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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists revealed

The finalists for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year were announced Tuesday at AutoMobility LA ahead of the 2016 LA Auto Show. Approximately 60 judges, including Autoblog's editor-in-chief Mike Austin, evaluated over 40 vehicles and named three models as the finalists in each category. The award for the Utility Vehicle of the Year is new for 2017 and separates SUVs, crossovers, and minivans from pickup trucks. The finalists are: Car of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt Genesis G90 Volvo S90 Truck of the Year: Ford F-Series Super Duty Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan Utility Vehicle of the Year Chrysler Pacifica Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 The winners for the 24th annual NACTOY awards will be named on January 9 at the Detroit Auto Show. Related Video: Chevrolet Chrysler Ford Honda Jaguar Mazda Nissan Truck Crossover Minivan/Van SUV Electric Luxury Sedan north american car of the year NACTOY

2023 Chevrolet Silverado HD reportedly getting mammoth torque

Chevrolet just gave the light-duty Silverado a significant round of updates. It hasn't detailed the changes it has in store for the heavy-duty model yet, but a recent report claims the truck will arrive with significant engine upgrades. Without citing sources, website TFL Truck reported that the current pickup's 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel V8 will return in the updated model. Its displacement won't increase, but its output will reportedly grow to 505 horsepower and a mammoth 1,085 pound-feet of torque. To put those figures into perspective, the 6.6-liter makes 445 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of twist in the 2022 Silverado HD; GMC's Sierra HD is available with it as well. Bumping the Duramax's output is a way to keep up with the competition. Arch nemesis Ford offers buyers who have extremely heavy things to tow 475 horsepower and 1,050 pound-feet of torque from a 6.7-liter turbodiesel V8. Over at Ram, the most powerful engine available in a heavy-duty truck posts numbers of 420 and 1,075, respectively. If the report is accurate, Chevrolet will enviably take the horsepower and the torque crowns in the segment. What remains to be seen is what effect the increases will have on the Silverado's towing capacity. As of writing, it's capable of towing up to 36,000 pounds (approximately 15 times the weight of a 2021 Mazda MX-5 Miata). Moving out of the engine bay, the 2023 Silverado HD will receive an updated exterior design that will again help differentiate it from the smaller, light-duty model. We're expecting the next round of updates will also bring new tech features, and it's reasonable to assume that the trim structure will evolve; Chevrolet might notably shift the HD in a more outdoorsy direction to satisfy a growing demand for off-road-focused trucks in the United States. None of this is official; Chevrolet is keeping its lips sealed about the updated Silverado HD. Full details will likely emerge in the coming months, and sales are tentatively scheduled to start in time for the 2023 model year.

Consumer Reports criticizes small turbo engines for misleading performance, fuel economy claims [w/video]

Consumer Reports has taken aim at at small-displacement, forced-induction engines, saying the powerplants don't manage to deliver on automaker fuel economy claims. Manufacturers have long held that smaller, turbocharged engines pack all power of their larger displacement cousins with significantly better fuel economy, but the research organization says that despite scoring high EPA economy numbers, the engines are no better than conventional drivetrains in both categories. Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports, says the forced induction options "are often slower and less fuel efficient than larger four and six-cylinder engines."
Specifically, CR calls out the new Ford Fusion equipped with the automaker's Ecoboost 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The institute's researchers found the engine, which is a $795 option over the base 2.5-liter four-cylinder, fails to match competitors in acceleration and served up 25 miles per gallon in testing, putting the sedan dead last among other midsize options.
The Chevrolet Cruze, Hyundai Sonata Turbo and Ford Escape 2.0T all got dinged for the same troubles, though Consumer Reports has found the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the BMW 328i does deliver on its promises. You can check out the full press release below. You can also read the full study on the Consumer Reports site, or scroll down for a short video recap.