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Why 2015 is going to be a huge year for trucks

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn took center stage to introduce the 2016 Titan last week at the Detroit Auto Show. He spoke of the truck's new features, impressive Cummins V8 diesel engine and the extensive amount of time and money required to build a modern, competitive pickup truck. "We have done all of this because we see opportunity – an opportunity in the unmet needs of today's American truck customers," Ghosn said. He was speaking about the Titan, but his thoughts echo the industry's mindset: When it comes to trucks, find an opportunity and attack. Even with CAFE regulations looming and fickle consumer preferences, investing in trucks is a no-brainer for automakers. Some consumers will always need a truck for their job or lifestyle. And some people will always want one, whether they need it or not. With that in mind, here are four reasons why the pickup-truck sector is more important than ever and poised for growth in 2015. View 24 Photos The Nissan Titan Is Back Okay, it never left, but the Titan hadn't been redesigned since its launch in 2003, and Nissan sold more NV200s than Titans in 2014. It's an understatement to say the truck was languishing. That all changes with the 2016 model. The Titan will come in two variants, a traditional fullsize competitor and the Titan XD. The XD will lead the market launch, and it arrives late this year. It's pitched as a "whitespace" offering, Nissan sales and marketing vice president Fred Diaz said. The idea is to offer something in the general size and price range of a fullsize truck, but also have some of the capability of a heavy-duty truck. The XD uses a fully boxed ladder frame, the chassis design from Nissan's commercial division, and the wheelbase is about 20 inches longer than other Titan models. The XD, which Nissan is calling the flagship of the line, will be the only model with the 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V8. It produces 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, while being able to tow 12,000 pounds. V6 and V8 gasoline models will also be offered on the Titan XD and the standard, non-XD model. When production ramps up, the Titan will be sold with several cabs, beds and trims. New features include trailer sway control, an integrated trailer brake controller, more storage options in the cabin and even laminated front and rear side glass to reduce outside noise. All of this has given Nissan fresh confidence in an area where it admittedly has been lacking. "We can compete," Diaz told Autoblog.

2017 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport spotters guide

The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport is a mix of regular Stingray and steroidal Z06. Unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, this tweener 'Vette will go on sale this summer. If you need a refresher, click here for the details and official press release. We sat down with Chief Engineer Tadge Juecter in Switzerland to explain the differences between the Grand Sport and the rest of the Corvette lineup. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Stingray Hood The Grand Sport comes with the LT1 V8 (and 460 horsepower) instead of the supercharged LT4 in the Z06. That means the Grand Sport gets the lower Stingray hood, absent the power bulge. The Grand Sport also weighs less than the Z06. As such, the Grand Sport's springs and anti-roll bars are different to accommodate the lighter nose. "Mainly it's the weight distribution that changes," explains Juecter, "It's a custom tune around the obvious standard components." Grand Sport Wheels, Z06 Brakes In the sixth-generation Corvette, the Grand Sport came with a Z06-style body but kept the standard Vette's steel structure. With every version of the C7 built on an aluminum backbone, the Grand Sport has almost the same structure as the Z06. That means the Grand Sport can handle all the track-ready goodness like Z06 brakes and the optional Z07 package that adds carbon-ceramic disks and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires. Except the Grand Sport comes without the max-downforce add-ons of the Z07-packaged Z06, because it doesn't need them. What you can't get on the Z06, though, is the unique Grand Sport wheel design, which comes in five different finishes. Stingray Brake Lights, Interior The dead giveaway for the Grand Sport is the hash marks on the front fenders which come in six different colors. Another way to spot the Grand Sport is the taillights, which use the Stingray's red lenses instead of the blacked-out Z06's lights. Z06 body plus taillights equals Grand Sport. Got that? The Grand Sport also comes with body-color rear fender vents, which are black on the Z06. And the Grand Sport's interior is based on the Stingray except the Collector Edition, which has unique blue accents.

Chevrolet To Oversee Restoring Sinkhole Corvettes

What Mother Earth devoured, Chevrolet plans to resurrect. The carmaker said Thursday it will oversee restoration of the classic cars swallowed by a huge sinkhole beneath the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. General Motors Design in Warren, Mich., will manage the painstaking work to repair the eight prize vehicles, the automaker said Thursday. The cars were consumed when the earth opened up early Wednesday beneath a display area when the museum in Bowling Green, Ky., was closed. No injuries were reported. The museum was open Thursday except for the area where the sinkhole occurred. Mark Reuss, GM's head of global product development, said the damaged vehicles rank as "some of the most significant in automotive history." "There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built," he said, referring to one of the damaged cars. "We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them." Just how the cars will be pulled out of the ground remains to be seen, said museum executive director Wendell Strode. The local fire department estimated the hole is about 40 feet across and 25 to 30 feet deep. The hole opened beneath part of the museum's domed section. "We feel pretty confident that most of the cars can be extracted," Strode said Thursday. "And we hope and believe that with just a little bit of luck, that all eight cars can be extracted and be part of the restoration." Chevrolet spokesman Monte Doran said some of the cars look to be in good shape, while others are buried in rubble. "It will likely be several weeks until we can get the cars out and assessed," he said. The GM Design team has helped restore other historic cars, but the Corvette project looks to be its biggest, he said. "These Corvettes are part of our history, and they want them restored properly," Strode said. "We're thrilled they're doing this." The cars looked like toys as they plunged into the hole, piled in a heap amid dirt and concrete fragments. The museum owns six of the cars while two - a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil - are on loan from General Motors. The other cars damaged were a 1962 black Corvette, a 1984 PPG Pace Car, a 1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette, a 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette, a 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette and a 2009 white 1.5 Millionth Corvette. Pictures of the sinkhole showed a collapsed section of floor with multiple cars visible inside the hole.