp 3.3LV-6. Both five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions are available, as are 2WD and 4WD versions.
The Frontier crew cab bed is 18 inches shorter than the standard model, and it's rated to tow up to 5,000 pounds.
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